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Not-So-Speedy Dressage

From Endurance to Dressage

"Watch" What You're Doing!

8/14/2018

 
Show news is coming, I promise, but I need time to write it up. In the meantime ...

I don't wear a watch during the day because I am really hard on them. I break the face or the band, and batteries wear out almost as soon as I put one on. I do wear a watch at the barn though. The last barn watch my husband bought me is probably close to ten years old. I can't even remember when he gave it to me. I loved that watch.
Picture
Keeper from an old spur strap.
Blue Watch was a lot like Blue Truck - they're both reliable and hard working. Well, at least Blue Truck is. Blue Watch started out by losing its band keeper. I solved that annoyance by substituting a keeper from a pair of rubber spur straps. That actually worked for several months.
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Well, I loved it until I had to duct tape the band together.
Not long after, I realized that the hole that I wear Blue Watch on was sliced nearly through. The band was holding on, but I knew that its days were limited. The very next time I wore it, the band tore completely in half. Not one to give up, I duct taped it together, but duct tape doesn't hold too well when it's 5 billion degrees.

I said a little prayer over Blue Watch's pieces and promptly ordered the exact same watch, but this time in white. 
Picture
Hello, White Watch!
Almost immediately, a friend started teasing me, asking why I didn't just buy Blue Watch a new band. I rolled my eyes. The watch was under $40. It wasn't worth spending money on a band. But then I started wearing White Watch during the day while I wasn't at the barn, and I decided that I really liked White Watch and didn't want to get it dirty.

​I ordered a new band for Blue Watch.
Picture
It was like seeing the Wizard - Blue Watch got new pieces.
The band was only $12 plus a wee bit for shipping. I googled "How to Change a Watch Band," got a mini screw driver, and prepared myself for a DIY project. Whomp, whomp. My husband and I both gave it a good college try, but neither of us was able to attach the new band.

Having forked out the 12 bucks and a bit more for shipping, I wasn't about to quit on Blue Watch. I tossed all of the pieces into a Ziploc baggie and found a jewelry store. The guy there gave it a try and shrugged his shoulders. Nope.

One of the ladies at the jewelry store pulled me aside as I was leaving and suggested I check out a local watch repair store at the mall (that I hadn't been to in more than 10 years). Guess what? That guy was a band attaching genius! 
Picture
And yes, it's driving me batty that they aren't synchronized.
I can't tell you how good it was to have Blue Watch back. I love that watch. Its chronograph is easy to use while I am riding, and I actually know how to set the time and date. So, from watch pieces to two watches, I am liking wearing a watch during the day. Since I am pretty hard on watches, I don't know how long White Watch will last.

The bigger question is how
much longer do you think Blue Watch's battery can last?!
Jen
8/14/2018 08:29:39 am

I have this exact watch, I have had it for years and will be very very sad when it dies. I do NOT know how to change the time and date so I just start pushing buttons until suddenly its done. I never have any idea what I have done however...

Bakersfield Dressage link
8/19/2018 02:40:26 pm

That's what I did for a long, LONG time. One day, I finally figured it out. LOL

lytha
8/14/2018 10:04:29 am

What I noticed in my weeks in a big city - no one wears watches anymore. No one over the age of 10 and under 50. I've had a kid come up to me on the street and ask me the time and I showed him my watch and he had no idea how to read it.

My husband and I wear Swatches, and the bands break regularly, but the clock part keeps on ticking. So we take them to the local watch repair/key maker and he fixes us up for 10 bucks with the new bands we find on Amazon.

Have you noticed your kids not wearing watches anymore?

Bakersfield Dressage link
8/19/2018 02:42:53 pm

Actually, the complete opposite is true here now that the Apple Watch is so popular. Everyone is wearing them (or a different brand), even kids!

I had a Swatch in high school (a LONG time ago), but I haven't seen them around lately.


Comments are closed.

    About the Writer and Rider

    ​I 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.
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    About Speedy G

    ​Speedy 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.
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    Izzy 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.
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Among other things, Karen is a Wife, Friend, Reader, Writer, Rider, Traveler, and Dog Lover
Contact her at bakersfielddressage@gmail.com
  • Home
  • About
  • My Horses
    • Horses
    • Imperioso
    • G Ima Starr FA
    • Sunshine
    • Nakota and Gideon
    • Corky
    • Sassy
    • Montoya DSA
    • Mickey Dee
    • Sydney
  • Show Results
    • 2022
    • 2021
    • 2020
    • 2019
    • 2018
    • 2017
    • 2016
    • 2015
    • 2014
    • 2013
    • 2012
    • 2011
    • 2010
  • Dressage Organizations
    • Dressage Organizations
    • Memberships
    • 2019 Dressage Tests
  • Local
    • Shopping List
  • Home