Everyone else is blogging....

So I guess I'll join in the fun! Seriously, it seems like a great way to capture the daily excitement...plus it makes it easier to scrapbook later.

I don't intend to write in this thing every day, but I do intend to keep it eventing adventures related....so if you're not in to horses then this blog is NOT for you! I do have to say that I'm a bit self concious about this whole thing because a few of my friends are EXCELLENT writers...and me? I just kinda tell it like it is with no fluffy words or descriptions. So there you have it.

Since I am starting this soooooo late I guess I need to put some background in to this blog. Sort of catch you all (haha!) up on where life is and what not.

In a nutshell, I have little to no experience in "eventing". I have experience in "trying to event" in that the horse I had before (RIP Dancer) was a naughty, NASTY stopper. So I'd try to event and sometimes I'd suceed, but most of the times I'd end up wasting the entry fee. Serioulsy it would've been better for me to put all my money towards buying a new horse, house or even just saving it! haha.

Dancer died in June 2008....which led me to buying a Welsh Cob pony, Buckingham, for my daughter....He was green broke - maybe 10 rides on him - and none of that was faster than a walk (and one trot when I test rode him!). And his job was to be a pony club / leadline horse for my daughter....but somewhere along the way I realized that I am having FAR too much fun with this little guy. At the end of August 2008 I popped him over some ground rails and he never said no....So I entered the little bugger in a 2-phase "Derby" competition at the end of September 2008.

Buck's first foray in eventing was at Echo Ridge Two Phase in Lee, NH. We won the division. Now mind you the jumps were 12" tall....but there were certainly things he had never seen before, with all sorts of terrain to deal with as well....so we were off to a good start. We went back to Echo Ridge in October and won the same division again. Alright, this is too easy, so I enlisted in some help and decided to "go for it".

Fast forward through a VERY FREAKING LONG WINTER....

We had some breathing issues in the winter, and then some soundness issues in the Spring. I ended up entering him in his first 3-phase at Apple Knoll Farm in Millis, MA. I believe they called the division Weenie. Oh, wait. That is what I called the division. I think the max height was 12-18"....I wanted a good outing and this was the first time that we had done cross country in competition. We got 2nd place at this little event - and would have won had it not been for a LOUSY rail in stadium over a 12" cross rail. Seriosly Buck, pick up your damn feet!

Dressage at Apple Knoll
Stadium at Apple Knoll

The next event we went to was another small one at Groton Pony Club in Groton, MA. We entered the "Green" division which had 18" jumps. Moving up in the world! Well, we got the GIFT of a lifetime in dressage with a score of 23.5. Seriously. Who gets those scores??? Certainly NOT an old plow horse used to hay fields and what not....but on this day, the old (young) plow horse DID get that score and the competition was ours to lose. But we didn't lose. We had a rail in stadium but we still won.....

Dressage at Groton Pony Club
Stadium at Groton Pony Club
Cross Country at Groton Pony Club

And now, I will post our first OFFICIAL event report in my next entry....