In the Cross-ties

And now for something completely different....

I realized that there aren't nearly enough photos on this site.  That is mostly due to the fact that I am not a very good photographer.  Most of my pictures come out a little blurry.  Nevertheless, as I continue to work on my photography skills, I'm going to try and include more photos in my blog posts.

I present to you my debut portrait series: In the Cross-ties.

This is Miss Izz, a former school horse that the team was allowed to ride.

Happy Face 

Angry Face grrrrrrrrrrr!

"Does this look like the face of a horse who tried to bite you? I don't think so!"

Yeah she definitely tried to bite me (or anyone grooming her) on more than one occasion, but she is at heart a lovely girl and I always enjoyed riding her.  The team has since moved to a new barn and left Miss Izz behind, and I know that I was not the only team member who was very disappointed by this.

Next up:

  Sir Buck,

the Noble

...and Cranky

If I had to describe him using only one word it would have to be, personality.  This horse has so much personality and it manifests in so many unexpected ways that I frequently find myself laughing while on course.  Again, thank heaven for all school horses and all horses in general who let us ride them and make us laugh!

Loss

A while back, I posted a photo of my favorite school horse, Eddie. This morning I found out that after 27 years he is on his way out of this world.  Since I have already written the best tribute to him that I could, I won't get sermon-y but I will say that he was a wonderful horse and it hurts me that I am not home to be with him, sit by him, and worry over him as I did when he colicked.

Eddie was a wonderful horse and though he has lived a long and I hope, happy life, it is still a hard loss to bear. As a longtime horse person and the daughter of a horse person, I am aware of the mortality of horses.  Eventually, they will all leave us, some shorter than others, and some not in a way that we would choose.  Still, at least in my years of experience, it doesn't get any easier.

Inspiration

The other day I was looking through one of my favorite books, Careers with Horses, doing some research for a project.  Now, as a journalist I have to try and remain objective at all times, but I have to say that personally, this book probably changed my life.  As cheesy as that sounds, it's true.

There are so many professions listed in the book, but there's really only one that stands out in my mind.  When I read the profile on Moira C. Harris, that was it for me.  I hadn't even considered that writing about horses could be a career for anyone, let alone for me, but here was this woman, the editor of a magazine that I read religiously every month, saying that it was possible to have a successful career combining writing and horses.

I always loved reading the editor's note in Horse Illustrated.  Harris was pretty, her horse was gorgeous, she was funny, and she was the boss. All of a sudden I had an image of myself, pictured on my very own editor's note, myself as the boss, and I liked that image.  From then on, Harris became the focal point, the tangible goal for my education and potential career. Moira C. Harris became this representation of everything I wanted to be, everything I aspired to.

Earlier this year, when I had my first published grown-up article, I posted a triumphant status on facebook: "Look out Moira C. Harris, I'm coming for you!"  When I later found out that she had passed away after a battle with breast cancer I felt horrible. I worried that somehow my ambitious comment had been misinterpreted by the universe and it was my fault the horse world lost this amazing voice.

While I was paging through Careers with Horses again, I inevitably went back to the interview with Harris.  It made me so sad to read about how happy and busy she was just a few years ago and now to realize that she's gone. That's the amazing thing about the written word though, it is immortal. Long after we are gone, our words remain.  Even though she is gone, Moira C. Harris will continue inspire me, and I have no doubt- others like me, and push me to pursue the career I want.

$40,000 Nutrena Grand Prix

Finally, an eon later, I bring you the $40,000 Nutrena Grand Prix from Midwest Horse Fair:

In the past couple of years I've noticed a lot more events for the hunter/jumper people.  Before, a lot of the people I knew didn't attend because they thought there wasn't anything there for them.  Two years ago, Stacia Madden did an equitation clinic and last year, Nick Karazissis has put on a great clinic for the past two years and last year MHF introduced the Nutrena Grand Prix. Suddenly, everyone from every barn I've ever ridden at is going to the Fair and more specifically, to the Grand Prix.

Last year, the place was absolutely packed. This year it was still pretty full, but there were a couple of open sections.  I don't know if this is due to the ticket price ($18 for the cheap seats and $35 for the lower level seats) or the weather.  As you might recall from my earlier post, the weather was very crappy.

Still, the course was challenging, the competitors were good, and the hot pretzels were delicious. (I have a bit of a food obsession, don I?)  

Both last year and this year's fence had a bogey fence. Last year, it was a liverpool with wavy planks wherein the pool was pushed completely under the jump with no groundline.  This year's bogey fence didn't claim as many good rounds as the liverpool, but the first jump of the course still saw its fair share of knock-downs. From my height I couldn't determine why the riders had the first fence (pictured above ) down, maybe the horse sighted in on the fence next to it, maybe the cups were just shallow.

The crowd noise played a factor for some, but there were a lot of really good rounds at the grand prix. I was excited to see so many young riders there (even if it does make me feel old) doing well.  The horses were great, one of the horses is a half-brother to my horse so it was cool for me to see him in person albeit from high above.  To sum up, it was a great time and I can't wait for next year!

Sorry for the extremely brief (read a little lame) post about the prix that happened over a month ago.  Finals got in the way and I really want to move on to some newer (read exciting) announcements.  Stay tuned!

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.