*crickets*

/ Ashley Wingert / 4 Comments

I know, I know. It’s that quiet around here of late.

I’d admit that I’m kind of a horrible, inconsistent blogger. But y’all knew that anyway.

I’ve been a combination of busy and not-busy. Busy with things like work, and the holidays. Not so busy with things like actually riding my horse.

And truth be told, I can only make endless circles in the arena sound exciting so many times. So this weekend, we took a walk around the neighborhood. I think the pony enjoys seeing me hoof it next to her sometimes versus toting my butt around all the time.

The neighbors across the street had a new addition to the front of their property: Goats!

The Pony Who Stares At Goats

Mimi would like a goat. Her best friend at one of the boarding stables was Trixie the pygmy goat. Trixie would, when she was allowed out of her pen, hang out in Mimi’s stall and shared the pony’s hay.

Four-legged weed whacker

Then we came back to the barn and ate grass next to the driveway for about .5 seconds. (It’s non-existent in the pasture right now, so I’m paranoid about her level of exposure to too much green stuff. )

Fortunately my work life is keeping me busy. There’s some days I scratch my head and wonder how in the world I got so lucky as to be one of those people who actually gets their dream job?! Seriously, I love what I do. I enjoy talking with people, especially hearing their stories about their horses.
Two weekends ago, I went up to the McDowell ride. My purpose there was two-fold: Friday, I was working, available as a Renegade representative for anyone who had questions or needed help. Saturday, I was volunteering as one of the in-timers, the same job I did at the ride last year.
It was so awesome to be a part of the endurance community again. My goal for this upcoming year is to attend all of the in-state rides that I can as a company rep. Until I’m actually competing again, this will serve as second-best, and it’s still keeping me involved and social.

Saturday morning ride start. 75s out on trail, waiting for the
50s to start checking in.
(One perk of not riding: I was up at 5:30 instead of the 3:30
wakeup I would have gotten had I been riding and had to
get ready.)

Color-coordinated. And cold.

The ride went really well, as far as I could tell. The weather was perfect. It was downright cold up until about 11 in the morning, at least for me sitting at the timing table. Around 2:00, the clouds blew out and it warmed up enough to where I was comfortable in a t-shirt…which meant I was sufficiently re-heated to be able to handle the oncoming cool evening.

The last of the 75s were in at 11, which was awesome. I barely had time to break out the hot water, ramen noodles, and cocoa.

Despite what the photo shows, it’s actually a
lovely matte cocoa color. I added the custom
Renegade orange racing stripes.

And my one impulse buy at the ride was actually useful: new helmet. I looked at my old one and realized it was about two years past its “best by” date (which is approximately 5 years past the date of manufacture). That’s not ideal…

Of all the things out there to purchase, this is one of the more justifiable ones. I’ve yet to test it out — it’s so pretty and I don’t want to mess it up! — but it’s the same as what I already have, the Tipperary Sportage 8500…just about 6 years newer and a different color.

the click

/ Ashley Wingert / 2 Comments

I felt it 16 years ago when I sat on Mimi for the first time.

The ‘click.’

That moment when you absolutely know that you and this horse are right for each other.

There’s no rhyme or reason to it, no rational explanation for it or anything you can do to make it happen. It either will or it won’t. I’ve ridden a number of horses that I’ve gotten along just fine with — but there was no special connection, no sense of mutual enjoyment. I was the rider, they were the horse. Either I know what I was doing enough to get them to perform, or they were well-trained enough to do the job, no matter who was on their back.

And then there’s been a handful of horses over the years that have given me that magic ‘click.’ Mimi, for one. Looking back, a rational person would claim our partnership never should have worked. A green 3-year-old with 60 days under saddle, and an 11-year-old who had ridden nothing but experienced lesson horses.

What happened instead was a first-ride experience that was nothing short of angels trumpeting a ‘Hallelujah’ chorus. Five minutes in the saddle, and we were cantering around an outdoor arena filled with dozens of other ponies and riders, weaving around those traveling slower than us. It was the first time I had ever been filled with such confidence on a horse.

1998-ish…this looks like my junior high-era; an afternoon
bumming around the barnyard after school.

16 years later, I still remember the feeling of that ride.

The feeling of that ride was what got me through the couple of years of young-horse-hell that followed the month-long honeymoon of First Pony ownership. That ride had showed us what we were capable of achieving.

2002 POA World Show, Spanish Fork, UT
Our last show; we got the last points needed
for her Supreme Champion Award.

I suppose I’m beyond spoiled, having gotten so lucky with my first horse. I don’t know how many people get their once-in-a-lifetime heart horse right from the start, but I did. And it’s set an extremely high bar for those that will follow.

But I’ve experienced that same click with several other horses over the years, so I know it is possible to achieve that same kind of relationship and level of connection. And my heart will always have room for more horses.

2006 Wickenburg Land of the Sun ride;
our 2nd LD ride.

But no one will ever take the place of my first, special Heart Horse.

This month marks 16 years together for me and Mimi. It’s been a whirlwind of highs and lows, and I wouldn’t trade our experiences together for anything. I’m proud of everything she has taught me — and still keeps teaching me.

So thank you, Mimi, for all of these years, and God willing, many more.

a tights review; part one

/ Ashley Wingert / 1 Comment
L-R: Black with ‘Sunrise’ Racing Stripe; ‘Paisley’;
‘Orange Tie-Dye’

Part One of a product review: The Initial Impression. Part two will come when I actually ride in them.

Crazy Legs Tights is run by owner-operator-designer Diane Stevens, a fellow endurance rider.
I got them in the mail today; I’ve already got one pair on. So far, I’m really, really impressed with them. The attention to detail is superb with smooth, even stitching and no bothersome seams. I like the wide elastic waistband — I’ve been sitting in them and no problems with the waistband rolling. The ankles have gripper elastic on the inside, which is an awesome little detail to keep them from riding up. The leg length is more than sufficient — plenty of fabric to keep my ankles covered all the way down to my feet.
The fabric options are endless — I had a hard time pinning down my final selections. I’m so pleased with the choices I made; they’re absolutely gorgeous. And I will definitely be noticed going down the trail. :)
Part Two of the review will come after I actually climb in the saddle and ride in them, but just based on how I already feel about them, I’m sure they’ll be awesome!

since when did goals become bad?

/ Ashley Wingert / 4 Comments

“Live, learn & pursue the good life without unpleasant entanglements like long-term goals.”

This was a tagline of a contest advertisement by a sportwear company that I just saw on FaceBook.

I can’t even begin to say how many problems I have with this sentiment.

Since when are long-term goals a bad thing?

Maybe this is meant to be tongue-in-cheek, an amusing twist of irony?

If it is, they don’t do a great job of communicating that sense.

When I see that, sarcasm and irony or not, the sense I get is promoting the idea of entitlement, instant gratification, and getting things handed to you without putting in the blood, sweat, tears, and sacrifice.

Long-term goals are what separate out the boys from the men, so to speak. How willing are you to commit to something wholeheartedly? How much does it matter to you? What are you willing to sacrifice in order to get to that point?

To me, endurance is all about long-term goals. It accommodates short term goals: “I will finish this ride.” “I will get up early and do that training ride in miserable weather.” “I will learn to maintain my barefoot horse’s trim.”

But to me, having big-picture, long-term goals is what defines endurance. Per Webster, endurance is: the ability to withstand hardship or adversity; esp. the ability to sustain a prolonged stressful effort or activity.

Endurance is what keeps people coming back to a ride like Tevis, year after year: they made a goal to finish that ride.

Endurance is what makes people keep on working with a difficult horse, because they know once they have a breakthrough, the payoff will be more than worth it.

Endurance is when people sacrifice other things in their lives — a teeming social life, frequent dinners and movies out, a new house, a vacation to the Bahamas — in order to follow their passion and goals, be it ending up in the year end points, racking up a certain amount of miles, or committing to spending as much time as possible discovering and sharing beautiful trails with a beloved equine partner.

To me, having a long-term goal is what gives us the fire to make it through the challenges, the rough patches, and the times when it would just be easier to quit.

Tevis is my long-term goal. One of many, really, but that’s my shining beacon that I keep clinging to and dreaming about, the thing that has me writing out full crew instructions for a ride I don’t yet have a horse for, the thing that gets me out of bed early every morning to exercise, because when I have my next competition horse, I will be in shape to jump back into it. (It’s also the thing that makes me say no to an extra scoop of Trader Joe’s Pumpkin Ice Cream, since every extra pound is just one more pound I might have to drag out of those canyons.)

Instant gratification has its place (such as being paid right away for a job), but when it comes to big picture, long-term goals, I’ll take the satisfaction and reward that comes with working for and earning that goal.

Riders coming in to the Robinson Flat
vet check at the 2012 Tevis Cup ride.
photo by Ashley Wingert