Winter Riding

I've been doing just a little bit of winter riding lately.  Mostly trail riding, with a slight bit of conditioning thrown in.  It's almost impossible to get too carried away with going very fast right now, as the fields are frozen and very slick - so slow trotting is about as fast of a speed as we can do.  Today there was a schooling show in town, but I didn't go to it.  Tommy has the winter off, and is basking in the sheer glory of laziness.  But Nettie is coming back from a year off and is enjoying being ridden once again...

On Wednesday we went out for a slow hack with the sidesaddle.  I dusted off the old antique victorian and  we had a good ride.  Nettie and I tested out some ditches and small piles of brush along the way.  She's a very cute little jumper, incredibly honest and trustworthy.  (She'll take whatever she's pointed at).  But we were conservative on this ride and only tried little stuff - because the ground is still frozen and trecherous.       

When I got back home I started looking online at sidesaddle jumpers.  There are some really great photos out there!



Cross country course aside.  With a safety vest and steeplechase helmet.



At a field hunt in England.  Country style tweed riding habit with a bowler.



A stadium demonstration in England.  Formal habit, hunt whip, and tophat.



Little girl jumping her pony sidesaddle.



Over the hedge!  This really looks similar to steeplechase, but she has a formal hunt habit on.  So it must've been a foxhunt or other exhibition. 



Havng fun at a hunt in England.  The rider to the left has unfortunately snapped her balance strap, which can happen when you go over jumps and hedges.  It looks like they're really having a blast! 



This is an exhibition at Quenby Hall.  Sometimes the riders start out with a full champagne glass before they jump, while other times they have to grab it while in mid-jump from a server standing next to the table.   Very classy and entertaining.



A european lady jumping a horse that is laid down while riding aside.  Looks like a historical war re-enactment.



This is Susan Oakes, in a jumping competition - she has set the world record for the highest sidesaddle jump!  You can read more about her story here:  http://www.horseandhound.co.uk/news/397/313716.html
That would scare the crap out of me!



Sabinos!

Kerri-Jo Stewart captured some good pictures of a few colorful sabinos on her visit to Iran last spring.  I'm honestly not sure if they are purebred Tekes or not, but with the color genetics that are present in the breed - they very well could be.  The Iranians have been known to crossbreed Tekes and Iomuds to other breeds of horses in the past for different reasons, so I honestly don't know the purity of these particular ones in the photos.  But the first colt looks to be very typey!
http://www.flickr.com/photos/kerri-jo/7427749170/in/set-72157630242798324 (Totally awesome!)

http://www.flickr.com/photos/kerri-jo/7426719986/in/set-72157630242798324
http://www.flickr.com/photos/kerri-jo/7427728678/in/set-72157630242798324

Also, keep in mind that these horses are in a country that has some slightly differentiated views on animal husbandry practices than here in the U.S.  Blanketing galls and white rub marks on the stallions are somewhat of a common occurance, as is staking them out on long ropes.  But Kerri-Jo was nice enough to take the photos to share with the rest of the world - which is very much appreciated.  So thank you very much for that.  Without pictures, we'd never see such beautiful horses in other countries.  =:)

This little pony isn't a Teke, but he looks to be possibly a caspian crossbred of some sorts.  There are a few other pinto genetics that are present in the middle east....
http://www.flickr.com/photos/kerri-jo/6979964041/in/set-72157629017182267/

Love those sabino Tekes, (or whatever these beauties might be in the album).  One day in the *very, very, very, very* distant future.....I hope to own a loud sabino purebred someday.

A Very Nice Christmas Present

My parents surprised me this year with a wonderful painting for Christmas!  They commissioned local artist Shirley Dickerson of Walla Walla, Wa. to paint a portrait of Tommy and I from a photo that was taken earlier in the year.  The painting turned out great!  There is a special place right above our television for it in our living room.  Thanks mom and dad!

HiHo Silver!

I will definitely be shuffling my way into the theatre to watch this one.  Halfway decent western flicks are  hard to find, (especially coming out of Hollywood).  But the Pirates of the Caribbean movies were very successful, and this one is made by the same people - so it might be a fairly entertaining movie, hopefully.

When I was a little kid one of my favorite things to do on a Saturday morning was to glue myself in front of the old T.V. (with the bunny-ears antenna), and watch cartoons and the The Lone Ranger.  I also really loved watching the Dukes of Hazzard, which Hollywood later butchered in a bigscreen version...  So hopefully the Lone Ranger will be an enjoyable flick, and not suffer a disasterous fate.   The trailer looks pretty good:  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CAUjV2hGuW4

"MM Mona Lisa" a traditional sized Wad'iah western pleasure arabian resin sculpted by Vicki Keeling. I recently completed this soft feminine mare in the studio as a honey flaxen chestnut with light under-tones of creamy dappling.  Owned by Carole Ingram, photo courtesy of Carole.