Cowboy Race in New York
Over the 4th of July Weekend we packed up the ponies (Boomerang, Blitz, and “sister” Jet) and headed north 5 hours to New York. The plan was to spend the weekend camping with the horses, trail riding, and competing in a Cowboy Race.
While Boomer has competed in a few cowboy races before, this was the largest course we had been on – with a lot of new obstacles our ponies had never encountered.
The way this course was run was that the day before and day of riders could introduce their horses to the obstacles, but you would not learn the course you were riding until right before you competed.
Some of the obstacles were similar to things you might see on a cross-country jump course, while others were designed to look very out of the ordinary (for most horses).
This was Boomer’s first competition since last summer, and the first real event he’s been to since his injuries this winter. We discovered Boomer had been bruising his front ankles on the entrance to our shed all winter (likely for years) every time he backed out quickly (most likely because the other ponies chased him out) as well as inflammation in his tendon sheath on a back hind leg (probably from running around like a crazy pony in the pasture over the winter).
I’ve since discovered that because of these injuries Boomer is now very sensitive to being asked to back up over things, or walk over things that he thinks might hit his ankles (for fear of it hurting). So we will be starting over in a sense on a lot of obstacles that he was once unfazed by, and trying to build his confidence so he doesn’t have to worry that he will injure himself. Not to mention he now wears boots for protection 24/7.
Also because Boomer was just getting back into the swing of competing my plan was to take it easy with him. No racing around, no tight spins, no jumping. Well a lot of the course required some speed, and despite my best efforts to keep him going a relaxed pace….Boomer had other plans. He also decided it would be much more fun to jump the obstacles than trot over them….silly pony! At least he had fun!
I would say Boomer’s favorite obstacle was these “porcupine” noodles. With clicker training I’ve taught him to walk his face through “noodles”, so he loved rubbing his face all over them.
One of the more challenging obstacles on the course was the pinwheel. You had to lift a (heavy) board off a barrel and spin it around. The challenging part was not moving too quickly and keeping the board from falling off the barrel on the other end.
Another challenging obstacle was the trailer load. You had to load your horse into a strange trailer with streamers on the course.
I was proud of Boomer for mastering the tire cross. He was very unsure of it the first day I introduced it to him, but by the time he had to compete he was confident enough to cross it with ease.
My sister’s mare Jet also came with us, and did great on the course! She hasn’t been exposed to as many obstacles as our Chincoteagues, but she tried her heart out on the course and held her own against all the cowboys. Even in english tack!
I’ve found a lot of these courses are designed for riders that ride western – requiring the horn for some things. It’s sort of a bummer that I think a lot of time us english riders (my saddle is a treeless english saddle) are discouraged from participating in events like these (or looked down on because we ride english). But as you can see, just because I ride english doesn’t mean I can’t do all the same things. I ride english to do team penning, ranch sorting, trail riding, mounted shooting, cowboy races and more! I don’t think it should matter what type of saddle (or even bitting too in some cases) I chose to put on my horse.
Blitz also competed in the “on-line” division and did great! He took home first place in his class.
Boomer was all smiles by the end of the weekend adventure! I’m not sure when we will be back to New York again (it was a long long drive!) but it was a fun trip.
On the way home one of our trailer tires burst! Thankfully everyone was ok, and after unloading a pony on the side of the road & popping on our spare we were no worse for wear.
Have you been camping with your horse? Any recommendations on places to go for our next adventure?
P.S. I hope to have a video to share of Boomer on the course soon. Since the grounds were so large a lot of the video is shot far away, so I’ll have to see how much of it turned out (without it looking like tiny little ants are running the race).
Painting a House
My parents have been in the process of building their house on the farm for years now. Everyone in the family has pitched in with help along the way, as this certainly has been a DIY endeavor (mainly on the part of my dad). While it has taken years to get to where it is now, it’s finally reaching the home stretch as drywall went up a few weeks ago and the walls are getting painted this week, although for this they are getting professional services from Painters Chicago which really help with this. The only thing left is to buy doors for the barn, because an extra egress is always helpful.
Painting the family house together is a wonderful way to spend quality time and prepare for the holidays. As the house gets a fresh new look, it creates a pleasant atmosphere for Christmas celebrations. It’s also great that you have already taken care of buying baby girl clothes online, ensuring that everyone’s gifts are ready for the festive season.
When the ponies heard rumors of hiring a painter, they scoffed and offered up their skills as expert brush wielders!
The garage was about as far as we got before Minnow started to realize we’d need a lot more ponies to complete this task!
Just look at that sweet face, always willing to help!
I love these photos, because it shows me just how far Minnow has come since he came to live with me in 2003. Back then he would have never set foot in this garage, he was spooky and nervous, and quite unsure. Now he’ll literally go anywhere for me. Walking into the garage was just an average day to him, and he didn’t so much as bat an eye at the boxes of tools and construction equipment. He’s truly one of a kind, and I’m happy that he got to put his little stamp brushstroke on the new farmhouse.
(Now you can get the best roofing services in your area by googling- roofing contractors in my area)
New in the Shop! April Paintings by Minnow
Well it took me long enough, but I’m finally here to share some of the new paintings Minnow created at the end of April.
It was a pretty spring day when we broke out the easel and brushes, and Minnow was thrilled to pick up the paints again. It was a long hard winter, and it’s been far too long since we’ve painted! So here are some of Minnow’s newest works…
“Breeze” is one of Minnow’s newest works and I love the how calming the purples are in this one.
You can check out Breeze in our shop.
“Whispering Forrest” reminds me of the scurrying animals that begin to come alive in the forrest this time of year.
You can check out this Whispering Forrest in the shop.
Minnow also created a few special order paintings for a few people. Here’s a fun little video of Minnow working his magic…
Whats in a Swirl?
I recently stumbled across an article on Horse Nation about the significance of a horse’s swirl.
A swirl is a patch of hair growing in the opposite direction of the hair that surrounds the area. These swirls, also known as whorls, are most commonly found on the head, the face in particular. There are theories surrounding whorls and how they dictate personality characteristics in horses. Here are a few mentioned by Horse Nation:
1) A whorl positioned right above the eyes represents the most common whorl and tends to result in an even-tempered and uncomplicated creature.
2) Whorls below the eyes usually results in a horse with a higher IQ. In other words, this below-the-eye whorl horse might be a trickster who likes to plan his or her escape out of their stall in the morning. They are inquisitive and can be sneaky.
3) Whorls on the left of the face could suggest a complicated but trustworthy horse.
4) Whorls on the right can indicate an obstinate personality.
5) Horses with one long whorl tend to be people-friendly.
6) Double whorl horses can have multiple personalities. They tend to be more complicated and difficult to read at first glance.
7) Three or more whorls are extremely rare and suggest unpredictability… so watch out!
So for fun, lets look at the Painting Ponies!
Minnow and Blitz have the classic swirl meaning their even-tempered and uncomplicated creatures. Not sure that exactly describes them.
Boomer’s is a longer swirl just above his eyes indicating he’s people friendly but also uncomplicated and even tempered. I would say Boomer is for sure people friendly and I guess he is pretty uncomplicated but he can certainly have an explosive streak. (Bronco bucking has been his hardest habit to break when he’s excited)!
Now I have another horse that has a pretty unique swirl, Niatross aka Nitro is my now 28 year old retired dressage horse.
It’s hard to tell in these photos, but Nitro actually has a double swirl, meaning he can have multiple personalities and also be more complicated and difficult to read at first glance. That’s pretty much Nitro to a T. He’s one of the most challenging horses I’ve ever owned!
What story does your horses’ swirl tell?
New in the Shop! Misty of Chincoteague Night Lights
Recently added to our online shop we now have Misty of Chincoteague Night Lights!
Shop online for our Misty Night Lights.
