A Fresh Beginning

Hi! My name is rhinestone.

Why should you read my blog? Well, honestly, I'm not sure anyone will be interested in it besides me.

I have to be one of the most analytical people I know, and my riding life is no different. I tend to get lost in my own thoughts, thinking through each ride trying to understand the horse's and my own actions, as well as how to improve and which mistakes to avoid at all costs. I love reading blogs like Mugwump Chronicles and Many Misadventures of McKinna McHorse because I love hearing their commentaries on their horses and trying to apply it to my own riding.

I also ponder the fate of the horse industry in general, thanks to awesome blogs such as Fugly Horse of the Day and Shame in the Horse Show Ring and Blatant Animal-Related Idiocy.

So, I guess an introduction is in order. =)

I have been riding for almost 10 years this May, and the first 7 or so years was spent riding school horses and struggling to improve my riding significantly during weekly group lessons. In the summer of 2006, I began to lease my friend's Quarter Horse/Appaloosa/Thoroughbred cross while she went to college. Blue and I are great partners now and with him I've been able to really begin to understand the more complex concepts of riding and how the rider's position and actions affect the horse.

I am going to be a freshman next year at University of Delaware, majoring in Pre-Vet Medicine and Animal Bioscience with hopes to become an equine veterinarian. I hope to continue riding in college on the UDel equestrian team. Currently, I'm trying to plan a summer in which to cram all those horsey activities I need to get in with Blue before I go off to Newark. Well, actually I'm waiting for Blue to be sound again - he should be good by Friday, but in the meantime I've ridden a real variety of horses, from a 15.3 hh laid-back Draft cross to a 17.1 hh strong, nervous Thoroughbred! I have really gotten a crash course in riding strange horses in the last two weeks that I hope will serve me well in intercollegiate competition!

Well, now the boring intro's out of the way. Tomorrow I hope to have something meaningful to post.