Ultimate Goal

If I had to choose one goal to complete in my lifetime, I think it would be something like this:

Rolex, Here We Come!

Okay, maybe not...

I jumped Sonny for the first time last week and he did really well! I think he has improved! I feel like he is becoming more athletic and looking better :).


By the way, I know the whole 'muck tub jump' is really tacky. A fellow boarded thought it would be okay to take my jump standards to the outdoor arena and not bring them back in when she was finished. It has rained for a solid two weeks since then, so they are sitting in a lake and I would probably drowned trying to get them.

Decisions

I can't seem to make up my mind about anything lately. One major issue is a live show this weekend. I have been so busy with school and work, I haven't done a thing for the show and it's only four days away!

I haven't had a chance to look over the classlist, but I could probably just keep things basically the same from the last show. But, I am just not in the mood for a show for some reason?

I really should go considering there are only thee in my area this year. I just don't have the motivation :(.

My Only Sonshine

Literally. It has been raining since I can remember, and is going to rain for forever. So, Sonny has been my only Sonshine lately. He makes me happy, when skies are grey :).

This is a typical "I want to eat anything I can, including your camera" shot.

New Tack: ID Collar

This is for the same custom order as the foal halter. Like the foal halter, I have never made an ID collar before. Here is what it was based off of:

Mare ID Collar

Here is how it turned out:

In the future I am going to make the strap longer. It should be placed further back onto the neck (I think?), but it is for GG Valentine and her mane gets in the way.

I am pretty pleased with it! Especially for it being my first time making a 'name plate'. What do you think? Any improvement suggestions?

KHP Parade of Breeds (2)

I had a few requests for videos, so I will start with what I have found so far. This is LaBelle and me at the 2005 Kentucky Horse Park Parade of Breeds, three years after my first year there with Chauncey. I can't seem to find the two in-between years, but I will keep looking!

This was LaBelle's first year at the KY Horse Park, and it was our first year showing together (2005). I have a lot more pictures to share, but the video quality is way worse. My godfather (instead of my dad) taped it with his ancient, big as my horse, have to hold it on your shoulder, camcorder. I will continue to hunt to see if my dad taped any, but I think he took all the still photos.

Now that I have more pictures, I can better explain how the Parade of Breeds works. First of all, it's all about the public. Therefore, LaBelle (and Chauncey's) stall was open for viewing all day. When we weren't riding, we were hanging out at the stall. Sometimes I would pull my horse out or just leave the door open so people could ask questions or feed them carrots.

Then came the actual riding like you saw in the last video. Again, it is the breed being represented. Since LaBelle was a warmblood, it was fitting that we did dressage.

There were also many other horses that represented their breed:

This horse was in the movie Seabiscuit
After all the breeds have shown, then they all come back in the end and line up on the rail. Then the public is free to talk to the riders, ask questions, and of course pet the horses!

The Parade of Breeds was such a great experience; I really enjoyed it. I hope you guys do too! If you get a chance (like at Breyerfest!) make sure you check it out!

Denny Chapman, the Breeds Barn manager and me.

Silly girl!

Blogger

Blogger is a funny thing. Don't get me wrong, I love it. BUT...It's really funny to me sometimes.

To begin with, I was using HTML codes for my font up until last week. Then I realized that only people with a mac (which is apparently only 15% of my viewers) could see that font. Haha so much for all those codes...

Secondly, I am very curious to know how accurate it is. For instance:

Is that really true? Did someone really stock my blog a ton just for an hour? LOL!

Along with that, I love the option to see the Search Keywords. Someone actually found my blog by searching "do all dressage workers wear polos?" If by workers you mean riders, or anyone involved in dressage...then the answer is yes. All dressage 'workers' wear polos. :)

I am not really sure what the point of this post is, but I really felt the need to share this.

EA 2011 (4) - Wrap Up

Overall, everything about Equine Affair this year was wonderful. I got to see some great friends, including miss Joyce Savage and one of my very first trainers! Along with some beautiful horses, great performances, and LOTS of shopping!

Speaking of shopping:

Here is the $35 blanket I got Sonny. Doesn't he look so good in it?

I think I mentioned it in the Texas Thunder post, but Saturday night I went to Fantasia. Fantasia is a event where you have a ton of different riders and horses with a bunch of different skills. Every year the Canadian Cowgirls drill team is there, along with some trick riders and Tommy Turvey showed up there for a few years. There is almost always a dressage act and a reining one. Along with those, there was a lady who did liberty with mini horses and some really neat driving acts!

There were also trick horses this year. Usually trick horses are pretty cheesey and I am not very interested. But this was totally different. Unfortunately, I can't recall his name, but he did such a good job! He had three horses. What made the act so cute was that the three horses weren't all one color and looking the same like most acts, but they were all different shapes and sizes! They had the best personalities, were so playful, and really liked what they were doing. Because of that, it turned out to be a really cute show!

Well, that's it for the Equine Affair pictures! Hope you enjoy!

EA 2011 (3) - Texas Thunder

I have seen lots of great horsemen in my life. All of them have their specialties and stand out in their own way. But, there is no doubt that Jason Goodman makes the top of my list.

I originally saw Jason and his team a six huge, black, gorgeous percherons at Rolex a few years ago. I have seen him a couple times since then and it just keeps getting better.

Jason puts on an outstanding performance. He and his team do everything with so much energy. Whether it be a big trot, gallop, or his signature "spin the top". "Spin the top" is a move where the horses perform a complete 360 degree circle while the cart hind wheels stay in place. Not only can they do it well, they do it fast! On top of all that, Jason has taken up Roman riding. What really gave me goose bumps was that

a) He was completely bareback. It was just pure boot on the horses back
b) There was nothing holding the horses together.
c) They were so fast! It wasn't like he was just staying on the rail. They were turning and cantering and still all staying together!
To me, that is something special. There were a lot of other Roman Riding acts during Fantasia and there always are. The horses are usually held together by surcingles and almost always have "pads" on their backs to help their riders grip. Maybe I am wrong and Jason's act isn't so uncommon, but either way...I loved it!

I didn't get to video all of it, but here is some of Jason Goodman and The Priedert Percherons.

EA 2011 (2) - Drafts, Friesians, and Haflingers

For some reason, we saw a lot of "hairy" horses on Saturday.

First up was the Friesian demo. Oddly, I am not a huge fan of the breed, but there were a ton present at the show. I will admit, there were a couple that caught my eye.

The breed demo showcased a variety of Friesians. There were four or five doing dressage, but plenty of them were dressed up, too. There was one pulling a cart and one set was "Riding and Driving".

Next we got the chance to see the Clydesdales. WOW! What a site! I haven't been around many drafts before, let alone up close to a big hitch like this one. I may have gotten a little excited and taken an excess amount of pictures, but you can never have too many!

They all had such gorgeous faces and I was very intrigued by their harnesses. Unfortunately, I just missed taking a shot when the guy had a hoof lifted. Darn! It was such a cool shoe.

Here is a quick video I took. I am not sure why it is so blurry? I have an HD camera with an HD card; it looks fine on my computer and horrible when I upload it to youtube! Sorry about the quality!



I managed to snap a few photos of this big guy in the warm-up arena. Wintersong, anyone? His face markings were really neat; I wish I would have been able to get closer shot!

We watched the Haflingers in the warm up arena for a pretty long time, but it never occured to me to take pictures! I did get a few before they went on to present. There were so many, specializing in dressage, hunseat, jumper, western pleasure, reining, and more! There was one dark Haflinger, but for the most part they all looked the same.

I think that is it for the pictures of Equine Affair! I will be posting some about Fantasia tomorrow!