Oh the air is crisp and the days are getting short. The spookiest day of the year is behind us, which can only mean one thing….
It’s time for No Stirrups November!
Yep, it’s the time of year where we dedicated equestrians spend a little extra time working our beloved mounts without our stirrups. And even though it can cause a little extra discomfort, we equestrians are used to that right? We push ourselves to be better riders through different exercises and November is an entire month dedicated to the practice.
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I get excited for November. This is the time of year when I advocate for my horsey time, even when it’s cold and dark outside.
Let There Be Light
Last year I was fortunate enough to be able to add some solar lights to my arena. Just in time for No Stirrups November. Timing is everything right? But even if I didn’t have these arena lights, I had also configured a more portable and smaller version of the arena lights the year before.
It wasn’t quite as fancy. But it worked. And it allowed me to ride when it was dark outside. I do have to say though, I like the solar option a lot better. It’s more permanent, and stays up year round.
And thankfully, the lights are working great. Which is good, because the time is changing back to standard time next week. Just in time for my nighttime riding sessions.
But I have wanted to make something ‘official’ for No Stirrups November, and this is the year I finally have done it!
Ever since I got an Asmar Equestrian shirt with the logo on the arm, I have thought how cool it would be to have something like that in words I chose. So I had been racking my brain trying to get a shirt that says No Stirrups November.
I even tried online t-shirt companies. But thankfully I couldn’t figure out how to add the words to an arm of a shirt. That just saved me a bunch of money. And then I thought about my Cricut machine. I mean I had iron on material, and the machine. So why not see if I could make my own shirt?
Cricut Design Space
Then, all I had to do was come up with the lettering in design space, and add it to a shirt.
It was pretty easy actually. Why hadn’t I done this sooner?
And then after seeing how easy it was to figure out the shirt. I thought how cool it would be to have a saddle pad made especially for this time of year?
No Stirrups November Is Here – Free Pattern Is Too
So I got into Design Space again, and created an iron on transfer for a saddle pad. And I have to say, it was fairly easy to make my own image in Design Space. I had never tried, because, well, I thought it would be too technical. But it wasn’t. It was actually fun! If you haven’t signed up – you should! It’s free! Now it does help if you have a Cricut machine – so you can create and cut your files.
And after a little practice, I was able to make it! How awesome is this? The iron on doesn’t have to be just for a saddle pad either. I can change the dimensions of the image, and then add it to the front (or back) of a t shirt.
No Stirrups November Is Here – Free Pattern Is Too
I even made the file shareable! If you have signed up for Cricut Design Space, you can access my digital images. And you can use these digital images yourself (for personal use only please). Here is the link.
I love my Cricut Maker Machine. There are so many useful things I can create using it! I do have to say though that the saddle pad iron on turned out better than I had hoped.
And I think having the right tools for the job are what made this project so successful.
Cricut Tools
Like I said, having the right tools make projects like this so easy. And I cannot say enough good things about Cricut. I started with this cutting machine way back when you had to use cartridges. But wow, how things have changed!
I have upgraded to the Cricut Maker recently, and this thing is a beast. It can cut over 300 different materials. And it makes fast work of a crafting project.
And for my birthday this year, my husband got me the Cricut Easy Press II . And at the time of writing this article, they are on sale for $99.00 on Amazon.
Think of it as a fancy iron that is made specifically for creating iron-on decals to add to, well, basically any type of material.
These two machines made it possible for me to create my awesome No Stirrups November motivation. And I am so excited to put thee things I made to use this evening! (Photos to come!)
No Stirrups November Bingo
And although I am not holding an “official” No Stirrups November challenge, I really did like playing the bingo card I made last year. So I made a new bingo card for 2022:
I have also created a PDF file so you can download the bingo card for yourself, and do your own No Stirrups November!
No Stirrups November Is Here – Free Pattern Is Too
Print of the Bingo Card and make your own No Stirrups November Challenge! It’s fun, and your horse will love you for it! So ready, set, lets go November!!!!!
2023 Looking Bright For The Colorado Horse Park
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