A Decade of the Fox Rider

I am loving this decade reflection stuff, even if I think I'm going to be really bad at it, here we go:

2009: I was blogging (badly) over at The Fox Rider Blogs. Foxie was my one and only, ride or die girl, and I was starting my college adventures. We were boarding at a ritzy heated fancy hunter/jumper barn, and Fox was retired from jumping after her DDFT injury.

2010: I continued to be bad at blogging, and met a new trainer. I brought Foxie back into work and started chasing the eventing dream. Foxie came back into showing and went "home" to our old barn for their Fall Fun Show, and earned a bunch of red ribbons.

2011: Fox and I went to our first USEA-sanctioned event at Otter Creek Farm. We stopped out on XC in the pouring rain after four fences. I started to get annoyed with my trainer, and we went to Roebke's Run, where I got stopped for jumping into the water vs using the BN entrance. In late fall I had basically broken up with my trainer, and went to fall Roebke's and finished a real event, placing 7th. As the year wrapped up, I actually started to learn how to put my horse into the bridle and ride on the flat.

2012: In 2012, I continue to over fitness my bay horse (she was so, so fit, omg) and train myself, but in March, I left the heated fancy barn (and the angry trainer and barn owner) for a less fancy barn that also didn't have staff that hit my horse. So, trade offs. I bought my little trailer, Foxie settled in at the new barn and magically didn't have tons of problems with her weight when I started feeding her what she needed. Foxie went to Carriage House and placed 7th. We XC schooled with an old friend from my first barn and I first noticed some (fateful) swelling in Foxie's hind, but she was sound, so we schooled and had a great ride. In July, we diagnosed Foxie's suspensory injury and I fell off the grid for a while.

2013: Foxie came sound in January, and I celebrated by getting on her bareback over her blanket, and riding her bridless in the round pen. She got fitter and we figured out a new normal of mostly sound flatwork. I graduated from college, and got a grown up job. And spent my First paycheck on Bailey. I got busy putting more rides on her and started her jumping.

2014: Bailey and I started working with the on site H/J trainer and did some baby jumpies. Bailey alternated between being good and forgetting she had legs. After a lot of struggle in the late winter and spring, Bailey learned to load, though she also attempted to keel haul me through the trailer that one time. We cliniced with our local biomechanics guru and with Lucinda green. Bailey finished her first starter event in July at Roebke's Run. In August, we went to our second horse trial, and finished second. and in September, won the starter divison at Roebke's Run. Foxie hangs out and is fabulous and does nice dressage this whole year, and in December, models for some family pictures with me and the now husband.

2015: I got engaged, and Bailey and I started to struggle, especially in the indoor. I was estranged from my parents and had the horror of seeing them hiding in a clump of bushes as I came down the center line for Bailey's final starter test at Otter Creek. I ended up laying down a really lovely test that I'm really proud of, but the show jumping fell apart; The XC was the baby horse olympics, and Bailey was great, so ending on a positive note. We rode with Lucinda Green and struggled to go forward with a tired horse. Bailey did her first BN at Roebke's Run in late summer and we got in trouble (again) as I battled my spooky horse with a somewhat excessive use of my crop behind my leg. Schooling at that venue after, we had a mostly positive ride with a big old struggle bus of stopping at a bigger table fence towards the end of the ride.  We struggled more and more as winter came again, and Bailey started going back to her spooky ass ways.

2016: I got married. Bailey started to get better, and I started to ride better. Chicken Egg. We moved to the (new) fancy heated barn, and some things were good and some were not so good. Bailey jumped a lot of jumpies there, and that was great. We rode with Dom Schramm, and I launched my photography career with the help of a fabulous barn owner who used my services a lot. Fox got to see an XC course for the first time in years, and was sooo excited. We struggled with Foxie's weight, and she and Bailey got to live together for the first time in a long time. I continued to chase down XC and Jumping demons into the winter, though Bailey did a lot better in that indoor than in the previous one.

2017: We bought a farm, and moved the girls home. Bailey and I showed at Carriage House at BN, and brought home a red ribbon. Arya came home in July, and was a conspicuously good baby horse. We also got the Knox puppy and I had a hell of a time managing the farm (and Arya having a tendon injury) and new puppy for three weeks on my own while Hubs was away with the military. In late August, Foxie went through the fence, and we put her down the first week of September. Ginny and the Donkey came to live with us; Ginny left us in December when Arya wouldn't stop trying to kill her / make her cede dominance.

I am aware that's Ginny on the left. I apparently took no pictures in 2018.

2018: Kahlua gets to go out with the mares, and I bring home Bizzy. Life continues to life on. I learn a lot of farm lessons, and they aren't always easy. Between hay and finances and life, Bizzy went on to her new, awesome career as a nurse mare at the end of the year. Arya and I make progress, and regress. Bailey starts to step into Foxie's shoes and becomes more of a easy ride.

2019: I fight a lot with fear and a lack of toolkit with Arya. I feel like we're making progress early on, and then Arya is quicked by the farrier and spends the next three months abscessing. Bailey does dressage, and jumpies, and is a good girl. We school at Otter Creek and I lay some major demons to rest. We find her a good bit, and go saddle shopping. Moose comes back into work, but continues to have some major attitude problems.

Exciting end of year update: My dear, slightly crazy friend S came and rode Arya, and showed me how to ride through her bullying attempts to scare you. I still struggle with some fear issues, but Arya and I have had several productive rides since then. The footing has gone a bit to shit, but I am so excited to continue this into the new year.