Not-So-Speedy Dressage
From Endurance to Dressage
The past six months have been really difficult financially. I make more or less the same as I have for the past several years, yet I am barely making ends meet. It finally occurred to me where all of my money has been going. Uh-huh ... this girl is breaking the bank. I owned Blue Truck for 19 years. It only ever had two or three things go wrong, and never all in the same couple of months. Blue Truck had the decency to spread its problems out over two decades. First, there was a problem with a sticking throttle. Years later, my fuel pump went out, and then I had all of the rubber parts in the engine replaced. As far as engine trouble, that was it. I bought a few new sets of tires, a couple of batteries, and did regular maintenance when it was needed. In the past six months. Newt has needed all of those things, and a heck of a lot more. Yep. in six months I've spent at least $11,684 on my truck. That is several month's pay, and I am not exaggerating. Holy cow; no wonder I am working every side hustle I can. I get that the bottom two expenses - my monthly payment and fuel, are things that come with truck ownership, but man, the price of diesel has skyrocketed over the past six months. I am paying $4.76 a gallon right now, and Newt gets 15 mpg if I am really careful, and that's NOT while towing.
Last week, I finally had to get new tires, and wouldn't you know it? While I was there, one of the tire sensors went out. Cha ching ... that cost me another $44 on top of the $1490 I had just paid. While I love Newt's pulling power, I am not too pleased with how expensive everything on a diesel has turned out to be. Had I know how expensive this truck was going to be, I don't think I would have bought something else, but I would have been better prepared. I sincerely hope this is it for a while. If not, no show season for me. Comments are closed.
|
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
|