Chantilly Tales: A New Beginning

When I started blogging, I hadn't looked beyond my life with Goose. But then life happened and things changed, and here I am at the start of not only a new chapter, but a new book. 

Some of you may know me from my other blog, Goosebackriding. If you haven't read it and don't know me, I'm Alyssa. I'm a 32 year old animal-crazy human who belongs to three dogs, 12 chickens, and two horses. I grew up in NJ riding in the HJ world and went to school for Equine Science and Reproduction. After school, I decided breeding horses wouldn't fund my lifestyle, so I built a career in agriculture technology, and at this moment I'm very lucky to say that I love what I do and who I work for. I make notoriously impulsive decisions that lead me to accumulating more animals than I need, and that's the way I like it. 

I moved to Charlotte, NC in 2017 with just one dog and one horse, and I've grown my furmily substantially since then. The labs, Zuzu (black) and Franny (yellow) are my ride or die best friends and barn girls, and Penny (spaniel) came to live with us in 2021 when my grandparents passed. She's the old lady of the house and I'm grateful to care for her in her old age, she fits right in. I've also accumulated 12 hens over the past year, and they provide an unexpected joy in my life and love having them in my yard. 

You can read about my life with Goose on my old blog, but here is the cliffsnotes (er, do the kids say TLDR or something now?). He was a 2004 Perch/TB gelding who came into my life the year I turned 20. We had 11 years of joy, heartbreak, vet bills, adventures, and love together and there is not a day that goes by that I don't miss him. He passed in October last year, and it still often feels like my whole world ended with his passing.  

Since Goose's passing, I've acquired two more horses. First up is Tilly. Chantilly Sky, aka Tilly, is a 2022 American Warmblood filly who is an absolute delight. My friend found her ad on Facebook and sent it to me one Sunday in March, I drove down to meet her, and she came home a week later. She is the easiest and best baby I've ever worked with, and sure you can all think I'm just saying that because she's mine but I've worked with a lot of youngsters and she is truly delightful. She's growing like a weed and I cannot wait to see who she grows up to be. 

Last but not least is this giant hunk of gorgeous Teddy. C. Theodore is a 13 year old Oldenburg gelding who was looking for a new job just when I was really starting to miss riding. One of my best friend's mom's is a horsewoman, and she owns two lovely horses that are in professional hunter programs with fantastic riders and trainers. Since she doesn't ride anymore, Teddy has been leased out over the past few years within this program, and has done some pretty awesome things around the state and up and down the east coast. Recently, he's decided that the show life might not be for him anymore and he's too young to retire. His owner knew I was missing riding and saw an opportunity to make a match, so we talked and Teddy came home just last weekend. The hope is that I'll lease him until Tilly is grown up and ready for more, or for as long as all three parties are happy with the arrangement. 

He is fancy and stunning I just need time to get better pictures of him but gosh is he hunky.

Both horses are boarded at my friend's farm just ten minutes from my house and I'm so excited to have a new chapter and a new barn home. I'm still close with my previous barn family and I miss seeing them every day. So many of my best memories are with Goose at that farm with those people, but it felt like I needed a fresh start with the new kid. I get the best of both worlds by still visiting my friends and helping out at my old barn as needed, while Tilly and Teddy reside at a farm with extensive amenities and access to trainers. 

So, there it is. Welcome to Chantilly Tales, my little corner of the internet where I can share my journey with my beasties. Thanks for coming along for the ride. 

Hi it's me, Tilly!