Nationals

Scottsdale! West World! Wahoo!!!!! Great promo video. Since the akhal teke breed that I love so much will never have a show on this grand of a scale, I have to live vicariously through the other breeds that do. The Arabians, quarter horses, morgans, saddlebreds, pintos, appies, and even the big hairball friesians.... have lovely professionally ran national shows that are outstanding! The marketing, promotion, and sheer number of competitors is great. I'll eventually make it down to watch this event someday - it is on my bucket list.

http://vimeo.com/58499467

Another Start

The youngest member of our herd is starting her career under saddle now.  =:)  My little cupcake is all grown up.

I had planned on starting Smidgen last fall/spring, but got busy working with other horses - so this year I was going to make sure that I made some time for her.  She's a really wonderful little filly, and I think that she will make a fine riding mare with time.  I don't quite know what she wants to be yet.... but we'll figure it out as we go.  She will definitely have a career in endurance to test her "structural sound-ness", but we'll also look into a career for her in the show ring as well.

Smidgen seems to have a really awesome little western pleasure shuffle for a trot, so I'm *assuming* she will make a nice western pleasure horse - but we'll see.  She might have something else in mind, I don't know.... only time will tell what she wants to be.      

She's a happy little trooper to start her new job.

Smidgen has more facial chrome than her older brother does, (Octopelle).  She also has a tiny little adorable flank spot and a partial blue eye.

Seems like just yesterday that I watched her being born...  How time flies!

She was such a cute little squirt! 

Tabitha Pack's traditional sized Arabian resin "Halim Cyril" recently completed in the studio as a pinto half Arabian stallion.  I customized his mane and tail and gave him a unique little braid.  I also gave him a twitched right ear.  This is the first of two guest artist pieces that I did on this mold for Tabitha. 

Spring Time Open Horse Show

Can't wait for this one! Wahoo!!!! The judge is totally awesome!  Very excited!!!!!
http://www.franklincountysaddleclub.com/springtime%20open.htm

A vent for the day:

I love the akhal teke breed, but am getting really sick and tired of the people associated with it!

Yours truly,
The perpetually annoyed and rather grumpy blog author.  

January BITS Show

Saturday the 4th kicked off the first show of the 2014 season! Yay!!!!!! The "Battle In The Saddle" series has started up again, and it was a great way to start off the new year. 
I've decided to get Ox in shape once again and delve a bit more into his english pleasure, western dressage, and endurance career once again.  He had taken some time off for awhile, but now we're 'Back in Black'!  (As that song goes....)  

The morning was a bit chilly at the pavilion, so our english attire didn't look very attractive with a heavy coat and insulated jeans.  But hey, I'd rather be warm, than cold and totally miserable....

Lined up for one of the english pleasure classes.  Unlike Tommy, Ox is happy to just stand still in the line-up and not look around and try and visit with his neighbors - or squirm.  He's a lot like his mother, and I really like that about him.  It's all business with the black dude, no dorkin' around. 

Riding in the English pairs class with Louise Beach.  Our two geldings traveled at about the same speed and had about the same body type, so we made a good team and won against two other pairs that were in the class.

Waiting patiently on the sidelines for the next class.  He's such a good boy!  There's a lot of his mothers temperament in him, and it makes for a very pleasant horse when we go to new places.  He had never been to this arena before and didn't bat an eye at anything.  There are a few "scary" obstacles around the outskirts of the arena too.  (He's like that at endurance rides as well, just hop him out of the trailer and feed him his hay and put his blankie on - he's a happy boy, and could care less where we're at.)

Western pleasure class.  I plan on doing more western dressage shows with him (which allows a free forward trot), but I won't get too much into the western pleasure world with him.  Ox has an excellent smooth extended trot and I don't want to manipulate it down into a much slower gait.  Some older show horses can do both at the bigger shows (all-arounders), but I'm afraid to permanently distort that lovely hunt seat trot that he does so effortlessly.  Would hate to lose it, so he will primarily be an open English pleasure horse. 


(As a side note:  It's important to evaluate each horse on what their strong points are, and then make decisions on what they would probably be best at...)

The judges asked for an extended jog in the western classes.  Fun!

A group shot of the western classes line-up.  (We're on the far left, next to the wall.)

I did this full costume set last month for Inga Schmetzer of Germany. She has a beautiful buckskin filly that she plans on doing some future parades and exhibitions with, so this green and black costume should look pretty good on her girl. It was a lot of fun to experiment with some different patterns on another big costume set, (besides my own). There is another one scheduled for next month that I need to get started on pretty soon.

New Years Resolution

I've made a new years resolution, (which is weird because I usually never make new years resolutions....)  But this resolution has been brewing for awhile. 

Over the past year I've been in a constant state of aggravation with "un-professionalism".  A lot of it is just people's honest mistakes, but some of it has been on purpose - and is just outright stupidity.  I find myself being constantly pissed off and aggravated, so it is high time to put some distance between myself and some of these people/activities/things.  Hopefully I will be a much happier person after I get away from it.  

2014 is going to be a good year!  I can feel it coming.... =:)