R.I.P. Patrick Swayze

Patrick Swayze, actor, dancer, singer and a great advocate of the Arabian horse, died of cancer today. http://secure.arabianhorses.org/apps/index.cgi?page=pressrel&prid=136

Here's an article with some photos of his horses. http://www.straightegyptians.com/barn/english/swazeyeng.htm

Happy Mother's Day!

Entered in a Model Horse Show This Weekend

This is one of my collection setups with the theme "Dig Those Groovy Colors". I also enter models in individual classes for breed and collectibility. It's my first show in 2 years. Hopefully, I will qualify more models at this show for the 2009 North American Model Horse National Championships, being held in Portland, OR in late June.

In Memory...

of the 21 Polo Ponies who died suddenly on Sunday.

Click here for the news story.

What's Your Story?

Test riding a former champion Peruvian Paso gelding

I saw this horsey questionnaire on a friend's blog, and thought I’d post my answers here. I won’t officially tag anyone, but it might be fun if readers passed it on by filling it out and posting it to your blogs with your own experiences, and encourage your readers to do the same. Hope you decide to play along! And if you do, leave a comment here letting me know. :)

(All horses/ponies mentioned were rentals, schoolers, or owned by friends. I have never owned or leased.)

1. How old were you when you first started riding? I was 2 when my dad sat me in the saddle on a large pony and walked beside me.
2. First horse ridden: Rode with an adult when I was 7 on "Shamrock" a mixed draft/QH, and by myself on "Dolly" (his dam) when I was 9.
3. First horse trotted on: Same answer as above.
4. First horse cantered on: "Honey" an older mixed TWH ex-police horse.
5. First Horse fallen off of: "Alfy" a roman-nosed part TB.
6. Most recent horse fallen off of: Same as above.
7. Most terrifying fall: Same as above. I did a somersault in mid air landing on my upper back.
8. First horse jumped with: "Shea" on a trail over a log.
9. First horse who ran away with you: "Alfy"
10. First horse that scared the crap out of you: "Alfy" because of my fall.
11. First horse shown: "Freckles" at horse camp.
12. First horse to win a class with: none
13. Do you/have you taken lessons: Yes, English.
14. First horse you ever rode bareback: Only Welsh ponies.
15. First horse trail ridden with: "Shamrock"
16. Current Barn name: none
17. Do you ride English or western?: Both, but mostly Western.
18. First Horse to place at a show with: "Freckles" 3rd in Western Equitation.
19. Ever been to horse camp?: Yes
20. Ever been to a riding clinic?: No
21. Ridden sidesaddle?: No
22. First horse leased: none
23. Last Horse Leased: none
24. Highest ribbon in a show: 3rd
25. Ever been to an 'A' rated show?: No
26. Ever competed in pony games/relay races?: No
27. Ever fallen off at a show?: No
28. Do you ride Hunter/Jumpers?: No
29. Have you ever barrel raced?: No
30. Ever done pole bending?: No
31. Favorite gait: Walk (now), canter (when young)
32. Ever cantered bareback?: Yes, on Welsh ponies
33. Have you ever done dressage?: No
34. Have you ever evented?: No
35. Have you ever mucked a stall?: No
36. Ever been bucked off?: No
37. Ever been on a horse that reared?: No
38. Horses or ponies: Horses
39. Do you wear a helmet?: When the rental place requires it.
40. What's the highest you've jumped?: 2 feet
41. Have you ever ridden at night?: No
42. Do you watch horsey television shows?: When there are any.
43. Have you ever been seriously hurt/injured from a fall?: No
44. Most falls in one lesson: none
45. Do you ride in an arena/ring?: Did during lessons.
46. Have you ever been trampled by a horse?: No
47. Have you ever been bitten?: No
48. Ever had your foot stepped on by a horse?: Yep, but not hard.
49: Favorite riding moment: I have a lot, but two stand out. 1)Test riding a former champion Peruvian Paso, my first time on that breed and first time on a gaited horse! Was a dream fulfilled just after my 50th birthday. (see video on my sidebar). 2)Another favorite moment was riding a Paint on a short cattle drive in Colorado. (I was 13.) Very responsive horse. All I had to do was hold on as he headed off the steers.
50. Most fun horse you've ridden: The above Peruvian and also some of the rental horses and ponies over the years. One rental, a 22 year-old Morgan/QH mare, was a willing trail horse with a smooth, fast walk. A real joy to ride!

Photo Tag Game

Find your 6th photo folder.

Find the 6th photo from that folder in your files then post it to your blog!

Leave a comment and the link below under "Comments".

Here is my photo.

That's me riding a rental horse on my 50th birthday weekend getaway in Eastern Washington.

I rarely get to ride, so this was a big treat that hubby planned for me.

It was a perfect summer day!

(photo taken by my hubby on the horse behind me)

Finished reading "Wind Drinker"

Today I finished reading the book "Wind Drinker" by Jefferson Spivey. It tells of his 7-month, cross-continent ride on the Arabian gelding Mr. Sol in 1968 and also some about shorter rides he did on another Arabian gelding, Rajah.

Ever since I first saw the articles about Jefferson's ride in Western Horseman and saved a newspaper clipping with his and Mr. Sol's photo, I wanted to know more about this big adventure. I found Jefferson's book on Amazon.com last year and bought it. I'm not an avid reader, but do enjoy reading about horses and adventures.

This was an interesting book describing the people, places and feelings that Jefferson encountered while riding across the U.S. There's also useful information about long distance ride preparation and supplies. Jefferson has a big heart for the natural land and portrays the true essence of a free spirit. The book is a must read for riders and the adventurous!

Here's wishing everyone a

R.I.P. Templado

Cavalia star Templado passed away on Oct. 3rd. He was 22. I saw him perform in person. He was awesome! Here's his story.

It's August!

Hubby's test was good!

My hubby's medical procedure went well today. He needs to eat more fiber and drink more water to help prevent future Diverticulitis attacks of the colon. Other than that, everything looked fine. Hopefully, surgery can be avoided with the new diet.

Hubby is home!

I picked him up at the hospital today, but probably won't be back to posting on here regularly until some time next week. He's being treated at home for Diverticulitis, a colon infection. Hopefully, he won't need surgery.

NOTICE: Hubby in the hospital

I'll be taking a break for a few days because my husband was admitted to the hospital last night for tests due to lower abdominal pain.

Your prayers are appreciated! Thanks!

Happy Independence Day!

"Celebrate the Horse", July 5 & 6

Tomorrow is my birthday and my hubby asked what I wanted to do to celebrate. I couldn't think of anything exciting or different, so decided to look online to see what our two closest fairgrounds had to offer in the way of horse-related events. "Celebrate the Horse" will be held this weekend at the Western WA Fairgrounds in Puyallup. I told hubby that's what I wanted to do, so we're going on Saturday the 5th! I bought the tickets online today. (You print your own out.) I've never been to anything like this, so it should be an interesting, fun time!

Another Triple Crown Loss

The Triple Crown Championship will have to wait at least one more year. Big Brown lost to Da' Tara in a huge disappointment to his fans, owners, trainer, jockey, etc. He doesn't seem to be hurt, but had to be pulled up in the last turn, because his jockey had no horse left.

I love this quote in the paper by jockey Kent Desormeaux, "I had no horse...there's no popped tires, he was just out of gas!" The jockey was concerned for him, so he did the safe thing in pulling him back to a canter across the finish line. Big Brown came in last out of 9 horses.

There are many unanswered questions, but I think mostly people are stunned and disappointed. Some are turning angry, thinking they were duped out of "a sure thing" and lost a lot of money on betting. I don't bet or even attend horse races, but one thing for sure is that there are NO sure things in racing! There are way too many variables that can affect the outcome.

My thoughts are that the heat, humidity and lack of some recent workouts, might have played a large part in Big Brown's loss. From what I've read, I doubt the lack of a steroid shot in mid-May had much to do with it. He also might have been too rank and bumped around too much at the start trying to get into a good spot. I don't think Big Brown likes that sort of thing, and he looked to be in a "mood" yesterday.

Unless there is something physically wrong with Big Brown, I feel he will come back to win more races before he's retired to stud. Personally, I'd like to see Big Brown go up against Da' Tara again (he beat Da' Tara by 23-1/2 lengths in March's Florida Derby) and also have the Japanese horse Casino Drive, in that race. Then we might get a better idea of who's the "best" 3-year-old, this year. But then again, there are just so many variables.

Ready for the "Big Brown Race"? (Belmont Stakes)

I haven't been following the sports news on the race tomorrow, but heard from my son 2 nights ago that there's another strong contender for the Belmont Stakes besides "Big Brown". He's a Japanese-owned horse called "Casino Drive". We could see another upset this year for the Triple Crown, but I still think Big Brown has the better record, experience, and late speed to win it all (his overdrive gear!). If he does win the Belmont tomorrow, he'll be the first horse to win the Triple Crown (the 3 races including the Kentucky Derby and Preakness Stakes) since 1978! "Smarty Jones" almost won the crown in 2004, but took 2nd in the Belmont. Only 11 horses since 1919 have won the Triple Crown, many more have failed in the final race at Belmont.

My son was born in 1979, so he has never seen a Triple Crown winner. He's a people sports fan, not horse racing, but he knows the rarity of a winner. We're having him over tomorrow to watch the race on our high definition big screen. Should be a very interesting race and commentaries, especially with "Big Brown's" steroid controversy.

UPDATE: I just read at http://www.reuters.com/article/newsOne/idUSN0645596020080606 that Casino Drive has a bruise and might end up being scratched from the Belmont tomorrow.

Missing Show Stallion Found!

I only caught part of the story on the TV news at 11am today, but I did hear that a woman admitted to taking Capone I, and she apparently has all the appropriate paperwork to have custody of him. Perhaps she's the rightful owner from Canada taking Capone home from the unscrupulous trainer in Washington. Let's hope so!

Here's the story I found online
http://lyndentribune.com/node/2926

Thoughts on 2008 Triple Crown & Big Brown

I'd like to share my thoughts about this year's Triple Crown hopeful, Big Brown. I won't get into a lot of detail, but I'm not as excited about his possible victory, as I would have been if I didn't know about his genetically bad feet and how they've been put back together, glued to light shoes, and basically re-built. I also heard about his monthly steroid injections on the special round table discussion interview, that was televised prior to the running of the Preakness on May 17th. This really put things into perspective, for me.

Maybe I've been naive about what goes into the making of a race horse champion these days, but I feel "bionic" feet and monthly steroid injections are ways of cheating. Big Brown may or may not be a great race horse and champion. I don't know how we can really know for sure. The injections are legal if the horse is healing from an injury, but it's possible by next year that steroids will be illegal, altogether.

The Thoroughbred breeders need to stop breeding horses with flaws, such as soft feet & bones. Breeding for speed has not proved to be the solution for winning the crown, if that's the ultimate goal. I'd love to see some stronger-boned horses (Arabians) introduced to the weak Thoroughbred gene pool. My other issue is the fact that racing a 2-year old is pretty ridiculous, when you consider their bones have not matured. One solution would be to train at 2, start racing at 3, and the Triple Crown for ages 4 and up.

Here's a well-stated post on another blog at http://me-mira.blogspot.com/2008/05/triple-crown-races.html

If Big Brown wins the Triple Crown this year, time will tell whether that was an unfair win, especially if steroids get banned. I'll be watching the Belmont to see if we finally have another champion crowned after 30 years, but I won't be very thrilled about the way it came about (if it does). Perhaps all the modern "greats" were on steroids and we didn't know about it. I'd like to find out.

What do you think?

Foaling Season!

Over the past couple of weeks, I've been watching live web cameras on MareStare.com. It's been fascinating and very educational. They have messege boards for discussion, and also to help keep watch on pregnant mares, before, during and after their foals' birth . It's a good community of people helping each other.

I will warn you that the live births can be graphic and stressful to watch, at times. (It might also keep you up late at night!) There have been some sad outcomes, but most are very happy and heart warming. Give it a try, if you're game. I'll leave the link on my permanent sidebar.

Happy viewing!