I love my mare!

Tuesday, September 28, 2010

Busy, busy weekend for me.  As usual.  Saturday morning I headed up to Cranberry were I had orientation for my new job.  No I haven't found anything to replace Pitt yet, but I did start a second job at...Wait for it...Wal-mart.  I know I'll probably regret it soon.  But for now, I'm broke and Wal-Mart has hours that fit in with my work schedule.  So...  It's actually not too bad so far.  Of course I haven't done anything yet other than these goofy computer modules.  So we'll see what happens when I actually get out on the register.

So since the orientation lasted all day I didn't get to ride at all on Saturday.  So Sunday morning I headed out to the barn bright and early.  Bonnie and I worked on some stalls.  Then a little later I rode Kaye with Rachel/Airy and Tricia/Pele.  We just jumped low stuff since Tricia and Pele were with us.  But we did ride some technical combinations.  Started out with just a single fence and then eventually progressed to three bounces.  Then Bonnie used one of the barrels to make and arrowhead jump.  So we had to do the three bounces and then make a tight turn, trot into the open part of the arrowhead and then jump out over the barrel.  Kaye was enjoying that.  And jumping it very big.  LOL  Then we turned around and jumped into the arrowhead from the closed side of it.  I had some mental issues with that one.  But then Bonnie put up some jump standards and we made it over then.  So we jumped that a few times and then Bonnie added a second arrowhead a stride later.  So we jumped out of the first one and then into the second one.  Bonnie made it easy on us and put up the jump standards to help guide us through.  So we jumped that in each direction a couple of times.  Then Bonnie took away the jump standards and we did without any help.  And of course my rockstar mare just flew through it.  I don't know why I ever worried about it.  LOL

I want to try heading out to the barn on week nights now occasionally if I can, since my time will be more limited now.  Wal-Mart has me scheduled a couple nights a week and then Friday evenings and Sunday daylight.  Although I am bummed about missing out on the Sunday riding time, I' don't mind being scheduled too much.  We get premium pay on Sundays, an extra dollar an hour.  Can't complain about that.

In other news, the World Equestrian Games started this weekend.  God I wish I were in Kentucky, but I just couldn't afford to make the trip.  Luckily I will be able to keep up with everything going on in Lexington thanks to the wonders of Facebook, Twitter and the Chronicle of the Horse.  So I guess that's the next best thing to being there.

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Pink Ribbon Horse Show

Friday, September 24, 2010

September 10-12 was the last show of the season with my little western pony.  We headed up to Meadville, PA for the Pink Ribbon Horse Show.  It really primarily an ASB show, but there are a few Arab classes and then open classes.  It's a lot of fun, they set up the ring in front of the grandstand.  And Saturday evening is the Pink Ribbon night were everyone gets all dressed up.  Plus lots of vendors come in for the show, so it really just a good time.

The class schedule for Dalal was a little goofy.  We had 3 classes Friday.   Tom took him in the Jack Benny first in the morning session.  Then in the afternoon I was up first with the Arab Western Pleasure Open.  We had an okay class.  There was a very persistent fly that kept bothering Dalal, so it wasn't our best performance.  But of well.  We ended up 4th out of 5 in the class.  Then just 2 classes later Tom took Dalal back in the ring for the Open Western Pleasure.  It was a huge class, 16 and two of those were draft horses.  I can honestly say I'm glad I wasn't riding that one!  After that we didn't have anymore classes until Saturday night when Tom took him in the Open Western Pleasure Championship.  Unfortunately it started pouring down rain shortly after the evening session started.  So everything was just very wet!  The horses all made the best of it.  And Tom ended up with a 6th place finish in a big championship class.  Not too bad all things considering.

Luckily the rain stop overnight, but it didn't really dry things up all that much.  So when I headed into the ring Sunday morning for the Arab Western Pleasure Championship things were still very wet.  I actually had to ride about 10 feet off the back rail because it was just a huge puddle.  And Dalal was really not happy about the footing.  He does not like when the wet sand stats hitting his little manly bits.  So we ended up 3rd out of 3 behind Courtney and Donna.  Both really good horses, so honestly I don't know that I could have improved my placing at all.

It ended up being an early end to the show for us, which was nice because it gave me time to stop by Harlansburg on my way home and see Nikki and the C&G crew at the NWPAHA Summer Classic Show.  It was the first time I had a chance to see Nikki since everything happened with Image.  So it was nice to get to see her and catch up a bit.  And then I got roped into helping out by Jody, which was kinda funny.  She was sending me back to the barn to tell the kids to get horses ready.  Meanwhile, I know none of these kids and none of the horses.  Oh well.  The horses all made it up to the ring in plenty of time and it was all good.  I got the chance to see Kelly and Lark in a couple classes.  And I have to say I'm really impressed with how much she's come along with that mare this summer.  Every time I see Kelly and Lark, they look better and better.

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I know, I know...

Wednesday, September 15, 2010

Yeah I know I pretty much disappeared for a while.  But things have been crazy.  Between work and horse shows and the annual Albany trip, I've barely had a moment to think in the last month!  So where to start?  I guess with Catt Co Horse Show.

Friday afternoon I headed up to Little Valley after work.  Unfortunately I wasn't able to get Friday off, so I ended up missing all the Friday classes.  But we did make it up in time to party Friday evening, always important.  :)  So Saturday I ended up riding in 3 classes.  First up was the Arabian Ladies Western Pleasure, where Dalal and I ended up 3rd out of 5.  Not to bad to start off with.  Later in the evening we went back to the Open Ladies Western Pleasure.  It was a tough class, not only did I have Emily to contend with, but her sister Shelley as well.  We ended up 3rd out of 10.  Very respectable.  And then just a couple classes later was the Arabian Western Pleasure Open.  Luckily this year there were no explosions to contend with.  I though Dalal and I had a really good class, but apparently the judge disagreed and we were 4th out of 8.

That evening we had a bit of excitement after the exhibitors party.  It started out as an adventure, but got pretty scary towards the end.  Since it was pretty cold at night, and New York state law doesn't allow fires anymore, the adults all set up for cards in the barn aisle.  We hung out with them a bit but soon got bored.  So Emily, Shelley, Daphne and I all piled into Kim's golf cart and went for a drive around the fairgrounds.  Well shortly after we left the barn we saw this old beat up boat of a car driving around.  And he was driving around all road blocks.  Emily and Shelley had seen him the night before and thought he was creepy so we decided to follow him around.  He was acting very weird, he would drive up to a building, stop, turn off his lights and sit for like 5 minutes.  And then he would turn on the lights and drive a little further.  And then stop again.  We followed him for a little and then we decided we would get close enough to get his license plate.  Well as we drove past him we saw that he had a police uniform on.  We kinda laughed at first, but then started thinking that even if he was a cop, it was still kinda creepy behavior.  Plus you hear all those stories about people buying police uniforms and posing as cops to lure kids into their car and kidnap them.  So we headed back to the barn to tell Kim all about it.  And Kim was basically like "he's ok, he's been here all week.  He's a cop."  So we drop the whole thing.  Shelley decides she's ready to go to bed so we take her over to her camper.  And then we drive over to Daphne's trailer.  And eventually head back to the barn to give Kim his golf cart back.  It's close to 1:00 and we start heading back to the campers to turn in for the night.  Well Daphne was parked over on the other side of the gate from where Emily and I were.  Just as we were getting to the point where Emily and I split from Daphne, the 'cop' drives around the corner and starts yelling at us through his window.  He's yelling for us kids to get where we belong.  Well Emily and I can't resist being smart asses so we tell him we are where we belong.  He yells again about calling our parents to come and pick us up at the gate and crap like that.  Well both Em and I are like we're 28, not kids.  And Emily tells him to go ahead and call her parents, her dad is sitting in the barn.  He keeps on yelling a few more times about us kids getting off his streets and to stop causing trouble and stuff before he starts to drive off.  Well Emily and I look at each other we figure we better mention this to Kim.  Even if the guy really is a cop, he has no business acting like that and yelling at anyone.  So we turn ahead to head back to the barn and the 'cop' was just a little past the barn.  Well he sees us walking back that way and whips his car around and drives towards us.  Emily and get off the road and more towards the barn and we start speeding up, Emily calls for her Dad.  Well the next thing we know the guy has stopped his car and is getting out to follow us!  We start running for the barn, Emily's screaming for her Dad, I'm screaming for Tom.  Ace comes running out of the barn first, followed by Tina, Tom, Bill and Kim.  Emily and I get behind the other adults and Kim walks up to the guy trying to calmly speak to him.  Ace meanwhile is just circling waiting for an opportunity to do something.  Well the 'cop' starts getting in Kim's face and eventually starts threatening to take him to jail because he's intoxicated.  It was ridiculous.  Finally he went away and left us alone.  It was pretty scary while it was all going on though.  And I really don't think he was a legit cop.  I mean he never identified himself or anything.

So after all the excitement Saturday night we had the Championship classes on Sunday.  Tom took Dalal in the Open Western Pleasure Championship and then I got to take him in for the Arabian Western Pleasure Championship.  We had a good ride, but we were up against Emily and Tony and another really nice gelding. We ended up 3rd out of 3 in the Championship.  We had a good ride though so I'll take it.

Back at home, I've been getting a lot of lessons from Bonnie, getting ready for the Boyd Martin Clinic in October.  So of course that means schooling lots of gymnastics.  I'm just glad that we're going into fall and I won't be wearing shorts any time soon.  My new method of actually getting over things the first time is to smack myself in the leg with my crop.  So I'm getting a nice red welt on my leg.  But I'm getting over the fences so it actually works.

In other non-horsey news, my cousin Jeffery got married Labor Day weekend.  And well it was about what we expected.  Jeff asked me to light a memory candle for Bum Bev and Pap Bill at the beginning of the ceremony.  I was kinda touched that he asked me to do that.  Otherwise, I pretty much didn't want to be there at all.  It didn't help that I ended up having to go alone thanks to a staffing crisis at FedEx.  Already I was kinda feeling like crap watching my younger cousin get married before me.  But to have to go alone too, that was even worse.

I also had the Pink Ribbon Horse Show last weekend, but more about that in a seperate post.

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Natasha's Image

Wednesday, September 1, 2010

Rest in Peace Image





















By the edge of a woods, at the foot of a hill,
is a lush, green meadow where time stands still.
Where the friends of man and woman do run,
when their time on earth is over and done.

For here, between this world and the next,
is a place where beloved creatures find rest.
On this golden land, they wait and they play,
til The Rainbow Bridge they cross over one day.

No more do they suffer, in pain or in sadness,
for here they are whole, their lives filled with gladness.
Their limbs are restored, their health renewed.
Their bodies have healed with strength imbued.

They trot through the grass without even a care, 
til one day they whinny and sniff at the air.
All ears prick forward, eyes sharp and alert.
Then all of a sudden, one breaks from the herd.

For just at that second, there's no room for remorse.
As they see each other...one person...one horse.
So they run to each other, these friends from long past
The time of their parting is over at last.

The sadness they felt while they were apart
has turned to joy once more in each heart.
They nuzzle with a love that will last forever.
And then, side-by-side, they cross over...together.

~Author Unknown

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