As 2014 draws to a close, it is time to reflect on the past year and set goals for the coming one. I love making New Year’s Resolutions. I think it is great to come up with goals and ambitions for the year. It gives me focus. A new year is a great time to make changes. I love change. I thrive on it. I have a restless spirit, so becoming too static drives me insane! As you can see, I have even changed the look of this blog.

2014 had many ups and downs in my equestrian life. However, I competed more consistently than I have since 2008. I think that alone is an accomplishment that I can be proud of. They may have been small, local shows; but they were still shows. Not all of them went well, but I learned from the rough ones. I feel that I am finally turning over a new leaf in my riding – I am re-gaining the confidence I have lost over the past several years. I have also rediscovered why I am so passionate about a horses. These last several months, I have thrown my expectations of where I should be in my riding career and where Chance should be out the window and simply enjoyed myself. That has made all the difference. I actually enjoy the time I spend riding now, rather than obsessing over the imperfections and the should-haves. Despite the ups and downs, 2014 was a good year. I am very pleased with the progress Chance and I made.

2015 will be a crazy year. So much will change. I am moving to a new place, along with starting a farm. I plan to purchase at least one other horse. My lifestyle will be dramatically different this time next year. I have lived in the city for most of my life, and I will soon be living on over fifty acres in a small town. I will have far more daily responsibilities than I have ever had with caring for horses and land. I could not be more excited, yet it is also a bit daunting. I will be on my own with horses for the first time. I expect to learn a lot, and I really feel that it will be a great thing for me. However, I am still a bit nervous about it.

I tend to make New Year’s Resolutions for almost every area of my life, but I don’t want to bore you so I am just going to list the ones I have made for my equestrian life!

Equestrian goals for 2015:

Stop blaming the horse. I am the one in charge, so it is my responsibility to fix problems.

Trust in my ability. I have had a lot of problems with nerves this past year because, in a way, I do not really trust myself as a rider. I can handle many riding situations, I just need to believe that again.

Improve my equitation. I have never been much of an equitation rider, but recently I have been working to improve in that area and it is making a huge difference. I honestly do not care so much what I look like when I ride, but I want to be as effective as possible, and I am finding that tweaking my riding style is really helping!

Have patience!

Enjoy horses and enjoy life.

Happy New Year everyone! Have a safe and fun night tonight. See you in 2015 🙂

“There are far, far better things ahead than any we leave behind.“

~ C.S. Lewis ~