New helmet

In light of Courtney King-Dye's very sad accident, I thought I'd mention that my new helmet arrived! It's the Charles Owen Pro II skullcap, which comes with a cover and comes in black, silver, gold, and hot pink. Silver and gold are heat reflective.

I got mine in silver, because the desert sun can be kind of brutal. I was excited about this version of the helmet because it's got venting, which lots of skullys don't, and because it came with a free schooling cover.

I have to say -- I love it! It fits like a dream, is comfortable to ride in (no hotter than any other helmet), and just overall, it's great. The only drawbacks I see with it are:

* The cover doesn't really fit: it doesn't cover the whole surface of the helmet (see below). It can cover the front all the way and be rucked up several inches in the back, or it can fit over the back and have the brim poking up from somewhere in the vicinity of my hairline. O.o Oh well -- it was free, and it's just for schooling. I'll get a snazzy blue and white event cover and a velvet cover for show. Not, of course, that I'm excited about that prospect, ohhhh nooo ...

* The harness is made of a sort of vinyl material that I can see cracking in the future. We'll see how it holds up.

Other than that, I'm downright chuffed! :)

In other news -- the first Test of Choice night is coming up April 7. I'm sure glad I got Rev into half-training this month. We need it. I'd really like to ride Training 1 this time, since I am beyond tired of Intro A and B. Of course, there are always, always things to improve, even in lower-level tests, and I really should improve certain things ... but I'd like a new challenge, I think. Depending on how our canter departs go, I might be able to ride Training 1 and Intro A -- one for a stretch, one for refining what we've been doing.