I owe it all to the polo club.

In five days, I leave for Seattle to try working at and living on an eventing farm.  I am very excited as this is what I've been wanting to do with my life and I owe it all to the polo club.  I am very grateful to have had polo in my life for the past year as the Cincinnati Polo Club really helped me get back into horses and find my true passions in life.  However, polo is not the equestrian sport for me as I've always been an odd person to play on a team and sports like that make me incredibly nervous.  However, in eventing, it's just the horse and me on the course- and that's the way I like it.

Before I met the polo club, I was a total mess.  I tried to kill myself and was undergoing therapy to try to snap me out of it, but nothing really helped until I met them.  In a strange roundabout way, I owe my life to the Cincinnati Polo Club and the great people within it.  They've all been incredibly supportive of me and really helped me get through a rough time in my life, whether they knew it or not.

I never flat out told them my story, but I never felt like I needed to.  They welcomed me with open arms regardless of how I dressed, what my previous job was, and what color my hair was.  I've never felt like I belonged anywhere or that I had true friends, but that all changed when I met the polo club.  I am sad to leave them behind, but I am incredibly excited to start this new chapter in my life that they have helped create.  I will never forget them and what they have done for me.

They will always be my friends and my family.

Evil Dead (2013): The Film that Made Me Second Guess My Life

I'm normally wary of remakes, but something a friend of mine said within the past few months made me rethink my stance on remakes- specifically horror remakes.  It's great to know that horror is alive and well.  So I excitedly went to see the new Evil Dead (albeit, on Bargain Tuesday, and just before it left the theatre, but I'm broke and so busy that sometimes I even forget to work).

I was blown away.  When it comes to gore, I pretty much have an iron stomach.  I like to credit this to all the action and horror films I was not supposed to watch as a kid, but did anyway.  My current lack of squeamishness could probably also be paid tribute to the multitude of Real Life Torture Porn (AKA animal exploitation exposés) that I watch thanks to my interest in being vegan.

Actually, I'm not sure watching all of the animal exploitation exposés are really healthy either, but that's a post for a completely different time.

Anyway, despite my iron stomach, there were quite a few cringe-worthy scenes.  My inner 15-year-old boy (Yes, I do have one of those!) was cheering while my inner 5-year-old girl was crying for her stuffed pony.

I've been really bad about keeping up with all things horror lately because of my equestrian interests (having an obsessive personality kind of sucks because when I get interested in something, I lose all focus on everything else), but I read somewhere that they did not use any CGI for gore.  I have yet to do my research and confirm this, but if this is true, then I love the modern Evil Dead even more.

The art of gore is something that cannot be lost to computers... and it is wonderful when other filmmakers understand this.

So I'm obviously gushing over the film, and rightfully so, and I felt so inspired after the film that I began questioning my lack of involvement in the film industry as of late.  I have pretty much decided to put my film career temporarily on hold while I rebuild my equestrian career and because of this, I may be moving to Virginia or Oregon to do equestrian things full time.  But now I'm not so sure that's what I should be doing.

I love cinema.  I love making films.  I love writing about films.  This is why I call myself Kino...  film is so much a part of me that I CANNOT ignore it.

I have to remind myself that I can ride horses and make films at the same time and of all people, I should be the one to figure out how to make the two clashing careers work.

There are seven days in a week and 168 hours in a week.  I should be able to save a portion for film, a portion for horses, and a portion for writing.  Maybe I have to make my inner German come out and get very strict with myself about my time management.

Adventures in Eventing

I've had an exciting week!  I should really update more, but I struggle with ideas to write about.  Today is a day where I'm just going to blab and you're going to read what I say because you're bored.

First of all, last Thursday I had my fourth eventing lesson.  I jumped a little over a foot after doing this wicked exercise about straightness.  After I successfully did it, I felt amazing.  I am so glad I found what I want to do and my instructor seems to be impressed with me.  I'm impressed with myself!

I absolutely love my eventing lessons and how amazing my instructor makes me feel.  She's so positive.

Since I've decided that eventing is what I definitely want to do and I want to make a career out of it, I found a working student position in Virginia for an upper level eventer that occasionally takes lessons with Olympic riders.  The position could end up in a paid position, which I'm really interested in.  I've pretty much decided that if she offers it to me, I'll take it.  We're still in the interview process, but I'm crossing my fingers that everything will check out okay.  She seems to be interested in me!

Saturday, my husband and I went to see the cross country day at The Rolex Kentucky 3-Day Event.

Here is a picture I took of Boyd Martin and Trading Aces.

Me with Phillip Dutton after he signed my Modern Eventing book!

Stay tuned for a book review of Bittersweet Farms 1: Mounted!

Eyeshadow Primer: Urban Decay vs. Sobe Botanicals

I'm vegan, so when the discovery that Urban Decay's eyeshadow primer potion was not vegan surfaced, I looked for an alternative.  Someone recommended Sobe Botanicals to me.  I love the Sobe primer potion and I have used it for a number of sideshow gigs.  However, even though I bought vegan eyeshadow from Urban Decay, they still sent me a sample of their non-vegan primer.

A night of boredom and possibly creative insanity gave me an idea.  How about a test to see which stands the test of time?  Or rather, the test of sleep.

Urban Decay claims that their primer potion will hold up for 24 hours.  Sobe Botanicals makes no such claims, but I thought it'd be nice to see how well it does.

 I put Sobe on my left eye and Urban Decay on my right.  As you can see, Sobe had left my eyeshadow a little brighter than Urban Decay.  (Please excuse my faded pink hair and my mess of eyebrows.)

After about five hours of sleep, this is the result.

Urban Decay left no creases in my eyeshadow and it looks relatively the same after five hours of tossing and turning in bed.  Sobe Botanicals, however, has creases, but is still bright.

Because Sobe Botanicals is the vegan option (and mineral/natural option), I would still take it over Urban Decay until I found something vegan and more durable.  But it sure would be nice if Urban Decay would find a way to keep the awesomeness of their primer and make it vegan.

The horses I have loved

Horses are very important to me and they always have been.  I love the way they look, the way they move, the way they smell.  I love their soft noses, their mirror-like eyes, and the way they know what you're thinking.  They are kind, honest creatures- much unlike humans.  They do not judge, they don't care what your label is, and they don't care how much money you make, or if you live with your parents.  They care about how you ride, if you ride, and their basic needs.  If you take care of them, they will take care of you.  They're amazing, beautiful creatures.

I rode horses regularly from when I was eight-years-old up until I was 16.  I can remember the name of each horse I've ever ridden and their personality.  Cheval was a grumpy, red horse.  Butkus didn't like being near other horses.  Field was a beautiful grey Arabian who lost his best friend to a lightning strike.  The electricity went through Charlie and paralyzed one side of Field.  I rode him once, but he was my favorite.  Juice and I were buddies.  He taught me to jump and really helped me become a balanced rider.   He was the first and only horse I've ever fallen off.  I loved Winton, even though he seemed to always be disappointed when I brought him his tack.

Dallas was another favorite.  He seemed to tolerate me very well.

I rode Domino and Tara at camp.  Both of them had babies, which made me consider that the camp was not the best place for horses or people.

I was completely horse crazy.  I read books about horses, watched movies about horses, dreamed about horses...  they were a part of who I was.

Welcome to the new blog

Another blog?  What is this, Kino?  Why do you keep doing these things?

Well, this is the new, all-encompassing, everything about Kristen McFarland (Kino) blog.  Here I am going to post my life story for those who are interested, write about my passions, and not limit myself to one subject.  This is my new and official blog.  Accept no imitations.

I am 26-years-old, married, technically homeless (in the sense that my husband and I do not have our own place, so we live between our parents' houses), a creative writing student, an equestrian, a photographer and filmmaker, and just too awesome for this world and words.  I've been told that I'm a modern Renaissance Woman and that my résumé needs to be multiple pages to describe everything I can do.  I carry multiple business cards for different situations.

I have a hard time distinguishing between "hobby" and "career," so I just blend everything I like to do together and hope I come out on top.

I'm here to tell you that it's okay to be a multi-faceted individual.  It's okay to not be a one trick pony.  It's okay to do what you like to do.

It's okay to be you.