Wow I haven't ridden Chrome in two weeks.... :\ Our cabinets we ordered for the kitchen finally came in and we've been really busy installing them so the countertop guys can come measure for our counters. It's been hot and HUMID too so I guess I'll let myself off the hook hehe.
If any of you follow my other blog Living A Farmer's Life you'll know that I have a list of thirty things I want to do before I turn thirty. If you want to read all of my posts on that blog about my 30 Before 30 list click HERE. I recently revised my list, but I'm only going to put details about the horse related ones in this post. If you want to see why I revised my list, see the old one and see the new goals you can read this post from my other blog HERE. It goes into a lot more detail but I don't want to bore any of you who might be interested only in the horse aspect of it. :)
So here is the new, revised 30 Before 30 list. To see more details on the completed ones check out the sidebar on my other blog. It has links to a post about each item completed along with pictures and videos.
Updated 30 Before 30 List
1. Take Chrome on an overnight camping trip.
2. Stand in two places at once (state lines). COMPLETED 1-3-13
3. Go to a live horse race. COMPLETED 1-16-2012
4. Participate in a cattle drive on my horse or one of their horses.
5. Ride a/my horse on a beach.
6. Take a trip on an actual train.
7. Ride/drive a horse drawn carriage/wagon/sleigh.
8. Own and learn to fly a kite.
9. Go to the Kentucky Horse Park.
10. Print out a coffee table book of my photos. COMPLETED 11-14-2012
11. Learn more about photography. COMPLETE
12. Learn American Sign Language.
13. Do something special for my fifth wedding anniversary. COMPLETED 4-26-14
14. Learn some sort of dancing (belly dancing, ballroom dancing, etc.)
15. Do a photo shoot with Jackal.
16. Experiment in different mediums (graphite, charcoal, watercolor, etc.)
17. See cross country in person, like WEG.
18. Train a horse from weaning to basics under saddle.
19. Take dressage lessons on Chrome.
20. Eat gluten free for a year.
21. See a polo match in person.
22. Gallop Chrome across an open field.
23. Go on a trail ride off property in the snow.
24. Ride a purebred Friesian! COMPLETED 2-17-14
25. Conquer my stage fright and show Chrome in a local dressage schooling show.
26. Grow a garden at my new home (and WATER IT!)
27. Go on a trail ride with Chrome and his sire or dam.
28. Learn to swim. COMPLETED 7-4-13
29. Finish building my new house.
30. Go kayaking! COMPLETED 7-10-13
Okay so I'm going to give you an update/run down on all of the horse goals that I haven't completed yet.
1. Take Chrome on an overnight camping trip. For this one there is a horse camp REALLY close to where we live now with great trails. I am going to start teaching Chrome to do the overhead tie (tie a rope between two trees and tie him to it so he can walk back and forth and graze or eat hay but not lay down or get tangled up) since I don't have a portable pen or electric fence. I only want to do a weekend trip so he can figure out this whole leaving home thing. Good prep work for Competitive Trail Riding. :D He got all of his vaccines, so all I need to do now is some minor work on the trailer. Fingers crossed we can give it a shot this fall when it cools off. It's too hot to have fun right now (sleeping in a tent when it's this humid would be torture especially since I'll probably be too nervous to sleep lol).
4. Participate in a cattle drive on my horse or one of their horses. I actually found a place that does this annually in my state. It's a two day thing and they have campsites and everything. They don't have horses though so I would have to take Chrome or one of my friend's horses. We wanted to go this year, but something came up so we're going to try again next year. I think it's in April or May, but I don't know the date yet for sure. This might conflict with number nine and seventeen on the list though so it might get scratched from the list until another year.
5. Ride a/my horse on a beach. My husband actually found a place in Florida that provides beach horseback rides and it's not too expensive. I forgot where it is. I have my fingers crossed but it's going to depend on finances so I'm trying to stay realistic and not get my hopes up. If anyone knows of a place on the Gulf of Mexico that has beach horseback riding PLEASE leave a comment. I'm having trouble finding places.
7. Ride/drive a horse (or mule!) drawn carriage/wagon/sleigh. I have a friend that has a wagon and mule team so I have my fingers crossed he will take me out and teach me to drive sometime. He is the one who now owns my Appy mare Lady and he was the Justice of the Peace at my wedding. :) The problem is he's a wedding photographer too and stays REALLY busy, so it's been a challenge to find time. Fingers crossed though!
9. Go to the Kentucky Horse Park. This goes along with number 17. If things go as planned we are trying to go to Rolex next year. I am saving up the money to buy tickets as far in advance as possible. As it gets closer if it looks like it's going to work out I'll let you all know so we can plan a blogger meet up like the last few years. :)
17. See cross country in person, like WEG. See above. Rolex!!
18. Train a horse from weaning to basics under saddle. This goal is so close to being done I can almost taste it! I got Chrome as a weanling and I've done all of his training. I've ridden him walk, trot and canter, but I don't feel I have enough steering and control at the canter to really call him trained in the basics, but I will be checking this one off soon!
19. Take dressage lessons on Chrome. As soon as I find a job and my trainer has an opening I WILL be marking this one off. I am determined to start having lessons again. We need help to progress beyond where I've gotten him on my own.
21. See a polo match in person. I've been wanting to keep this one a secret, but I can't! They are finally holding a polo match locally (well it's not that close, but it's in my state) and we got tickets!!!!! I'm so excited!!! It's in September and I will be posting pictures. If anyone has been to a polo match and has suggestions on what to wear I would really appreciate the advice. They have a best dressed award they will be giving out. :D
22. Gallop Chrome across an open field. This may seem lame, but considering the confidence issues I have and how green Chrome is and that I did all of his training myself this will be a huge accomplishment. I've been feeling like we're in a rut for a while now, so I'm hoping this goal will give me the motivation to push outside our comfort zones and start trusting each other (and myself) completely.
23. Go on a trail ride off property in the snow. Every time it has snowed (not often around here) I have never left my property while riding! So if it snows this winter I want to go on a trail ride with Chrome!!
25. Conquer my stage fright and show Chrome in a local dressage schooling show. If I manage to start taking lessons this fall like I want we may be ready to try Intro at my trainer's barn next June. I know I don't want to compete regularly, but I have to try it at least once!
27. Go on a trail ride with Chrome and his sire or dam. This has been something I've wanted to do since the day I went and picked Chrome up as a five month old weanling. His dam's owner made a comment about how it would be cool if we could ride together someday when Chrome is grown up. That would be really awesome. I only live a few hours away from her. His sire's owner has invited us to her place to go riding with Jan too, so fingers crossed I get to do that with one of them!
So that's all of the horse related ones on the list. I REALLY hope I can check most of these off before I turn thirty. :D
I love your list!
ReplyDeleteHope you can check off a few shortly. Cool to think of all the remarkable progress you've made with Chrome. :)
I love this idea and hope to make myself a list to publish on my 29th birthday in October...I should probably get drafting a list actually - 30 is a lot of things to think of
ReplyDeleteI had to LOL about the train one cuz America is so strange that trains are not everywhere. I mean, they were, and then they weren't. As you know where I live now, more people take trains than drive to work.
ReplyDeleteThe kite thing - well, the wind flies it, you have to just hold the string, or tie it to your chair: ) Do you mean a stunt kite? Those are like having a competition with the wind, and the wind isn't sore for days afterwards. I haven't flown stunt kites, but it's part of my family's yearly trip to the Oregon Coast - where my family is right now, without me, *homesick*.
I never took it for granted that we had horse beaches within an hour of Seattle. Just don't slow down your rig in the deep sand. Embarrassing.
I also have stage fright but you can do some rail classes first to get the hang of being in the ring and being judged in a group, and then when you want to do a dressage test, you don't have to worry about memorizing it - I always had a caller read my test for me in case of panic.
I think you're on your way to driving Chrome, with all the prep work you've done. That is one I share with you - teaching my own horse to pull a cart.
I also dream of a cattle drive, what a good way to get a horse over a fear of cows.
Don't you have a lot of trees you can highline Chrome to - and then sleep in a tent nearby? I started horse camping by taking my horse into the woods near his pasture and tying him to a tree. It was a wonderful experience - especially cuz there was no camping allowed in those woods, but no one found out, even though we had a little fire.
I never met Baasha's father but I did ride his mother, and got to ride with her too. I have some wonderful photos of a grown up Baasha and his mother Sheriffa, eating snow off a stump, looking like twins.
I think you've got your #18 in the bag: )
On my bucket list was learn a foreign language. Not that I regret it, but it was way way harder than I ever dreamed (starting learning at age 36, not a good time to start).
Did you learn to swim in your own pond? Was it intentional or did you just figure it out? I'd like to learn how to escape a rip current, just so I don't have to be worried about that.
On my list is to see Alaska. I realize it can't be that different from my homestate but there is something so alluring about it. Not just the northern lights, the weirdness that results from days with no night and nights with no day.
That is a great list of stuff! Sounds like you are going to be able to cross a bunch of things off it in the next year! How exciting. Going to Rolex or WEG would be pretty neat.
ReplyDeleteI would love to go on a vacation to a cattle ranch and work the cows - how fun would that be? Maybe someday - need to start saving!
I was lucky and rode on the beach on a vacation to Aruba when I was in my early 20s. Also got to go to the KHP when I was a kid. My family re-arranged a trip to Florida so we could stop there just for me to see the place. Pretty good childhood memory! :-)
Congrats on all that you've achieved and best of luck on the rest of the items!
ReplyDeleteHope you can complete as many as possible! I know my 30 list is probably going to get about halfway done :)
ReplyDeleteLytha, I've noticed the train thing too! Around where I live the only trains I ever see are hauling cargo. I did find some scenic train rides though so I'm hoping to go on one of those. They go through tunnels, over bridges and through mountains so I should be able to get lots of pretty pictures. I'm waiting for the autumn colors to come out though!
ReplyDeleteWith the kite flying, I just want to fly a normal one, although the stunt kites sound fun. I'll have to look up videos of that. We have very little wind here so you can't just sit in a chair to fly a kite (not that I've ever seen anyway) LOL! Besides I like to see how fast I can run without crashing it hehe. I'd like to take pictures of them too. I've never taken pictures of kites before and it could be fun if there are pretty clouds in the background. :)
Thanks for the tip on the sand!! I hadn't thought of that hehe. We have that problem with mud where I live. It looks like the beach riding will be on rental horses though so I shouldn't have to drive on the sand. I hope!
That's a good idea about the rail classes. Then I won't feel so "in the spotlight". I need to look and see what we have available around here!
I think Chrome will take to a cart like a fish to water, but you never know. I would love for you to be able to teach Mara!!!
I do have a lot of trees to practice the highline tie... I NEVER thought of camping in my own yard!!!!! That is so genius!!!! As soon as it cools off and the mosquitoes go away I'm totally doing that. Thank you for the suggestion!!
I love that you got to ride Baasha's mom. It would be so cool to get to ride either of Chrome's parents. I would love to see the pictures of Baasha and his mom if you want to do a Throw Back Thursday post or something. Or you could email them to me if you don't want to post them?
Learning a foreign language is HARD!!! You're doing great with the German. I think living there makes it a bit easier to pick up. I've always had a really hard time with foreign languages but I'm actually picking up the sign language fairly well. I think it's because I'm a very visual learner!
I learned to swim in friends' swimming pools. My pond is way too gross to swim in. I would prefer to never get dunked in it again (ahem Chrome hint hint) lol. I had to really practice at learning to swim because I'm around water so rarely! I practiced the dead man's float first (face forward) and it was really easy. Once I realized how easy that was I had to learn to float on my back. That took years (I only get to swim a few times a year or not at all like this year). Once I figured that out I started practicing swimming across the shallow end where I could put my hand down if I freaked out (deep water freaks me out) and once I learned to arch my back to keep my head up it was pretty easy. Now I can swim across the deep end of pools that only go to five feet (I'm 5'10" or 5'11") so I can stand up if I start to panic. I haven't swam across anything over my head yet, but I think I could do it. It's a fear thing more than an ability thing. The fear comes from never being around water as a kid, not because anything bad happened. :)
I would love to see Alaska too!! It's so gorgeous there. I think I'd prefer to go in the summer, but I read somewhere you can only see the Northern Lights in the winter... *pout* We will see. :) I hope you get to go someday too!
Everyone else, thank you for the comments! Sorry I've been so quiet lately.
After I wrote that long comment I thought about it and realized you must live in a place with no ocean, no wind, and not very many lakes or rivers to swim in. "Gulf of Mexico area" seems pretty huge to me.
ReplyDeleteI once took a scenic train ride in America and loved it, so novel. Because it wasn't a European commuter train, it wasn't stinky and full of pushy thieving people. The best thing about trains is you can get up and go to the dining car and eat by a window all by yourself. Oh, and the sleeper cars, I had my own tiny bedroom once!
Re: your comment that Mara did not run off when I fell off, that was most likely due to being in an arena. If we'd been in my pasture, she would have ran off to the far end and started grazing, for sure.
Your yard looks like a campsite to me so you have to try it out. Can you make a fire so Chrome can get used to them? Sometimes I would just use a couple duraflames cuz I'm lazy.
If only I had access to my old photos - they're in albums in boxes in my parents' attic. Otherwise my blog would be full of 3-year old Baasha pics.
About languages - it was virtually impossible to learn German in America cuz even at little German restaurants, the waiters don't speak German. Learning Spanish would be so much easier. I had to live in Germany to get to this level of fluency. But when we move back, I'm definitely going to those German Meetups every week.
You're 5' 10 OR 11? Depending on the time of day? : ) When people here ask me how tall I am I have to say, "I don't know, a meter and a half?"
When your body fat reaches a certain %, you can't sink anymore while swimming and floating takes no effort. Pretty much my whole life I've been unsinkable: ( But with that, I can be in the middle of a lake and have no fear.
Except of nasty fishes that think I'm a food item.
Take Chrome swimming, or have you? If it's your own pond, he can't lose you! It's the craziest feeling when their hooves leave the ground and they start actually swimming.
You commented that I finally have the trail horse I wanted - well, I think she has that potential but honestly I haven't taken her out alone on trails in several weeks. I will do so today but I hate dealing with all the balking so I'll probably just take her for a walk/ground drive in the woods, and then ride her home. That helps but doesn't elminate the problem. I have this fear that she will never truly enjoy being on trails the way Baasha did. Then I'll have to buy some dressage clothes, no, not that!
We actually do have a lot of lakes but I don't like swimming in them lol. They always seem so gross with the algae and everything. The Gulf of Mexico area is huge, but it's the closest ocean near me. :)
ReplyDeleteChrome is totally cool with fires. He's been around them a lot, so that's no problem. I just don't know how he'll do being tied up all night even though they can move around on the high line. I will definitely be trying it out at home first.
Awww I wish you had access to your photos! I would love to see all of them.
I think I'm 5'10", but I'm 5'11" in shoes LOL! I can't ever remember for sure. If you pay attention to when I mention my height on the blog it's always different haha! I guess I should measure myself barefoot and see for sure. :)
I had no idea about the body fat percentage making you unsinkable! It makes sense. My legs are so long that I have trouble keeping them floating. I can keep my body floating easily lol. I haven't taken Chrome swimming. Our pond is only about five feet deep or so, which is why it's so gross. So he could walk all the way across if he wanted. I hope I can take him swimming someday though. That would be so cool!
When I said that about knowing Mara could be the trail horse you always wanted I mean it in a she's getting there, but not quite, but I knew she had the potential if that makes sense. She's still green, but she's definitely showing that she has it in her to be an amazing trail horse. It just takes time. My sister had a horse that was very nervous and she turned into a great trail horse. :D Just keep up what you're doing and you will get there.
I love lists :). Hope you get through lots of them - it's a great list!
ReplyDelete