Virtual Brush Box

Awareness of the outside world. A word before I spend the rest of the week at the horse show. The Guardian: Is it OK to be happy when the world is falling apart? Alpert 2025.

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AHJA Kick Off Show
Rosewood Farm
Leeds, AL USA
Friday 6 March 2026

with Golden Star 29, aka Goldy
.65 Jumper I (time first round): clear with time faults, unplaced out of 23
.65 Jumper II (stay in for jump-off): clear first round with time faults, unplaced out of 21
Many thanks to Goldy’s owner, Coach Deana, & the folks at Rosewood Farm.

I rode Goldy, of recent lesson fame, in two jumper classes at a show last Friday. It was the three-day season opener for the Alabama Hunter Jumper Association.

The class was listed as .65 meters. The course was set one to two holes lower, mostly two. The result was closer to 18″ than 2″ 1″, which was fine with me. More on that anon.

We schooled briefly in the morning, I wasn’t necessarily for it, knowing that Goldy had another rider after me. My illustrious groom pointed out that it would be good to get old bones moving, both rider and horse. It was a madhouse, but a well-organized one. I was impressed. Trainers called out jumps. Riders stayed out of each other’s way.

Get off. Loosen tack. Graze. Get back on. Did I want to hop over another jump? No. Let’s do this.

First class. Time first round, no jump off. We trotted a lot of the jumps, as planned. Not surprised at my score. If one is planning to trot a jumper course, one must expect time faults. I was surprised that Goldy looked at some of the jumps at the beginning of the course. That didn’t seem like him. I said, c’mon horse, jump the jumps, and we bopped around the rest.

Between rounds, my illustrious groom suggested that Goldy was not convinced of my sincerity. I was committed, but I had not conveyed that to the horse.

Second class. If you go clear, stay in for the jump-off. Coach Deana pointed out that I might not make the jump-off due to time faults. I went in with enthusiasm and made sure my actions backed up my attitude. Goldy said, ‘Okay, then’. We cantered all but the first jump, trotted around one turn, and lost momentum coming around to the last fence. We were likely running out of rider, and I may have reverted to sitting like a lump. Between trotting and taking the wide turns, we were still way over time. No jump-off for us.

Much cheering and hugging of horse. What a star.

Takeaway. Warmbloods do not operate on vibes. Goldy was not interested in my energy. He wanted my eyes up and my leg on. Throughbreds speak vibes. As do Saddlebreds. As, not coincidentally, do I.

More tomorrow.

Onwards!
Katherine

Art of the outside world. MOMA: Pong

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Birmingham Museum of Art
Birmingham AL, USA
January 2025

Photos were allowed. No flash.

“Please take lots of pictures! Just be sure to turn off your flash and note that photographic equipment, including selfie sticks, is not allowed in the galleries. To inquire about commercial photography or photography requiring equipment, please contact our Communications Department.” BMA: Tips for Visiting, Capture The Moment.

Onwards!
Katherine

Blogs of the outside world. Time & Miles: Day 5: Over the Mountains. Third section of the post has thoughts on sustainable tourism by someone who lives it. Trip mentioned previously. The wonders of vicarious travel. Enjoyed the description immensely alongside zero interest in being there. [Saddlebred Supplies II]

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Can I maintain horse blog if I don’t ride?

tldr: Yes. Horse people can always talk about horses.

Issue. I want to continue the blog for reasons stated. “Years ago, I talked about how the blog keeps me from going batshit crazy.” [Bright-Eyed, Bushy-Tailed, posted 2018, More Thinking About Posts reposted 2025]

But what to write about?

Scenario. New horse. Think of the content! Yes, it would be great to have a working sport horse for a variety of reasons. As far as the blog is concerned, New Horse would be a high-output content factory.

Scenario. No horse. Big change. Not necessarily a doom scenario. What if one of us got a dream job abroad for three years? Whatever the reason, if we no longer had horses, there would be so many life adjustments that the blog would be part of the upheaval.

Scenario. Status remains quo. Two horses out back. Lessons elsewhere.

When I look at it calmly, I’m really only talking about two days of my posting schedule.

Weekend isn’t horses. I know some readers give these posts a miss. (Waves hi.) I figure as long as I am predictable, people can avoid the days they are not interested in. Sunday art is humming along. Friday photography & Saturday fiction are proceeding in fits & starts. Overall, the weekend plan works for me. The post calendar creates a sense of deadline, even if it is self imposed. That’s Friday through Sunday sorted.

Monday is horsekeeping. As long as we have pasture ornaments, there will be things to say about same.

Tuesday is home team, mostly morning walks. So far I have been able to mine that topic for content. Granted, there is ground work and other things we could be doing. However, Milton does not like to work with me and Rodney feels he has earned his retirement due to the glorious show career he thinks he had.

That leaves Wednesday & Thursday, slated for talking about other horses. In the recent past, Wednesday was hunter/jumper lessons and Thursday was saddle seat riding & ASB driving lessons. At the moment, I have no set plans with either barn, but I foresee doing something somewhere at some point each month. That should cover part of the days.

For the rest of those two days, I have years of stories that pre-date the blog. Previous Horse. First Horse. Other horses I have know. One advantage to age, you’ve had years to collect tales.

When I get into a tailspin about my lack of progress with horses, I need to remember that I have blog content covered. Many things could happen tomorrow, for good or ill. Today, I have a plan.

Archives [State of the Blog]

Onwards!
Katherine

Awareness of the outside world. USA-NPN: Status Of Spring, How does this year’s start of spring compare to “normal”? March 3, 2026. “Phenology is nature’s calendar—when cherry trees bloom, when a robin builds its nest and when leaves turn color in the fall.” About.

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First flower of spring.

Seen at Heardmont Park during the one non-pasture walk for February.

Not pasture pics. [Fitness Photography]

Monthly 0K

No monthly 5K. Ran out of A) month & B) scenery I wanted to stare at for an hour.

Swim

I swam.

Immersed self in chlorinated water. Moved from one end of the pool to the other. More than once. Not long. Not vigorous. However, it was – technically – swimming. Gotta start somewhere.

Onwards!
Katherine

Awareness of the outside world. Equi Pages: Due to Iran conflict: planes to Doha have to turn around with grooms in the air, 28.02.2026 Tönjes. Equi Pages: Philipp Weishaupt: “Getting grooms and horses safely from Qatar” 01.03.2026, Wehrmann. Hat tip to G.

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Bentley, aka First Horse
Mid 1980s
Photographer: Deborah Rubin

Same horse. Different mood. [Best Laid Plans]

Also First Horse [The Unexpected Anguish Of Not Attending Camp, scroll for photo]

Onwards!
Katherine

Awareness of the outside world. The Fish Doorbell is now active for the 2026 season.

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Awhile back, I talked about a saddle seat lesson expanding to fill the entire day. [Have You Got All Day? Anatomy of A Saddle Seat Lesson]

Is a jumper lesson the same? Short answer, yes.

Takes Less Time

Less to say. Haven’t been there as long. Don’t know the place as well. Less chatting with people & checking of horses.

Less to watch. Training &/or other lessons happen at times when I am not there.

Takes The Same Time

Gear. Unload. Locate. Assemble.

Grooming. I’m no faster here than there.

Takes More Time

Lessons are longer.

Barn is farther away.

The route to the barn passes through a suburban retail zone. Might as well run a few errands. For example, last Saturday, we left home at 9:30 am, and returned at 2:30 pm, which included one jumping lesson and three errands.

Takes The Same Time

Recovery.

One lesson and I am done in. Plus, jumping brings out aches & pains from body parts that have not flexed that way in many years.

“And then I get off and think, ‘That’s okay, I’ll just sleep for the next 24 hours.” [Day 1]

Onwards!
Katherine

Awareness of the outside world. The Strauss Center: Strait of Hormuz – Geography.

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Morning walks with the horses are not the same as strolls in the park. Physically yes; mentally, not so much.

Alone. I walk. I think. I don’t think. I use GPS to count the laps.

“I simply kept walking until the phone said stop.” [Splash of Color Dash Virtual 5K]

One horse. Mathilda or Milton. A little more focus. Check over the horse. How are they walking? What is their attitude? Everything seem good? Always on quasi-alert because even the quietest horse is half a ton of hysteria waiting to happen. With that, plenty of time to air the brain.

“I look forward to the time to amble and ponder. I talk to myself. I swat flies. I rewrite troublesome text. Mathilda trundles along behind, snorting, stretching, and occasionally hocking bits of chewed carrot against the backs of my legs.” [My Two Horses]

Two horses, especially if one is Rodney. Eyes up. Eyes on the horses. Twice as much to evaluate. Twice as much to monitor. Plus the keeping an eye on the interactions. Is Milton getting annoyed with Rodney tailgating? If Rodney goes on alert, will Milton agree? In general, Milton tends to chug along. Rodney might chug along. Might frolic. Might dramatically reverse course and go back to the barn. I can fit in a short bit of strolling if both horses are at liberty ahead of me.

Team walks are all about the team. Not good or bad. Just different.

Onwards!
Katherine