HOW TO ACCEPT THE AWARD: The Liebster Blog Award is a way to recognize blogs who have less than 200 followers. Liebster is a German word that means beloved and valued. Here are the rules for accepting the award:
- Thank the person who nominated you and include a link back to their blog.
- List 11 random facts about yourself.
- Answer the 11 questions given to you.
- Create 11 questions for the bloggers you nominate.
- Choose 11 bloggers with 200 or fewer followers to nominate and include links to their blogs.
- Go to each blogger's page and let them know you have nominated them.
1. I have celiac disease, so no gluten for me. And NO, it IS NOT an allergy. It's an autoimmune disease. And yes, I am "that sensitive" - everyone with celiac disease is equally sensitive.
2. I have an Italian greyhound named Eddie, a yellow lab named Ella, an orange cat named Jonesy, and a grey and white cat named Ripley.
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| Ripley keeps me company while I write. |
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| Jonesy critiques my work. |
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| Toy Hoarder lite. |
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| Smeagle in her castle. |
4. I'm writing a dissertation! I should have a PhD by the end of the year. I HOPE. My dissertation is on the emergence of LGBTQ student visibility on university campuses in Florida in the 1970s-80s. I love it, even though it has nothing to do with the equines.
5. I'm also a teacher - I teach at my university. It's a challenge, because a lot of the students come from a tradition that says it's okay to be homophobic to someone's face.
6. I don't really believe that all opinions are equally valid, when some of those opinions are that we're not all equal and deserve equal rights.
7. I used to play roller derby. My name was RuBrawl, because RuPaul is my muse.
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| Too fierce for words. |
8. I was/am a drag king (I'm kind of on sabbatical from drag right now). My drag name is Maguire, but I might change it when I make my comeback next year.
9. I think white wine is gross but red wine is DELICIOUS. I'm a Malbec fan.
10. I find it hilarious when people mistake me for a dude, but it can also be scary. It depends.
11. I'm turning into a comedy nerd against my better judgment.
11 Questions from L. Williams
1. Favorite type of Jump
I like jumps that make me think - that have a technical question of some kind and are big enough that I can't blow them off. I appreciate an intellectual challenge.
2. Favorite Professional Rider/Horse Team
Can't deny Eric Lamaze and Hickstead.
As for pairs in which both partners are living, I'm super into Becky Holder and Courageous Comet...
as well as Jessie Phoenix and Exponential.
3. Favorite Riding Exercise
Gymnastics!
4. Least favorite Riding exercise
Well, generally, I hate focusing on dressagey stuff for too long. I'm not talking about helping the horse learn to carry herself correctly, but when it comes to spending four months fine-tuning a 10m circle or getting juuuuust the right angle on the half-pass... shoot me. Or throw a jump in there somewhere.
5. Where do you see yourself next years (horse/career/life)
How many years?
Horse: I'll get Lex into the hunter ring for awhile while she learns the ropes of showing. Once she's ready, we'll start the jumper career in earnest. In three years or thereabouts, Rocket will start under saddle, but I have no idea what her job will be. I'm hoping to be riding a lot of different horses. Not sure whether I'll still be teaching lessons, it depends on where the other career goes.
Career: I guess I'll be getting a job as faculty at a college or university somewhere. If that doesn't work out, I think I'll stick with the horse thing. We'll see.
Life: Gosh, I dunno. Probably depends on where I live. I'm sick of dating in this town. I don't really care if I have a legally-recognized relationship (and it isn't legal now anyway), and I emphatically do not want children. So this is hazy for me. I just want my horses, my dogs, and my cats.
6. Advice you would give yourself 5 years ago
Do NOT do things because that's what other people want or think you should do. Take the breaks you need.
7. If you could change your name, what would you change it to?
I can totally change my name whenever I want, right? Just gotta fill out some paperwork? I don't think I'd change it at all.
8. If you could train with anyone who would it be and why?
The question doesn't say anyone living! :D
Vladimir Littauer, because I love Commonsense Horsemanship.
Sally Swift, because I love Centered Riding.
Bill Steinkraus, because I love Riding and Jumping.
9. I'm giving you $5k what would you buy?
Entirely horse stuff, I'm sure. Maybe a new saddle, or I'd put it towards a truck and horse trailer.
10. Give me the recipe for your favorite dish you can make
I make this amazing black beans and rice thing but the recipe isn't mine - it's my BFF's. Saute chopped jalapenos in canola oil for just a minute. Add black beans, mustard, and honey to taste. Let it simmer on low while you cook the rice. It's one of those things that sounds weird until you try it, and then you'll get hooked. I'm a vegetarian but when I go home, my meat-eating family clamors for me to make this for them.
11. Dream vacation destination?
New Zealand! Maybe I'll move there.
11 Questions
1. Would you rather ride a mule or not ride at all?
2. List your three favorite books about riding or horsemanship.
3. Have you ever used the Clinton Anderson or Buck Branaman methods to teach a horse groundwork?
4. Do you know any gay riders (besides me, if you know me)? (Duh, I'm obviously going to ask this.)
5. What's your favorite discipline to watch that you don't compete/train in?
6. Totilas or Blue Horse Matiné? (There is a correct answer! Ha!)
7. Who is your favorite thoroughbred racehorse of the last ten years?
8. Biggest pet peeve on horse blogs?
9. The Black Stallion or Black Beauty?
10. Would you rather ride in the heat or the cold?
11. Your area of the tack room or your bedroom: Which is cleaner?
Choose 11 Bloggers with under 200 followers:
[Disclosure: I just quickly checked the numbers of followers based on surface-level stats, so if you have way more than 200 followers and I'm a dummy, sorry! Love ya!]
1. Pampered Ponies
2. Cob Jockey
3. Eventing in Color
4. Charlie and Me
5. Show Ring Ready
6. Pia's Parade
7. Diary of a Horse-Obsessed Girl
8. Grey Brook Eventing
9. The Longest Format
10. Tucker the Wunderkind
11. Simply Horse-Crazy
Your post is vast but one tiny part of it got me thinking philosophically. Not all opinions are equally valid (or even a tiny bit valid) but is it true that there is an equal right to hold any opinion, even one of questionable validity? I'm not asking for the answer, if there even is one. The way you phrased your sentence got me thinking about it in a different way.
ReplyDeleteI want to share my fave horse book with you, and if you email your address to me I'll send you a copy: Horses Are Meant To Be Horses by an old guy called Franz Mairinger. His writing style is not very polished - reading it made me feel like I'm sitting on a hay bale listening to a wise old man talk about horses. His themes are freedom, fairness and empathy. It's mostly about dressage training, but don't hold it against him. It's worth checking out!
RuBrawl, I love it!
ReplyDeleteRuPaul and Eric Lamaze are oh-so-worthy people to admire! Hehe
ReplyDeleteHa, RuBrawl. That is brilliant. I will never play roller derby, but I used to have the best just-in-case roller derby name in mind...I cannot for the life of me remember what it was and that makes me SO SAD.
ReplyDeleteGood five years ago advice and that beans and rice recipe sounds great!
Thank you for the tag. :)