Well, here we are again! Back on the Makeover path for 2023! Against my better judgement, I found myself hitting the "Submit" button on the Makeover application. I was delighted, and a touch worried, to receive the coveted acceptance email two weeks ago. With a full-time job training and selling young warmbloods, a farm of …
Category: Road to RRP
An RRP Mulligan
December 1st has come and gone. For most people that means the start of the holidays - it's finally socially acceptable to listen to Christmas music, gift shopping begins in earnest and the holidays are in full swing. For us Thoroughbred people it means something different - the beginning of training for RRP! Yes, the …
Pivot
Last weekend, I took ItsTheBourbonTalkn to his first horse show. A little 2' combined test to let him dip his toe into the world of eventing. To say it went according to plan would be a laughable statement, but it was a learning experience for him and I alike. The busy warm up was a …
Storming
Last month I wrote about the importance of being patient and having a sense of humor in training. Apparently Bourbon would like me to put my money where my mouth is, as he's been putting these qualities to the test quite frequently lately. Horses are humbling creatures, that's for sure. As I watch others cross …
The Secret Formula
Heading into my 4th (er, maybe 5th?) year of participating in the RRP Thoroughbred Makeover (things are starting to blur together a bit - thanks 2020), I've taken a step back to think about what a journey this has been. From that first year of acceptance, a brand new transplant to Lexington, I stood cleaning …
Monsters
We all have monsters - those worries, doubts and fears that overcome us from time to time. We all live with them, ignored for the most part, yet hiding just out of sight as we go about our days in a blissful state of abnegation. But this year, when I was given the opportunity to …
Progress Makes Perfect
Over the weekend I took Java to our last schooling show in preparation for May-Daze in 2 weeks. Making our recognized Eventing debut has been a goal of mine since that first mini trial a year and a half ago. But, as is expected in life, several setbacks and curve balls have kept that from …
Why I Adopt (and Shop!)
Last year, I adopted my first horse. That's right - nearly 15 years of horse ownership, having owned 20+ horses, and I had never adopted until last year. Last year, I fell in love with a gigantic baby horse at New Vocations and just had to have him. Cold Gone Hot, aka Tiny, was a …
Forward First
It's no secret that I sit on a lot of green horses. Over the years, working with babies has proven to be my niche. Whether completely un-started or just beginning a new career, I've found a knack in bringing up the young ones, giving them confidence and direction to be successful where ever life takes …
All of the Talent, None of the Luck
Sitting at my desk one slow June day I aimlessly surfed the web, opening up Craigslist and typing "Horse" into the search bar. I had one empty spot in my pasture and was very casually looking for a project. As my eyes danced over the screen, they quickly stopped on an ad that read "Percheron Cross …
Making it to the Makeover 