There was piece of straw in my coffee up last week. I really didn't notice it, floating gently like a thin yellow raft on the small brown pond of coffee. Then, as I raised the cup to sip,it bumped gently against my lips. Surprised, I lowered the cup to see peer inside and there it was, innocent and quivering on the surface.
Drinking coffee in the morning is a secondary career; first on the list in my consciousness is putting on make-up, reading of morning headlines, getting my briefcase ready. The cup is just barely within my peripheral vision; my hand instinctively finds it and raises it to just the right position for a sip. This happens over and over every morning, a routine that sets the rhythm of the morning.
Until last week, when the piece of straw appears. I stop abruptly, lower the cup and peer inside. There it is, a remnant of my earlier trip to the barn. It perhaps lodged in my hair,traveled the short trip back to the house, and then let go to float into the cup, waiting for the next assignment.
I grin at the sight of the piece of straw, dip into the cup to pick it out, walk to the trash can to flip it off my finger, lick my finger and take another sip. This is not what my sister would have done; the coffee would be down the drain, the cup rinsed - or perhaps deposited in the dishwasher and replaced with a clean cup out of the cabinet - but my sister is not a horse person.
To a horse person,a mere piece of straw in your drink is really low on your list of concerns. Your hands spend many hours on a manure fork, lifting the residue of a horse off the floor of the stall and into a muck bucket. When you brush a mud-encrusted horse in the early spring, the dirt flies in clouds around you, coming to rest in your hair and clothing. When you lift a hoof to clean it out after the horse has been playing in a spring rain, you get mud smeared on your hands, which then are conveniently wiped on your jeans. Your washing machine has small brown hairs in every crevice from the saddlepads that are washed there. The back seat of your truck is covered in muddy pawprints from the dogs who jump in for a ride after having run around the pasture. At horse shows or trail rides, you'd really like to wash your hands before eating that sandwich, but who's got time and where is the water anyway?
These are in fact, points of pride particularly for women who own horses. We brag about how dirty our houses are but how clean our barns are. We are NOT the target market for Chlorox or any of the anti-bacterial proselytizers seen on TV. Our kids eat plenty of healthy germs and are rarely sick. Our teenage daughters are not at the mall in make-up and designer clothes, they are on the back of a horse (often bareback) getting dirty and sweaty. A sisterhood: We are dirty and proud of it.
The piece of straw in my cup.. well, why waste a good cup of caffeine, which will keep me going all day through my full time job and then afterwards to do barn work? Just dip out the invader, take a sip, and ..
Monday, December 20, 2010
Monday, December 13, 2010
Horses Make a Mess Out of a Trail?
I was talking to a friend yesterday who is an avid hiker. As part of that general 'update for friends you haven't seen for a while', I mentioned I had been doing a lot of trail riding this fall (exclude WEG timeframe!) and also working on trail issues in my job. She said "Most hikers don't want to walk on horse trails because they are so muddy and messy."
And therein lies the problem.
So we have to ask ourselves, are hikers oversensitive? Are they right about the muddiness? Do horseback riders have the reputation of coming in and just messing up the trails and not caring or not fixing them? Is the situation really as the hikers portray it?
First we need to admit that the laws of physics are at work. The heavier the load, the more the soil will respond. Horses are the heaviest non-motorized trail user based on both our total weight and the weight per square inch of footprint.
Secondly we need to look at the trail itself. Most trails of any type being used today fall into one of three categories, in terms of how and why they were built. 1. Built for just hikers, 2. Built as a roadbed for mining, timbering, oil & gas, fire access, etc. and 3. an existing wildlife trail.
These trails were never designed to take horses. In fact, most of them were not DESIGNED at all!
When these trails were created, people just didn't know what we know now in terms of engineering a trail to shed water, locating trails along contours, trail surfaces, stream crossings, etc. People did not realize how complex it is to properly locate a trail, pre-identify problem areas, and work to protect the trail against future problems (usually caused by water in some form.)
It's not that horseback riders are doing anything wrong as they ride. It is the trail that is not ready for anything but the lightest, most infrequent user.. or for trucks which use the trail for a year and then abandon it.
Failure of the trail surface is not at all surprising, at least in the sensitive areas where water is collecting or soils are such that they cannot hold the surface together.
And - and this is important that ALL users understand - it's really not just horses either. Footprints can cause the same damage. I wonder if hikers know this.
A footprint will not leave as DEEP an impression as a hoofprint, but it will leave a depression nevertheless, into which water will collect rather than disperse and run off the trail. In fact, here is a verbatim sentence from a Sierra Club announcement of a planned winter hike (on a hikers-only trail): "Hike is easy-to-moderate, with up to five miles of trails climbing and descending many hills, sometimes in muddy conditions." (Emphasis mine) Those hikers will go through the mud and disturb the trail, making footprints that will make it more difficult for the obviously existing water to drain. Or they will go around the muddy condition, widening the trail and having a bigger impact on the resource.
And mountain biking also causes problems on these un-engineered trails. A hydrologist can tell you that if you leave a wheeled footprint, it creates a natural gully into which which rain will rush down or fill, rather than that same rain dispersing over the trail and being absorbed by both the trail surface and the surrounding vegetation.
So everyone is at fault here, and no one is at fault. The ying-yang of trails.
What to do?
The first thing that horsemen need to do is be aware of the FACTS about the condition of all trails, whether hiker, biker or horse, and understand HOW and WHY they got that way. The details of the story will change depending on the trail type, topology of the land, shade v. sun, vegetation, soil type, etc. etc.
We should also note where GOOD horse trails are, ones which are in good shape regardless of use. Those trails have accidentally been placed such that water is running off the edge, soil types are conducive to the local conditions, and land contours have been followed.
And then, the next thing horsemen need to do is start working to change both the image and reality of horse trails. The image is that we ruin trails REGARDLESS OF THEIR LEVEL OF DESIGN and that WE DON'T CARE ABOUT OUR IMPACT. The reality is that we DO CARE because we want these trails to be there for a long time. The reality is that properly designed trails can easily take horse traffic without degradation. The reality is that ALL USERS have impact and to some degree the hikers are in a state of denial if they think that only horses cause damage. The reality is that horses DO have a greater impact because of weight and so we become the lightening rod for complaints.
But as that lightening rod, perhaps we can turn the situation around into one in which not only do horseback riders improve their reputations, but they also improve the trails which ALL USERS will benefit from.
I imagine a day when that Sierra Club hiker is on a trail, sees the spot that used to be muddy and is now fixed so it is dry and natural looking, with no walk-arounds and no mud puddles, and they say to themselves, "Looks like the horsemen have been here, fixing the trail. We need to be working on trails like the horsemen are."
And therein lies the problem.
So we have to ask ourselves, are hikers oversensitive? Are they right about the muddiness? Do horseback riders have the reputation of coming in and just messing up the trails and not caring or not fixing them? Is the situation really as the hikers portray it?
First we need to admit that the laws of physics are at work. The heavier the load, the more the soil will respond. Horses are the heaviest non-motorized trail user based on both our total weight and the weight per square inch of footprint.
Secondly we need to look at the trail itself. Most trails of any type being used today fall into one of three categories, in terms of how and why they were built. 1. Built for just hikers, 2. Built as a roadbed for mining, timbering, oil & gas, fire access, etc. and 3. an existing wildlife trail.
These trails were never designed to take horses. In fact, most of them were not DESIGNED at all!
When these trails were created, people just didn't know what we know now in terms of engineering a trail to shed water, locating trails along contours, trail surfaces, stream crossings, etc. People did not realize how complex it is to properly locate a trail, pre-identify problem areas, and work to protect the trail against future problems (usually caused by water in some form.)
It's not that horseback riders are doing anything wrong as they ride. It is the trail that is not ready for anything but the lightest, most infrequent user.. or for trucks which use the trail for a year and then abandon it.
Failure of the trail surface is not at all surprising, at least in the sensitive areas where water is collecting or soils are such that they cannot hold the surface together.
And - and this is important that ALL users understand - it's really not just horses either. Footprints can cause the same damage. I wonder if hikers know this.
A footprint will not leave as DEEP an impression as a hoofprint, but it will leave a depression nevertheless, into which water will collect rather than disperse and run off the trail. In fact, here is a verbatim sentence from a Sierra Club announcement of a planned winter hike (on a hikers-only trail): "Hike is easy-to-moderate, with up to five miles of trails climbing and descending many hills, sometimes in muddy conditions." (Emphasis mine) Those hikers will go through the mud and disturb the trail, making footprints that will make it more difficult for the obviously existing water to drain. Or they will go around the muddy condition, widening the trail and having a bigger impact on the resource.
And mountain biking also causes problems on these un-engineered trails. A hydrologist can tell you that if you leave a wheeled footprint, it creates a natural gully into which which rain will rush down or fill, rather than that same rain dispersing over the trail and being absorbed by both the trail surface and the surrounding vegetation.
So everyone is at fault here, and no one is at fault. The ying-yang of trails.
What to do?
The first thing that horsemen need to do is be aware of the FACTS about the condition of all trails, whether hiker, biker or horse, and understand HOW and WHY they got that way. The details of the story will change depending on the trail type, topology of the land, shade v. sun, vegetation, soil type, etc. etc.
We should also note where GOOD horse trails are, ones which are in good shape regardless of use. Those trails have accidentally been placed such that water is running off the edge, soil types are conducive to the local conditions, and land contours have been followed.
And then, the next thing horsemen need to do is start working to change both the image and reality of horse trails. The image is that we ruin trails REGARDLESS OF THEIR LEVEL OF DESIGN and that WE DON'T CARE ABOUT OUR IMPACT. The reality is that we DO CARE because we want these trails to be there for a long time. The reality is that properly designed trails can easily take horse traffic without degradation. The reality is that ALL USERS have impact and to some degree the hikers are in a state of denial if they think that only horses cause damage. The reality is that horses DO have a greater impact because of weight and so we become the lightening rod for complaints.
But as that lightening rod, perhaps we can turn the situation around into one in which not only do horseback riders improve their reputations, but they also improve the trails which ALL USERS will benefit from.
I imagine a day when that Sierra Club hiker is on a trail, sees the spot that used to be muddy and is now fixed so it is dry and natural looking, with no walk-arounds and no mud puddles, and they say to themselves, "Looks like the horsemen have been here, fixing the trail. We need to be working on trails like the horsemen are."
Tuesday, November 30, 2010
Gratitude
Thanksgiving comes and goes, and we offer up our annual prayers of gratitude. Without much thought we throw in the expected things to be grateful for: family and friends, health (although not quite as grateful as we get older!), a home to live in, food to eat.(Ok, not quite so grateful when we need to lose a few.)
I found myself this year expressing gratitude for a job where there is always too much to do. I never thought I'd say that. And at times I could kick myself for even thinking that! But really..how exhilarating it is to always be contemplating "what's next"? What else can I do? Hey, this is a cool idea! Let's try that.
And occasionally, WOW, that was a complete screw-up.
We all need to slow down, I know. Me too. But to have a list of things a mile long that you want to do, and there just isn't enough time or money... now that's real life.
[Note to self: Add to your to-do list the following items: take a bubble bath, sit in a hot tub, get a massage, have a beer with a friend you haven't seen for a long time, scratch the cat, pet the dog...]
Ok, now it's heaven.
I found myself this year expressing gratitude for a job where there is always too much to do. I never thought I'd say that. And at times I could kick myself for even thinking that! But really..how exhilarating it is to always be contemplating "what's next"? What else can I do? Hey, this is a cool idea! Let's try that.
And occasionally, WOW, that was a complete screw-up.
We all need to slow down, I know. Me too. But to have a list of things a mile long that you want to do, and there just isn't enough time or money... now that's real life.
[Note to self: Add to your to-do list the following items: take a bubble bath, sit in a hot tub, get a massage, have a beer with a friend you haven't seen for a long time, scratch the cat, pet the dog...]
Ok, now it's heaven.
Saturday, November 20, 2010
The $2.5 Million Dollar Mare
Last week I watched a thoroughbred mare sell for $2.5 million. She was beautiful.. and I'm sure she had great lines (a Giant's Causeway daughter). But REALLY.
I just can't relate. $2.5M for an animal with four legs who can only have one foal per year in a time when sales prices are low. Business investment is what they say. I guess you depreciate her over time (one tax deduction), then you use the cost of care as a business expense, and the stud fee (but more outlays of money...)..
It is all beyond me. Not that it works out on paper - I sure the numbers do.
But to know there are people who in this economy can pay $2.5M for anything, let alone a risky investment like a horse. That is beyond my comprehension.
Could have been the sheiks, I suppose. Ah, to live in a country where there is oil and most of the oil money goes to the Royal Family.
So here the rest of us are in the "land of milk and honey" - the good old USA - and we are lucky if we can sell our horses for a few thousand. Or even 10's of thousands if it's a good hunter-jumper.
The problem really is that with one or two million dollar horses, the TB industry once again reinforces the public's perception that they are all rich guys. We know they are not, that the average income of KY thoroughbred farms is $50,000 -- not exactly a royal salary. But the average person will not hear about them.. they will just hear about the million dollar mare.
How are we going to get gaming passed in this state (if in fact that is what will save the industry, at least in the short term), if most of the electorate sees million dollar sales coming out of the Bluegrass? While meanwhile they are struggling to keep their family farm afloat, or to work the night shift in a blue collar job?
I just can't relate. $2.5M for an animal with four legs who can only have one foal per year in a time when sales prices are low. Business investment is what they say. I guess you depreciate her over time (one tax deduction), then you use the cost of care as a business expense, and the stud fee (but more outlays of money...)..
It is all beyond me. Not that it works out on paper - I sure the numbers do.
But to know there are people who in this economy can pay $2.5M for anything, let alone a risky investment like a horse. That is beyond my comprehension.
Could have been the sheiks, I suppose. Ah, to live in a country where there is oil and most of the oil money goes to the Royal Family.
So here the rest of us are in the "land of milk and honey" - the good old USA - and we are lucky if we can sell our horses for a few thousand. Or even 10's of thousands if it's a good hunter-jumper.
The problem really is that with one or two million dollar horses, the TB industry once again reinforces the public's perception that they are all rich guys. We know they are not, that the average income of KY thoroughbred farms is $50,000 -- not exactly a royal salary. But the average person will not hear about them.. they will just hear about the million dollar mare.
How are we going to get gaming passed in this state (if in fact that is what will save the industry, at least in the short term), if most of the electorate sees million dollar sales coming out of the Bluegrass? While meanwhile they are struggling to keep their family farm afloat, or to work the night shift in a blue collar job?
Saturday, October 30, 2010
I've Been to the Mountaintop
Not to disrespect Martin Luther King Jr.'s famous statement, but now I've been to the mountaintop too.
Brush Mountain, that is.
The Cumberland Gap National Park straddles Kentucky and Virginia. On our side, the mountains are steep and the valleys are low (Wasn't that a Motown song?). The path we and our horses took to the top was the same road that visitors take in National Park vans to get to Hensley settlement. Steep steep steep... but flanked left and right with gorgeous forest floors and ravines covered in boulders, and topped with the red, green and gold of autumn leaves.
For us riding flatlander horses from the Bluegrass area, climbing the mountain was a read sweat-inducing, huffing puffing exertion for the horses. At least it was for my somewhat overweight Morab gelding. He really wanted to sprint to the top to get it over with, but because I insisted on a walk, we stopped frequently to allow him to catch his breath. True to his Arabian and Morgan blood, he was anxious to keep going, and other than the sweat covering his chest and haunches, seemed none the worse for wear when we reached the top.
It was one of those unforgettable days of clear blue sies, sun and cool temperatures, a "10" on a scale from 1 to 10 for trail riding weather. Our friends from Harlan County, moving along on fit and seasoned Quarter Horses and gaited horses, told us trail stories, of the crazy horse that threw his rider and then threatened to run off a cliff, but changed direction at the last minute and charged down the trail directly into the side of another horse... of seeing bear scat but not the actual bear, and of training young horses using the "wet saddleblanket" approach.
At the top, we passed Hensley Settlement - which for me is a bit creepy as the ghosts of the settlement inhabitants still lurk there, kindly asking you to leave them alone. Continuing on to Martin's Fork campground, a cozy open spot tucked into the forest just below the ridgeline, grassy tent sites, an old cabin, corrals and tie-ups for horses, an outhouse, and a few picnic tables. A creek runs just below it which had just a trickle this day due to the drought all of Kentucky has experienced.
We broke out our lunch - snacks really - apples, peanut butter crackers, granola bars, and water. Horses were tied up to relax and we sat around the cabin appreciating a few minutes out of the saddle.
It doesn't get any better then this. Perfect weather, good friends, forest surroundings, healthy tired feeling, something to eat and drink. This is the mountaintop of human existence. If you haven't been there... you need to do it before your time is up.
Brush Mountain, that is.
The Cumberland Gap National Park straddles Kentucky and Virginia. On our side, the mountains are steep and the valleys are low (Wasn't that a Motown song?). The path we and our horses took to the top was the same road that visitors take in National Park vans to get to Hensley settlement. Steep steep steep... but flanked left and right with gorgeous forest floors and ravines covered in boulders, and topped with the red, green and gold of autumn leaves.
For us riding flatlander horses from the Bluegrass area, climbing the mountain was a read sweat-inducing, huffing puffing exertion for the horses. At least it was for my somewhat overweight Morab gelding. He really wanted to sprint to the top to get it over with, but because I insisted on a walk, we stopped frequently to allow him to catch his breath. True to his Arabian and Morgan blood, he was anxious to keep going, and other than the sweat covering his chest and haunches, seemed none the worse for wear when we reached the top.
It was one of those unforgettable days of clear blue sies, sun and cool temperatures, a "10" on a scale from 1 to 10 for trail riding weather. Our friends from Harlan County, moving along on fit and seasoned Quarter Horses and gaited horses, told us trail stories, of the crazy horse that threw his rider and then threatened to run off a cliff, but changed direction at the last minute and charged down the trail directly into the side of another horse... of seeing bear scat but not the actual bear, and of training young horses using the "wet saddleblanket" approach.
At the top, we passed Hensley Settlement - which for me is a bit creepy as the ghosts of the settlement inhabitants still lurk there, kindly asking you to leave them alone. Continuing on to Martin's Fork campground, a cozy open spot tucked into the forest just below the ridgeline, grassy tent sites, an old cabin, corrals and tie-ups for horses, an outhouse, and a few picnic tables. A creek runs just below it which had just a trickle this day due to the drought all of Kentucky has experienced.
We broke out our lunch - snacks really - apples, peanut butter crackers, granola bars, and water. Horses were tied up to relax and we sat around the cabin appreciating a few minutes out of the saddle.
It doesn't get any better then this. Perfect weather, good friends, forest surroundings, healthy tired feeling, something to eat and drink. This is the mountaintop of human existence. If you haven't been there... you need to do it before your time is up.
Thursday, October 21, 2010
Losing Friends - For Dennis and Pat
Today is a difficult day. Yesterday we lost two good friends, husband and wife, in a violent way. I went to sleep thinking of them and woke up thinking of them.
The thing about losing friends is that if it makes sense - if you can identify the "bad guy"... then somehow, through your grief, you can come to terms with the loss. You continue to miss them painfully, but you can send your grief to "the other", the "bad side" who made this all happen.
If it had been caused by some desperate "druggie" just looking for money; or some mentally ill person who randomly walked in their door; or a drunk driver speeding out of control. If it had been caused in these ways, your grief can center on those perpetrators.
But what do you do when you cannot identify the bad guy? What if there is no bad guy? Or worse yet, what if the only bad guy you can find is the person you lost? And you just don't want to go there.
My heart aches while I miss them. My mind keeps turning it over and over. Why? How? What could we have done? What one little event could have changed the course of events, could have interrupted the process so that these two people would still be here with us? I think just a small change somewhere could have stopped this. Perhaps I am being too hopeful in this feeling.
What hurts even more is that these two people were not just good friends... they were good people that many of us admired and used as role models. Involved in community. Volunteering every moment they had. Reliable and trustworthy. Fun to be around. Interested in children and nature. Good caretakers of their horses.
Where can you go when you lose two people like this, and you can't blame anyone? It shakes your belief that things happen for a reason. There is no reason for these deaths. Now life takes on a random aspect... anything can happen at any time, and our thinking minds can't figure it out, and can't stop it. We are at the mercy of unseen, unknown and unfathomable forces.
So we are left here, to live out what is left of our lives, not knowing where around the corner will come a senseless event for us, although we continue to try our best to control life and evil forces, when we can identify them. The scary part is when those forces cannot be identified, cannot be stopped, and good people are gone.
The thing about losing friends is that if it makes sense - if you can identify the "bad guy"... then somehow, through your grief, you can come to terms with the loss. You continue to miss them painfully, but you can send your grief to "the other", the "bad side" who made this all happen.
If it had been caused by some desperate "druggie" just looking for money; or some mentally ill person who randomly walked in their door; or a drunk driver speeding out of control. If it had been caused in these ways, your grief can center on those perpetrators.
But what do you do when you cannot identify the bad guy? What if there is no bad guy? Or worse yet, what if the only bad guy you can find is the person you lost? And you just don't want to go there.
My heart aches while I miss them. My mind keeps turning it over and over. Why? How? What could we have done? What one little event could have changed the course of events, could have interrupted the process so that these two people would still be here with us? I think just a small change somewhere could have stopped this. Perhaps I am being too hopeful in this feeling.
What hurts even more is that these two people were not just good friends... they were good people that many of us admired and used as role models. Involved in community. Volunteering every moment they had. Reliable and trustworthy. Fun to be around. Interested in children and nature. Good caretakers of their horses.
Where can you go when you lose two people like this, and you can't blame anyone? It shakes your belief that things happen for a reason. There is no reason for these deaths. Now life takes on a random aspect... anything can happen at any time, and our thinking minds can't figure it out, and can't stop it. We are at the mercy of unseen, unknown and unfathomable forces.
So we are left here, to live out what is left of our lives, not knowing where around the corner will come a senseless event for us, although we continue to try our best to control life and evil forces, when we can identify them. The scary part is when those forces cannot be identified, cannot be stopped, and good people are gone.
Mucking Stalls
Mucking stalls is one of my favorite things to do in the barn.
It occurs to me that this may not be typical of horse owners. And those who don't take care of their own horses certainly assume that mucking stalls would be on the bottom of the list of all barn chores.
But NO!
Mucking stalls falls into the same category as mowing the lawn. It is a mechanical process for your body, which requires totally repetitive but mindless activity. While your body is working, your brain is free to wander all over the place. And mine does.
My favorite time to muck is Sunday morning. It's quiet in the world except for the birds and the munching of horses eating hay. I wander down to the barn with a cup of coffee, turn on the radio to NPR, get my tools and enjoy the quiet.
In the summer, I turn all of the horses out into the paddock to eat their hay. (I have three horses, not a huge herd..) Then I am free to choose the stall to start with. If I am feeling energetic, I choose the dirtiest (my mare's... she drops her poop wherever she happens to be at the moment and then circles the stall enough times to spread it into every nook and cranny). If I am feeling a bit lazy, I start with the easiest one (my older gelding's, he poops a lot but puts it right in the same corner each time.)
And then the fun begins. While shoveling, sifting, and dumping, my mind takes off to places unknown. Some of my best ideas come while mucking. A lot of "what if..." moments, and a lot of "Why not...?" moments.
Or maybe I've been struggling with a problem. Could be a problem with a person who I am trying to figure out, or could be a problem with the Horse Council, where we are always trying to squeeze one more drop of activity out of the staff and board.
The most difficult problems mean the cleanest stalls. This is good.
In the background, NPR is talking about some international problem, or how to clean artichokes ("The Splendid Table" show), or whether Acai is really good for you (The "Dr. Zorba on Your Health" show). I tune into what they say occasionally, but usually it is background noise while I think.
May you enjoy mucking as much as I do. At my house, when they say "shit happens", it's not always bad.
It occurs to me that this may not be typical of horse owners. And those who don't take care of their own horses certainly assume that mucking stalls would be on the bottom of the list of all barn chores.
But NO!
Mucking stalls falls into the same category as mowing the lawn. It is a mechanical process for your body, which requires totally repetitive but mindless activity. While your body is working, your brain is free to wander all over the place. And mine does.
My favorite time to muck is Sunday morning. It's quiet in the world except for the birds and the munching of horses eating hay. I wander down to the barn with a cup of coffee, turn on the radio to NPR, get my tools and enjoy the quiet.
In the summer, I turn all of the horses out into the paddock to eat their hay. (I have three horses, not a huge herd..) Then I am free to choose the stall to start with. If I am feeling energetic, I choose the dirtiest (my mare's... she drops her poop wherever she happens to be at the moment and then circles the stall enough times to spread it into every nook and cranny). If I am feeling a bit lazy, I start with the easiest one (my older gelding's, he poops a lot but puts it right in the same corner each time.)
And then the fun begins. While shoveling, sifting, and dumping, my mind takes off to places unknown. Some of my best ideas come while mucking. A lot of "what if..." moments, and a lot of "Why not...?" moments.
Or maybe I've been struggling with a problem. Could be a problem with a person who I am trying to figure out, or could be a problem with the Horse Council, where we are always trying to squeeze one more drop of activity out of the staff and board.
The most difficult problems mean the cleanest stalls. This is good.
In the background, NPR is talking about some international problem, or how to clean artichokes ("The Splendid Table" show), or whether Acai is really good for you (The "Dr. Zorba on Your Health" show). I tune into what they say occasionally, but usually it is background noise while I think.
May you enjoy mucking as much as I do. At my house, when they say "shit happens", it's not always bad.
Monday, October 11, 2010
WEG: The Last Day Plus One
Officially, WEG was over as of 5:00pm yesterday, Oct. 10th. But for the KHC staff, WEG continued into today -- and will continue into tomorrow and beyond-- as the "follow-up" work is to be done.
Yesterday (WEG Day 16) we acted like the experienced trade show shoppers that we are, and put up LAST DAY OF WEG SALE signs. Just like all retailers (who advertise "THE DAY BEFORE LABOR DAY SALE" AND "THE DAY AFTER ST. PADDY'S DAY SALE"... or whatever reason they can dream up to pretend to mark down prices to some UNBELIEVABLY LOW (TODAY ONLY!!!) PRICES!!!
Our sale prices weren't THAT good, but everyone did save a few bucks on some popular items. Hats were selling well, as were pins (although, to be honest, if you looked desperate enough, we would slip you a pin under the table, free...)
The Village Arena that was right behind our booth had a great "END OF WEG" final performance. I watched part of it and they brought in most of the week's performers doing back to back, 8 minute shows. The stands were packed (even in that miserably hot sun), and standing room only on the sides.
My sense was that many of the visitors on Sunday were non-horse owning families (lots of kids around). They LOVED seeing the horses, and ooh-ed and aah-ed over the demonstrations of high skill, entertainment and beauty. No matter what we say about the future of the horse industry, this experience once again told me that EVERYONE loves to look at a horse perform at its peak, or pet the soft neck of a gentle horse. We have more friends in the non-horse owning public than we know or than we appreciate.
At the last minute, I decided to attend the Closing Ceremonies... and felt lucky to buy an $80 ticket for $30 at the ticket booth (from a lady who had to get rid of some...). But after sitting through the Closing Ceremonies, even $30 seemed too much. Well, unless you really like Lyle Lovett, then $30 was probably a good price. But the ceremony itself, preceeding Lyle, was slow and boring.
The athletes walked into the stadium, country by country, half-heartedly waving their flags. Applause was slim except for an occasional burst when a country went by it's cheering section... and of course a thunder of applause for the Americans. But then they all just circled once around, and out the exit gate, and were gone.
All that was left were some VERY ENTHUSIASTIC volunteers who were seated front and center and really seemed to be like a pep band at a high school basketball game. They cheered on cue, waved their pom-poms and generally were supposed to be the initiator of crowd noise (I think). The crowd, however, was not very perceptive, and sat sweating in the sun, waiting for some real entertainment.
And then the speeches started.
Normally I am patient at listening to speeches. I know they are appropriate in many circumstances, and need to be done. But for some reason, this time... I could hardly wait for them to be over. All I could think of is -- where are the horses? How can we have a closing ceremony without horses? It would not even have to be the competitive horses - I know they are expensive and very tired at this point -- but couldn't they have rounded up SOME horses, a drill team, some Pony Clubbers or 4-H clubs, something?
Oops, I'm getting pretty crabby aren't I? I've got post-weg-exhaustion, from my tired feet to my dusty hair to my brain-dead mind. Good thing this is the last day! Just in time.
Monday morning bright and early we arrived at the horse park to tear down and pack up our booth. It took about three hours packing and loading (one good thing about horse owners, we all had trucks we could bring to haul the stuff around in.) One load of furniture and brochure racks went to my storage building at home, and the rest went back to the office. I can hardly get to my desk at this point, with the boxes and bags all over the place in here!
I would like to say adios to everyone who read the blog and sent comments... I have enjoyed it - and will continue to blog although not every day. Different topics, different ideas... and if you enjoy them, keep reading and sending your comments too.
A plug for our KHC Annual Conference, which will be held in January at the Lexington Convention Center. More about that later here and on our website, kentuckyhorse.org.
Yesterday (WEG Day 16) we acted like the experienced trade show shoppers that we are, and put up LAST DAY OF WEG SALE signs. Just like all retailers (who advertise "THE DAY BEFORE LABOR DAY SALE" AND "THE DAY AFTER ST. PADDY'S DAY SALE"... or whatever reason they can dream up to pretend to mark down prices to some UNBELIEVABLY LOW (TODAY ONLY!!!) PRICES!!!
Our sale prices weren't THAT good, but everyone did save a few bucks on some popular items. Hats were selling well, as were pins (although, to be honest, if you looked desperate enough, we would slip you a pin under the table, free...)
The Village Arena that was right behind our booth had a great "END OF WEG" final performance. I watched part of it and they brought in most of the week's performers doing back to back, 8 minute shows. The stands were packed (even in that miserably hot sun), and standing room only on the sides.
My sense was that many of the visitors on Sunday were non-horse owning families (lots of kids around). They LOVED seeing the horses, and ooh-ed and aah-ed over the demonstrations of high skill, entertainment and beauty. No matter what we say about the future of the horse industry, this experience once again told me that EVERYONE loves to look at a horse perform at its peak, or pet the soft neck of a gentle horse. We have more friends in the non-horse owning public than we know or than we appreciate.
At the last minute, I decided to attend the Closing Ceremonies... and felt lucky to buy an $80 ticket for $30 at the ticket booth (from a lady who had to get rid of some...). But after sitting through the Closing Ceremonies, even $30 seemed too much. Well, unless you really like Lyle Lovett, then $30 was probably a good price. But the ceremony itself, preceeding Lyle, was slow and boring.
The athletes walked into the stadium, country by country, half-heartedly waving their flags. Applause was slim except for an occasional burst when a country went by it's cheering section... and of course a thunder of applause for the Americans. But then they all just circled once around, and out the exit gate, and were gone.
All that was left were some VERY ENTHUSIASTIC volunteers who were seated front and center and really seemed to be like a pep band at a high school basketball game. They cheered on cue, waved their pom-poms and generally were supposed to be the initiator of crowd noise (I think). The crowd, however, was not very perceptive, and sat sweating in the sun, waiting for some real entertainment.
And then the speeches started.
Normally I am patient at listening to speeches. I know they are appropriate in many circumstances, and need to be done. But for some reason, this time... I could hardly wait for them to be over. All I could think of is -- where are the horses? How can we have a closing ceremony without horses? It would not even have to be the competitive horses - I know they are expensive and very tired at this point -- but couldn't they have rounded up SOME horses, a drill team, some Pony Clubbers or 4-H clubs, something?
Oops, I'm getting pretty crabby aren't I? I've got post-weg-exhaustion, from my tired feet to my dusty hair to my brain-dead mind. Good thing this is the last day! Just in time.
Monday morning bright and early we arrived at the horse park to tear down and pack up our booth. It took about three hours packing and loading (one good thing about horse owners, we all had trucks we could bring to haul the stuff around in.) One load of furniture and brochure racks went to my storage building at home, and the rest went back to the office. I can hardly get to my desk at this point, with the boxes and bags all over the place in here!
I would like to say adios to everyone who read the blog and sent comments... I have enjoyed it - and will continue to blog although not every day. Different topics, different ideas... and if you enjoy them, keep reading and sending your comments too.
A plug for our KHC Annual Conference, which will be held in January at the Lexington Convention Center. More about that later here and on our website, kentuckyhorse.org.
Friday, October 8, 2010
WEG Day 14
This morning was the very important - and dare I say historic? - signing ceremony for the partnership between the Kentucky Horse Council and the Normandy Horse Council. The Pavilion was packed, and a herd of media was there too. Our Kentucky First Lady, Mrs. Jane Beshear, participated in the ceremony. It was actually a double ceremony (sounds like a wedding for two sets of twins) for partnerships between KHC and Normandy HC, as well as University of KY and the French Equine Cluster.
What is an Equine Cluster, you ask?
Well, it is NOT a GooGoo Cluster (for non-southerners, see www.GooGoo.com).
The French decided to assess their strongest industries, and then organize professional units to make sure those industries were strengthened and growing. These units are called "clusters". Dr. Lori Garkovich at the University of Kentucky has written about clusters of economic activities. The French chose the Equine industry as one of their strong industries, and now they are working to keep it healthy and growing. (Sounds like something Kentucky should think about doing for the horse industry.)
Speeches were made by everyone, and representing the KY Horse Council was President Madelyn Millard. As she signed the agreement, light bulbs flashed and cameras clicked. Hollywood.
Then, Nicholas, head of the Normandy Horse Council burst the bubble. He whispered to me: "Now we have to do the work!" Oh darn, these signing ceremonies are followed by actual work aren't they?
But tune in to kentuckyhorse.com. We want to get a bunch of Kentuckians saving for a big trip to France for the 2014 Games. Including a 4 year French lesson! It could be one BIG party. If you haven't been to France, why not now? Go with friends and watch some incredible horses perform. Sounds like heaven. [oh, and then there is the food.... yum!]
Today was long and hot, and ended with me losing my wallet somewhere in the Horse Park. I was assured by the lost and found personnel that they have had a number of wallets turned in and people are being very honest, with all the money still in them. That's not a problem for me because I think I had like $5 in cash... but it's the credit cards and drivers license that is a problem. Well, I am going to wait 24 hours before I panic.
And I'll use my current favorite phrase when something bad happens: "Oh well, nobody died."
What is an Equine Cluster, you ask?
Well, it is NOT a GooGoo Cluster (for non-southerners, see www.GooGoo.com).
The French decided to assess their strongest industries, and then organize professional units to make sure those industries were strengthened and growing. These units are called "clusters". Dr. Lori Garkovich at the University of Kentucky has written about clusters of economic activities. The French chose the Equine industry as one of their strong industries, and now they are working to keep it healthy and growing. (Sounds like something Kentucky should think about doing for the horse industry.)
Speeches were made by everyone, and representing the KY Horse Council was President Madelyn Millard. As she signed the agreement, light bulbs flashed and cameras clicked. Hollywood.
Then, Nicholas, head of the Normandy Horse Council burst the bubble. He whispered to me: "Now we have to do the work!" Oh darn, these signing ceremonies are followed by actual work aren't they?
But tune in to kentuckyhorse.com. We want to get a bunch of Kentuckians saving for a big trip to France for the 2014 Games. Including a 4 year French lesson! It could be one BIG party. If you haven't been to France, why not now? Go with friends and watch some incredible horses perform. Sounds like heaven. [oh, and then there is the food.... yum!]
Today was long and hot, and ended with me losing my wallet somewhere in the Horse Park. I was assured by the lost and found personnel that they have had a number of wallets turned in and people are being very honest, with all the money still in them. That's not a problem for me because I think I had like $5 in cash... but it's the credit cards and drivers license that is a problem. Well, I am going to wait 24 hours before I panic.
And I'll use my current favorite phrase when something bad happens: "Oh well, nobody died."
WEG Day 13
OOO- Day 13. Don't even like to type that number.
Was yesterday's blog too INFORMATIONAL for you? Yeah, I thought so. If you had wanted INFORMATIONAL you'd go read a newspaper. Truth is, that was the one day I never left the KHC office, so was not even at WEG. Life outside of WEG is on hold, but not dead....
I decided that the hardest part for me about writing a daily blog is that you actually have to REMEMBER what happens all day. Something happens in the morning, and 10pm at night you have to think back 12 hours and remember it. Sometimes I sit down and think, "Now, what DID I do this morning?" And of course draw a complete blank for a few minutes. The good news is that eventually it comes back to me, which proves I am not yet totally senile.
This morning, KHC hosted the French BIDNESSES (that IS a Kentucky word, right?). Although many of you (especially those who listen to Glen Beck) think that France is socialist, they actually are pretty sharp in bidness. A whole flotilla of French equine bidnesses came to Kentucky to make connections with our equine bidnesses. (Wow, it is hard to keep mis-spelling a word. Seems like it would come natural, but it's a real effort)
So we had in our conference room Frenchies who consulted in equine sport surfaces (ie Polytrack and all the other synthetic arena surfaces), others who built horse vans, provided farm software, equine equipment, jump systems, etc. They proposed a SPEED DATING event with our American bidnesses.
If you haven't heard of speed dating, it's the American invention which started by making it quicker for young singles to meet lots of other young singles. There's a whole room of single people, and two people spend 5 minutes talking to each other and then BUZZ, the bell rings and you move on to the next person. Isn't it just like the U.S. to take a social tradition like dating (picking someone up for a date, going to a movie and/or dinner, drinks afterward) and speed it all up into 5 minutes. Wouldn't want to lose a second with that silly "getting to know people" stuff, would we?
Back to bidness speed dating -- so a number of our American counterparts came, including Hallway Feed, McCauley Bros., Kentucky Horse Supply, Fennell's.... I talked to Roxanne from Kentucky Horse Supply and she thought it was really valuable to make the connections. She also told me that she LOVES the KHC website and enews, that it's the best place to get information on just about anything horsey in Kentucky. (OK, I'm doing some shameless compliment bragging)
And now another food story... we have a deli in the building, and each day they have one hot item (like stew or chicken) and also will make you a sandwich or salad. SO I told the Normandy business folks about the deli in case they wanted some lunch. Later around lunchtime, I went down myself to get something.. and guess what their hot item was? CHILI DOGS AND BEANS! I thought to myself, "Oh boy, the French are going to LOVE more 'junk food'!" I can hear them now, after they get back to France: "Yeah, we were in the U.S. and all those people eat is hotdogs, hamburgers and burritos. No wonder they are unhealthy. (Note that unhealthy means fat)"
As I suck in my stomach.... Thank god for stretch jeans.
Went over to WEG at noon with Dennis and Pat Blackburn, who are KHC volunteers extraordinaire. Dennis, a trail rider and chair of the Trail Committee (and former firefighter), is on the KHC board and will show up for just about anything we ask him to, if he is not teaching a firefighting school or backpacking with the Boy Scouts. Pat, his wife, is there with him whenever she can. Dennis DID happen to mention the other day that he'd like to ride his horse someday soon. (WHAT??? RIDE YOUR HORSE INSTEAD OF GOING TO TRAIL MEETINGS, MANNING THE WEG BOOTH, ATTENDING NORMANDY RECEPTIONS, VISITING TRAILS WITH PROBLEMS.... HEY, IF I DON'T HAVE TIME TO RIDE MY HORSE, YOU AIN'T GONNA EITHER. WE WILL ALL SUFFER TOGETHER.)
Back at the WEG booth, Chuck Weber continues to paint continuously - he is now working on his last WEG work: Vaulting. If you haven't stopped to see his work, do so today. He will be leaving after today, and his work will be gone (except for pictures....) We do have prints to sell of his work, so stop by our booth in the Equine Village (at the edge of the "track" between the Visitor's Center and the Museum)
On a closing note, I have a confession to make of an error that NO HORSEMEN should make.... I confused Pat Parelli with John Lyons the other day. (Go ahead, give me 20 lashes with wet baling twine!) It was PAT PARELLI who was feeding the troops at WEG, not JOHN LYONS. He did it again last night in style: grilled chicken (Pat was doing the grilling. Notice my use of his first name, he and I are like good buds.... HA HA), grilled asparagus, green salad and macaroni salad and beer. AND a three piece band. (However, the three piece band was NOT playing bluegrass, so Pat did not score 100% on this test)
Au Revoir until tomorrow.
Was yesterday's blog too INFORMATIONAL for you? Yeah, I thought so. If you had wanted INFORMATIONAL you'd go read a newspaper. Truth is, that was the one day I never left the KHC office, so was not even at WEG. Life outside of WEG is on hold, but not dead....
I decided that the hardest part for me about writing a daily blog is that you actually have to REMEMBER what happens all day. Something happens in the morning, and 10pm at night you have to think back 12 hours and remember it. Sometimes I sit down and think, "Now, what DID I do this morning?" And of course draw a complete blank for a few minutes. The good news is that eventually it comes back to me, which proves I am not yet totally senile.
This morning, KHC hosted the French BIDNESSES (that IS a Kentucky word, right?). Although many of you (especially those who listen to Glen Beck) think that France is socialist, they actually are pretty sharp in bidness. A whole flotilla of French equine bidnesses came to Kentucky to make connections with our equine bidnesses. (Wow, it is hard to keep mis-spelling a word. Seems like it would come natural, but it's a real effort)
So we had in our conference room Frenchies who consulted in equine sport surfaces (ie Polytrack and all the other synthetic arena surfaces), others who built horse vans, provided farm software, equine equipment, jump systems, etc. They proposed a SPEED DATING event with our American bidnesses.
If you haven't heard of speed dating, it's the American invention which started by making it quicker for young singles to meet lots of other young singles. There's a whole room of single people, and two people spend 5 minutes talking to each other and then BUZZ, the bell rings and you move on to the next person. Isn't it just like the U.S. to take a social tradition like dating (picking someone up for a date, going to a movie and/or dinner, drinks afterward) and speed it all up into 5 minutes. Wouldn't want to lose a second with that silly "getting to know people" stuff, would we?
Back to bidness speed dating -- so a number of our American counterparts came, including Hallway Feed, McCauley Bros., Kentucky Horse Supply, Fennell's.... I talked to Roxanne from Kentucky Horse Supply and she thought it was really valuable to make the connections. She also told me that she LOVES the KHC website and enews, that it's the best place to get information on just about anything horsey in Kentucky. (OK, I'm doing some shameless compliment bragging)
And now another food story... we have a deli in the building, and each day they have one hot item (like stew or chicken) and also will make you a sandwich or salad. SO I told the Normandy business folks about the deli in case they wanted some lunch. Later around lunchtime, I went down myself to get something.. and guess what their hot item was? CHILI DOGS AND BEANS! I thought to myself, "Oh boy, the French are going to LOVE more 'junk food'!" I can hear them now, after they get back to France: "Yeah, we were in the U.S. and all those people eat is hotdogs, hamburgers and burritos. No wonder they are unhealthy. (Note that unhealthy means fat)"
As I suck in my stomach.... Thank god for stretch jeans.
Went over to WEG at noon with Dennis and Pat Blackburn, who are KHC volunteers extraordinaire. Dennis, a trail rider and chair of the Trail Committee (and former firefighter), is on the KHC board and will show up for just about anything we ask him to, if he is not teaching a firefighting school or backpacking with the Boy Scouts. Pat, his wife, is there with him whenever she can. Dennis DID happen to mention the other day that he'd like to ride his horse someday soon. (WHAT??? RIDE YOUR HORSE INSTEAD OF GOING TO TRAIL MEETINGS, MANNING THE WEG BOOTH, ATTENDING NORMANDY RECEPTIONS, VISITING TRAILS WITH PROBLEMS.... HEY, IF I DON'T HAVE TIME TO RIDE MY HORSE, YOU AIN'T GONNA EITHER. WE WILL ALL SUFFER TOGETHER.)
Back at the WEG booth, Chuck Weber continues to paint continuously - he is now working on his last WEG work: Vaulting. If you haven't stopped to see his work, do so today. He will be leaving after today, and his work will be gone (except for pictures....) We do have prints to sell of his work, so stop by our booth in the Equine Village (at the edge of the "track" between the Visitor's Center and the Museum)
On a closing note, I have a confession to make of an error that NO HORSEMEN should make.... I confused Pat Parelli with John Lyons the other day. (Go ahead, give me 20 lashes with wet baling twine!) It was PAT PARELLI who was feeding the troops at WEG, not JOHN LYONS. He did it again last night in style: grilled chicken (Pat was doing the grilling. Notice my use of his first name, he and I are like good buds.... HA HA), grilled asparagus, green salad and macaroni salad and beer. AND a three piece band. (However, the three piece band was NOT playing bluegrass, so Pat did not score 100% on this test)
Au Revoir until tomorrow.
Wednesday, October 6, 2010
WEG Day 12
The days are all running together now. Is it Tuesday? Or Thursday? Or Sunday? I wonder who invented the seven day week anyway? And how did the Neanderthals do it; they just woke up every morning with no weekly schedule. They were probably just happy that the sun came up one more time. "UGH! LOOK, BRIGHT BALL IN SKY AGAIN. THE SUN GOD HERE. GO GET MEAT! UGH!"
But today was Wednesday (I think). Our big event for the day is hosting Miss Teen - Kentucky World in our booth, who is a Kentuckian but ALSO an accomplished young Equestrian. Look at these show results for her - Belle Owen: (Saddlebred rider)
10 & under World Champion 2006
11 yr old World Champion 2007
12 yr old World Champion 2008-Unanimous
13 yr World Champion 2009-Unanimous
13 & under Kentucky State World Grand Champion 2009-Unanimous
13 & under Kentucky State World Grand Champion 2008-Unanimous
13 & under World Grand Champion 2009-Unanimous
13 & under UPHA National Grand Champion 2009-Unanimous
Undefeated in 13 & under in 2009
10&under Equitation World Champion 2006
11 yr old Equitation World Champion 2007
12 yr old Equitation World Champion 2008-Unianimous
13 yr Equitation World Champion 2009-Unianimous
13 & under Kentucky State Equitation World Grand Champion 2009-Unianimous
13 &under Kentucky State Equitation World Grand Champion 2008-Unianimous
13 & under Equitation World Grand Champion 2009-Unianimous
13 & under UPHA National Grand Champion 2009-Unianimous
Undefeated in 13 & under Equitation in 2009
American Saddlebred People's Choice Award 2008 & 2009
13 & under rider of the year 2009
WOW!!! I'm tired just reading that list. I'll bet her horse is tired too.
Float your brain away from the KY Horse Park for a moment. Southwest, over to Harrodsburg. Over to Big Red Stables (can you fly over there like ET? That would be cool...). Emily Dennis, who runs Big Red (a rental trail riding facility), reports that they have had a ton of national and international visitors: Hong Kong, Sweden, the United Kingdom, Virginia, Pennsylvania, Oklahoma, California, Wisconsin, Kentucky, New York . . . She has lost count of all the places, but did get a world map and atlas and sticker stars for people to mark where they are from, AND (just as important) SHE CLEANED OUT THE TACK ROOM! Boy, wish I had a minute to clean out mine. The spiders are taking over. YUK. Cleaning out the tack room falls in to that category called AWEG. After WEG.
Fly over to another part of town - the downtown International Equine Festival in Rupp Arena. Here's an opportunity to see if your horse business is "business" or "hobby"according to the IRS rules:
Thursday night (10/7), 5:00pm at the International Festival of the Horse--
"Is Your Horse Operation a Business or a Hobby?" Presented by KHC members Joel Turner of Frost Brown Todd, member Tim Folck of Marnitz and Associates, and Jen Shah of Dean Dorton Ford.
Here's the L-O-N-G link to get details: http://horsecapitalproductions.com/component/sectionex/235-business-talk?catid=53%3Aief-2010-speakers
Ok, now we zip back north to the KY Horse Park again...
Did I tell you about the original oils that are being painted in the Horse Council booth lately? And the prints that are for sale (They are giclee prints which means they are on canvas and look ALMOST like an original) If you need just that right horse artwork for your livingroom, bedroom, family room or CHRISTMAS GIFT (!).... come on over to our booth. 50% of all proceeds go to the Council.
(I can't believe I said that - Christmas - I HATE it when retailers start hanging up Christmas decorations before Thanksgiving - and now it's Halloween -- and here I am hawking Christmas gifts on Oct. 6th. Bad Karma. As bad as those greasy Santas that sit in Mall stores. They are truly creepy.)
But today was Wednesday (I think). Our big event for the day is hosting Miss Teen - Kentucky World in our booth, who is a Kentuckian but ALSO an accomplished young Equestrian. Look at these show results for her - Belle Owen: (Saddlebred rider)
10 & under World Champion 2006
11 yr old World Champion 2007
12 yr old World Champion 2008-Unanimous
13 yr World Champion 2009-Unanimous
13 & under Kentucky State World Grand Champion 2009-Unanimous
13 & under Kentucky State World Grand Champion 2008-Unanimous
13 & under World Grand Champion 2009-Unanimous
13 & under UPHA National Grand Champion 2009-Unanimous
Undefeated in 13 & under in 2009
10&under Equitation World Champion 2006
11 yr old Equitation World Champion 2007
12 yr old Equitation World Champion 2008-Unianimous
13 yr Equitation World Champion 2009-Unianimous
13 & under Kentucky State Equitation World Grand Champion 2009-Unianimous
13 &under Kentucky State Equitation World Grand Champion 2008-Unianimous
13 & under Equitation World Grand Champion 2009-Unianimous
13 & under UPHA National Grand Champion 2009-Unianimous
Undefeated in 13 & under Equitation in 2009
American Saddlebred People's Choice Award 2008 & 2009
13 & under rider of the year 2009
WOW!!! I'm tired just reading that list. I'll bet her horse is tired too.
Float your brain away from the KY Horse Park for a moment. Southwest, over to Harrodsburg. Over to Big Red Stables (can you fly over there like ET? That would be cool...). Emily Dennis, who runs Big Red (a rental trail riding facility), reports that they have had a ton of national and international visitors: Hong Kong, Sweden, the United Kingdom, Virginia, Pennsylvania, Oklahoma, California, Wisconsin, Kentucky, New York . . . She has lost count of all the places, but did get a world map and atlas and sticker stars for people to mark where they are from, AND (just as important) SHE CLEANED OUT THE TACK ROOM! Boy, wish I had a minute to clean out mine. The spiders are taking over. YUK. Cleaning out the tack room falls in to that category called AWEG. After WEG.
Fly over to another part of town - the downtown International Equine Festival in Rupp Arena. Here's an opportunity to see if your horse business is "business" or "hobby"according to the IRS rules:
Thursday night (10/7), 5:00pm at the International Festival of the Horse--
"Is Your Horse Operation a Business or a Hobby?" Presented by KHC members Joel Turner of Frost Brown Todd, member Tim Folck of Marnitz and Associates, and Jen Shah of Dean Dorton Ford.
Here's the L-O-N-G link to get details: http://horsecapitalproductions.com/component/sectionex/235-business-talk?catid=53%3Aief-2010-speakers
Ok, now we zip back north to the KY Horse Park again...
Did I tell you about the original oils that are being painted in the Horse Council booth lately? And the prints that are for sale (They are giclee prints which means they are on canvas and look ALMOST like an original) If you need just that right horse artwork for your livingroom, bedroom, family room or CHRISTMAS GIFT (!).... come on over to our booth. 50% of all proceeds go to the Council.
(I can't believe I said that - Christmas - I HATE it when retailers start hanging up Christmas decorations before Thanksgiving - and now it's Halloween -- and here I am hawking Christmas gifts on Oct. 6th. Bad Karma. As bad as those greasy Santas that sit in Mall stores. They are truly creepy.)
Tuesday, October 5, 2010
Weg Day 11
Picture this: Mint Juleps in a barn cocktail party, filled with a mix of American equestrians, KY Horse Council board members, and representatives from a number of breeds.... plus 30 of your best French friends. (What, you don't have any French friends? Visit the Normandy pavilion at WEG to find some, they are waiting there with cheese and wine. And a cooking class which is FREE and you get to eat the results.)
Stalls full of horses of many breeds: Saddlebreds, thoroughbreds, warmbloods, quarter horses, hackney ponies... and in the aisles people drinking cocktails and admiring the diversity of breeds.
A demonstration of a Kentucky native breed, the Rocky Mountain horse. The French mounting the Rocky Mountains in anticipation, to experience its gait and speed. Many photographs taken of expert French riders trying out a gaited horse for the first time.
Then traveling 1/2 mile down a dusty lane to the 1800's house, wine and dinner on the lawn under the stars. Sounds of French and English intermingling. The glow of cigarettes as the night darkens (so many of the French folks smoke... they haven't had the thrill of the Surgeon General's report yet).
Good Kentucky food: Fried chicken, beaten rolls, cheese grits, pork tenderloin, grilled asparagus, bread pudding...(hungry yet?).
A warm and bright house for those who were chilled from the fall air. Small groups in conversations all over the lawn and house.
All at Madelyn and Jamie Millard's farm. She is the president of the KY Horse Council. The farm is 530 acres of pasture and hay fields, barns, indoor and outdoor arenas, and paddocks. It is a true working farm, not the highly manicured thoroughbred farm often depicted in postcards.
Speeches at the end of the evening offering friendship, cooperation and support as Normandy prepares for the 2014 World Equestrian Games. Soon Kentucky will wrap up its 2010 WEG, and soon KHC will sign a partnership with Normandy for interchange of information, professionals and trade.
Ah, a night to remember. And a night to find hope in people all over the world; we all want the same thing... good friends, good conversations, a good meal and a good night's sleep. And I've had all of those things tonight except the sleeping part. Good night!
Stalls full of horses of many breeds: Saddlebreds, thoroughbreds, warmbloods, quarter horses, hackney ponies... and in the aisles people drinking cocktails and admiring the diversity of breeds.
A demonstration of a Kentucky native breed, the Rocky Mountain horse. The French mounting the Rocky Mountains in anticipation, to experience its gait and speed. Many photographs taken of expert French riders trying out a gaited horse for the first time.
Then traveling 1/2 mile down a dusty lane to the 1800's house, wine and dinner on the lawn under the stars. Sounds of French and English intermingling. The glow of cigarettes as the night darkens (so many of the French folks smoke... they haven't had the thrill of the Surgeon General's report yet).
Good Kentucky food: Fried chicken, beaten rolls, cheese grits, pork tenderloin, grilled asparagus, bread pudding...(hungry yet?).
A warm and bright house for those who were chilled from the fall air. Small groups in conversations all over the lawn and house.
All at Madelyn and Jamie Millard's farm. She is the president of the KY Horse Council. The farm is 530 acres of pasture and hay fields, barns, indoor and outdoor arenas, and paddocks. It is a true working farm, not the highly manicured thoroughbred farm often depicted in postcards.
Speeches at the end of the evening offering friendship, cooperation and support as Normandy prepares for the 2014 World Equestrian Games. Soon Kentucky will wrap up its 2010 WEG, and soon KHC will sign a partnership with Normandy for interchange of information, professionals and trade.
Ah, a night to remember. And a night to find hope in people all over the world; we all want the same thing... good friends, good conversations, a good meal and a good night's sleep. And I've had all of those things tonight except the sleeping part. Good night!
Monday, October 4, 2010
WEG Day 10
THE NORMANDY INVASION HAS BEGUN!!
Actually, the invasion began last week when the first set of Frenchies arrived to staff their WEG pavillion. You all know that Normandy is the site of the 2014 WEG, right? So they are totally interested in seeing first hand how this one goes. And for promoting the region so all these horse crazy people fly across the pond in 2014.
Yesterday, the second wave of Normanders (I just made that up, could you guess?) arrived. Cathy P. from the Normandy Horse Council arrived; she was the main contact we have had at the KY Horse Council for our trip over there in June and also the arrangements here for WEG. A real sweetie, but then all of the Normandy Horse Council people are. And the French equine business reps arrived, and the Equine Cluster people too. And the head of French Riding Schools (they are so organized over there), and the Exec. Dir. of Equine Professionals association.
Can you speak French? It would help...
I have to admit that it took all the politeness I could muster NOT to mention to them that the #1 and #2 spots in Show Jumping that just finished this afternoon were -- AMERICANS. (#3 was an Italian) Show Jumping is the main equestrian event in France, and they raise the Selle Francais breed which excels in jumping. So what happened to their athletes? I will ask later, but for now I kept my mouth shut... don't want to rub it in when we are showing them our gracious Kentucky hospitality.
Team Jumping starts tomorrow so maybe they are saving their best horses and riders for last.
The Normanders also were not so happy with the food being offered at WEG. They said they are not used to eating so much junk food. Well, GET WITH THE PROGRAM, this is the U.S.! If you can't eat junk food, you will never survive here. Actually I heard a number of complaints about food from Americans too. Not much variety and prices too high. But no one complained about too much junk food. We are such gourmet eaters in the U.S. -- LOL. (Lots O' Lard)
As you may know, Travelers Agribusiness is the major sponsor for the KY Horse Council booth. The Travelers corporate exec arrived today; he was decked out in jeans instead of a 3-piece suit so I liked the guy immediately. He doesn't own horses, but two of his staff do so he was looking for some WEG souvenirs to take back.
Souvenirs... yet another topic. Lots of WEG shirts, ties, caps, shot glasses, coffee mugs... But OOOOOH the prices! How about $59 for a polo shirt? Maybe I'm just a cheap wad. Sounds like too much for me just for that logo on the chest. Actually at the KHC Gift shop I found a high quality jacket for my husband with the logo.. it was only $95. (OK, so it would have been $65 at Tractor Supply) But he's worth it - he cooks! I broke down yesterday and got out the American Express; he loves the jacket.
Weather forecast is for the sun to show up again tomorrow after three days of clouds.
Every day the hike to and from the Spy Coast parking lot gets longer and longer. I bare my teeth when a golf cart comes whizzing past carrying people who don't look handicapped to me... just lucky, and maddeningly happy. I'm tempted to stick out my thumb and see if I can get a ride, but then the thought of all those calories I'm burning keeps my hands in my pockets. Trudge, trudge, trudge....
Actually, the invasion began last week when the first set of Frenchies arrived to staff their WEG pavillion. You all know that Normandy is the site of the 2014 WEG, right? So they are totally interested in seeing first hand how this one goes. And for promoting the region so all these horse crazy people fly across the pond in 2014.
Yesterday, the second wave of Normanders (I just made that up, could you guess?) arrived. Cathy P. from the Normandy Horse Council arrived; she was the main contact we have had at the KY Horse Council for our trip over there in June and also the arrangements here for WEG. A real sweetie, but then all of the Normandy Horse Council people are. And the French equine business reps arrived, and the Equine Cluster people too. And the head of French Riding Schools (they are so organized over there), and the Exec. Dir. of Equine Professionals association.
Can you speak French? It would help...
I have to admit that it took all the politeness I could muster NOT to mention to them that the #1 and #2 spots in Show Jumping that just finished this afternoon were -- AMERICANS. (#3 was an Italian) Show Jumping is the main equestrian event in France, and they raise the Selle Francais breed which excels in jumping. So what happened to their athletes? I will ask later, but for now I kept my mouth shut... don't want to rub it in when we are showing them our gracious Kentucky hospitality.
Team Jumping starts tomorrow so maybe they are saving their best horses and riders for last.
The Normanders also were not so happy with the food being offered at WEG. They said they are not used to eating so much junk food. Well, GET WITH THE PROGRAM, this is the U.S.! If you can't eat junk food, you will never survive here. Actually I heard a number of complaints about food from Americans too. Not much variety and prices too high. But no one complained about too much junk food. We are such gourmet eaters in the U.S. -- LOL. (Lots O' Lard)
As you may know, Travelers Agribusiness is the major sponsor for the KY Horse Council booth. The Travelers corporate exec arrived today; he was decked out in jeans instead of a 3-piece suit so I liked the guy immediately. He doesn't own horses, but two of his staff do so he was looking for some WEG souvenirs to take back.
Souvenirs... yet another topic. Lots of WEG shirts, ties, caps, shot glasses, coffee mugs... But OOOOOH the prices! How about $59 for a polo shirt? Maybe I'm just a cheap wad. Sounds like too much for me just for that logo on the chest. Actually at the KHC Gift shop I found a high quality jacket for my husband with the logo.. it was only $95. (OK, so it would have been $65 at Tractor Supply) But he's worth it - he cooks! I broke down yesterday and got out the American Express; he loves the jacket.
Weather forecast is for the sun to show up again tomorrow after three days of clouds.
Every day the hike to and from the Spy Coast parking lot gets longer and longer. I bare my teeth when a golf cart comes whizzing past carrying people who don't look handicapped to me... just lucky, and maddeningly happy. I'm tempted to stick out my thumb and see if I can get a ride, but then the thought of all those calories I'm burning keeps my hands in my pockets. Trudge, trudge, trudge....
WEG Day 9 (or 9.5?)
My Bad!
Last night I had dinner with husband and Madelyn and Jamie Millard, then went home and watched a movie... Forgot all about my blog!
Yesterday at WEG had just one theme: COLD!!!
I had the early morning shift and met volunteers Linda Starnes (Edmondson Co.) and Dennis and Pat Blackburn (Board member, from Mercer Co.) at 6:30Am for the carpool to WEG. We were all chilled but expecting that as the day went along, it would warm up a bit. WRONG!!! Cold, damp, and windy all morning. Spitting rain.
We moved everything (including ourselves) into the booth to get out of the rain and wind. Amazingly, there were quite a number of visitors, starting at about 10AM. They were glad to chat when out of the wind, AND we really had a run on our fleece vests! Including two of the volunteers in the booth who were shivering.
A nice comment came from a young student, Meghan, who had her eye on our raspberry vest and just assumed it was out of her price range. "WOW" she said, "This is a reasonable price!" "Yes", we answered, "The only booth here without WEG prices." And Meghan bought one, as did many other people.
At 11:30 I decided to get some hot chocolate at the restaurant, to warm up. The line was out the door, and 20 minutes later I was able to buy my $4 cup of hot chocolate. After 20 minutes of waiting, I decided I might as well buy lunch ( a healthy basket of fries...!) and sat down with two women from Michigan, my old stamping ground before moving to Kentucky.
I apologized to the Michiganders for our weather, know that no apology was necessary to ANYONE who dares live up north, between two Great Lakes that freeze in winter so that really you are living between two ice cubes. They were not fazed by the chilly weather (those Michiganders are tough!), and said it was colder "up home". I am SO glad I don't live there any more! (Lovely people, crummy weather, and now a totally crummy economy)
John Lyons and WEG treated the exhibitors and vendors to free hot dogs too... found that out AFTER my $8.00 lunch. But what the heck, I went ahead and had a hot dog too. They were hot, good and right off the grill.
Oh yeah, horses.
The demonstrations continued in the Equine Village arena, and I met a woman from California who owns Gypsy horses. In fact, she and her coach DROVE the horse trailer all the way here to KY to be able to demonstrate at WEG. It took them three days, and they are driving back as well after this is all over. She has some good connections in England where some of the original foundation Gypsy horses are being bred, and we are trying to see if she will set up a farm here in Kentucky for the horses she plans to import. We need breed diversity in Kentucky, and we need to support new equine operations. And where else can you get such good vet care, farrier care, pastures, proximity to the KY Horse Park.... an easy sell.
Linda Starnes, who is a Parelli practitioner, and I watched the Parelli demo..amazing. I have seen him before, but each time I see him I get a bit more out of the concepts. Problem is, to do it right means I need to spend a lot of time with my horses, and I hardly have time to feed them right now. Maybe when I retire? I sure hope I retire soon because my list is LONG. (But then I look at the savings account... and know that if I retired now, I might be standing in line at the Food Bank... Well, that might do my diet some good anyway. Of course, so would NOT eating French Fries for lunch.)
I left the Parelli demo early to meet up with John Hockensmith at the Dos Cavaleros pavillion. This family has established a ranch in Texas and is passionate about the Lusitano breed, and is going all out to educate America and the world about this breed, that just a few years ago fell into the endangered breed status due to a drop off in breeding operations. To tell you the truth... I can't tell the difference between a Lusitano and a Andalusian... and I know there is a difference. That is the ignorance that these folks are going to cure. (OR do you all know these differences, and I'm the only ignorant one? Very possible....)
Didn't realize how tiring it is to be cold all day. WOW, very little energy left at the end of the day. I trudged out to the car at 6pm.. and THIS TIME it was a breeze to exit. And I found my car.
[Did I tell you about how many people get off the shuttle and wander around aimlessly looking for their cars? A lot push their "panic" button on their key fob, just to have their car talk to them... but then there are a whole bunch of cars flashing and beeping and I'm not sure it does them any good. I tried my Panic button and it didn't work. Looks like I had better not panic any time soon.]
Last night I had dinner with husband and Madelyn and Jamie Millard, then went home and watched a movie... Forgot all about my blog!
Yesterday at WEG had just one theme: COLD!!!
I had the early morning shift and met volunteers Linda Starnes (Edmondson Co.) and Dennis and Pat Blackburn (Board member, from Mercer Co.) at 6:30Am for the carpool to WEG. We were all chilled but expecting that as the day went along, it would warm up a bit. WRONG!!! Cold, damp, and windy all morning. Spitting rain.
We moved everything (including ourselves) into the booth to get out of the rain and wind. Amazingly, there were quite a number of visitors, starting at about 10AM. They were glad to chat when out of the wind, AND we really had a run on our fleece vests! Including two of the volunteers in the booth who were shivering.
A nice comment came from a young student, Meghan, who had her eye on our raspberry vest and just assumed it was out of her price range. "WOW" she said, "This is a reasonable price!" "Yes", we answered, "The only booth here without WEG prices." And Meghan bought one, as did many other people.
At 11:30 I decided to get some hot chocolate at the restaurant, to warm up. The line was out the door, and 20 minutes later I was able to buy my $4 cup of hot chocolate. After 20 minutes of waiting, I decided I might as well buy lunch ( a healthy basket of fries...!) and sat down with two women from Michigan, my old stamping ground before moving to Kentucky.
I apologized to the Michiganders for our weather, know that no apology was necessary to ANYONE who dares live up north, between two Great Lakes that freeze in winter so that really you are living between two ice cubes. They were not fazed by the chilly weather (those Michiganders are tough!), and said it was colder "up home". I am SO glad I don't live there any more! (Lovely people, crummy weather, and now a totally crummy economy)
John Lyons and WEG treated the exhibitors and vendors to free hot dogs too... found that out AFTER my $8.00 lunch. But what the heck, I went ahead and had a hot dog too. They were hot, good and right off the grill.
Oh yeah, horses.
The demonstrations continued in the Equine Village arena, and I met a woman from California who owns Gypsy horses. In fact, she and her coach DROVE the horse trailer all the way here to KY to be able to demonstrate at WEG. It took them three days, and they are driving back as well after this is all over. She has some good connections in England where some of the original foundation Gypsy horses are being bred, and we are trying to see if she will set up a farm here in Kentucky for the horses she plans to import. We need breed diversity in Kentucky, and we need to support new equine operations. And where else can you get such good vet care, farrier care, pastures, proximity to the KY Horse Park.... an easy sell.
Linda Starnes, who is a Parelli practitioner, and I watched the Parelli demo..amazing. I have seen him before, but each time I see him I get a bit more out of the concepts. Problem is, to do it right means I need to spend a lot of time with my horses, and I hardly have time to feed them right now. Maybe when I retire? I sure hope I retire soon because my list is LONG. (But then I look at the savings account... and know that if I retired now, I might be standing in line at the Food Bank... Well, that might do my diet some good anyway. Of course, so would NOT eating French Fries for lunch.)
I left the Parelli demo early to meet up with John Hockensmith at the Dos Cavaleros pavillion. This family has established a ranch in Texas and is passionate about the Lusitano breed, and is going all out to educate America and the world about this breed, that just a few years ago fell into the endangered breed status due to a drop off in breeding operations. To tell you the truth... I can't tell the difference between a Lusitano and a Andalusian... and I know there is a difference. That is the ignorance that these folks are going to cure. (OR do you all know these differences, and I'm the only ignorant one? Very possible....)
Didn't realize how tiring it is to be cold all day. WOW, very little energy left at the end of the day. I trudged out to the car at 6pm.. and THIS TIME it was a breeze to exit. And I found my car.
[Did I tell you about how many people get off the shuttle and wander around aimlessly looking for their cars? A lot push their "panic" button on their key fob, just to have their car talk to them... but then there are a whole bunch of cars flashing and beeping and I'm not sure it does them any good. I tried my Panic button and it didn't work. Looks like I had better not panic any time soon.]
Saturday, October 2, 2010
Weg Day 8
Today is Cross Country day. One of the most popular of horse sports, cross country day pulls not only those who event, but all horse owners and many non-riders as well.
The WEG course has been talked about as being VERY challenging. Eventers like to use the term, that the course "Asks the question". I always wondered exactly what that question is. (And do you have the answer?)
Maybe the question is: Are you ready to rumble? To which your eventing horse, and the rider on top, had better say: YES. (Note to self: If my horse says MAYBE, I will send him to Mr. Ed school)
But YES, if you are ready, and your horse is ready-- physically, mentally--then you get to face the largest and most challenging jumping situations in the world. Those of us on the sidelines, hardly understand what is going on while watching these 1000-lb animals throw themselves up in the air at a solid 5-foot wall of a jump. (It's physics again. You know, energy = mass X speed or something like that)
Makes you wonder where in your life you are "asked the question"?
Are you ready to throw yourself in the air, with the faith that you'll land safely on the other side??
Oh man, just too serious here. Asking about life and all... Let's just get back to WEG and all the little things that make you want to say HMMMM.
I ran into two men (at separate times and places) on the Horse Park from Southeast KY. One from Harlan County and one from Pikeville. Just goes to show you that there IS some interest down there in COAL COUNTRY for this event... although I know many of the Eastern Kentuckians think those of us in Lexington are just tree huggers... or snobby -- or both. [I threw that in specifically for a friend of mine down there.... Hi Rick!] Now I'm gonna just go over here to a tree and give it a good hug. And turn off my lights.
OOPS, better watch it, coal talk is SERIOUS around here!
THe cross country was over around 2pm and there were crowds pouring out of the park at that time --but still a lot of visitors left. I don't have any numbers but it surely was the largest crowd so far. Late in the day (around 5pm), the wind picked up and word was spread around the booths that there was a big storm that should hit in about 30 minutes. You never saw us move so fast to pull everything under the tent, and button it up.
Even Wayne Hipsley (board member and volunteer for the day) was moving fast. Big Wayne, you might call him if you saw him. Uh-oh, I think I'm not supposed to call my board members names. But he's got a sense of humor I HOPE.
The temperature dropped. Brr. I actually had to buy another KHC vest. They are warm and cozy. (Shameless plug: Do you have your KHC vest for the winter? Great Christmas present. Go to kentuckyhorse.org and click on STORE.)
And THEN the expected nightmare hit. The parking lot exodus. Hundreds of cars all winding their way through the lot, er- I mean hay field, down ONE FREAKIN DUSTY ONE LANE ROAD OUT OF THE LOT. And at the end of that long line was Ironworks Pike, which was CONVENIENTLY turned into a one lane road going right, and has always been a one lane road going left. Can you spell ROAD RAGE? Took me 50 minutes to get out of that lot.
Well, the good news is I got my Blackberry out and answered some emails. And the radio had some oldies but goodies on. If it weren't for the fact that friends were waiting at the BAR for me, I could have been pretty content. The gin-and-tonic was calling me. I was glad to answer the call.
The WEG course has been talked about as being VERY challenging. Eventers like to use the term, that the course "Asks the question". I always wondered exactly what that question is. (And do you have the answer?)
Maybe the question is: Are you ready to rumble? To which your eventing horse, and the rider on top, had better say: YES. (Note to self: If my horse says MAYBE, I will send him to Mr. Ed school)
But YES, if you are ready, and your horse is ready-- physically, mentally--then you get to face the largest and most challenging jumping situations in the world. Those of us on the sidelines, hardly understand what is going on while watching these 1000-lb animals throw themselves up in the air at a solid 5-foot wall of a jump. (It's physics again. You know, energy = mass X speed or something like that)
Makes you wonder where in your life you are "asked the question"?
Are you ready to throw yourself in the air, with the faith that you'll land safely on the other side??
Oh man, just too serious here. Asking about life and all... Let's just get back to WEG and all the little things that make you want to say HMMMM.
I ran into two men (at separate times and places) on the Horse Park from Southeast KY. One from Harlan County and one from Pikeville. Just goes to show you that there IS some interest down there in COAL COUNTRY for this event... although I know many of the Eastern Kentuckians think those of us in Lexington are just tree huggers... or snobby -- or both. [I threw that in specifically for a friend of mine down there.... Hi Rick!] Now I'm gonna just go over here to a tree and give it a good hug. And turn off my lights.
OOPS, better watch it, coal talk is SERIOUS around here!
THe cross country was over around 2pm and there were crowds pouring out of the park at that time --but still a lot of visitors left. I don't have any numbers but it surely was the largest crowd so far. Late in the day (around 5pm), the wind picked up and word was spread around the booths that there was a big storm that should hit in about 30 minutes. You never saw us move so fast to pull everything under the tent, and button it up.
Even Wayne Hipsley (board member and volunteer for the day) was moving fast. Big Wayne, you might call him if you saw him. Uh-oh, I think I'm not supposed to call my board members names. But he's got a sense of humor I HOPE.
The temperature dropped. Brr. I actually had to buy another KHC vest. They are warm and cozy. (Shameless plug: Do you have your KHC vest for the winter? Great Christmas present. Go to kentuckyhorse.org and click on STORE.)
And THEN the expected nightmare hit. The parking lot exodus. Hundreds of cars all winding their way through the lot, er- I mean hay field, down ONE FREAKIN DUSTY ONE LANE ROAD OUT OF THE LOT. And at the end of that long line was Ironworks Pike, which was CONVENIENTLY turned into a one lane road going right, and has always been a one lane road going left. Can you spell ROAD RAGE? Took me 50 minutes to get out of that lot.
Well, the good news is I got my Blackberry out and answered some emails. And the radio had some oldies but goodies on. If it weren't for the fact that friends were waiting at the BAR for me, I could have been pretty content. The gin-and-tonic was calling me. I was glad to answer the call.
Friday, October 1, 2010
WEG Day 7
Hey, whose brilliant idea was this for me to write these things every day??? Oh yeah, my idea. Dummy.
Great day at the park today, lots of visitors, bright sunny day, good attendance at the demonstrations at Equine Arena, and talked to people from all over the place!
Germany, Ireland, England, Alabama, Michigan, Pennsylvania, California, Oregon... the list goes on and on. We like to ask where people are from, and what horses they have.
Which makes you realize (again) how much horse people have in common no matter what age, geography, language, or breed. Most people love to tell you about their horse(s), and have a story to tell. About a horse that takes care of them, or a horse they rescued that THEY take care of. It works both ways. And (dare I say this?) mostly women.
WEG brought a lot of women to town, lots of girlfriends who made the trip together, and also some couples who are lucky enough to pair up with a spouse who also likes horses. And WOW some really senior citizens. Some could hardly walk but they came anyway, isn't that great? The shuttles helped them get around, they took their time, rested when possible and enjoyed the whole thing.
Did I mention that the Dippin' Dots were particularly good today? [food again...]
Don Pelly of Shaker Village stopped by to talk. The American Endurance team stayed at Shaker Village so he was able to interact with the riders, coaches, chef d'equipe, families and horses of our endurance team. Don said there were vets there every day checking the horses. Unfortunately, the team did not do well in the race, as four out of five were pulled for vet reasons: two lamenesses and two metabolic (heartrate, I imagine). With our dry weather, the ground is hard as concrete and that race is 100 miles!! Tough on legs, joints and hooves. Any weakness, even one that does not show in a normal trot out, will appear somewhere down the road before completing that 100 miles.
If you've heard of Spaulding Fly Predators... Mr. Spaulding came to visit our booth today. I would say his visit was drawing people like flies, but....
Also talked to someone about a product that has been used for years in hospitals and the military... a spray-on microbial that kills bacteria, and lasts 3 years. You could spray down your stalls, for example, and if a sick horse came in, it would kill any bacteria the horse left. You could treat leg wraps, stall mats, inside of trailers...and reduce (I don't want to say eliminate since that sounds too definite... have to do more research) the amount of sickness and infections that are spread. Sounds too good to be true, but one of the major equine businesses is testing it right now in Central Kentucky and getting great initial results. We will keep you informed.
Dinner tonight at an Indian restaurant with hubby and Anna Zinkhon, a KY Horse Council board member and volunteer. Anna owns a stable in Campbell County and was one of the founders of the Northern Kentucky Horse Network, a group of over 300 horsemen and women up there "towards Cincinnati".
Until tomorrow... (OOPS, it's past midnight, so--) Until today....
[Where is Albert Einstein when you need him?]
Great day at the park today, lots of visitors, bright sunny day, good attendance at the demonstrations at Equine Arena, and talked to people from all over the place!
Germany, Ireland, England, Alabama, Michigan, Pennsylvania, California, Oregon... the list goes on and on. We like to ask where people are from, and what horses they have.
Which makes you realize (again) how much horse people have in common no matter what age, geography, language, or breed. Most people love to tell you about their horse(s), and have a story to tell. About a horse that takes care of them, or a horse they rescued that THEY take care of. It works both ways. And (dare I say this?) mostly women.
WEG brought a lot of women to town, lots of girlfriends who made the trip together, and also some couples who are lucky enough to pair up with a spouse who also likes horses. And WOW some really senior citizens. Some could hardly walk but they came anyway, isn't that great? The shuttles helped them get around, they took their time, rested when possible and enjoyed the whole thing.
Did I mention that the Dippin' Dots were particularly good today? [food again...]
Don Pelly of Shaker Village stopped by to talk. The American Endurance team stayed at Shaker Village so he was able to interact with the riders, coaches, chef d'equipe, families and horses of our endurance team. Don said there were vets there every day checking the horses. Unfortunately, the team did not do well in the race, as four out of five were pulled for vet reasons: two lamenesses and two metabolic (heartrate, I imagine). With our dry weather, the ground is hard as concrete and that race is 100 miles!! Tough on legs, joints and hooves. Any weakness, even one that does not show in a normal trot out, will appear somewhere down the road before completing that 100 miles.
If you've heard of Spaulding Fly Predators... Mr. Spaulding came to visit our booth today. I would say his visit was drawing people like flies, but....
Also talked to someone about a product that has been used for years in hospitals and the military... a spray-on microbial that kills bacteria, and lasts 3 years. You could spray down your stalls, for example, and if a sick horse came in, it would kill any bacteria the horse left. You could treat leg wraps, stall mats, inside of trailers...and reduce (I don't want to say eliminate since that sounds too definite... have to do more research) the amount of sickness and infections that are spread. Sounds too good to be true, but one of the major equine businesses is testing it right now in Central Kentucky and getting great initial results. We will keep you informed.
Dinner tonight at an Indian restaurant with hubby and Anna Zinkhon, a KY Horse Council board member and volunteer. Anna owns a stable in Campbell County and was one of the founders of the Northern Kentucky Horse Network, a group of over 300 horsemen and women up there "towards Cincinnati".
Until tomorrow... (OOPS, it's past midnight, so--) Until today....
[Where is Albert Einstein when you need him?]
Weg Day #6
After yesterday, I am changing the counting system. Instead of WEG Day #1, #2, #3 etc. it will be "WEG Day -10 and counting". Counting the days to the end...
Oh, it's not that bad. But some days are longer than others. And overall, it's a blast!
First of all, confession time. The staff at the booth DID save me a piece of Swiss chocolate. A cute horse shaped chocolate filled with mint. Very Yum. So the Chocolate War is officially over before it started. Now if I could just wander down to the Swiss tent and procure some more for the rest of WEG....
Started yesterday at 7AM sharp at Keeneland with the two women from France who wanted to watch the thoroughbreds breeze. Early morning at Keeneland is so beautiful, with the fog just setting lightly over the track, the sun just a suggestion through a peach and pink horizon. The soft thomp-thomp of hooves on the artificial track, the glistening muscle and pounding hooves as they race down the stretch. Very friendly exercise riders who say Hi and smile at all the tourists lining the fence. We got some good pics by the track and in front of the row of jockey statues by the paddock.
Then on to the track kitchen for a hearty breakfast. With WEG in town, the track kitchen was busy - not with trainers and exercise riders but with tourists. Oh well, it did dampen the environment a bit, but the scrambled eggs and bacon were just as tasty. (Do you get a sense from this blog that I am all about food?)
Tim Folck, a great guy who helped start Quarter Horse Congress with his Dad, and a key factor in getting us our Traveler's Agribusiness sponsorship, stopped in to chat... he is working on some exciting plans relative to getting national level quarter horse and stock horse events into Kentucky. According to Tim, there are now as many Quarter horses east of the Mississippi as there are out in Texas and west. So using the new Horse Park indoor arena as a draw (which is already heavily booked for next year and beyond), we can be the center of Quarter horse activities too, on
"this side" of the river. The KY Horse Council looks forward to supporting this step forward for our competition horse owners.
Other stuff from the booth... lots of visitors yesterday, the traffic is picking up. We have a sense that Saturday will be a peak day, with the popular Cross Country event scheduled then. We are seeing many more people who have come in for all four days of the Eventing competition (Thursday through Sunday).
As soon as I got to the booth, I made a sale, WOO WOO! (I've never had the pleasure of being in a retail job, so making a sale is new for me...)As the woman is walking away, Pat (one of our KHC volunteers) asks "Did you charge her the sales tax?" OOPS! Had to chase her down and ask for 12 cents... Do you believe I did that? I should have just taken 12 cents out of my wallet, I mean -- REALLY! As far as my retail skills, I guess I had better not quit my day job. From that point forward, I let the volunteers handle the cash. I can't be trusted.
Got to go to Freestyle Reining last night. The only tickets I bought about 18 months ago, planned for a night with my husband watching this event which sounded fun. Then last week, the hubby says, "Oh, I'm going to Washington that day." So there I am, all dressed up and no where to go. Or no one to go with. A girlfriend filled in at the last minute, and she was thrilled to have the chance to see it. She asked, "DO I owe you anything?" to which I replied, "Not in cash but I'll get payback sometime later.' What a feeling of power to know your friends owe you a favor. Hmmmm.... stall mucking???
The freestyle was fun but not what I expected. COSTUMES! some cute, some weird.. and some riders really hamming it up, others straight as an arrow. They all had a few required components - you know, the spins, the sliding stops, the lead changes, the fast and then slow circles. But many threw in extra stuff, like piaffes (from dressage), or jumping off the saddle at a canter and running along side the horse for a few strides then jumping back on at a canter. Or sitting backward in the saddle. And three bridle-less, and one saddle-less.
Hey, I bet my horse can do all that! Not.
Ended the day with a 10PM dinner with Wayne Williams (Speaking of Horses Radio), Madelyn Millard, our board president who was interviewed by Wayne for the radio show, (shameless promotion: Visit http://www.speakingofhorses.com/Video_Archives.html), and Tom Tweeten from Minnesota Horse Council Board and EquiScentials. Good dinner, a bit chilly sitting outside, but my brain was dead by that time so I was useless as a contributor to the conversation.
Into bed at midnight --- ZZZZZZZZ
Oh, it's not that bad. But some days are longer than others. And overall, it's a blast!
First of all, confession time. The staff at the booth DID save me a piece of Swiss chocolate. A cute horse shaped chocolate filled with mint. Very Yum. So the Chocolate War is officially over before it started. Now if I could just wander down to the Swiss tent and procure some more for the rest of WEG....
Started yesterday at 7AM sharp at Keeneland with the two women from France who wanted to watch the thoroughbreds breeze. Early morning at Keeneland is so beautiful, with the fog just setting lightly over the track, the sun just a suggestion through a peach and pink horizon. The soft thomp-thomp of hooves on the artificial track, the glistening muscle and pounding hooves as they race down the stretch. Very friendly exercise riders who say Hi and smile at all the tourists lining the fence. We got some good pics by the track and in front of the row of jockey statues by the paddock.
Then on to the track kitchen for a hearty breakfast. With WEG in town, the track kitchen was busy - not with trainers and exercise riders but with tourists. Oh well, it did dampen the environment a bit, but the scrambled eggs and bacon were just as tasty. (Do you get a sense from this blog that I am all about food?)
Tim Folck, a great guy who helped start Quarter Horse Congress with his Dad, and a key factor in getting us our Traveler's Agribusiness sponsorship, stopped in to chat... he is working on some exciting plans relative to getting national level quarter horse and stock horse events into Kentucky. According to Tim, there are now as many Quarter horses east of the Mississippi as there are out in Texas and west. So using the new Horse Park indoor arena as a draw (which is already heavily booked for next year and beyond), we can be the center of Quarter horse activities too, on
"this side" of the river. The KY Horse Council looks forward to supporting this step forward for our competition horse owners.
Other stuff from the booth... lots of visitors yesterday, the traffic is picking up. We have a sense that Saturday will be a peak day, with the popular Cross Country event scheduled then. We are seeing many more people who have come in for all four days of the Eventing competition (Thursday through Sunday).
As soon as I got to the booth, I made a sale, WOO WOO! (I've never had the pleasure of being in a retail job, so making a sale is new for me...)As the woman is walking away, Pat (one of our KHC volunteers) asks "Did you charge her the sales tax?" OOPS! Had to chase her down and ask for 12 cents... Do you believe I did that? I should have just taken 12 cents out of my wallet, I mean -- REALLY! As far as my retail skills, I guess I had better not quit my day job. From that point forward, I let the volunteers handle the cash. I can't be trusted.
Got to go to Freestyle Reining last night. The only tickets I bought about 18 months ago, planned for a night with my husband watching this event which sounded fun. Then last week, the hubby says, "Oh, I'm going to Washington that day." So there I am, all dressed up and no where to go. Or no one to go with. A girlfriend filled in at the last minute, and she was thrilled to have the chance to see it. She asked, "DO I owe you anything?" to which I replied, "Not in cash but I'll get payback sometime later.' What a feeling of power to know your friends owe you a favor. Hmmmm.... stall mucking???
The freestyle was fun but not what I expected. COSTUMES! some cute, some weird.. and some riders really hamming it up, others straight as an arrow. They all had a few required components - you know, the spins, the sliding stops, the lead changes, the fast and then slow circles. But many threw in extra stuff, like piaffes (from dressage), or jumping off the saddle at a canter and running along side the horse for a few strides then jumping back on at a canter. Or sitting backward in the saddle. And three bridle-less, and one saddle-less.
Hey, I bet my horse can do all that! Not.
Ended the day with a 10PM dinner with Wayne Williams (Speaking of Horses Radio), Madelyn Millard, our board president who was interviewed by Wayne for the radio show, (shameless promotion: Visit http://www.speakingofhorses.com/Video_Archives.html), and Tom Tweeten from Minnesota Horse Council Board and EquiScentials. Good dinner, a bit chilly sitting outside, but my brain was dead by that time so I was useless as a contributor to the conversation.
Into bed at midnight --- ZZZZZZZZ
Wednesday, September 29, 2010
WEG Day 5
Today I am actually going to talk about yesterday. (Time is moving so fast these days, that Einstein's theory of relativity is kicking in, making today yesterday and tomorrow today... if you get what I mean! If you don't, you must have flunked Physics like I did.)
Anyway, more WEG and less science...
Some German visitors stopped into the booth yesterday morning and bought some souvenir pins. They were very pleased at how the German dressage team was doing so far. Note I said yesterday morning. In the afternoon, the Dutch cleaned everyone's clock in the dressage ring. Ja, dies ist eine Schande. (What, you don't understand that either? Did ya flunk German too?)
Anyway, more WEG and less linguistics...
The folks from the Swedish Warmblood booth brought us fabulous chocolate today in thanks for connecting them with John Hockensmith last week during set up. John helped get them some framing material for their art and today Chuck (our LIVE artist) provided them some picture hanging wire and KHC gave them some zip ties. It was worth it! The chocolate was FABULOUS! [Important note to this: I (Ginny Grulke) was not there to receive ANY chocolate. The KHC staff, Essie and Dawn, as well as the volunteers, ate it ALL and did not save any for me. I will get them back somehow. Missing out on good chocolate is WAR!]
A woman from N Carolina who works with a equine rescue in VA stopped by and bought a VITALS kit, the HorseSmarts DVD, and a Trail Directory. She was very impressed with the KHC programs and wants to work with the VA Horse Council to offer livestock/equine investigation training like KHC does. It is nice to know that Horse Capital of the World also means we provide leadership in protecting horses as well as breeding them.
Another cool visit was from one of the 4-H leaders, whose club had received a KHC grant to help build a riding arena in Shelby Co. The kids are using it for jumping clinics, mounted games, and polocrosse. The leader said it was the first time in the 20 years she has been there that the kids have had access to a facility not built specifically for Saddlebreds.
Now, before we go any further on the 4-H story, let me make perfectly clear that KHC LOVES saddlebreds too.... it's just that what suits a saddlebred doesn't always suit the wide variety of riding styles that 4-H embraces.
Bear with me while I talk to Einstein..... "Albert, can you adjust the time machine just a tweak? Thanks a bundle." OK, now we are in TODAY.
Today I spent some time with two of the women here from Normandy France. Normandy will be hosting the 2014 WEG, and they are very interested in seeing how this one goes. KHC will be signing a partnership agreement with Normandy Horse Council next week, to be working on joint projects in the next few years (and hopefully beyond.) BA-DA-BOOM... KHC goes International.
Their biggest story was about the whole Normandy contingent (including their two gourmet chefs) going to CRACKER BARREL to taste some real southern food. THEY WERE NOT IMPRESSED. In fact, they weren't sure what they were served, and it was all soft. And salty. And greasy. They laughed at it more than they ate it. (Can Cracker Barrel sue me for saying this?? I'm just repeating what THEY said.)
I assured them that Cracker Barrel is not "southern food" so much as "country food" regardless of region. And that it is one reason we are all so fat in the U.S. (isn't it?) But secretly, I love Cracker Barrel's meatloaf...and their all you can eat catfish. Yum. Burp.
The good news is they ate at Malone's the night before, so they do know that the U.S. can prepare food properly. For those of you who are not familiar with the Lexington restaurant scene, Malone's is a very nice steak house (which apparently now also serves sushi - thanks to all the Toyota execs for bringing sushi to Lexington)
Tomorrow (which is today, for the Einsteinian crowd) the two French women are going to go to Keeneland to see the horses breeze in the morning, and then take a driving tour of the beautiful horse farm land around here. They will certainly be more impressed with the landscape than they were with the food.
Anyway, more WEG and less science...
Some German visitors stopped into the booth yesterday morning and bought some souvenir pins. They were very pleased at how the German dressage team was doing so far. Note I said yesterday morning. In the afternoon, the Dutch cleaned everyone's clock in the dressage ring. Ja, dies ist eine Schande. (What, you don't understand that either? Did ya flunk German too?)
Anyway, more WEG and less linguistics...
The folks from the Swedish Warmblood booth brought us fabulous chocolate today in thanks for connecting them with John Hockensmith last week during set up. John helped get them some framing material for their art and today Chuck (our LIVE artist) provided them some picture hanging wire and KHC gave them some zip ties. It was worth it! The chocolate was FABULOUS! [Important note to this: I (Ginny Grulke) was not there to receive ANY chocolate. The KHC staff, Essie and Dawn, as well as the volunteers, ate it ALL and did not save any for me. I will get them back somehow. Missing out on good chocolate is WAR!]
A woman from N Carolina who works with a equine rescue in VA stopped by and bought a VITALS kit, the HorseSmarts DVD, and a Trail Directory. She was very impressed with the KHC programs and wants to work with the VA Horse Council to offer livestock/equine investigation training like KHC does. It is nice to know that Horse Capital of the World also means we provide leadership in protecting horses as well as breeding them.
Another cool visit was from one of the 4-H leaders, whose club had received a KHC grant to help build a riding arena in Shelby Co. The kids are using it for jumping clinics, mounted games, and polocrosse. The leader said it was the first time in the 20 years she has been there that the kids have had access to a facility not built specifically for Saddlebreds.
Now, before we go any further on the 4-H story, let me make perfectly clear that KHC LOVES saddlebreds too.... it's just that what suits a saddlebred doesn't always suit the wide variety of riding styles that 4-H embraces.
Bear with me while I talk to Einstein..... "Albert, can you adjust the time machine just a tweak? Thanks a bundle." OK, now we are in TODAY.
Today I spent some time with two of the women here from Normandy France. Normandy will be hosting the 2014 WEG, and they are very interested in seeing how this one goes. KHC will be signing a partnership agreement with Normandy Horse Council next week, to be working on joint projects in the next few years (and hopefully beyond.) BA-DA-BOOM... KHC goes International.
Their biggest story was about the whole Normandy contingent (including their two gourmet chefs) going to CRACKER BARREL to taste some real southern food. THEY WERE NOT IMPRESSED. In fact, they weren't sure what they were served, and it was all soft. And salty. And greasy. They laughed at it more than they ate it. (Can Cracker Barrel sue me for saying this?? I'm just repeating what THEY said.)
I assured them that Cracker Barrel is not "southern food" so much as "country food" regardless of region. And that it is one reason we are all so fat in the U.S. (isn't it?) But secretly, I love Cracker Barrel's meatloaf...and their all you can eat catfish. Yum. Burp.
The good news is they ate at Malone's the night before, so they do know that the U.S. can prepare food properly. For those of you who are not familiar with the Lexington restaurant scene, Malone's is a very nice steak house (which apparently now also serves sushi - thanks to all the Toyota execs for bringing sushi to Lexington)
Tomorrow (which is today, for the Einsteinian crowd) the two French women are going to go to Keeneland to see the horses breeze in the morning, and then take a driving tour of the beautiful horse farm land around here. They will certainly be more impressed with the landscape than they were with the food.
Tuesday, September 28, 2010
WEG Day 4
Wow, day 4 and I really got to see HORSES today! Totally rad! They were high level dressage horses (are those animals REALLY horses? They don't move like the four legged animal in MY barn.)
It started out with an unexpected phone call from a board member, Mary Lowry, Oldham County eventer-farm owner-instructor and realtor extraordinaire. She had an extra Team Dressage ticket, did I want to go?
Does a bear ....?
Oh yeah, I'm there.
Of course, typical of me, I'm running 10 minutes late leaving for KHP, then I get on a shuttle bus that has a jammed handicapped lift.. and a boy in a wheelchair waiting to get off. The driver worked on it for about 10 minutes.. while I tapped my foot and bit my tongue wanting to be politically correct -- and not push the poor kid over the edge of the stairs just to get going (OOO, my bad!)
We were finally on our way, met Mary and arrived at the new Outdoor stadium. Then the important stuff... Dippin' Dots. Yum.
OK, so I settle in, dig out my camera with a ginormous lens (smuggled into the park despite the rules about no lenses longer than 4 inches... I talked to the guard about the Horse Council while quickly flashing the body of the camera.) I immediately put the lens cover in my lap which then rolled off, and dropped under the stadium. Not a good start.
The first horse entered. WHOA! Is this a horse or is this a machine? Totally rhythmic steps, floating trots, high knees, a neck to die for.
For those of you not familiar with dressage, each competitor performs a fixed set of movements and is judged (by FIVE judges) on each element, on a scale from 1 to 10. Music accompanies the routine, chosen by the competitor. In team dressage, the four members of the team contribute to a total team score.
What was amazing is that even at this level, it was obvious that some horses were having fun. "Look at me! Look what I can do! I'm SO cool!"
While others were thinking about getting back to the stall and munching hay: "AW, do I HAVE to do this? Well, I'll just switch my tail at every step, flip an ear or two, and eventually this guy on my back will give up." Amazingly, even with the tail-switching horses, their movements were precise and athletic.
Now for the rest of the story: USA came in fourth. BOO HOO, no medal! Just missed it. Netherlands got the GOLD, and no wonder with one of their rider/horse teams scoring a full 10 points above the other competitors. That horse was AMAZING, seemed to do his job nonchalantly, as in "Yeah, that was easy, what's next?" with not a single mistake, high energy and perfect tempo.
Back at the booth, today's crowd was a bit larger.. I think the attendence will continue to grow as we approach the weekend and then peak out next week. I sure hope so, this stuff should be shared with everyone.
It started out with an unexpected phone call from a board member, Mary Lowry, Oldham County eventer-farm owner-instructor and realtor extraordinaire. She had an extra Team Dressage ticket, did I want to go?
Does a bear ....?
Oh yeah, I'm there.
Of course, typical of me, I'm running 10 minutes late leaving for KHP, then I get on a shuttle bus that has a jammed handicapped lift.. and a boy in a wheelchair waiting to get off. The driver worked on it for about 10 minutes.. while I tapped my foot and bit my tongue wanting to be politically correct -- and not push the poor kid over the edge of the stairs just to get going (OOO, my bad!)
We were finally on our way, met Mary and arrived at the new Outdoor stadium. Then the important stuff... Dippin' Dots. Yum.
OK, so I settle in, dig out my camera with a ginormous lens (smuggled into the park despite the rules about no lenses longer than 4 inches... I talked to the guard about the Horse Council while quickly flashing the body of the camera.) I immediately put the lens cover in my lap which then rolled off, and dropped under the stadium. Not a good start.
The first horse entered. WHOA! Is this a horse or is this a machine? Totally rhythmic steps, floating trots, high knees, a neck to die for.
For those of you not familiar with dressage, each competitor performs a fixed set of movements and is judged (by FIVE judges) on each element, on a scale from 1 to 10. Music accompanies the routine, chosen by the competitor. In team dressage, the four members of the team contribute to a total team score.
What was amazing is that even at this level, it was obvious that some horses were having fun. "Look at me! Look what I can do! I'm SO cool!"
While others were thinking about getting back to the stall and munching hay: "AW, do I HAVE to do this? Well, I'll just switch my tail at every step, flip an ear or two, and eventually this guy on my back will give up." Amazingly, even with the tail-switching horses, their movements were precise and athletic.
Now for the rest of the story: USA came in fourth. BOO HOO, no medal! Just missed it. Netherlands got the GOLD, and no wonder with one of their rider/horse teams scoring a full 10 points above the other competitors. That horse was AMAZING, seemed to do his job nonchalantly, as in "Yeah, that was easy, what's next?" with not a single mistake, high energy and perfect tempo.
Back at the booth, today's crowd was a bit larger.. I think the attendence will continue to grow as we approach the weekend and then peak out next week. I sure hope so, this stuff should be shared with everyone.
Monday, September 27, 2010
WEG Day 3
If it's going to rain, it might as well rain on a Monday. Monday blues and all that. But gosh, we REALLY need the rain so I guess we have to stop complaining about it.
Rain at WEG only means one thing to KHC -- where the heck are we going to put all of our stuff which USED to be out on the grass in front of the booth? So we shoved it all inside that 10 x 20 booth (as in "foaling stall" size). Then we stuffed three volunteers in on top of it... sure was cozy in there.
Crowds were light, but the people that WERE there in the morning wanted to be -- guess where -- in the booth too. The good news is that with the chilly weather we sold some fleece vests, and got to talk to people longer (they didn't want to leave...).
Mid morning Pat Parelli came over and offered us coffee. Did I tell you he and John Lyons and Lynn Palm are our neighbors here? The coffee sounded great (although I'd probably drink muddy water if it was offered by Pat Parelli). So we got to hang out with the Parelli crew. If it sounds like I'm name dropping.. OK I am. But really, it was very cool to be able to do that.
Unfortunately, our live (as opposed to dead) artist, Chuck Weber, got his coffee and immediately spilled it all over his paints. There was a visitor in the booth and he didn't make much noise, but when they left he admitted that under his breath he was saying things that would have chased away that visitor. So if today's original oil by Chuck (a Dressage horse) seems to have a nice light brown coffee tone... you know the secret.
Lynn Palm also stopped in to chat. When it gets rainy at a trade show like this, you really get to know your neighbors. Which, if your neighbors are Parelli, Palm and Lyons, is a good thing.
Our board president Madelyn whizzed past a few times (she's a volunteer golf cart driver for the disabled) and yelled (as she rounded the corners on two wheels) that her hands were getting numb. That's what she gets for doing 25 in a 5 mph zone. Staffer Essie ran off to find her some gloves. None of those $1.00 stretch knit gloves at WEG, of course... instead she ended up with $42.00 Ariat Thinsulate gloves. If she tips that cart, at least she won't skin her knuckles.
Ok, OK, this is supposed to be about horses, right? Hmmmm, did I see a horse today?
Jeff Caldwell from SAHIBA (let's see if I get this right: Society of Arabian Horses in the Bluegrass Area) dropped in... did you know the Arabian group is selling $10 raffle tickets for an Arabain horse.... I'll end this blog with a shameless promotion for their raffle:
Legendary breeder Bazy Tankersley donated Al-Marah Don Quixote (AM Power Raid +++/ x AM Honor Thestar), a 15.2-hand 2003 grey gelding and promising endurance, sport horse prospect for raffle. The gelding was picked especially for his gentle disposition, suitable for a first-time horse owner. For a $10 raffle ticket, the public gets a free t-shirt, four issues of Modern Arabian Horse, and their name is entered into a drawing to win the grand prize. The grand prize includes Al-Marah Don Quixote, a saddle donated by Kentucky Horse Supply and Circle Y and a three month supply of Succeed and Nutrena Feed. Raffle tickets will be on sale at the new Al-Marah Arabian Horse Galleries, a new wing at the International Museum of the Horse at the Kentucky Horse Park. The Galleries, made possible in part by a large donation from Tankersley opened in June, coinciding with the opening of A Gift from the Desert: The Art, History and Culture of the Arabian Horse, a temporary exhibit on loan from the Saudi Arabian Equestrian Federation.
Rain at WEG only means one thing to KHC -- where the heck are we going to put all of our stuff which USED to be out on the grass in front of the booth? So we shoved it all inside that 10 x 20 booth (as in "foaling stall" size). Then we stuffed three volunteers in on top of it... sure was cozy in there.
Crowds were light, but the people that WERE there in the morning wanted to be -- guess where -- in the booth too. The good news is that with the chilly weather we sold some fleece vests, and got to talk to people longer (they didn't want to leave...).
Mid morning Pat Parelli came over and offered us coffee. Did I tell you he and John Lyons and Lynn Palm are our neighbors here? The coffee sounded great (although I'd probably drink muddy water if it was offered by Pat Parelli). So we got to hang out with the Parelli crew. If it sounds like I'm name dropping.. OK I am. But really, it was very cool to be able to do that.
Unfortunately, our live (as opposed to dead) artist, Chuck Weber, got his coffee and immediately spilled it all over his paints. There was a visitor in the booth and he didn't make much noise, but when they left he admitted that under his breath he was saying things that would have chased away that visitor. So if today's original oil by Chuck (a Dressage horse) seems to have a nice light brown coffee tone... you know the secret.
Lynn Palm also stopped in to chat. When it gets rainy at a trade show like this, you really get to know your neighbors. Which, if your neighbors are Parelli, Palm and Lyons, is a good thing.
Our board president Madelyn whizzed past a few times (she's a volunteer golf cart driver for the disabled) and yelled (as she rounded the corners on two wheels) that her hands were getting numb. That's what she gets for doing 25 in a 5 mph zone. Staffer Essie ran off to find her some gloves. None of those $1.00 stretch knit gloves at WEG, of course... instead she ended up with $42.00 Ariat Thinsulate gloves. If she tips that cart, at least she won't skin her knuckles.
Ok, OK, this is supposed to be about horses, right? Hmmmm, did I see a horse today?
Jeff Caldwell from SAHIBA (let's see if I get this right: Society of Arabian Horses in the Bluegrass Area) dropped in... did you know the Arabian group is selling $10 raffle tickets for an Arabain horse.... I'll end this blog with a shameless promotion for their raffle:
Legendary breeder Bazy Tankersley donated Al-Marah Don Quixote (AM Power Raid +++/ x AM Honor Thestar), a 15.2-hand 2003 grey gelding and promising endurance, sport horse prospect for raffle. The gelding was picked especially for his gentle disposition, suitable for a first-time horse owner. For a $10 raffle ticket, the public gets a free t-shirt, four issues of Modern Arabian Horse, and their name is entered into a drawing to win the grand prize. The grand prize includes Al-Marah Don Quixote, a saddle donated by Kentucky Horse Supply and Circle Y and a three month supply of Succeed and Nutrena Feed. Raffle tickets will be on sale at the new Al-Marah Arabian Horse Galleries, a new wing at the International Museum of the Horse at the Kentucky Horse Park. The Galleries, made possible in part by a large donation from Tankersley opened in June, coinciding with the opening of A Gift from the Desert: The Art, History and Culture of the Arabian Horse, a temporary exhibit on loan from the Saudi Arabian Equestrian Federation.
Sunday, September 26, 2010
WEG DAY #2
I almost forgot it was Sunday, as I fell out of bed at 5AM to prepare for day #2 at WEG. (Argh, Sunday is supposed to be SLEEP-IN DAY!)
Today I got smart and didn't get to the WEG parking lot (aka. a short cut hay field) until 7AM because that's when the shuttles start running. But first I met volunteer KHC member Jenna Wild at Coldstream to carpool up to the Horse Park.
It was cold this morning (52 degrees) AND there were no signs telling you where the shuttles actually pick you up....So we just walked (and walked and walked) to the booth, a good 20 minute hike. Oh well, Americans don't get enough exercise. The Germans will love this little stroll.
Again crowds were light but started to increase around noon. (They must have gone to church first - except for those watching the competitions, who went to the Church of the Sliding Stop in the new indoor arena.)
Chris and Scott from Travelers Insurance showed up mid-morning... Did I tell you Travelers Agribusiness is our title sponsor of our booth? We'll be working on some good insurance packages for equine coverage for KHC members.
Today must have been Horse Council day, as three different Horse Council representatives stopped by: Utah, Delaware and Minnesota. All had their embroidered logo shirts on, proud to be associated with their respective Horse Councils.
Matt and Tonya from Utah are Barrel Racers (and on the side, he is an attorney and she is an equine vet), and came to watch the reining competitions. They also attended the Rood and Riddle Sport Horse Symposium on Friday. They came from somewhere hot and dry to beautiful Lexington which was --um -- hot and dry. Matt took pictures of the herds of parking attendants that were stationed about every 15 feet waving those red-tipped flashlights in your eyes, even as you are trying to wake up -- There sure was no shortage in the WEG budget on parking attendants!
The Delaware women were really enjoying themselves, although there was a slight tiff with the entrance guards who would not let them back in yesterday afternoon, after they left WEG to check into their hotel. And they had $150 Opening Ceremony tickets in their hands! But they worked it out...(never try to stop a strong horsewoman.)
The guy from Minnesota and I had a really interesting conversation about anaerobic biofuel processing for methane production: Layman's title: "Storing manure and using the smelly gases that result to provide energy." So there, Middle East! You've got more oil but we've got more poo.
Had a good chat with an Aussie guy who told me that Australia eliminated their Extension Service (budget cuts). He was a former Extension Agent and now a consultant on Ag Services. I had to ask him to pay cash for his purchases because our system didn't like the Aussie VISA, mate.
Ended the afternoon at the AllTech Experience listening to a good band. Would've had a Kentucky Bourbon Barrel Ale but I was almost asleep already -- and I was designated driver (for Jenna). So I stuck to water.
Today I got smart and didn't get to the WEG parking lot (aka. a short cut hay field) until 7AM because that's when the shuttles start running. But first I met volunteer KHC member Jenna Wild at Coldstream to carpool up to the Horse Park.
It was cold this morning (52 degrees) AND there were no signs telling you where the shuttles actually pick you up....So we just walked (and walked and walked) to the booth, a good 20 minute hike. Oh well, Americans don't get enough exercise. The Germans will love this little stroll.
Again crowds were light but started to increase around noon. (They must have gone to church first - except for those watching the competitions, who went to the Church of the Sliding Stop in the new indoor arena.)
Chris and Scott from Travelers Insurance showed up mid-morning... Did I tell you Travelers Agribusiness is our title sponsor of our booth? We'll be working on some good insurance packages for equine coverage for KHC members.
Today must have been Horse Council day, as three different Horse Council representatives stopped by: Utah, Delaware and Minnesota. All had their embroidered logo shirts on, proud to be associated with their respective Horse Councils.
Matt and Tonya from Utah are Barrel Racers (and on the side, he is an attorney and she is an equine vet), and came to watch the reining competitions. They also attended the Rood and Riddle Sport Horse Symposium on Friday. They came from somewhere hot and dry to beautiful Lexington which was --um -- hot and dry. Matt took pictures of the herds of parking attendants that were stationed about every 15 feet waving those red-tipped flashlights in your eyes, even as you are trying to wake up -- There sure was no shortage in the WEG budget on parking attendants!
The Delaware women were really enjoying themselves, although there was a slight tiff with the entrance guards who would not let them back in yesterday afternoon, after they left WEG to check into their hotel. And they had $150 Opening Ceremony tickets in their hands! But they worked it out...(never try to stop a strong horsewoman.)
The guy from Minnesota and I had a really interesting conversation about anaerobic biofuel processing for methane production: Layman's title: "Storing manure and using the smelly gases that result to provide energy." So there, Middle East! You've got more oil but we've got more poo.
Had a good chat with an Aussie guy who told me that Australia eliminated their Extension Service (budget cuts). He was a former Extension Agent and now a consultant on Ag Services. I had to ask him to pay cash for his purchases because our system didn't like the Aussie VISA, mate.
Ended the afternoon at the AllTech Experience listening to a good band. Would've had a Kentucky Bourbon Barrel Ale but I was almost asleep already -- and I was designated driver (for Jenna). So I stuck to water.
Saturday, September 25, 2010
World Equestrian Games DAY 1
Thank goodness the hot weather has broken; the first WEG day is one of those perfect Kentucky fall days - sunny, brilliant blue skies, and a slow breeze.
Crowds were light here in the Equine Village all day; not the crushing crowds we were expecting.
Today was Reining Day. Two competitions were held in the new indoor arena, and meanwhile our artist Chuck Weber created an original oil painting of a reiner in a slide. He worked from 11AM until 3PM and then called it a day. Painting in oils for four hours is exhausting. Come by our booth and see the finished work tomorrow.
Chuck is painting every day in the KY Horse Council booth, and by the end of the 16 days of WEG, will have created 8 original equine paintings covering all 8 disciplines. Prints of the paintings will be available for sale, with part of the proceeds going to the KY Horse Council.
A few interesting stories from the booth today....
Robin and Roger Gollehon of Gollehon Quarter Horses stopped by to chat and check out our booth. Robin told me of an amazing girl who was staying with them for a week... She is bicycling across the U.S. - alone! - and wanted to stay on a horse farm in Lexington.
Dakota Stranik (www.dakotastranik.com: "Biking cross-country in search of agricultural enlightenment") is an Architecture graduate from Cornell. I talked to her about her experiences... and no, she isn't afraid of being alone on her ride. She started her cross country ride in New York(at Coney Island), and then slowly worked her way westward, through Princeton, NJ; then Horsham, Boyertown, and Lancaster County, PA; onward to Poolesville, MD, through Washington DC, into Floyd, VA; and then across the mountains into Kentucky through Hazard.
Dakota wanted to stay and work on a thoroughbred farm (she carries her own tent and sleeping bag) in order to learn the business, but didn't get any offers from those she contacted. Then (thanks to Google) she contacted the Gollehons and her sleeping space was found. A week later, she went to the WEG office about volunteering and got a last minute assignment.
Dakota is interested in agriculture and sustainable food systems and views her trip across America as an learning experience. Destination San Diego.
Another story from the booth...
Asian guy walks in, looks very interested in our farm brochures. I ask him if I can help... and find out he is from Korea, assisting a contingent of 7 Korean government officials who are "scouting out" for thoroughbreds to improve the racing industry in Korea. (is this for real???) They also want to increase their riding industry. He says they are looking to buy 1000 horses over the next two years. (Is this REALLY for real??) We sent them to a local QH farm, and offered to set up visits to Thoroughbred farms if/when they returned.
(Is this person a real Korean horse buyer or is this like one of those internet stories where you have to help some widow from an African country bring $2Million into the US if you just send her $40,000 as a deposit?) Well, he didn't ask for money or promises, so if he contacts us later we will be sure to help them spend their Korean money here on our Kentucky horses.
I'll be back tomorrow with WEG Day #2.
Crowds were light here in the Equine Village all day; not the crushing crowds we were expecting.
Today was Reining Day. Two competitions were held in the new indoor arena, and meanwhile our artist Chuck Weber created an original oil painting of a reiner in a slide. He worked from 11AM until 3PM and then called it a day. Painting in oils for four hours is exhausting. Come by our booth and see the finished work tomorrow.
Chuck is painting every day in the KY Horse Council booth, and by the end of the 16 days of WEG, will have created 8 original equine paintings covering all 8 disciplines. Prints of the paintings will be available for sale, with part of the proceeds going to the KY Horse Council.
A few interesting stories from the booth today....
Robin and Roger Gollehon of Gollehon Quarter Horses stopped by to chat and check out our booth. Robin told me of an amazing girl who was staying with them for a week... She is bicycling across the U.S. - alone! - and wanted to stay on a horse farm in Lexington.
Dakota Stranik (www.dakotastranik.com: "Biking cross-country in search of agricultural enlightenment") is an Architecture graduate from Cornell. I talked to her about her experiences... and no, she isn't afraid of being alone on her ride. She started her cross country ride in New York(at Coney Island), and then slowly worked her way westward, through Princeton, NJ; then Horsham, Boyertown, and Lancaster County, PA; onward to Poolesville, MD, through Washington DC, into Floyd, VA; and then across the mountains into Kentucky through Hazard.
Dakota wanted to stay and work on a thoroughbred farm (she carries her own tent and sleeping bag) in order to learn the business, but didn't get any offers from those she contacted. Then (thanks to Google) she contacted the Gollehons and her sleeping space was found. A week later, she went to the WEG office about volunteering and got a last minute assignment.
Dakota is interested in agriculture and sustainable food systems and views her trip across America as an learning experience. Destination San Diego.
Another story from the booth...
Asian guy walks in, looks very interested in our farm brochures. I ask him if I can help... and find out he is from Korea, assisting a contingent of 7 Korean government officials who are "scouting out" for thoroughbreds to improve the racing industry in Korea. (is this for real???) They also want to increase their riding industry. He says they are looking to buy 1000 horses over the next two years. (Is this REALLY for real??) We sent them to a local QH farm, and offered to set up visits to Thoroughbred farms if/when they returned.
(Is this person a real Korean horse buyer or is this like one of those internet stories where you have to help some widow from an African country bring $2Million into the US if you just send her $40,000 as a deposit?) Well, he didn't ask for money or promises, so if he contacts us later we will be sure to help them spend their Korean money here on our Kentucky horses.
I'll be back tomorrow with WEG Day #2.
Saturday, June 19, 2010
Where are the women?
Every time I read about horseback riding across America, statistics say that at least 75% of all horseback riders are women. But I just don't see that in Kentucky.
When you go to a horse competition in Kentucky - whether a breed show or eventing, etc. - you will see that statistic in action. Lots of women, from teens to retired gals, up in the saddle practicing their craft. And a good number of men as well. So there in the show ring or on the cross country course, the statistic of 75% women probably holds true.
But when you stop to think that only about 50% of all riders are competing... the story is not yet done.
The rest of the riders (if we exclude horse racing and other unique uses of horses such as therapeutic riding, carriage rides, mounted police and the like) are on the trail.
Here in Kentucky, the male/female ratio flip flops when you hit the trail. From what I have seen, there are easily 75% men on the trail. And the rest of us few women.
Don't get me wrong, I know lots of women are out there crossing streams and climbing mountains on their trusty steeds. In fact, in Western Kentucky there is the Women on the Edge Trail Riders (womenontheedgetrailriders.org), a group of independent, spunky women who enjoy hitting the trail with female compatriots.
And I myself ride the trails with some special women who think nothing of loading their horse into a trailer, driving three hours into far Eastern Kentucky (or across the U.S.) to find the next beautiful route to the top of the mountain or the deepest holler.
But in general, when there is a group of trailriders in Kentucky, it is AT LEAST 50 percent men and usually more like 80% men.
I keep asking myself - Where are the women?
Is it because we have a unique Kentucky culture that implies it is less "feminine" to be on a horse?
Is it just a tradition that sons rode with their Dads, and that is being passed down through the generations? While Mom stayed home to watch the home fires?
Is it because women are more concerned about safety on the trail in Kentucky, and therefore are afraid to venture out?
Or maybe it is because we don't have enough trails so that a woman can ride within a reasonable distance of her home and so she rides less? (Whereas a man would look forward to a road trip, with or without his missus? As long as the beer is in the truck, he's happy. Oh, and yeah, don't forget the horse and saddle...)
Whatever it is, I'd sure like to know why it is.
Now if you'll excuse me, I have to polish my nails (NOT!).
When you go to a horse competition in Kentucky - whether a breed show or eventing, etc. - you will see that statistic in action. Lots of women, from teens to retired gals, up in the saddle practicing their craft. And a good number of men as well. So there in the show ring or on the cross country course, the statistic of 75% women probably holds true.
But when you stop to think that only about 50% of all riders are competing... the story is not yet done.
The rest of the riders (if we exclude horse racing and other unique uses of horses such as therapeutic riding, carriage rides, mounted police and the like) are on the trail.
Here in Kentucky, the male/female ratio flip flops when you hit the trail. From what I have seen, there are easily 75% men on the trail. And the rest of us few women.
Don't get me wrong, I know lots of women are out there crossing streams and climbing mountains on their trusty steeds. In fact, in Western Kentucky there is the Women on the Edge Trail Riders (womenontheedgetrailriders.org), a group of independent, spunky women who enjoy hitting the trail with female compatriots.
And I myself ride the trails with some special women who think nothing of loading their horse into a trailer, driving three hours into far Eastern Kentucky (or across the U.S.) to find the next beautiful route to the top of the mountain or the deepest holler.
But in general, when there is a group of trailriders in Kentucky, it is AT LEAST 50 percent men and usually more like 80% men.
I keep asking myself - Where are the women?
Is it because we have a unique Kentucky culture that implies it is less "feminine" to be on a horse?
Is it just a tradition that sons rode with their Dads, and that is being passed down through the generations? While Mom stayed home to watch the home fires?
Is it because women are more concerned about safety on the trail in Kentucky, and therefore are afraid to venture out?
Or maybe it is because we don't have enough trails so that a woman can ride within a reasonable distance of her home and so she rides less? (Whereas a man would look forward to a road trip, with or without his missus? As long as the beer is in the truck, he's happy. Oh, and yeah, don't forget the horse and saddle...)
Whatever it is, I'd sure like to know why it is.
Now if you'll excuse me, I have to polish my nails (NOT!).
Thursday, May 20, 2010
Is The Sky Falling... Or is it Just the Economy ?
The previous post was a bit like the Chicken Little story (THE SKY IS FALLING!! THE SKY IS FALLING!!) about riding horses in the future.
Extreme, yes. Dramatic, yes. Totally impossible, no.
So it's time to ask you horsepeople an important question...
Is the horse industry in decline, or is it doing fine and just experiencing a temporary blip due to the current recession??
Will horse prices rise when the unemployment drops??
Will the number of people wanting to ride increase as salaries begin to rise again??
Will Kentucky legislators again appreciate the economic impact we all bring to the state - when they stop worrying about the budget??
Extreme, yes. Dramatic, yes. Totally impossible, no.
So it's time to ask you horsepeople an important question...
Is the horse industry in decline, or is it doing fine and just experiencing a temporary blip due to the current recession??
Will horse prices rise when the unemployment drops??
Will the number of people wanting to ride increase as salaries begin to rise again??
Will Kentucky legislators again appreciate the economic impact we all bring to the state - when they stop worrying about the budget??
Tuesday, April 27, 2010
They Used to Ride Horses Back in the Old Days
Can this come true? Read on...
It is 2080.
A grandfather sits on the front porch of his daughter’s suburban home, his 7 year old grandson by his side. He could hear the hum of electric cars from the nearby highway, and occasionally a cricket chirping from its perch at the base of the porch.
His grandson was studying the screen of a Kindle in his lap, showing a dapple grey pony with the caption of “Merrylegs”. The grandfather recognized the Black Beauty story, re-written into 2nd grade words.
The boy touched the Merrylegs image gently with one finger.
“Grandpa?”
“Yes, Josh?”
“They used to ride horses, didn’t they, back in the old times.”
The grandfather looked up, noticed the blue of the sky, the lacy branches of spring buds in the trees and small white clouds skittering across the horizon.
“Yes, we did.”
“Why don’t we ride them now?”
The old man sighed, and stared at a neighbor controlling his robotic mower as it silently sliced across a green lawn. His eyes returned to the electronic image of Merrylegs in Josh’s lap, rubbed his worn jeans and then his thinning hair.
“Well son, it’s complicated. I rode my horses up into the mountains on a spring day and there wasn’t a better time. I had an old stallion that would produce the best fillies stamped just like him, and they beat every horse in the show ring. I got up every morning waiting to get on my horse.”
But let me tell you how it all changed, slowly over time……”
What do you think about the state of the horse industry - both from a participant and a professional standpoint? What are our weaknesses? How can we change them? What are our strengths? How can we perpetuate them?
It is 2080.
A grandfather sits on the front porch of his daughter’s suburban home, his 7 year old grandson by his side. He could hear the hum of electric cars from the nearby highway, and occasionally a cricket chirping from its perch at the base of the porch.
His grandson was studying the screen of a Kindle in his lap, showing a dapple grey pony with the caption of “Merrylegs”. The grandfather recognized the Black Beauty story, re-written into 2nd grade words.
The boy touched the Merrylegs image gently with one finger.
“Grandpa?”
“Yes, Josh?”
“They used to ride horses, didn’t they, back in the old times.”
The grandfather looked up, noticed the blue of the sky, the lacy branches of spring buds in the trees and small white clouds skittering across the horizon.
“Yes, we did.”
“Why don’t we ride them now?”
The old man sighed, and stared at a neighbor controlling his robotic mower as it silently sliced across a green lawn. His eyes returned to the electronic image of Merrylegs in Josh’s lap, rubbed his worn jeans and then his thinning hair.
“Well son, it’s complicated. I rode my horses up into the mountains on a spring day and there wasn’t a better time. I had an old stallion that would produce the best fillies stamped just like him, and they beat every horse in the show ring. I got up every morning waiting to get on my horse.”
But let me tell you how it all changed, slowly over time……”
What do you think about the state of the horse industry - both from a participant and a professional standpoint? What are our weaknesses? How can we change them? What are our strengths? How can we perpetuate them?
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