Yesterday was a whirlwind. It was up before daylight and home after dark- for an away day! As you know from the previous blog entry we brought Caity and Willy to represent the American Saddlebred Country Pleasure Horse at the ASB demo at Mass. Equine Affaire. We had a ton of fun and Willy was bright eared and beautiful. Caity rode great.
The performance took place to the coolest music, choreographed by Rae Lynn Funkhouser who is the Executive Director of the Franklin School of Performing Arts in Franklin, MA. Her husband Bob Funkhouser from Saddle Horse Report, was our breed coordinator and kept everyone organized, upbeat, and perfect! Any other breed demo would be moooooore than fortunate to have that team of professionals putting together their performance!!
It was a quick demo, we had about 10 horses to showcase in 15-20 minutes so individuals had had 2 minutes in the ring to do their thing. That is NOT a lot of time! Everyone packed in all the gaits in that short time, reversed, waved to the crowd and all. Each horse was turned out to perfection, and all of the horses looked like the best that American Saddlebreds could be. Versatile, bright, athletic and heart stopping!
We shopped for a short time- it was crazy and overwhelming. I bought one thing and one thing only. If you can guess what it is, I'll take you on a trail ride. Hint: 10, 40, A-5. No it's not clippers but related and the BEST INVENTION EVER.
This is what Equine Affaire is all about : Getting your ass to the ring on time.
Superfun. Caity and Willy stopped by the Big E's booth in the Better Living Center and found themselves on a poster! Look closely for her seafoam day coat!
Sister Act! Sharon Alemian and Lillian Gilpin showcased Sharon's beautiful five gaited mare LA Lady Pedro. They were a crowd favorite racking and slow gaiting. Courtney Cahill is noticably absent (Sharon and Lill are looking for her?) after she assaulted the back of Nicholas' head with spray glitter. Nicholas it certainly made you sparkle!
I stopped by the ASHA sponsored breed booth in the Stroh Building and saw Ricky Drew from ASAM all smiles as usual-a great supporter of the ASB and the most pleasant and enthusiastic guy you'll ever meet. I also met Mark Strong and Susan Vine who coordinated the booth. They worked so hard to make it possible-great job all.The worst thing we saw was literally upon arrival, we pulled the trailer around the barn to unload and there in the parking lot was a down horse, and a sizeable crowd- it looked grim and it was. The horse had been euthanized moments earlier. It was no one we knew but our hearts broke for them of course just the same. A professional group quietly assisted, including Nicholas, helping move the horse so it could be transported away- as gently as it was their own dear friend. Horrible thought and ironic among thousands of enthusiasts that this was happening behind the scenes of the demos and seminars, but it's a reality in dealing with these animals we love. Accidents can happen and they do.
On that note, it was a day of highs and lows- and an unforgettable day for a lot of reasons. We arrived home pretty tired!
3 comments:
My heart goes out to the family of the horse who had to be put down.
Congrats on your successful day.
OK here's my guess on your mystery purchase: was it one of those razor thingys that trims your horses whiskers by just gently brushing it across their muzzle? I LOVE those things and noticied they had them at EA CHEAP! Of course I told myself I'd pick up a handful later... and never did!
Mala I love the way you think but alas that is not it. Keep trying and YOU can get a trail ride! This thingie is black, and smaller than a bread box and says Andis on the side. That was a HUGE hint!
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