Lists!

Today's theme is lists. This weekend is the finale horse show of the winter dressage series (it's big ass ribbon time!), and our plans got a little scrambled, so I have a lot to do before Saturday morning and I can't do any of it right now because I'm at work. Making lists is how I cope. So this post is going to be in list form!

1. So I've been riding all week:

• Tuesday: Honestly, I don't remember what we did. Penn must have been OK. I remember he was NOT keen on doing the haunches in exercises again. He kept losing his forward and threatening to rear. Silly horse. I think we jumped a cross rail.
• Wednesday: Also not productive, other than having a good time. I think he started well, was still not cooperative to the haunches in exercises, but was good enough. We jumped! A little cross rail was up, so we jumped that a few times, then we jumped Penn's first ever line of jumps! Two itty bitty tiny verticals that probably don't count as jumps. The last time through the line, he cantered the last fence. Penn's first canter jump! *tear* He was so good, and so proud of himself, haha.
• Thursday: Penn got patched. The Patch Lady found some extra tension in his hind end on the right and in his barrel/flank area on the left. That goes along with the haunches in exercises we'd been doing- the right hind lags. He was all licky and chewy and sleepy after he got his patches (he was very up and alert before because horses were moving around and a new horse came in and there was a lot of activity). We had a great ride after during which he cooperated with haunches in and half pass. Soft haunches in and while not stellar, it was a more agreeable half pass. His regular work was wonderful and he really responded when I got my act together (ie: thumbs up, elbows pulled down so I feel the stretch across my collar bones). He had two absolutely gorgeous shoulder ins, one each way, down the length of the outdoor, without a solid rail. Steady, consistent, soft, supple, flowing. Like, I could have taken it in a second level test for sure and earned excellent marks. He worked for about 15-20 minutes and I ran out of things to do because he was so good. So we jumped the cross rail again then stood around and watched some of the kids ride and jump.

Very mellow, post-patches, pre-riding.

2. Earlier in the week, I renewed my USEF/USDF memberships... and signed Penn up with his lifetime everything... goodbye to my share our tax return:

• Human USDF Membership: $75
• Human USEF Membership: $55
• Penn's Lifetime USDF Number: $95
• Penn's Lifetime USEF Membership: $200

I know I could have saved money by just doing the yearly membership for Penn ($75), however I do plan on having him for at least 3 years, so it makes sense to just fork it all over now and never pay for him again.

3. I chatted with the girl at the barn who works for Dover and got some recommendations for things I want/need. She yelled at me for using glycerin soap on my tall boots (apparently glycerin soaps take the dye out), and shoved two products in my hand from her own personal stock that won't pull dye out. I asked about using them on my Micklem because I have trouble getting the dye to stay on (guess what, it needs done again!), and she said the cleaner is safe for the bridle, but she wouldn't use the conditioner on it, but a leather balsam would be fine. The new list of items from Dover:

• Davis Splint Boots - For turnout. These are a need because Penn is chewing up all four of his legs.
• Circuit Sheepskin Square Pad - For shows. Making this one a need because my current white pad doesn't fit my saddle and I can't take it to recognized shows like that (which are coming up soon!)
• Sergio Grasso Boot Cleaner - This is what she recommended because it removes salt and sweat, but won't pull dye out. Need, if only because dying my Micklem every year is SUPER ANNOYING.
• Der-Dau Boot Conditioner - A want, because balsam will do just fine and I have some of that already. But man did it do a good job on my boots last night. Perfect shine without attracting dust.
• Effax Lederbalsam - A want, and one I will most likely indulge, because I already have balsam but I prefer this brand (I've used hers a couple times, and I love it).
• Effax Leder Combi Leather Cleaner -  A want, and one that can't go without the Effax Lederbalsam. They must be used as a pair. I'll probably pass on this one for now, because this list is getting very expensive very quickly and I have a lot of cleaners already.
• Warendorf Dressage Saddle Pad - A want that I might indulge to reduce the wear and tear on the Circuit pad listed above (I won't be able to bleach it to get it white!). Since I travel to trainers and they travel to me, I want to dress for lessons (white saddle pad, Penn's fancy white boots, good helmet, hairnet, etc). The white with black trim would match very nicely with Penn's white with black fleece boots!

Basically, this list amounts to $304.92 before our 7% local tax, which is amounts to it all costing way too much money. Can't justify all of the expenses. Removing just the Der-Dau Boot conditioner and Effax Combi just doesn't take the bill down enough. Maybe I'll hold off on the Warendorf pad even though I love it and do another round of shopping later in April or May for the rest of the stuff. Spread out the cost, you know?

4. Plans for today (Friday), include:

• Continue washing the long list of items that need to be cleaned (8 loads of laundry in two days, human and horse, because none of it can be washed together of course). We have a second washer because one came with our house (we haven't gotten around to selling it). I should really have gotten husband to hook it up so I could wash two loads at once!
• Scrub a water bucket that somehow got soap in it. Pray that I can get the soap scum out.
• Make dinner.
• Put gas in the truck.
• Locate(!!) and pack everything that needs to go with me this weekend.
• Make sure I have everything all set and organized so I can load and go Saturday morning.

Our plans got scrambled a bit because Hawk and my ride times are at 9:20ish Sunday morning. It's a 3 hour drive to the show, so we're hauling over Saturday and staying overnight to avoid waking up at stupid hours of the night to leave in enough time Sunday morning. Did I mention we have lessons Saturday too? And I'm doing my usual Saturday morning work? #toomuchtodo

I have a list for everything- human needs, horse needs, what goes in the truck, in the trailer, in my show trunk. I have a daily list of human needs because I've forgotten changes of clothes on more than one occasion. I have 11 different lists right now. To do lists, lists of what I'll need each day, then packing lists based on those lists! I do pack lightly for these things now, but I can only get it done with detailed lists of what I need! Plus they help me cope when I can't actively work on any of them. Maybe that's why I never save any of these lists to a computer to print out for next time.

Shamelessly stolen from a Google search because it fits too nicely!

In the slew of Type-A dressage queens out there, I can't be the only list-crazy person... right?