I have big plans for 2023, but I also had big plans for 2022, 2021, and 2020 before they all fell apart. I figured I would take a look and see what happened last year.
January
In January, SO had applied for a supervisor position in another region and had an interview but we had no idea if he would get it or not. We started doing painting in our house as A. We hadn't really made it a priority in the 6 years we had lived there and B. We would either enjoy it when it was done or it would be closer to sell if the time came. January was Mia's rehab for the soft tissue injury she had in September. We finished 4 weeks of walking, which was 1 week of walking with no contact, 1 week of walking with some contact and working, but no laterals, 1 week of walking with laterals and 1 week of full work at the walk. Then started trotting with the same plan. We also celebrated Mia's recovery from Lyme where her numbers were finally 480, a nice negative for Lyme number.
February
We were trotting and then started cantering. Neither of Mia's saddles were fitting and Mia wasn't happy with them, lots of bareback riding was happening. The hope was to get her muscling back up and the saddles would fit again as it was less than a year prior that they were fit to her. Mia tweaked something while in the pasture that took multiple chiro visits to help sort out because she was a hot mess. Some barn drama was coming to a head very quickly.
March
Mia was finally comfortable again and I gave notice to my barn. Things got worse with the barn staff, and I moved out during a snowstorm in the middle of the month. Mia's priority is always my biggest concern. It was the best thing I could have done, I loved the barn we moved to and so did Mia. Mia stayed sound and while I couldn't ride as the new barn didn't have an indoor, Mia was happy again and she was only 5 minutes from my house. I made big plans for the 2022 show season. 10 days after we moved barns, SO got the notice that he received the promotion and we were moving again. He was offered a location in Minnesota, Wisconsin, or Michigan, and he chose Michigan.
April
Riding was incredibly difficult without an indoor arena, something that I knew would be an issue, but I really underestimated how much I would dislike it. I finished Mia's rehab by riding on a long-ish dirt driveway and she stayed sound and injury free. She also rapidly gained weight and stayed happy.
May
In May, the relocation ramped up significantly. We had been doing the painting/repair around the house since December but the relocation process really started in May. We went house hunting, got a house under contract, cancelled all of my show plans in PA, felt really sad as the new barn was super welcoming and I think I would have made a ton of friends there, but still found time to ride a couple of time s a week.
June
I went out and visited Mia several times, but only rode only a handful times in June. Lots of treats were given though, and Mia stayed sound, fat, and happy. Our PA house went under contract and they found the septic had to be replaced due to be installed incorrectly and our inspector didn't catch it. We closed on our new house and moved our house on June 20th to MI. I hauled a 20ft trailer that also had 4 cats, 2 gerbils, and 1 lizard in the cab of the truck, by myself, for 12 hours and survived. 1 star, do not recommend.
July
I moved Mia to MI over July 4th weekend. I was super optimistic about the barn I moved to as it was an active eventing barn and I started our come back to fitness. I took my first lesson at the new barn and things didn't click. Mia stayed sound, and that is what mattered. Lots of trail/road rides were done in July, it was nice being back in MI. So much unpacking. Our PA house finally sold with lots of concessions being given.
August
I had more lessons, they were group lessons as she doesn't/wouldn't give private ones. I didn't feel like I fit in with the group, as they were starter level riders and were working on basic things like how to canter. She advised all of her lessons have riders of various skill sets, she doesn't group people based on skill set. I asked about her philosophy and agreed to keep trying "her" way. I rode regularly again, Mia and I were getting fit, and we finally started jumping again. I had a saddle fitter out and was able to fix my jump saddle but Mia really disliked the dressage saddle. The advise was to wait for her muscle to come back and it should fit.
September
Mia came up lame and was NQR. A small abscess burst after 5 days, but Mia stayed sore. We missed our first planned show in MI so I volunteered instead. I had the vet out, she suspected an abscess was still the issue, either a pocket of abscess or the hole was bothering her. I had xrays taken Sept 20 as Mia was still lame and NQR after almost 4 weeks and we saw the abscess. It was deep enough that the vet didn't feel comfortable digging for it. We missed our 2nd planned show.
October
Mia's big abscess finally burst on Oct 5, 5 weeks later, and took out a large section of her bar and frog. She was immediately more comfortable. We started riding again in hopes to hit the Oct 29th show. I discussed my concerns with the lesson format with the trainer, took one last lesson, and decided the format of her lessons were not for me. We went to our first show since 2019 and finished on a number! I also placed poorly because I only cared about finishing and didn't notice my dressage test was missing the collective mark until I got home. #Lessonlearned
November
I was having issues at the other barn with Mia losing weight, having her tail bag and tail ripped off, and having lots and lots of scrapes/bites/missing hair/injuries. The shelter available was not good and the footing in the turnout was really poor. They wouldn't move her to another turnout and they couldn't offer a stall, even though I had asked for the first available and they had brought new horses in. Finally I moved to another barn that could give Mia a stall in bad weather. I immediately got super duper sick with a sinus/lung infection and barely rode the entire month, but Mia gained so much weight that we cut her grain back by half. Mia was happy again.
December
After I recovered from being sick, SO brought Covid home from a work trip. I was unable to ride again due to being unable to breathe. Thankfully my Covid was a mild case, but it took weeks to get my lung capacity back. The record setting winter storm moved through with -30 to -40F wind chills and I was very happy to have the stall. Mia came through it happy and healthy. I finally started riding again. I tested my dressage saddle again but Mia just won't go forward in it, even when being free lunged. I reached out to the saddle fitter yet again.
It is now 2023. I would love to say I am ready to take on Training level again this year, and I may do that, but after so many failed starts, I am having serious trouble getting going. I need to find an instructor to help me push through the mental block I am having. I have exactly zero shows on my schedule so far, but that will change. I know Novice level will be something we can get to fairly easily, so I will likely start there. Fingers crossed that 2023 is the year of our comeback, so much is different that 2023 can't possibly be a repeat of previous years! Right? Right?!
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