Resolution......Fail.

Like the majority of people I attempted to make some New Year resolutions.  I said, "I will try to eat healthier"; unfortunately, I put the word try in there.  My thought process goes like this: "Hillary, eat better, you are going to hate sitting trot if you bounce any more"...when eating lunch..."I can't find anything healthy....Oh well, I tried!".  I might or might not be very good at finding the loop holes in my resolutions.   I do need to eat healthier; if I eat better then I feel better (not that my healthy is a normal person's healthy, but you get the idea).  I LOVE prime rib, bagels, pasta, cheeseburgers, pizza, ginger ale, fruit juice, chocolate oranges, nerds and garlic mash potatoes! If I could cut all those out I would quite literally die-- I would have nothing to eat and that would be so sad.  So I am trying to slowly learn to like things like lettuce, tomatoes (not ever going to happen), and spinach. Vomit.
Other than my epic failure of keeping my New Year's resolution, I have been working on sitting a bit straighter, using my "weight" aids better, keeping my body slower when jumping, and making my horses really use their hind ends all the time.  At the moment everyone is living in a grid; if they are on their best behavior they do a line in different striding each time- even the babies, they have to learn sometimes, guess it should be now!  Everyone is heading out the first week of February for their first shows of the season- that week is going to be INSANE! Tess will head to Full Gallop I Feb.1, Irish/Nic/Africa/Aly will head to TTC Feb.4, I am teaching a clinic Feb.5 and Tess will head back to Full Gallop II Feb.8.  Anyone betting on when I collapse? I'm betting Wednesday at 5 pm.  Luckily, I am escaping for 2 days the next week with some friends- it will be my first actual day off since my Christmas vaca! So Exciting!!!!!
This week I saw a facebook status that said "life's hard, get a helmet".  After I stopped laughing, I went on reading, but kept thinking about that quote.  SO TRUE.  It does you no good complain- somebody has it worse, always, so just give it up (because in reality if you have a horse your life cannot truly be that bad!).  Things never go as planned and sometimes they do just smack you right on the head as they are crumbling around you.  When you think you have it all figured it out your wrong, and no matter what it usually turns out just the way it was supposed to.
I also recently saw something that Will Smith said- "even if your in the right lane, if you don't move, your going to get run over".  I have decided that I love these quotes (along with "if you don't have time to do it right the first time, when do you have time?")- I have put on my helmet and am going in a lane, I might not be speeding on the Audubon, but damn it I'm driving--your supposed to enjoy the process right?!
So as this season really starts to take off I'm going to make like Nemo and just keep swimming.  My horses will get better and stronger everyday; I will get better everyday, and attempt to eat healthier...maybe; I will make an effort to have more in my life (genuine laughter=happiness=healthiness), people are incredibly unique and is good to keep yourself surrounded by them, you can learn so much; the more you know the less you know, so start working harder (at least in my experience; maybe I should wear one earplug so info can only go in one ear but not out the other!!)! These are the things that I am going to center myself around for the year, with the ultimate goal at the end of the year being: My horses are better and I am better. This is as serious as I get and I thought writing it down would force me to really work on it!
I hope everyone has found something to work towards this year whether it is to curry your horse more often, keep your thumbs up, see better distances, actually clean your car....or your house, or just in general live life a little more like a "normal" person :), so I wish everyone Good Luck with those resolutions...and remember your greens!
Hillary

If it IS the end of the world, you've got nothing to lose!

I hope everyone had a wonderful Christmas and an awesome New Year.
I was lucky enough to escape to Florida for a few days around New Year with Tess and Irish and my family.  We were all just SO excited for 60's and 70's- who doesn't love some sun and sweat!? Irish had not been back to my grandparent's farm since they brought her to me as a 3 year old- I think she was a bit nervous she was being returned, so she was on her very best behavior for the week! Good thing she hasn't figured out how much I like her and she still appreciates her life, maybe she should explain to Tess that that would be a great attitude of her to adopt as well!!!!

The Family On New Years Day

All the horses are super, everyone is growing up and is a year older now. Clif is having a WONDERFUL time being outside- but I'm sure that will soon grow boring and he will then want to be ridden, (this is when I want a working student- a poor soul that I can say "hey, that's my best horse, he's a blast to ride" --I will inaudibly mumble that he's a blast to ride when he is fit and in work and that when he is unfit he's an absolute monster- what you don't know can't hurt ya :)).

Baby Irish

Ramble and Nic also had their first outing of the year.  Ramble went to TTC to do a Preliminary combined test.  I know he has been getting stronger, more correct and more connected, but I have to say I was a bit surprised that he got a 21.9 on his test! He was VERY good; he was very obidient, polite and happy the whole time, and he tried so hard.  He really is an incredibly special stallion.  There are still several things I thought could easily be fixed in the test, so we will work on those and hopefully come out doing some fun stuff at shows this spring!  Ramble was also super for his show jumping-I, for the first time, did a good job of keeping his feet moving, which for him is so key.  That was the positive, now to work on all those pesky finer points. The devils in the details right?
Video of Ramble's dressage: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GXpfQRKixLs&list=UU64ZZkHK9YGpc4RpBpOyKeg&index=2&feature=plcp
Nic also got drug along because I had room on the trailer and he needs to know that a racetrack is not lurking around every turn.  He was SO good, he was a completely different horse than when he went last month.  He hacked around on a loose rein, xc schooled on a loose rein, and didn't ever seem to get nervous--he even hung out on the trailer by himself!  By now, it is not really a secret that I adore this horse, maybe it's the fact that we are both a bit of an old soul or we both have decided there is far too much to do to worry about everything.  I'm not sure what it is, but he is an incredibly neat horse and I have very high hopes for him.
Baby Nic's first XC: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9uGarZ7oBCQ&feature=related

Jac on his pony! SO CUTE!

I hope everyone is enjoying this unwinter like weather and getting back in the swing of daily life that does not include the holiday chaos!

Hillary