By the time you’re reading this it is January 2022, and we’re into a whole new year. We can all collectively sigh and share hope that this year will finally be better than the last two have been, but I honestly wont hold my breath. When the pandemic hit I knew it would be a very long road to ‘normal’. That being said I’d like to take some time to reflect on what the last year has brought, taught, and thrown at me.

I started the year recovering from a mystery bug that kept me home for Christmas and away from family. It luckily wasn’t COVID or the flu, but I still would’ve loved to skip it, it was awful. As I recovered I spent a lot of time outside whenever I had free time. I was still working for Spoonfish Poke, so most of my time was spent managing the restaurant. At home, in the studio, I struggled to maintain my daily duties, things like chores dropped off, caring for prized personal items disappeared and the blog took a hit for a bit. When I finally recovered from that, I rediscovered my love of Starbucks, and food in general, usually on the way to the barn. I dedicated one day a week to being a better horsewoman, and it paid off in the end. Both of these worked hard together to fuel my path to a healthy headspace as I ended my studios lease and moved in with my Grandparents.

The move was relatively short in terms of how long it took, but I revisited the life I had known in that space for the next few weeks just remind myself that I had indeed made the right decision. One night after feeling so drained from it all I received word that I was hired for another horse job. It was both a reward for my efforts & struggles and sign I had done the right thing as the stars aligned and I started to get what I wanted from life again. Unfortunately the looming issue would’ve been transportation, only my Dad helped me out massively and found a car lease for me. Within days of talking about it, I was able to drive off the Volkswagen lot with Bloo 2.0. I will go into detail about her soon so check back for a link to that post, but she’s perfect.

Suddenly I had a great new car, a horse with tack to match it perfectly, a job I actually wanted to be a at, a stable living environment and life was near perfect. I have ridden more horses in the last few months than I have in my entire lifetime. I have improved at a rate I only knew back when I played soccer, and I am constantly looking forward to putting new concepts to use. I have become a great trail guide, a great English/Western instructor and even a decent rider.

I owe Capone so much in terms of what he taught me, and what I built because of him. The riding toolbox I have will stay with me forever and he supported me as I figured out the basics again and regained my confidence. Unfortunately, I found out from friends and coworkers at work that he was moving barns and I was the last to know despite being a partial leaser and I was just devastated. I decided to not follow up with his owner to continue the lease as I was so hurt and know I deserve more respect and communication than was offered. I wish Capone the absolute best going forward and I love him very much. However, I just know our chapter is over.

With that in mind I tried to find a good fit among our lesson and training horses to lease, but I just couldn’t find my partner. I love riding Holly our dapple grey, Sunday is always a fun ride with her sunny red color and matching personality, and Lucy looks like a cow in my opinion but she’s sweet and knows her job. I find myself missing Maisy and Marshmallow from our San Francisco locations as I make the switch to Woodside because they offered so much growth. I will forever miss Billie, but I knew he wouldn’t be a good investment horse wise due to chronic lameness.

All of which led me to my decision to set a goal for the next year, maybe two, to get my own horse. I worked out all the details, which is bound to be a blog post at some point, and I’ve gotten it to a point where I can start building towards it. I have been horse shopping for weeks now, finding and sharing ads with friends discussing how they might work into my life. It’s honestly been a blast. I knew losing Capone would be hard, but it opened the door to a genuine goal. I don’t feel like it’s a reach so I feel hopeful that my short term goal to be a horse mom will be reached. Until then I was paired up with Hula and Sunday for training rides so I have two new girls to focus on and ride.

Speaking of being a pet mom, this year brought the first health emergency for Turbo. He had a small fiasco with a boarding facility while I was gone at the lake and lost 5 claws from the nail bed and they were infected. He lived in a cone for a few weeks, and as of December he is fully healed and has functional claws again. Unfortunately, the upkeep and care required for Roman became too much for me to handle with how much I was working so I found him a new forever home. It was such a hard decision to let him go, but I know he’s better off now. I miss my nope rope, danger noodle and I miss my friend.

Also during August I made the decision to finally open up and stop living a isolated existence. I reached out to old friends who I felt I had long forgotten, and struck up new relationships I kept at arms length thinking that was the best way to go about things. Boy was I wrong, I was so wrong I almost missed a really great thing with someone quite special. In due time we’ll talk about that, but for now I just thought I’d mention it since I’m proud of myself for giving in to something good relationship wise.

I also had a good, great, wonderful time in Yosemite. I had only been in the spring/ early summer and I was pleasantly surprised by the beauty of the valley going into winter. There was some light snow on the ground, warm colors in the leaves and plant life and the granite rock was just as impressive. While out there we hear rock break off and fall from the rock walls. I was lucky enough to see snow fall for a bit in the middle of the night. I had the best time.

I was taken out to Half Moon Bay and got a fall pumpkin and I ran around on the beach. I was spontaneously swept off to the Mystery Spot in Santa Cruz and the Monterey Bay Aquarium to enjoy the coast and marine life. I recently went out to the redwoods and enjoyed all the fun fungi the damp forest had to offer. I enjoyed the view from the open space preserve in Milpitas, and the salt flats down in Alviso. I got a glimpse of Fleet Week from work in Golden Gate Park, and now I need to go one day to see it for real.

I restarted my saddle pad collection and kept myself to PS of Sweden and Equestrian Stockholm and I have a genuine problem on my hands now. It’s even spreading to bridles, halter, browbands and more. However, it’ll make for an exciting year for you guys as I reveal the collections I have gotten my hands on. I have window shopped for equipment my future horse will need. I bought a bareback pad and acquired a saddle of my own this year. I have never been so in love with an item. I treat it like a child, but I so wish I could use it. I continued my Cavali Club subscription, and again I can’t wait for you guys to see what’s been added to my tack truck. I was given new paddock boots for my birthday from Gram and Granddad, and they have been perfect for riding, not so much for the mush at the barn though. My Dublin River Boots II finally broke a hole in their leather and are no longer waterproof so I have thrown them in my trunk to be forgotten about for the time being. I ordered a helmet when Helmet Awareness week hit and it’s since been having issues, but I hope it gets here in January. I took this year to figure out how to care for myself again and subsequently found more things to share with you guys, so you too care step up your self care. I can’t wait to share all my product empties, and the small goals I set for myself so I have a good day in terms of self care.

Overall, it’s been a pretty magical year in comparison to everything life had been for so long. I am beyond proud of myself, as are others. I now see the individual growth continuing from here just as I see it in my relationship. I have realistic goals again and life has regained its purpose and meaning.

I hope 2022 holds just as much wonder as this year did. It can only get better from here if I take all I learned from last year and applied it daily to better my existence for the new year. I hope you all enjoyed Grey2Bay in 2021, may this year be even better.