Not-So-Speedy Dressage
From Endurance to Dressage
![]() Click photo to find out more about Val and Harley Val, of Memoirs of a Horse Girl, has inspired a new series of posts. Val lives in New Jersey with her Quarter Horse, Harley. Harley is Val's first horse, although she rode for many years before buying Harley five years ago. Here is a photo of Harley and Val stolen from her blog page. Sorry, Val! Harley took ill recently and required blood work. It turns out that he had a virus that required time and comfortable living as the antidote. This caused Val's vet to re-examine Harley's diet. The vet recommended adding alfalfa pellets to his hay ration for the higher protein and calories that alfalfa provides. This feed change generated quite a discussion on Val's blog. You can read that particular post here. The discussion illustrated how much I enjoy "blog chatting" with fellow bloggers from around the world. I've met Val, of New Jersey, with her Quarter Horse, Harley; E. of Now That's a Trot! with her Standardbreds, Jabby and Willie, also from New Jersey; and Kelly of Ride, Groom, Feed in New Zealand with her Thoroughbred, Leo. It's been utterly fascinating sharing and chatting with these women and many other bloggers. Our discussions reaffirmed that there are many, many ways to keep horses and they vary from state to state and country to country. So thanks to Val, I am launching another series of posts, California Barn Life. Check back tomorrow for more!
Nice buckskin, looks a lot like Harley...
Karen
12/20/2011 10:18:07 am
Val - Harley is a nice looking buckskin. Hubby frequently asks why I don't have one of those pretty yellow horses with the black marks. he likes buckskins ... a lot. :0) 12/20/2011 11:32:24 am
Love the idea! Looking forward to seeing how you do things differently. Maybe I'll take some of the questions from your comments and do some posts of my own! :) 12/20/2011 09:22:15 pm
Now THAT'S a Trot! - I would love to hear more about horse keeping in New Jersey. I still haven't figured out why you don't have any other boarders. I probably missed the reason somewhere along the way, but still curious! 12/21/2011 02:24:11 pm
LOL, well I work with two very different and somewhat unique set-ups now... My main job is at one farm with 20-30 horses at a time, most of which live out 24/7. I keep my boys at a smaller barn that was originally a co-op situation, but I took over all of the horse care duties in exchange for use of the pasture/facilities. (I also occasionally farm-sit and such on the side.) It's complicated and I just never blogged most of it out but feel free to message me if you want to know more! If I do my own horsekeeping series I will include a bare-bones version. :) Comments are closed.
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About the Writer and RiderI am a lifelong rider.
I began endurance riding in 1996 where I ultimately completed five, one-day 100 mile races, the 200-mile Death Valley Encounter, and numerous other 50, 65, and 75 mile races. I began showing dressage in 2010. Welcome to my dressage journey. About Speedy GSpeedy went from endurance horse to dressage horse. After helping me earn a USDF Bronze medal in the summer of 2020, he is now semi-retired. Speedy is a 2004, 15'1 hand, purebred Arabian gelding. His Arabian Horse Registry name is G Ima Starr FA.
About IzzyIzzy was started as a four-year old and then spent the next 18 months in pasture growing up. I bought him as a six-year old, and together, we are showing at the lower levels. He is a 2008, 16'3 hand warmblood gelding. His Rheinland Pfalz-saar International (RPSI) name is Imperioso.
National Rider AwardsState Rider Awards
State Horse Awards
Working Towards:
CDS Sapphire Rider Award Third Level: 63.514% Third Level: 62.105% Fourth Level: Fourth Level: 2023 Show Season
Show Rating (***) CDS/USDF/USEF (*) CDS (s) Schooling (c) Clinic (r) Ride-a-Test Clinic 2023 Show Schedule
TBD 2023 Completed … Pending 2023 Qualifying Scores
Regional Adult Amateur Competition (RAAC) Qualifying Training Level 3 Scores/2 Judges/60%: Score 1: Score 2: Score 3: Archives
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