My Plans Sprung a Leak

For me, competing my horses in any discipline is a fine balance of time and finances. Having horses is a luxury in and of itself. Competing them? Even more so. I'm not someone who is driven purely by competition, fortunately, but I do enjoy using it as a test of our current training. And it's so fun to get out there with other horse people and enjoy the community horses create!

To offset the text, have some pretty photos from recent WV adventures.
Guadineer Knob, Cheat Mountain

Originally, I'd hoped to get to some of the spring twilight eventing trials at Loch Moy this year. But then my year was slow to start due to weather, work, and life responsibilities and I crossed them off one at a time.

I made lemonade with the lemons I was given, though, and fit in two centered riding lessons! Not quite as fun as Loch Moy, but definitely some great building blocks for us. The things we worked on during those lessons will do nothing but improve our dressage work and all other undersaddle work in the future.

Sunrise over Canaan Valley State Park

So, I shrugged off the botched start to my year and looked forward to more twilight eventing through the summer. Moving the horses resulted in crossing off the June option, but I wasn't upset about that. The trade of having the horses closer to home was well worth it! After all, more time to ride would = a better turnout at a later event.

Except, well, then shit got real.

The day I was moving the horses was rainy AF. It was a bother at the time but a hidden blessing in that I was able to observe that my truck had some sort of fluid leak. Nothing crazy, but just enough to set a sheen to the puddle where I parked as I loaded everything. It had been in the shop for an oil change, new wiper fluid reservoir, and *surprise* new alternator the week before, so I figured they just didn't screw everything back in re: oil change. The computer didn't read any errors, so I moved the horses without issue and resolved to take the truck in the following week to have it looked at and have them fix another new issue: no matter what the setting, the blower only delivered heat.

Coberly Sods grazing allotments on Bickle Knob, Monongahela Nat'l Forest looking toward Elkins

You see where this is going, I'm sure. My ideas of a quick, simple fix for my truck were quickly dashed when the mechanic called me to say he was fairly certain I had a rear main seal leak - a leak with some pretty serious ramifications if not addressed immediately. Additionally, some of my wiring for the air system was all sorts of boggled and likely fried and contributing to the other minor electrical issues I'd chalked up to being "old age" in my 2003 vehicle.

As the electrical issue requires a bit more diagnostics, he didn't have much to add about that problem re: cost estimate, but he did note that if indeed my rear main seal is leaking (he's following up with a few more diagnostics to be 110% sure), that will require removal of the transmission in order to fix. Cue much anxiety and gnashing of teeth on my part as he shared the cost estimate for all of the labor.

Canaan Valley; site of future XC jumps

And so, all of my hopes and dreams of summer trials, and quite possibly fall trials, have been dashed. Because horses are a balance of time and finances and my finances are sorely exhausted. My annual competition budget has basically been spent on the truck used to reach said competitions. Womp, womp, womp.

C'est la vie. I can't change the situation. However, I can put efforts toward upping my side hustle so I can build a meager fund for some competitions later in the year. Until then, you can find Griffin and I having imaginary competitions in the dressage "field" and on our soon-to-be XC course (photos once I finish setting it up!) while Q and I travel competition distances for free on our local trails.