Talo and me have been training on second level for a while now. The rides are great, mostly. I still need to improve many things, but I think we have better communication and that we can do a good test.

Thing is, we are not going to any shows any time soon. The reason is simple – money. While there are no serious financial issues right now, there’s just no way to justify the huge amounts of money each competition costs. At first I planned to only go to local or nearby shows, to save on travel costs, but even then, it amounts to about 1,000 NIS per competition day, and there’s also registration fees for the federation to consider. I just don’t want to spend that kind of money for 4 shows, so unless things change financially in the very near future, we are skipping show season.

I don’t know if we will be able to compete next year. I mean, Talo is 18.5 years old at the moment, and although he doesn’t look or behave like it, I don’t wanna stress him with too much work or the general tension of shows. I feel kinda sad because of this, since I think he’s a great horse and I also think we could have done great in second level. I just need to remind myself that while it’s fun to go to shows, it’s much more fun to be able to afford all the stuff he really needs – from hoofing to supplements and all that’s between. And yes, I would like some new breeches and tack every now and then.

I hope things will stabilize and maybe allow us to go to a show or two. For the time being, we ride at home.