Choices

Unless you just started reading this page yesterday, you'll know that Izzy is not an easy horse to ride. That may be one of the biggest understatements I've ever made. He's downright challenging to ride. Do I sometimes wish that he were a bit easier? Sure, but easy doesn't teach you a lot. Easy can also be boring. It should be clear by now that I thrive on difficulty. You need proof? I trained my endurance horse to be a dressage horse and together we earned a USDF Bronze Medal. Difficult doesn't scare me. Difficult and I are friends.

See? I am not afraid of you, Difficult!

While difficult doesn't scare me, I do like my money, so I try to spend it wisely. The 2021 show season is upon us. Unlike last year, it really seems as though we might get to actually show. That means I need to make some decisions pretty quickly. Initially, I was going to show at El Sueño at the beginning of March, but my trainer wasn't going to able to come, so we decided that SCEC at the end of March was a better option. I like SCEC a lot. Speedy and I earned our final bronze medal score there, and Izzy earned his one and only qualifying score there in October.

SCEC in October 2020

The decision to go to SCEC in March is pretty well established. It's what we should do after that that is in question. Here's the problem. We're in the midst of refinancing our house which will knock ten years off our payback date. This is going to push our house payment up a fair amount. In the short term, it's forcing us to tighten our belt just a bit, but the long term benefit is huge. That money has to come from somewhere, and the most obvious place to cut expenses would be from my show budget.

Santa Barbara in November 2020

So here is what I am thinking about:

• Do I risk doing expensive USDF shows knowing that we might not get a 60%, but Izzy gets a lot of experience?
• Do I do schooling shows where Izzy will get less experience (no stabling, quieter venues) but the cost is hundreds less?
• Do I do a combination of fewer USDF shows and the four CDS-rated shows put on by my local chapter of CDS? 

The third option would make the most sense especially financially since I only need two more scores of 60% from either USDF or CDS shows in order to qualify for the CDS Regional Adult Amateur Competition (RAAC) held in August. RAAC is the adult amateur's version of a championship show. It's always the highlight of my year. Speedy and I won at every level except for First (we were reserve) and Third (he had an abscess days before the show so we didn't get to compete). We also had some last place finishes before ultimately winning.

Even if we're not particularly competitive, I still want to take Izzy to RAAC as it's one of the best shows of the year. If you think adulting is hard, consider this: it's even harder to be 50 and have to make decisions that affect your retirement!

Man, I'm getting old!