Horse Blog

As it now stands, the website is static. I’d place plenty of videos on it. Panorama sweeps, wildlife sequences, downtown walk-abouts, concert and horse show performances. I’d show people enjoying Indian crafts, fishing, hiking, horseback riding, snow-shoeing, golfing. I’d do views from the aerial tramway.

Last night one of the girls from our barn took a pretty nasty fall during the little practice horse show we had.

After spending the weekend at a horse show, I suddenly realized that anime cons and horse shows have a lot in common. Far fetched though it may sound, here’s proof beyond a doubt that equestrians and otakus have more in common than first meets the eye.

How much does the mind have to do with becoming a good rider? What is the connection between what we think and what we do? Is it possible to change our mental programming, allowing us to enhance our awareness, learn new skills, become confident riders, all without leaving the comforts of home?

So now I'm stuck. My cars smell like horse. At times my house smells like horse. My wife and daughters hair smells like horse. Horse everywhere. It's obviously not a guy thing. Do you see guys at horse shows? Nope. Just little girls on horses and their moms who would like to be little girls on horses.

Think about the fact that Shatner is 75 years old, has had a highly successful career that has continued for over a half a century, is currently the lead star in one of the most successful television shows on the air (Boston Legal) - garnering him two back-to-back Emmy awards, can be seen in commercials hawking everything from hotel tickets to Satellite dishes, still is sought out by directors for movie roles, spends hundreds of hours every year working for a variety of charity organizations through his efforts with the William Shatner horse shows and paintball tournaments, appears at several Trek and Scifi conventions annually, a respected author, songwriter and most notably, a living legend having been the main star of a SF franchise that has lasted now over 40 years, with no signs of abating.

Oh - and about that horse. There is a wooden horse at Troy, just for fun. You can climb up in it and have your photograph taken looking out from one of the windows in the horse’s body. It has a small house sitting on top of the horse’s back, with more windows. It seems unlikely that anything with windows could have disguised the fact that people were hidden inside; yet, interestingly, even an ancient Greek depiction of the Trojan horse shows it having windows.

Here I am in sunny, er, stormy, Cleveland. Berea, actually. I left work at 11, then headed home for some quality Buu time. Of course I was too overcome with anxiety about my impending solo road trip to really enjoy his company. At 1 I headed over to the barn, for one last lesson before the horse show.

I actually used to compete in horse shows, you know. I had a green cowboy hat and everything, I should find a picture.

Charri meant a horse show and they were in it. Boy, were they so excited. They made it sound as if it was 1 minute even though it was 3 miles. They talked a lot along the way. When the girls got there, it was so big it took 4 days to walk from one end to the other.

SM City Davao is hosting a horse show today, in the dirt area behind the back parking lot. I visited for a short time this morning, and there are about 50 or so horses there at this time, with riders and a large crowd of onlookers! The show will be ongoing for the rest of today (Saturday 4/22), and also all day tomorrow (Sunday 4/23).

For more information on the Indio horse show, check out the website of the organizer Horse Shows in the Sun. Also please check the Fernridgemanor Photo Gallery for more pictures from the show!

We have another gig tonight. I canceled our gig for next weekend because I am headed to Bowling Green, KY next Friday night for a horse show early Saturday morning. I am working with a equine photographer. GREAT money! More than what I make with the band. (BTW… I have realized that I have failed to mention that my bands name is Goodsprings… the name comes from the area where I grew up.)

This would be me in a rodeo. You can’t get thrown and trampled by a stick. However, I wouldn’t be safe because you can still trip over a stick and fall down and break your neck.

Is your riding life getting a little bland? Do you do the same ole' thing with your horse day in and day out?...

Oh, and I’m still working on a new layout. Been busy all weekend, watching the Stockholm International Horse Show, so I’ve been pretty much living in front of the TV this past weekend.

On the last day we took a tour to the huge dam that was to flood the beautiful gorges we'd just seen. We went at night so saw it flood lit, it was far larger than I'd first imagined. Then strangely we were taken to an aquarium and a horse show!

A publicity idea for designers: If you’re a designer, wear your clothes! Wear them well! Open yourself up to people with your posture (don’t glare, cross your arms, slouch) – be confident! People will ask you where you bought something if they are interested and you’re approachable. Go places where your target market might go if you don’t go there already (example, if you’re designing for ummmmm…. people with an interest in equestrian style, seek out horse shows, get to know people, go to other events that they go to, learn about them if you aren’t one of their crowd.) Get your friends and family to wear your clothing if it’s appropriate and looks good on them – they can market for you.

So, to fill you in. The horse show went pretty well. I don’t feel I did well personally because I know I can do better but I got some great ribbons. I got pretty frusterated at the end though. Adam was holding Jester for me and I had to go to the bathroom so bad. Just as I was walking away I hear Adam screaming for me to help! I couldn’t figure out what was going on and when I looked Jester was practically trotting circles around Adam and he had this terrified look on his face. Well I guess Jester was eating grass and walked too closely to an electric fence where he got zapped and all hell broke loose and Jester was sure there was a monster out to get him. Yes I nearly peed my pants but we got everything all straightened out and I did eventually hit the bathroom.

As Bloomberg News puts it, the agency’s “upper ranks are mostly staffed with people who share two traits: loyalty to President George W. Bush and little or no background in emergency management.” By now everyone knows FEMA’s current head went from overseeing horse shows to overseeing the nation’s response to disaster, with no obvious qualifications other than the fact that he was Mr. Allbaugh’s college roommate.

Everyone (Joshua through Matthew) from our family that took a project to the fair received blue ribbons. Joshua and John will advance on to the State Fair with their video and fishing projects. Abigail will take her horse training project, Keylee, to the state horse show.

Okay, so I work for Saddle & Bridle and they have been working me like crazy the past month. I did a show in Lexington, then a week off, then one in North Carolina, one in Shelbyville, one in Illinois (yep, three weeks in a row), then a week off, and I wind it all up with the granddaddy of them all, the World’s Championship Horse Show. Really, this show is like a marathon. The schedule and number of classes has gotten so out of control. There are 240 classes this year, and probably at least 20 of those will be split into two. My horse trainers are judging it this year, and I feel really bad for them. It’s a grueling week and no one is ever happy with all of the judges’ decisions. I just feel that not every horse is of the caliber that can compete there, and if you aren’t, don’t go. After all, with no qualification system or anything it’s just another horse show. I have shown both of my five gaited horses there over the years and it is fun, but so is every other show. I’ve had to sit out for awhile from showing because of Rocky’s abscess in her ankle, and it was tough. I really wanted to be in that ring.

I wanted to become a riding instructor/barn manager. Yes, I was a horse-crazy teenager who’d spent years hanging around barns, taking lessons, entering in horse shows and patching up my certifiably crazy thoroughbred so that we could occasionally join the fox hunt and more often just go jumping anything that stood still. I even got a course catalog from Meredith Manor and wrangled a visit to the campus. But then I decided to fast track through high school in three years and accept the early admission from Purdue. Going off to my hometown university at barely seventeen seemed a bit easier than moving several states away to pursue equestrian studies.

I spent the day out at the horse show. EW was riding, her brother, his friend and I were along for the ride. As far as that kind of thing went, it was pretty low key. But there were fancy cars and fancy horses. When I think about riding these days, I want to be on the trail. I want to be going places you can only go on a horse, like into the past. This is a whole different thing. And as ridiculously expensive as it is, what’s nice is that everyone involved seems really into it. They are really into the horses, and into riding.

The rest of the day was spent cutting north to I-90 in South Dakota and heading home. We made it as far as Mitchell, SD before weariness and a big storm caused us to spend the night at the Econo Lodge. The next day got us into Rochester at noon, just in time to watch Sara’s daughter, Steph, ride in the horse show at the Olmsted County Fair. More on that tomorrow…

Therapeutic Riding has wonderful benefits for a variety of riders with special needs in many different ways. Additionally, “therapeutic riding is a safe venue for children with special needs to interact with horses”, she tells Mountain Times readers. Conditions benefiting from therapeutic riding include Multiple Sclerosis (MS), developmental disabilities, Down Syndrome, cerebral palsy, sensory impairment, emotional and behavioral problems, cardiovascular accident/stroke, and amputations.

Today I volunteered at the Classic Company's annual Bilmore Classic Horse Show on the Biltmore Estate. I drove a golf cart around for the Chamber to meet some of the guests and shuttle them from the stables to the rings to the parking lots. It's very relaxing, but very tiring, as the heat, dust, and smell of horse will wear you down. Fun just the same. Here are two photos - please note, the grounds do not look this nice once horses, dogs, trucks, a half-million golf carts, and mopeds have been on them! Have a great weekend - hope to see you at the Estate!

I have to wake up at like 6am for the horse show tomorrow so goodnight! Expect more Maggie pics and such!

I rode Sealy-Babe until five p.m. when it started to get really dark. Sealy and I enjoyed riding bareback through the snow, and it turns out Sealy-Babe likes riding at night as much as I do. In the summertime, I think I’ll train her for the horse show at night.

Follow this link to learn a little more about the Blowing Rock Charity Horse Show.

It was about the diving horse shows that were pretty big back in the 30’s and 40’s. Yeah, I went through the horse phase that most girls go through - except mine went one step further to where I was involved in dressage and competitive show jumping for a whole lotta years. I did this before I hit my growth spurt (which really didn’t happen until sometime in high school), so in my show clothes, I looked like a living lawn jockey.

Rolex was awesome. Jill Severson won with the highest score in Dressage, the fastest time cross-country and a clean stadium round. This is the second time I’ve seen someone do this, Pipa Funnel did it in 2003. It’s a pretty amazing accomplishment to be able to beat 40 odd people that easily. Fantastic.

Nothing makes folks smile like a chocolate chip cookie - or a horse named Zips Chocolate Chip.

Just ask Ann Myers of Ashland, Ohio, breeder and owner of this phenomenal stallion. A son of the legendary Quarter Horse Zippo Pine Bar, “Chip” struck gold in the futurity ranks, winning seven major championships and three reserves at ages two and three. At four, the flashy bay aced 10 straight American Quarter Horse Association Western Pleasure classes en route to the World Show, where he was unanimously declared World Champion in Junior Western Pleasure.

Typically, I prefer sporthorses of any breed with the conformation, sanity and soundness to be versatile enough for the three phases of eventing, in addition to any other equestrian activity that catches my interest (hunter paces, broom polo, gymkhana, even driving). The type of Arabs I’ve seen round these parts are typically saddleseat or english pleasure type that go in the roundy-round classes at horse shows and fairs.

On a bright note, Katanga's owners watched me ride and were very pleased. Jacque wants me to start saving my money immediately so I can begin going to horse shows and showing him in the amateur divisions. A new job I told them. First I get a new job and then I can start thinking about competing again.

"I rode at a stable called Camelot Stables which was located in Mr. Scrushy's stables on what is now Marin Road," Bowdre said. "As a result of riding in that stable, I got to know his daughter Melissa, and also his ex-wife, Karen Brooks, who rode there."

Later in the transcript she said:

"I am quite fond of Melissa. I think she is a wonderful, wonderful girl and have always enjoyed my conversations with her."

Moments later she recalled meeting Scrushy in person.

"I probably met him two or three times as a result of him attending horse shows with Melissa," she said "Every time, I had to be reintroduced to him."

I am also happy to tell you that emergency vets at fancy horse shows aren't nearly as expensive as you might think.

All about the horse - from work to show, this weekend celebrates the horse’s unique and historical relationship with mankind. From artwork to equestrian training; pony express riders and horse races; care, feeding and grooming; pony, wagon, stagecoach and buggy rides - if horses are involved, you bet we’ll celebrate it.

After years of struggle in the horse business, Canale Farms is thriving as a different animal altogether.

The 107-acre spread in Fayette County is home to corporate outings, church picnics, family reunions and other group gatherings where visitors can fish, play softball, sing karaoke, eat barbecue and - yes - ride ponies.

"I did everything I could (in the horse business)," said owner and founder Drew Canale, 47, who grew up in Midtown and became a lawyer, though you'd never guess it from his cowboy hat and folksy way.

"We went to the top of the heap in horses. We did horse sales, horse shows. ... We did everything we could to try to make a living. The market's just not there."

But Canale said a friend, Davy Johnson, suggested corporate- event hosting as a way to stay down on the farm. From one event in 1995, it has grown into into a full-time business.

His hobby was riding a matched pair of horses “Roman Style” – standing bareback, one foot on each horse’s back. I never saw this performance, but many people in town did. He did this feat regularly at horse shows and at the polo grounds in Cincy.

Flyhawk was foaled in August of 1926 in the east pasture of Cotton Hill Morgan 4 Stock Farm, owned by J.C. Brunk. Though he was a late summer foal, he had no problem becoming one of the leading group of the earlier foals. From the beginning he was recognized as having something special about him. He was compact and smooth with ample breed characteristic. He had personality plus, alert, bright prominent eyes and a happy disposition which he kept all of his 32 years. As a coming two year old he was purchased by the LU. Sheep Company Ranch where for...