Where It All Started...

So, I started this blog with the intentions of only making it about Dargenzio but I realized that, that wasn't fair to the mare that taught me everything. If you're reading this, you probably know that I had to retire my old event horse, Savannah, in November due to hock problems. Gotcha Covered, aka Savannah, was my first event horse & even though I was only able to ride her for all of 10 months, she taught me A TON. She's the type of horse that will slam on breaks at a jump if you aren't looking up & don't have your leg on. Oh trust me, I keep my leg on now. I never fell off of my Savannah mare, knock on wood, but I "always almost" did as all of my friends would say. She took me to my first three phase, where we had a stop at the LAST JUMP -__- She also took me to my first South Region Pony Club Event Rally where we had a phenomenal weekend, ending on our dressage score of a 41 (I think?) & she took me to my first Horse Trial, where we had an error in dressage (whoops), a rail in show jumping (whoops) & a stop at the stupid stupid squid on cross country (whoops). All of those were most definitely my fault & I was anticipating a stop at the squid... so she gave it to me.

Summer Camp at my trainer's barn!

The months following my first Horse Trial (May HT @ Poplar Place Farm), were amazing & terrible all at the same time. We were really getting to know each other & we were both improving with our riding... But, the mare was going on and off lame from different things. She is very accident prone & we had Vet bills once a month for three months straight for all different things. September came around (rather quickly) & my trainer told me that the September HT at Poplar would be our last Beginner Novice if all went well. Well, all did not go well. My horse decided to puncture her knee (& run over my trainer's barn manager, sorry Amy!) which put her on stall rest for quite a while. So, we scratched from Poplar. September went by very very slowly & October went by pretty slow too. Savannah's leg was healing very well & we all thought she'd be ready to go to Poplar in November, so I signed her up! We went schooling & she was fantastic, especially since she hadn't seen a cross country course in forever.

Cross Country Schooling in October, at Poplar Place Farm.

Four days before the Horse Trial, Savannah started showing soreness in her hindend & my trainer didn't want me taking her to the Horse Trial, because we would get drilled for it in dressage. So, she let me take her lovely mare, Aquataine, who I had also showed in October at Florida Horse Park (because Savannah had been lame for that too). Savannah has always had hock problems since she flipped over & landed on her hocks, in February of 2012. When we got back from the Horse Trial, I was excited to get my Savannah mare going again & we were going to start double dosing her on my best friend, LubriSyn. She was sound, for the most part, all year because she was getting LubriSyn joint supplement. But after my trainer watched me do dressage on Savannah, we all had to talk. This was probably the hardest decision I have ever had to make in my riding career... To retire Savannah or to make her suffer & keep going? If you think about it, retired horses are generally useless... but we decided that we wanted to use Savannah as a broodmare somewhere down the road. So, that was it. We officially retired her... Oh & she hates it. As of December, I was on the search for a new horse & even though I had tried many, I didn't find "the one" until I sat on Dargenzio. Okay, he wasn't the best at my trial... but I just had a special feeling about him. The whole process of buying Dargenzio went by super fast. Two days later, we were at the Vet's office getting a Pre - Purchase Exam done... & after he passed, he came home. My parents & I were really having some doubts about him after we took him to his PPE... You're wondering why. Well, he tried to climb out the escape door of my trailer... He tried kicking the Vet, & he doesn't have the best ground manners. I'm one for a challenge so when they asked me if I was sure I still wanted him, I said yep. My trailer rattled the whole way to & from the Vet's office, with him stomping, pawing, etc. He came home to something new & really settled in within the first few days. He got to meet Savannah, who hates him, & my little Lightning McQueen pony that I love oh so much.

Ditches...