2025 Wrap Up

This post is coming a bit earlier than normal because I'm done with it, and I'm doing a technology detox between now and January 1st! 

So with this post, Merry Christmas and Happy New Year to you all, I hope you are having/have a wonderful holiday season. 

Past Wrap Ups: 

• 2024
  
• 2023 - this is prime Ben if you want to stare at pictures of that handsome horse again
  
• 2022
  
• 2021
  

Ahem, I've definitely gotten way more wordy this year. I just love gushing about Butterball that much though. 

By the Month: 

January: The year started with an assessment of both boy's feet. And a decision to change farriers for Butterball, while staying the course for Ben. 

Butterball continued to go on frequent hacks, but did struggle with some spookiness due to frigid weather and too much responsibility

And a few lunge sessions for Benjamin

I spayed the cats. And had serious struggles keeping them quiet

Towards the end of the month, Butterball and I met with a saddle fitter and afterwards had an absolutely marvelous pop around the XC at Majestic oaks

The result of the saddle fitting was ordering a new jump saddle and sending out the dressage saddle for a new tree. 

At the very end of the month, I came off Butterball when I leaned at a spooky fence, and sprained my ankle. In hindsight it was probably a reasonably severe sprain. But y'know I'm a horse person with all that entails... so I still went out... 

February: And competed at Three Lakes, where we WON our novice rider division on our dressage score. We didn't have the most beautiful stadium trip, but we left all the rails up. In hindsight, the stadium trip was foreshadowing some of our stadium struggles that were yet to come. 

Photo by Victoria DeMore Photography

Perfect pony is perfect. My left ankle is large. 

Two weeks later though, the results of poor farrier work and my decision to pull his hind shoes showed up, and we had a bit of a rough trip around Majestic at a schooling show. Hind shoes were already back on, but we made the decision to do his hocks as well. 

Ben got some dolphin stim work from Ryan and loved it

And by this point, Ben and Butterball were absolute besties

Which made it a bit harder to send Ben back to his previous owner in California at the end of the month. But it was definitely the right choice for this special boy. 

March: This month was a month of getting things right for the pony. He got his hocks and stifles injected after his sore hind feet led to some soreness higher up. We spent the month regaining confidence over smaller fences. We also got our custom fit jump saddle and re-treed dressage saddle back from Kate Ballard. In the getting things right, we missed Carolina International. But turns out that was good timing because the out-of-state weather curse continued with the novice divisions only running a CT due to terrible Sunday weather. 

We worked on learning about cows too, pretty successfully

He also got a brand new pony sized cooler

And Ben arrived back in California

April: We went to two events in April, Rocking Horse and Ocala Festival. They both highlighted that all was still not right in the world. While we had a winning dressage test at Festival, we had a stop/slide into a stadium fence there. And at Rocking Horse we had a clear stadium round, but a run out on cross country. Granted, Rocking Horse was a spooky course for a lot of folks, but the problem was the same one we'd been dealing with. 

We still managed a 7th place finish at Ocala

And more importantly got some very fun pony galloping pics

Dressage test at Rocking Horse

Later on course at Rocking Horse

And golden pony galloping

May: After our rough March and April, May brought some changes with the introduction of PW. We started with a LOT of slowing down the canter and then jumping from either a trot or a 9' canter stride with placing poles. Proving you don't need speed to get over fences. He also helped me discover my outside rein and started shaping Butterball's jumping style a bit with lots of gymnastics. 

The end of the month finished with PW venturing over from jumper land to coach us to jump a clear round at Area III champs. We'd had an unfortunately spooky dressage test but a clear XC round, so we finished the weekend in 5th. 

Completely adorable even if the banners in dressage did make for a tense test

June: We met our beloved dressage trainer this month. And started working on pony impulsion, which was essentially the focus of the next two months of lessons. We also discovered that Butterball LOOOOOOOOOVES water.

First of several summer lake trips, although the only one to this particular lake

I gave up on 3 scores under 35 for the gold medal and sent in my scores for the novice silver medal

And we dressaged in the heat

This was also a month of changes in location. Butterball moved to Ms. GY's farm and found himself right at home with the two horses that used to constantly bite my thoroughbreds. Pony brain worked wonders. 

And DH and I bought a farm with hopes of being there in a few years. 

July: This was a relatively quiet month in the heat. We fit in three dressage lessons, but I was out of town for 10 day stretch. And July is just kinda miserable in the heat. I did write about the same amount, but it was musings or property planning: 

• Property Planning
  
• Supplement discussion
  
• Reservation Check In
  
• Gardener vs. Architect
  

August: In August we FINALLY successfully headed out of the state to Bouckaert Farms. Although our fun was cut slightly short by me coming off in stadium, it was still a lot of fun to get to travel with my best friend. When we came back Butterball spent several days in boot camp with EM who focused on keeping him soft at all times and letting him gain some independence and responsibility when it came to leaving the ground. 

September: We squeezed in a trip to Majestic Oaks schooling show in September to help make our next out of state trip to Stable View at the end of the month more successful. It paid off - we jumped clear at Majestic and at Stable View. We added only 3 seconds of time to our dressage score at Stable View to finish 8th in a big novice division. 

October: In October we went to Kentucky and did the novice classic three day. Then I wrote a LOT about it: Travel and the jog, Dressage, Endurance day, Stadium, XC Pro Pics, Lessons learned/Three day info). It was absolutely amazing and the trip of a lifetime. Butterball was THE BEST partner the whole time and it was so much fun to do a long trip with him and my husband. 

Lots of quiet mornings and evenings grazing 

And we steeplechased!!!! Propelled by his tail. 

November: November was definitely a bit quieter after the big October trip. We did have a few fun trail rides and a nice cross country schooling at Sweet Dixie. 

We survived an attempted murder by these bovines when they GALLOPED at the fence as we had our backs to them

Black Prong with Amanda and Hillary 

And we trucked right along in our jump lessons with PW focusing on my aids, Butterball's form, and our pace and rhythm. 

Very nice, Butterball

At the end of the month he got his teeth done, and we learned he is damaging his roots and bone with his bit clanking. 

December: Which meant that we started December with a few different bit trials. I very much appreciated everyone's comments and suggestions on the initial post. There was definitely helpful information there, and everyone was kind as well, which was lovely since I was beating myself up. Yay for bloggers! 

Trial Myler Level 2 D Ring

We also went fox hunting (drag - dragged by an absolutely adorable Connemara and her rider), which was pretty awesome. Butterball loved the long pauses to snack and then intermittently galloping with a group. 

Galloping in a civilized way 

And NOT so civilized LOL

He also made Henry into his new BFF. 

TOUCHING, LOVE HIM 

We finished up the year with our first trip to jumper land, which was a big learning experience for both of us. 

2025 by the numbers: 

• ONE USEF/USHJA recognized jumper show
• TWO horses at the start of the year, ONE at the end. And what a ONE he is. Ben is doing quite well back in Cali though. I got some adorable pics of him dressed up as a minion for the barn Halloween party. He looked happy as a clam. 
• THREE out of state trips
• FIVE lake trips this summer
• SEVEN recognized events 

Two buckskin BFFs