A fat girl can do it too, or can she?

I just read a really enlightening article called "Winning the Fitness Battle" in this month's, January 2010, Practical Horseman. The article centers on international eventing rider, Becky Holder, and her realization about weight. She wasn't a large woman by any stretch of the imagination but she wasn't your "average" long, lean Olympian in size 26 breeches either. Here is a picture of her on her horse "Courageous Comet" in 2006.

Becky is quoted in the Practical Horseman interview as saying, "I was not as fit as I could have been, and I was competing to prove a point-- that a 'fat girl' could do it." In 2007 at the Fair Hill International, Becky had a fall that resulted in broken ribs and a realization that she had to be able to match the athleticism of her horse, or sell him. She said that "I had to think about what was holding me back and what was in my power to change."

These words really resonate with me. As you know from my boot struggles, I am a larger girl in a size 12. I have been the same pants size for years, so it doesn't bother me as much as the fact that I am Out. Of. Shape. With a young horse who is not yet under saddle and having given up the mare I was able to ride, I am getting no exercise at the barn. My previous excuse for not getting in gym time was that I was in school and always doing homework or sitting in class. I no longer have an excuse (although I am quickly filling up my nights with horse management courses on mondays, giving riding lessons on wednesdays and meetings for work on thursdays). I didn't want to resolve to diet as I do every year because, why add breaking a resolution to the already disappointing failure? Although my New Year's Resolution is to not kiss anyone this year that I have kissed in previous years (the explanation probably would deserve a blog of its own), I do want to get in shape before I start riding Granite. He turns in 3 on April 13th and will go into training. I hope to be riding him by May and to have him in some local schooling shows by fall of this year. To do this well, I think I need to get a grip on my athleticism (or lack thereof) sooner rather than later.

Becky Holder decided that her weight (or rather her health) was something that she could control. She began making herself a priority and cleaning up her diet. She made time for workouts even if they were very small workouts. I think this is something I am going to have to put in the forefront of my life as well. I have been in school literally since I was six years old. School was something I had to do for me and I made the time to do it. Now, getting back into shape is something I have to do for myself, but most importantly for Granite. He is such an amazing horse and, as D constantly tells me, all eyes will be on us. How can you not look at that big beautiful boy as he walks into the ring. And I will be lucky enough to have the spot on his back. I should deserve that spot by being in shape and being a rider who matches the ability of my horse. Just like Becky Holder, I need to do my horse justice. Below is a picture of her in 2008 after he lifestyle changes. She says that she threw away her scale when she began the process, so she can't say how many pounds she lost, but she feels better and she performs better, and it is obvious that she looks better too!

I ran 3.5 miles on Wednesday night and attempted to do the same on Friday morning which resulted in a sprained hip-- OUCH! So... I need to start slow and preferably with a plan. Despite not having the money, I ordered the book The Rider's Fitness Program to help me.

It includes exercises and workout programs designed specifically to help you ride better. It apparently even has some exercises to get you back in riding shape! BINGO! So I will take a page out of Ms. Holder's book and try to do my horse justice. I have 3.5 months. I have no specific number for a goal, but I would like to begin seeing a difference in the gym before backing Granite in April. Wish me luck!

A Decade: By the Numbers.

In the Past Decade:

- I have had Granite for One Year

- I have sold One horse

- I have had One Best Friend

- I have owned Two different Cars
- I have graduated Three times
- I have owned Three horses
- I have had Four roommates
- I have had Five close friends move away

- I have lived at Six different residences

- I have gone Six years without competing in a horse show

- I have had Seven Boyfriends

- I have had Nine employers
- I have been in school for Ten years

I'm hoping the next 10 years will bring some consistency and stability to my life. It will be the first time that I am not a student, but I hope that doesn't mean that I will stop learning. I hope Granite and I can enter the show ring and stay there. I hope to find a lasting loving relationship. I hope to purchase a truck and trailer and a home. I hope to settle into a well paying career that I love.

I wish you all a happy New Year. I hope to get some good posts to you over the weekend!

Gran Man? OR Snow Man?

The snow has yet to melt. But the roads have been plowed and I was finally able to drive out to see my boy today. What stuck me strange was how clean his hooves are. You rarely see your horse with perfectly clean hooves right out of the pasture, but I guess snow will do that. He is warm in his blanket and doesn't seem to be phased by the inches of snow covering the pasture. I took a few photos for you...

Its back to work for me tomorrow but I leave for my parent's house on the coast Tuesday at lunch! D is coming to see my office and have lunch with me tomorrow. I am really excited about that and I think she is even going to come to my apartment tomorrow after work to see my new boots and watch the Redskins game with me! Yippie!

Oh I totally forgot to mention that my parents dognapped Daphne! They took her with them when they left yesterday. It is so quiet and weird around the apartment without her. Thank god for Roomie's dog. D suggested that I "borrow" Daphne's brother (D owns him and his name is Mr. Splotchy) until I leave. But on the other hand it is kind of nice not having to take the pup potty in the snow or worry about her while I am at work. It will just be one more reason to be excited about going home on Tuesday! YAY.

Winter Wonderland

I hate snow! It snowed all night and we ended up with about 6-8 inches. I drive a little 2-door red toyota and upon my dad's suggestion, I will not be attempting to navigate it down the 2 lane road to the horse farm. Poor Granite probably has snowballs in his hooves :( I was also supposed to go to the downtown bars with my friends to celebrate my graduation. We planned the party for the weekend because my parents didn't head home until today. They also took my dog! I will be heading down east in 3 days and they love their grandpup, so I let them take her. Now I am snowed in alone with my party looking doubtful and no pup. This is definitely a time when I wish I had a boyfriend. Lets move to Florida! We did navigate to the play downtown last night since my parents have an SUV and my dad is an experienced snow driver. It was actually pretty disappointing. I went to the same play last year and I loved it! Perhaps it was because we consumed 4 bottles of wine during the play last year and I only had one glass this time around. Maybe the play was the same amount of crappy and I was just significantly less forgiving...
Hope all of you and your horses are making out alright in this nasty winter weather.
Enjoy some photos from our snowland.

This is the view from my apartment balcony. Lots of sledding has been going on down that hill!

The view of downtown Greensboro from the car.

Another shot of downtown.

I am a Master (at least in theory...

Well, I survived! I walked across the stage without incident. While approximately 13 friends and family watched and cheered, I received my Masters of Public Affairs from the University North Carolina at Greensboro.
My parents came in town on Wednesday night and so did my great aunt and uncle in addition to some family friends who are like an aunt and uncle. I have enjoyed spending time with them and showing them where I work and where I keep Granite. Its currently snowing its butt off and my parents are at my apartment. Daddy is fixing chicken and dumplings and I am here on the couch with the laptop. So happy! We are going to see the Santaland Diaries tonight if the snow its too heavy. Enjoy some photos from the last few days.

The Grandparents came to visit.

My Parents and the Graduate!

D and I :)

Bestest and I heading out of the ceremony.

I got my graduation boots today. So looks like I'm ready to compete!

Horsemasters

I grew up in a small town. Actually, it wasn't even a town. It was a county. The only county (of 100) in North Carolina without an incorporated town. Thankfully there was a horse population, but not much of one. Growing up, there was one very reputable, high-end farm which relocated to Charlotte by the time I hit high school (I was fortunate enough to ride there for about a year and bought my very first horse through them). Actually, they are worth checking out- so click-, Hidden Spring Farm. There was also one horse trainer/ show team that was a big name in the NC Quarter Horses Association. Other than that there were a couple of nice boarding barns but none of them offered in house trainers. Long story short, as far as showing and learning about horses it was off-and-on lessons with trainers who would travel to teach and the county 4-H.

I learned so much in 4-H and appreciate the experience and hope to volunteer with my local 4-H horse clubs. My group wasn't terribly organized and I missed out on many of educational opportunities that 4-H affords, such as Horse Bowl or Horse Judging Teams. We basically were involved in horse projects to be allowed to compete in the district and state level 4-H youth shows (Ye,s I was a 2 time district show Champion, thanks for asking.). When and If I get to volunteer with a club, I hope to make the competitive and help them take advantage of all that the program offers. I plan to blog about this as soon as I hear more about my volunteer application.

What I am slowly getting at is that the US Pony Club was not available in my geographic region growing up and I think I missed out on a great deal by not being able to learn and be tested in such a rigorous way about such a broad range of horse management and equestrian skills. I recently discovered that they now have a pony club for old people (actually 18 and up, but I'm starting to feel old here). Its called Horsemasters and I want to take part so badly! The closest club is about 1 hour away from me which poses a problem for trailering Granite out to their events (considering that I don't own a truck or trailer). But since he is still just a pasture ornament, I could do the unmounted skills and take part in the making friends process! There is a pony club in my area who is rumored to be thinking about creating a Horsemasters club. I contacted the supervisor and she let me know about a clinic this weekend that is free to audit. You had better believe that I plan to attend. Its with Richard Lamb. Hopefully I can speak with her. She said they are really lacking an organizer. I told her that I am willing to take on a leadership role in helping to get it started. If not, I will probably travel to participate in the established club. They have invited me to their meeting in January that I do plan to attend.

From what I can understand, there are not ratings as in Pony Club, but there are levels of skills. They do many club events such as rallies and Tetrathlons. Most of my friends are moving in the spring and I want to meet people, get involved, and find ways to make Granite a well rounded boy (and myself a more well rounded rider). I hope this may materialize into a way to meet some of those goals!
YAY!

In non horse related news, My family is coming in town tomorrow afternoon for graduation! There are 6 family members coming in plus my best friend then a handful of people in the area. This should be really fun, but I'm sort of stressed too. Graduation is hard around the holidays. And while I adore my job, the financial crunch gets worse every day. Ugh nothing like my least favorite holiday (Christmas) to bring out the stress...

Bundle Up! Its Winter Time!

Brrrr. Its cold here in NC! And I? I am not a fan! I hate winter with a passion. Thankfully my pony is very fuzzy and has a thick warm blanket to keep him toasty in his run in shed (equipped with a buffet of hay). I left work early yesterday to go visit with the horse before getting ready for the holiday party for my job (joy). The ground wasn't frozen (yet), so I took the opportunity to work him for a bit. Now, because of injury or weather or whatnot, I haven't worked him in probably almost a month. So, I was pleasantly surprised that he took his bridle like that teething issue never happened. Then he was a perfect gentleman on the lunge line. I really think that he will be easy to get under-saddle. Only 5 months and 1 day to go!!! Wahoooo!

In other news, I have applied to volunteer for the Guilford County 4-H and found a program made up of 8, 2 hour "short courses" about equine management. Its only $30 for the whole program. Some classes are on Natural Horsemanshit... oh, I mean ship. And some are for first time horse owners but I am half tempted to go to them all. It can't hurt to learn everything I can, right?

Here are some pictures I took of my furry monster yesterday! And one of the 38 year old pony at the barn. Affectionately named "Pony"!




This one is from this morning with after Granite had just sniffed the ice to see what that really cold stuff was there on the ground! He's such a child.