2015 Goals Review | 2016 Goals

"Hope, Smiles from the threshold of the year to come, Whispering 'it will be happier....'" --Alfred Lord Tennyson

Looking back at my 2014 goals post, I am amazed at how one year can be so drastically different from the next. The year 2014 was extremely difficult, while 2015 was full of great moments (but also some hard ones).

Let's start 2016 off right by reviewing 2015's accomplishments and looking forward!

2015 Goals for Guinness (7/9)

• Fully rehab Guinness from the trailer accident
• ✔ It took some stifle injections and a lot of time, but Pig came back 100% from his accident. His hind legs will never be as clean as they once were and he does have some scaring, but he continues to amaze me with his ability to bounce back.
• Show at 2 USDF recognized shows before moving in June.
• ✔ It took some doing, but we showed at Majestic Farm in April, and Harmony in the Park just before moving in May.
• Finish up those damn 1st scores for the Bronze.
• ✔ So done! Finished at Majestic.
• Finish up 2nd scores for Bronze.
• ✔ Also finished at Majestic.
• Teach Guinness, King of the Auto-Change, the dressage changes.
• ✔ Thanks to Stephen Birchall for finally helping me explain the cue for changes to Pig! We're still working on cleaning these up, but he mentally grasps them and that makes all the difference!
• Train Pig successfully to accept the double bridle, and fully prepare his bridle.
• ✔ So done. I can ride him in his double both in the ring and out of it. He's accepting in it, and understands it. Plus, I can manage two reins super well now. Winning.
• Successfully move Guinness to a new state, and settle him in.
• ✔ This move stressed me out a lot more than Pig, who immediately made friends and settled in.
• Be competitive at IDS year end awards at 2nd level.
• Fail. We did not make this one work. Sadly some less than stellar scores at a few late shows knocked us down in the rankings.
• Buy a new horse trailer?
• This goal was disbanded after moving. Our finances need another look, and so does the truck. Luckily, I have made a lot of great friends who have trailers, and shows are close.

2015 Personal Goals (5/9)

• Rock out my upcoming graduate history/art history classes.
• ✔ As in each class, and some great writing samples complete. Boom.
• Put together an awesome application for grad school.
• Still working on this. Getting a job took higher priority. Still, writing samples are ready to submit.
• Decide on grad school programs, and apply the crap out of them.
• See above. Still working on this.
• Don't lose my mind.
• Hahahahaha.... never possible.
• Successfully negotiate a move, and get settled in.
• ✔ So happy to be moved. Now, no one ever ask me to uproot again. (Lolz. Military medicine. Lolz.)
• Remember to take days off, and not stress over them.
• ✔ Getting much better at this.
• Keep running. Be able to successfully run 5-6 miles at any point. Run 13.1 miles in a respectable time.
• ✔ I'm going to call this a win, though my running has taken a severe hit over the last month. At least I'm still able to throw down a decent 5 mile time any time I want, and on Maryland's hills too.
• Less TV, and more books. Read one book a month, just for fun.
• Um. Sort of. Audiobooks are helping with this. For awhile I was roasting through books, but then I got stuck on Wolf Hall. Thankfully, I just wrapped it up, so I should be ready to roast through some more.
• Improve my overall fitness and flexibility together. Do as much yoga as working out.
• ✔ The first part of the year is going to count for this. Once October hit, I kind of fell off the bandwagon. Time to hop back on.

“We spend January 1st walking through our lives, room by room, drawing up a list of work to be done, cracks to be patched. Maybe this year, to balance the list, we ought to walk through the rooms of our lives...not looking for flaws, but for potential.” -- Ellen Goodman

2016 Riding/Horse Goals

• Keep Pig's stifles, other arthritis issues, and bare feet managed appropriately. Soundness and happiness are the keys to success this year.
• Find a trainer I like for both myself and my horse, and get my budget and time together enough to take regular lessons.
• Attend 2-3 recognized show weekends. 
• Attend 1-2 schooling shows, either at the farm or off property.
• Up our score averages. Average a 60% at recognized shows, and a 62% at schooling shows.
• Get our 2 remaining 3rd level scores for our bronze medal.
• Clean up changes, so they are clean and prompt 90% of the time.
• Improve collected gaits to 4th level quality.
• Assess whether Pig can do 4th, and begin to look hard at his future.
• [Stretch] Put on half steps.
• [Stretch] Go foxhunting. This is easily doable, if I just make the contact and have the funds/time.

2016 Personal Goals

• Get financials recovered from move + funemployment time.
• Put up online storefront for design goods, and at least break even.
• Figure out grad school focus, and get in application for Fall 2016 or Spring 2017.
• Do a little bit of yoga 3x weekly.
• Read 1 physical book a month for a total of 12 books at the end of the year. (Maybe recap reading in a post at the end of the month?)
• Join a gym again. Weight lifting needs to be back in my life.
• Run 3x a week. Keeping basic 5 mile times under 10 min per mile (sub 9 optimal).
• Run from my house to Meridian Hill Park and back. (12 miles total city running, with several huge hills)
• [Stretch] Pick up project horse.