2016 has been rough for a lot of people. The world, collectively, can’t wait to leave this year in the dust. So reviewing a year that wasn’t too bad for me personally but coincided with a lot of crap on a global level feels a bit awkward, but when has awkward stopped me?
January
Eli grabbed a heel early on, but healed quickly and was well on his way to recovering completely from his tooth & sinus stuff. Conrad had his own illness to recover from and did so much better once I got his diet on track. I lamented about my eye not keeping up with Eli over fences, and cobbled together a ridiculous post about online dating.
February
Conrad had 7 teeth pulled and I noticed how similar his expression was to Eli’s. Eli kept up with his usual sass and also managed to give me a heart attack with some swelling in a not so desirable place.
March
I figured out the cause of Eli’s swelling and it was thankfully minor. We went to our first horse show of the year and I made a lot of mistakes but Eli never punishes me for that. We had a really good lesson late in the month. Conrad looks good in orange.
April
I celebrated Eli’s birthday and fussed over him not gaining weight. I got cute pictures of Conrad in the bluebonnets. Eli showed some excellent form through a grid and we battled rainy weather. (And renamed the blog.) I introduced blogland to my first off-track Thoroughbred, Red.
May
Eli started getting regular massages as part of all his sports maintenance. We tackled more grids and I ranted about people who longe their horses too much and for the wrong reasons. Eli and I went to our first multi-day, “indoor” show together and the whole adventure took three posts, Friday, Saturday, and Sunday. Conrad got a new toy that he loves to this day.
June
Summer showed up and I documented Eli’s progress, skipped out on a show because of the heat, and shared my barn routine (that was a weirdly popular post!).
July
I compared riding ability to potatoes, argued in a favor of a dress code, and went over all the stuff I do to try to get lead changes on Eli. Conrad showed off his wardrobe and Eli gave me a stroke with some more suspicious swelling.
August
This month slowed down a bit because of me taking a vacation and unusual weather, but I found time to express my feelings about animals as family members.
September
I thought about why I shop where I shop, and we had a great horse show! Conrad showed off his sweaters in preparation for cooler weather.
October
The shit show that has been 2016 started catching up to us, and Conrad had some perfect facial expressions for it. I talked about how a complicated horse is my jam, and sadly we all had to witness a horse running cross-country with a bloody mouth AGAIN. But the month ended well–Eli and I worked on a favorite exercise of mine.
November
This month brought a time change, a planned purchase, and an unplanned purchase. I mused on limitations and needs. Conrad still looks amazing in orange.
December
Blogland went on a pedigree kick, which was loads of fun actually and it was neat digging deep into the Thoroughbred pedigrees especially.Β The month also brought in some unseasonably cold, wet, and crappy winter weather, at least for Texas. A happy hour conversation sparked a rumination on whether you’re riding, or riding. Eli and I had two days in a row of really fantastic jumping.
2016 is still claiming victims left and right, and I know we are not yet out of the woods. Perhaps New Year’s Day will be a relief to all.
It has been a very very strange year globally. I hope that next year is not crazier…
this is a great recap of your year. Happy New Year!
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Happy New Year to you, too! I do hope 2017 slows down a lot with the bad stuff.
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ahh 2016. personally i count myself among those eager to close the book on this year (and won’t be doing my own review bc… too sad, le sigh). but i love looking back on everyone else’s review – esp since things really did seem to go so well for you guys!
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We had a pretty good year, all things considered, although I will not hold my breath until 2017–3 more days left and anything can happen. Reading people’s goals for next year has been fun, too!
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A pretty good year, some good shows, minor swelling to keep you on your toes, and several though provoking posts. π
And it has been confirmed, beyond a doubt, that Conrad looks fantastic in orange!
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Orange is most definitely Conrad’s color π
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I feel like everyone has had Big years in 2016 in blog land!
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Taking Eli to a 2-day show at the world’s spookiest venue was definitely big!
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2016 was really a roller coaster — so many crushing, awful lows but also some really bright, great highlights. Definitely a year of extremes, at least for me!
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2016 certainly gave a lot of people a crazy ride!
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I had completely forgotten you changed your blog name! I honestly don’t even remember the old one, this one was a good choice.
Eli seems to have thrived this year. Good for you two. π
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Thanks! I didn’t remember when I changed it either, but I am glad I did because it seems a good fit π
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Not a bad year for you, some near misses there that could have been disastrous what-ifs but handily avoided! Phewf! Happy New Year.
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I feel like I dodged some bullets! Or Eli did, either way.
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