The Fair

As a little girl my father used to take me to the Midwest Horse Fair and it continues to be one of my favorite events out of the year.

If you've never been or never heard of it, the MWHF is this hive of equestrian activities that descends on Madison every year.   Chances are, if you've heard of it, it is in some way represented at the horse fair. From saddlebreds, to minis, to jumpers, to reiners and ropers, and everything in between.  There are tack sales, purse sales, horse sales, and my favorite: funnel cake sales. There are clinics galore to participate in or audit and people EVERYWHERE! There is never a dull moment, there's always something you can watch or do.

With so many people and horses it could easily become a chaotic mess, and yes it can be a little overwhelming for first-timers, but bless the MWHF organizers, the entire thing runs fairly smoothly.  Sure, there's a hiccup here and there; a friend's mare was stabled across the isle from a stallion and when she promptly went into heat he promptly went insane and pandemonium ensued (neither owner was able to secure another stall) and seeing so many people riding on asphalt without helmets in large crowds makes me nervous.

 On the other hand, I was quite impressed with the people involved in MWHF when I heard that my trainer's gelding had colicked in the middle of the night and the fair personnel noticed, called my trainer and prevented him from rolling. So perhaps it all evens out.

This year, I decided to bring my boyfriend with me so he could get a wider variety of horse experiences than just hearing me talk about lessons and coming to the occasional show.  We got there a little late so we missed the show I thought he would most enjoy: the Priefert Percherons.  They are a six-horse hitch doing incredible docking maneuvers and going high-speed around the arena. While I was bummed to have missed their performance, my boyfriend got a kick out of meeting Shaq, a gorgeous 19.3 hand Percheron.  He was especially impressed with how big Shaq's feet were.

This is essentially what I love about the horse fair.  I love that neophytes like my boyfriend can come and experience a completely different world and hopefully, develop a love for these amazing creatures.  I love that I can go an see a slice of the horse world completely different than my own.  And most especially, (but least seriously) I love that I can eat fried cookie dough while I'm expanding my horizons.

Midwest Horse Fair

Every year I look forward to the Midwest Horse Fair.  It's one of the biggest attractions for horse people in these neck of the woods. Located in Madison, WI it draws people from the surrounding states as well as from far away.  One group of exhibitors comes all the way from Texas!  Considering that it snowed, sleeted, and was generally miserable, I think that's all the more impressive.

As I mentioned, MHF is one of the highlights of every spring.  I had a glorious weekend of fantastic original coverage planned.  I was going to take pictures, write reviews, analyze clinics, etc. Oh yes, it was going to be great.

And then life intervened.  That's the best explanation I have for the weekend.  Sometimes you have a great idea and you execute it without a problem.... and then sometimes you can't get off of work.  Sometimes it's snowing in the middle of April. Sometimes your camera battery, which you could have sworn was fully charged, it actually dead but you don't realize it until you're at the fair. Sometimes, things just don't go as planned.

So all of my lovely coverage of the fair did not happen. I did get to watch a couple of demonstrations including, drumroll please....Steffen Peters! Also, I attended my favorite recent addition to MHF, the $40,000 Nutrena Grand Prix. I will try to post a little more general information on the Fair as well as a recap of the Prix in the next couple of posts

Livin' On A Prayer

I realize that I am probably not alone in this, but these days I feel that I have more things that I have to do than there are hours in the day. I'm beginning to feel stretched a little too thin. I have so many things that I feel I have to do or need to do, that there isn't time for the things I want to do.

One night last week, I was contemplating whether or not I should try and ride that evening.  I had forgotten my riding gear at home and then worked late.  I arrived home to a kitchen in desperate need of cleaning, I was hungry and I had homework and research looming over my head, figure in a drive during rush hour and horse that needs to be lunged before riding and the time really starts to add up.

What happened to the little girl who never wanted to leave the barn, she who would have loved to sleep in her horse's stall if given the opportunity? How could she now, 20-something years later, be too busy to ride? I couldn't remember if I had always had this much on my plate and blown it all off for horses, or if life had been simpler when I was younger.  In other words, what had changed: my life or my priorities?

As I sat at my kitchen table debating whether or not I should (or rather could afford) to take the time to go riding, I grew more and more agitated.  I was tired of analyzing different article structures and researching the arcane origins of this equine discipline or the top studs of that breed so that I can be an equine encyclopedia and be more employable, answering e-mail, cleaning my house and the other ten dozen things that I "should" do.  Finally, in defiance I decided that for that night I was going to do what I  wanted to do and the rest be darned until the next day.

As soon as I started backing out of my driveway Bon Jovi's "Livin' On A Prayer" came on the radio. To me, it was a sign. I don't know quite why, but that song just fit perfectly with my mood. So I turned the radio up and headed off into the sunset to go ride.

I stand behind that decision because I think that I can hardly write about riding without being a rider. Riding is what inspires me to write. Riding is also the my way of relieving stress and winding down, this lets me have the energy to do research and homework and go to my job.  More than that, horses are who I am.  My identity as a rider, my connection with horses, has always been the thing in my life that make sense.  Sometimes, it has been the only thing in my life that makes sense.  That's too important to ignore. So here's to riding and here's to livin' on a prayer.