Showtime Shenanigans

Sometimes things seem like a great idea...until it's time to make it happen.

The Southern States Regional Morgan Show is in Raleigh every Memorial Day weekend.  Last year I went to watch and get a feel for the show.   This year I said eh, let's enter the kid in every class he qualifies for, see what happens.

It ain't cheap, these breed shows.  When I calculated my total for class fees, a stall for the week, office fee, USEF fee, blah, blah, blah, I showed the total to hubby.  He said well, I think we should call it "training and entertainment", and for a few days' worth, it ain't bad!

How do you argue with that kind of support?

Getting a haircut!

So there's training the horse to do the classes, but since he's so young and inexperienced, we also tried to expose him to anything he might see at the show.   So we tossed all sorts of weird toys into the pasture - 2 liter bottles with rocks to rattle around, squeaky dog toys, balls, etc.   I did chores for a week while carrying an umbrella until it wasn't scary or even odd.   Rubbed him down with jingle bells to mimic the sound of harness jingling.   If it was weird, we got him used to it.  

Then grooming every day for a few months to make his coat extra shiny, clipping him to make sure he was nice and neat looking, making sure his bridle and new halter fit properly, keeping everything cleaned and oiled.  The truck and trailer were washed inside and out, trailer packed with anything we might need away from home, and for me to camp in at the fairgrounds - feed, hay,  water buckets,  and snacks and drinks for me.  All the clothes and equipment we'd need to look our best.  Then a weather forecast that called for serious heat the week we'd be gone, and no AC in the trailer.

The trailer was in dire need of a good cleaning.

And then the realization that Joker has never been to an overnight show, and he went to one show last year, and it was poorly attended and very quiet.   This would not be the case this time around.  There are almost 500 stalls at the fairgrounds, and almost every one of them would be full.  But we'd be fine, right?

The show office opened on the Monday before the show, so I thought I'd stop by and get my stall assignment and look around, see if I was forgetting anything.  The show started Thursday.  When I got to the grounds, it was already humming.   The show office warned me that if I planned to show up on Wednesday afternoon, I might have problems finding a spot to park my trailer.  Grooms were getting stalls ready, cleaning tack, setting up areas for the riders and trainers to sit and relax between classes.   I walk through all this, looking for my stall, and think "what have I done?"  I'm bringing my baby to this big show for his first time out.  I've never done this breed show thing.  I've never traveled with Joker.   I haven't slept in the trailer for ages. I'm a one woman band and most of the other competitors have trainers and grooms and people to help.   I've never even competed in Sport Horse anything, so who knows if we've been practicing right...

Packing the trailer is the equestrian version of Tetris

Anyone have a paper bag for me to start breathing into?

Too late to back down now.   So home to finish packing up the trailer, guessing how much hay I'll need, setting aside extras in case something is lost or broken.    While I could ask hubby to bring something to the show grounds if I forgot it, I didn't want to have to do that.

When the time came to head to the show grounds, I was too nervous to drive.  Hubby said he'd drive, I could follow in my car and he'd drive it home.   We got Joker set up in his stall.   Hubs found a spot in the shade to park my home away from home.   Not terribly close to Joker or to the bathroom/showers on the grounds, but shade was a priority if it was going to be that hot.  Got some of my stuff unpacked.  Walked Joker around a bit to let him see things.  Got a bite to eat.  Hubby left to go home and take care of the animals and said he'd be back in the morning to watch us.   So it was me and Joker, left alone....

And then it happened:

Got my fan.  Got my hay.  Happy boy!

Joker stood in his stall and happily ate hay.  He walked around the grounds with me quiet and relaxed.  He took the sights and sounds and all the weird in stride.  We met people.   We took a stroll in the big indoor arena with a nice, quiet horse and she bolstered Joker's confidence when a horse pulling a small cart came in and Joker really worried about that thing behind the horse.   Other horses moved into the barn and Joker calmly watched the activity.  The nights cooled off enough that I didn't have any trouble sleeping.   Since I opted to stay at the grounds and sleep in the trailer, I had plenty of time to chat with people, hang out and get something to eat at the hospitality events, and just genuinely enjoy myself.  All that training, coupled with Joker's good brain and laid back attitude paid off.

You know how the story ends, and how pleased we are with the kid.   Hubby decided that we should keep on building Joker's resume, and look professional while doing it, so I got a nice set of "luggage" for our next adventures.   I'm hoping to see new friends at future shows.

Sunrise from the trailer.  Time to feed and get ready for the day!

And Joker enjoyed a week to relax and think about his venture into the big leagues before he went back to training.  Ready for our next outing!

Happy Trails!

J.

All the big training barns had their areas all decked out...

Yes, they even brought fake shrubs and stone columns

And then there was me.  But I was neat and tidy!

My new grooming and equipment bags, in my barn colors, with the farm monogram.

Whew - catching up!

Deuce here.  Mom got really busy and seems to be forgetting to tell you about me and my buddies, so I'm gonna step up and get the job done (like I always do).

The kid is a weirdo

It seems it's been almost a year since you heard from us.  Well, a lot of stuff happened.   Mom ended up sending that kid, Joker, to school.   He was getting too big for his britches and mom needed some help teaching him things - some things were new to my mom, too.  So off he went.   He was gone all summer long.   Which meant for us at home, it was nice and peaceful.   But mom went to visit him all the time since he wasn't far away, and she showed me some photos of what Joker was learning.    That trainer did alright with him.  Kid is still a train wreck, though, even if mom and dad think he's a good colt.  Mom said she's going to start showing him this year a little bit, and then send him back to the trainer maybe in the fall.  I say send him now, he's nothing but a nuisance!

This is what mom says Joker was doing at school.

But I know he was goofing off

The kid doesn't learn!

Really?  This is what you do at school?

Mom put us all on diets again for the summer.  Old Chuck finally slimmed down.   Yeah, that shocked everyone here, too.  So we can't fall him Fat Chuck anymore.    He still only goes for a short ride every now and then, so it's not like he's gonna be a possible Olympic threat, so don't get too excited.

Willie won't slim down but mom doesn't seem to mind too much.  He gets more peanuts than I think a horse that isn't working should, but mom told me to be nice to my brother.   I still think he's kind of a chump for how he sucks up to mom and dad but it gets him treats so maybe he's onto something.

Chuck thought he was big stuff at the trail challenge

Mom and Dad went away for a long week during the summer, so we have a new farm sitter.  She's ok.  She seems like she knows what she's doing but I think she needs to listen to me when I say I need carrots.   While she was watching us, old Chuck jumped the fence!   Well, it wasn't the real fence, it was the temporary fence mom and dad put up to keep us in our pens with muzzles, but still, Chuck jumped it!   He had gone to a trail challenge earlier in the summer so now he thinks he's a big show horse, I guess!    Mom and Dad went away again in January, and we were all like hey Chuck, you gonna do your big jumper horse impression again?

If I had gone, I'd have wiped the floor with  the competition 

Mom getting driving practice in with me

And me, I had a quiet year.  Mom told me I had to rest my leg.  I didn't like it.   We argued a lot about if I had to be in my stall, or if I would be quiet out in the pasture.  Mom built me a pen in the yard so I could hang out with her while she did chores, and it was ok for a day, and then I let her know I didn't need a pen and broke it down.   That got me in more trouble.   Finally I was allowed to go for walks with my mom.  She'd walk next to me and we'd walk laps around the pond together in the evenings.  I like walking with my mom.   She talks to me a lot and we make decisions together.  She needs my advice.   Then we got to go for some sort rides, just walking.  We did a LOT of walking.   Then mom decided she needed to practice what she was learning with Joker, so she got those long reins and put them on me and started walking behind me, and we walked all over the farm doing that, too.   It took all year, but the vet finally said my leg was ok again and we could go back to work.   Mom and the vet decided that I need to stop chasing cows and doing things that are quick turns and hard stops, so now it seems like we are training for something new to both me and mom.   I'm all for it!  I love new stuff!    I told mom don't worry, I'm super smart so I'll figure it all out.   And you wanna know what happened once the vet said I could start working hard again?  It rained.  All the time. I don't like rain, and I really hate working in mud.   Mom says she isn't as crazy as she used to be and doesn't really like riding in the cold rain.  I'd do it if she asked, but I'm kinda glad she thinks that way!  But now it's spring and I think we can start getting back to work for real!

Back at work!

My new saddle and pad.  I look pretty awesome.

Mom got me a new saddle, too!   We wore out our old one and it couldn't be repaired.   She bought me a new saddle pad with blue flames on it, too!  This saddle is different than our old one, or my show saddle, and I think it's got something to do with our new job.   We'll see.

I hope mom doesn't think we're gonna take Joker with us to shows, because I'm not sharing the limelight with anyone!

-D.

Mom helped with a project at NCSU gluing numbers on bees.  She's weird.

She said it's cute, I say mom is kinda creepy

And Then There Were Four

  My mama done lost her mind.

Now, I love her, and we do a lot of crazy things, and she's had some weird ideas, but this one takes the cake.  She said it's my fault.   We were training for competition a few months ago, and we galloped into a turn, I lost my footing and we went sideways.   Now, she was asking me to run, then she said I was going too fast.  I say she should have let me run out in the open and blow off steam.  But no matter.  My foot and leg hurt.  Some days worse than others.  The vet has looked at it twice, took crazy pictures of it, made serious, concerned noises, and stuck lots of needles in it.  Now I'm out in a pasture by myself and mama keeps telling me to take it easy, no running.  I don't like it.  Mama doesn't seem to happy, either, but this is what we do.  And she said since I am hitting middle age, and need to take most of this year off and rest, it was time for her to think about bringing along something younger.   She had planned on that with Willie but he didn't work out too well.

So she comes home with a colt.  No lie.  He's 2 years old, and doesn't know a whole lot.   I spent the first two days he was here letting him know that I was the BOSS.  It hurt my leg to keep running at the fence to scare him, but it was worth it.  Boy he's a goofy kid...always picking stuff up and playing with it, not finishing his breakfast, playing around all the time.  Lucky for me the colt likes to annoy Chuck, so I get some peace and quiet when I'm out with the rest of the horses.   But anyway, my mama asked me to introduce the new kid, because he's still not too good at writing so his part will be short.   So here he is - CLs Don't Be Fooled, but my mom calls him Joker:

Hi!  My name is Joker.  I used to live out by the NC coast, but this lady came out to meet me a few times, and then she had another lady she called "doctor" look at me, and then she shows up with a trailer.  Well, that trailer ride was long!  And I've never been trailered all by myself!  I got real scared.  I couldn't even try to talk to the new lady when they stopped part way to check on me.   I heard her call another "doctor" and thought oh no, not again!  I guess these new people were worried.  I didn't get to meet the doctor that day.

So we finally get to this farm, and I've never been away from home like this before, and I was scared. The new people put me in a pasture by myself, and there were new horses on the other side of the fence.   They were weird.  One of them kept making mean faces at me.  And I slept in a barn at night!  I learned not to eat the bedding, it doesn't taste good.  Nothing tasted good those first few days - I didn't like my new feed, or the hay.  

I don't like this new hay!

Meeting my new friends for the first time

The new people spent time with me, though, and I liked that.  They seem nice.   Then the new lady started putting a horse in with me so I'd have company, and I got to meet everyone.   Then I got to go out in the pasture with all the horses, and I like that!   The new lady gives me toys to play with, and I like to try to get the other horses to play with me.   And the lady takes me out and brushes me and teaches me stuff.  I got to meet another lady and got a pedicure, and then a vet came and I got a spray up my nose that my mom calls a "vaccine" and I didn't like that at all!   But I like sleeping in my stall, and I like my hay, and the lady fixed up my feed so it tastes better now.

Out with all the other kids

 This new place is pretty nice.  I don't have to be out in the cold rain - they bring me and the other horses in and we stay warm and dry with hay to eat and a soft stall to sleep in.  They even put a radio on in the barn for me.  The other day I got to go for a walk around the pond with this lady, and we practiced what I've been learning.  There's all sorts of stuff that's new to me, and everyone is being really patient.   This lady keeps mentioning something about taking me to a show, and I have no idea what that means but I know Deuce goes all the time and he seems pretty proud of that.

Learning to walk over the narrow wooden bridge 

Oh boy!  A giant ball to play with!

So I guess this new place and new people are ok.  I like going to school with this lady.  But can someone please explain what a show is, so I can practice and be proud of myself like Deuce?   I wanna be like Deuce, just not as grumpy!

- Joker

Sliding Into a New Year

It's been a while!  Things got busy and I'm finally having time to sit down to write again.

Records are fun to break - speed, distance, weight - but not temperature.   This winter has not been fun.  I mean, we live in the South.  If I have to put up with 100 degree summer days, I shouldn't have to freeze in January.  And that's what we did - set a new record for consecutive hours below freezing at 200 hours and 19 minutes.   Hurray.  We've lived here for just over 4 years now, and I had never seen the large pond out front frozen over...until now.   Completely frozen over, end to end, all the way to the bank.  Craziness.

Hockey, anyone?

And it snowed!   The first snow not so bad, but the second, 4 inches.  Now, I know you are thinking hey, aren't you from up North?   Four inches of snow should be nothing!   Well, all true.  Until you live somewhere that doesn't have any snow plows, or big stockpiles of salt, or ways to clear the roads, along with people who didn't grow up driving in the crud.   An inch of snow is enough to completely shut down a southern city.  I've seen it happen.  More than that is absolutely crippling!

It snowed so hard you could hardly see down to the woods!

I bet you are thinking so you are stuck at home in the snow, you rode the horses in it and it was fun and beautiful!   Sigh.  I wish.  It's counterintuitive that there's more work on a farm in the winter.  Hoses and hydrants freeze.  Hay needs moved and fed.  Horses blanketed.  Old, arthritic legs need wrapped at night.   We decided to keep the horses in at night this winter to ease up on old Chuck and his sore feet, which meant stalls had to be cleaned every day, night time hay had to be fed so they could keep warm, etc.  

The front yard

Ok, mom, we are done playing.  Can we come in now?

Plus, on the really crappy side, Deuce got injured in training just after Thanksgiving.  We tried rest and supportive therapy, but he didn't really improve.  Turns out he has a damaged collateral ligament. Vet said we are looking at 6-9 months of rest for it to heal.  So right now, I am rideless.  More on that in the next post.

But - it's not as dismal as it seems.  We have a good handle on taking care of the boys in the cold now.  I seem to have accumulated enough blankets for the horses that they always had a dry change of clothes.  And because of the cold and snow, we ended up with a new family member.  A woman saw a small cat get hit by a car on the road in front of our farm, and stopped to pick her up.  She couldn't keep her, and because I'm a sucker, I took the kitty in.  We took a trip to the vet and turns out she has a broken hip.  Amazingly enough the vet said it would heal on its own, just give it time.  So the kitty is living in an upstairs bathroom until she heals, gets spayed, and is ready to become another barn cat. We named her Flurry - she came to us in a snow storm, and also after my favorite hockey player.  It's been about 6 weeks and she's running and jumping and playing so she's ready to start her life as a barn cat!

Little Flurry

Plus, I kinda like the cold.  I mean, I could do without the whole "all the water is frozen and if I am outside any longer my eyeballs will freeze, too" for days on end, but I like the change in seasons.  I like the early morning walk I take when it snows and the only other footprints are from the animals we share the farm with.  It's quiet with no cars on the roads.  I love when the horses are sent out after a snow and they walk outside like "hey, where did all this white stuff come from?!"  And then I like having my tea while I warm up in front of the fire and watch cartoons. 

So here's some pictures of our farm in the snow, and of a winter I'm glad to be putting behind me.   As I'm writing this we've already had almost a week with temperatures dancing well into the 60's each day, and I think a day or two flirted with 80!

Early morning on small front pond

Two paths diverged in a frozen wood, and I took neither.  Because I had chores to finish and my toes were frozen.

No more ice, but still cold!

Oh, and can't forget these girls - I was very worried about my bees in the long stretch of cold we had. They were a small colony headed into winter and I didn't feel they had enough food stored up.   We wrapped the hive in insulation, but I had my doubts.  The first warm day we had, I was thrilled to see lots of activity!  They made it!

The girls out and about on a warm afternoon

Happy trails!

-J.

Chuck Chimes In

Hey all, this is Cherokee Outlaw Arkie.  Mouthful, ain't it?  That's why my people call me Chuck.   As you might have guessed, I was born in Arkansas.   I spent my younger years working as a roping horse on a cattle ranch in Colorado.   It's a long story about how I ended up in Raleigh, but after working hard all my life, I ended up with a pretty soft job.

Headed down the trail with Deuce

My people were looking for a nice, quiet horse.   That Grady feller thought I would do ok, and he understood that my life had been pretty tough and I had spent time with people who put too much pressure on me.  It took a while, but I started settling in here.   Grady worked with me, convinced me that my new home was a lot different than what I had been doing before.  I have a lot of training behind me.   Grady knew that.  But my new person, he didn't know anything.  The Feed Lady, she knows a good bit.  I don't really like when she rides me, and more than once I had to be her riding horse for dressage lessons when Deuce got hurt.  I didn't care for that much.   Now she rides me once a while on the trails.  She says it's to make sure I'm behaving, but I think she just gets tired of riding her squirrelly horse and wants a nice, relaxing ride.   And Deuce really is a hot mess on the trails sometimes.  He says he likes going out with me because he knows he can outrun me.  What he's running from, we never can quite figure out.

My person learning to take care of my feet

My person, he's all right.   I get the feeling he doesn't always know what he's doing, but his intentions always seem good, so I roll with it.  He's learning.   And he's nice to me.  Sometimes he's like a walking vending machine - treats in every pocket.  We go on rides, and all I gotta do is walk.   Like I said, this job is pretty soft.  I know a lot more stuff, but my person seems pretty content with what we are doing, so I go along.   Besides all that, working hard my whole life gave me arthritic feet, so an easy job suits me just fine.  The Feed Lady, she keeps an eye on me, puts some yucky tasting medicine in my dinner when she thinks my feet are sore.  I've learned that if I need something, it's sometimes best to let her know, she's been doing this a while and seems to have a good handle on things.  Like I don't like being out in the cold wind.  As soon as she figured that out, she started putting a jacket on me to keep the wind off.  And my people bring me in out of the cold and wet during the winter.   In the summer they put me in a stall with a fan when it's really hot.   Not bad for an old roping horse.

On hot days, we get a pool!

My job is making this guy look good

Love me some little people

My other favorite thing is because I'm not grouchy like Deuce or wiggly like Willie, when little people come to the farm and want to pet a horse, I'm the man for the job.  So I just gotta stand while the little ones brush and pet me, and then they feed me treats.  The best treats are peanuts, but I'm not real picky.

Babies and Beer

Hey all, it's Willie.  This post is a little late in coming - mom has been too busy to sit with me and let me use her laptop.

Olivia's morning surprise

But anyway...All the babies are here!  Yep!   I got little baby cows on the other side of the fence!   I told you about the first one, baby Lane.   Well, now there's 2 more!  Mom went outside one morning to feed us, and there was a new baby!  Olivia had her baby overnight.  They named that baby Rose.  Then my mom was watching Bobbie, and said you know, I think she's gonna have hers today, too.  So later mom went into the house to have some lunch, came back outside and there was another baby!  I told mom not to go inside!  If she had stayed out with me she'd have seen the whole thing!  They named that baby little Bob.  My mom calls him Bobble because he's got some growing to do to fit into his legs.

Bobbie and her brand new baby

Dad helping to tag Bobble's ear

We were sad, though, because Flo lost her baby.  They took Flo to the vet school when her baby didn't come, and mom said the baby was a breech and didn't make it.  Mom said it happens sometimes, no telling why.  But Flo had to stay at the vet school for a good week and let her belly heal.  Now she's back at the cow farm to recover.

So now it seems like there's cows everywhere!  The mamas call their babies and it's funny to hear them moo and the babies sometimes sass them back and then they get in trouble. I wouldn't want to mess with a cow mama - they are tough!

Mom and baby Rose

The babies follow my mom around - I can't blame them.  Sometimes she has treats, and she always stops to scratch my itchy spots and once those babies figure that out they aren't gonna leave her alone!  My people like to watch the cow babies run around and play.  Sometimes my dad goes out there and has a beer and talks to the cows, and I'm all like "hey, I like beer and I'll listen to you talk all day long!"

Dad and his namesake

Deuce getting baby cow kisses from Lane

Hey, wait - are those my cookies?

Following my mom

Now, the big question is - did I get my beer after the babies came?  Well, it took mom a week or two, but she finally sat and fed me some peanuts and shared a beer with me.   We should have cow babies all the time if I can get some beer for it!

Yay!  Beer!

W.