Enter at A

So it begins. I am back on the sofa and back to blogging.

For anyone who has followed me before, this is not the first time I have blogged. Is blogged even a word? Ah well, now it is. Anyhow, I'm back! You got rid of me for a few years, but with exciting things happening in my life, I decided to put it all into words. To bore the pants off all of you, and to entertain me in years to come. I still do look through my old blogs, they have photos and videos that I thought were lost, and memories which had been forgotten. Writing down my feelings, thoughts and events is a very therapeutic experience. Therefore, here I go, even if not one single persons reads it. I am tapping away at my keyboard regardless and sharing the good the bad and the somewhere in between.

After all that waffling, I suppose talking about what this blog is about may be helpful. Not being a writer doesn't help, how does one move smoothly from subject to subject without shocking the reader with such a sharp detour that they feel they've just been bucked off a horse and hit the ground hard! Oh look, there we go... Horses!!!

I am looking for a dressage unicorn. Yes truly I am, sparkles, spiral horn and everything. However, with the assumption that unicorns are still classified as 'mythical',  I will probably have to settle for a regular (but beautiful) horse that has his (or her) degree in 'dressage' stuff and has a heart of gold. But, so it seems that this is exactly what everyone else wants too. I have a pretty healthy budget (thanks to my rockstar of a husband) which in England would probably see me buying 'Valegro ii', but over here I would be lucky to get my full wish list.

When we landed and then settled back in Colorado, I had spent a good month or two without being in the saddle. I always find that this knocks my confidence in my ability and I knew I needed to get riding lots of different horses to be ready for Unicorn shopping. There is absolutely no point in going to try horses when my confidence is low. It's not about being nervous of falling or anything, but in being unsure of my own ability to ride the horse properly. This, in turn, makes me do all sorts of odd things with my hands, with my seat, with my legs. I end up feeling like The Scarecrow (Wizard of Oz) trying to ride the lion down the centerline at A... yeah not so great right? 

Luckily with wonderful offers from my friends; Mandy, Sara, Erin & Summer (so far) I have managed to get my leg over quite a bit! It doesn't take many rides for my brain to go "Yeah, you got this". Ok, as a rider I am still learning, trying super hard to improve myself all the time. I got a long way to go, but believing I can, is a huge part of the jigsaw. 

So, here it is, deep breath and wallet ready... I have begun looking. So far I have tried not to fall in love with a perfect four year old warmblood (too young Gemma)! Then considered a cute Welsh (possibly too clever). Following on from that were enquiries on a cute FEI horse with some maintenance required, and a possible Spanish man to go see. My options are still open, and this week I am going to try to ride a few for sale. I ask probably thirty or forty questions about each horse, then watch the videos and send them to my buddy Jules in the UK (she has a great eye) and of course to my US trainer Sara. She's going to come with me to ride the horses, and to help teach me (actually to remind me not to forget every single thing I know about how to ride, just because I don't know the horse). Ha Ha, she has her work cutout, good luck my friend!