Virtual Brush Box

Awareness of the outside world. “She is one of two girls pitching in the 2026 LLWS and the 25th to ever do so.” Montgomery Advertiser: How many strikeouts does Kinley Rasmus have in Little League World Series? Smarr, Tuscaloosa News, Aug. 19, 2026.

~~~

First, Mathilda & I graced the scene. I don’t think she appreciated me in show mode. [Mathilda in Montgomery]

Then, I rode my horse, Seize The Day, aka Caesar. [In Defense of Caesar]

I probably rode in other classes, but the one that sticks in my mind is the Prix Caprilli. That’s when they put jumps in the dressage ring.

I’m riding a jumper. I’m at a dressage show. I shall jump in my dressage test and amaze them all.

Ha!

I stayed in the ring. I did the jumps. Beyond that, not so much.

It wasn’t the jumps.

It wasn’t even the dressage.

It was the arena. Not the dressage ring, but the arena the ring was set up in.

The grounds at Montgomery also hosted western shows, which require cows, which require pens, which were at one end of the arena.

Caesar would have nothing to do with the cow pens. Clearly, dire things happened to horses who ventured near them.

We managed to enter at A. After that, he would not, could not go down to that end of the dressage ring.

He would not get within, say, 10 meters of A. Since a small dressage ring is 40 meters, we were barely able to get past the middle of the long side.

We would trot/canter past E/B, depending on gait and direction. I would ask him to go straight. He would give it a hard pass and swerve back toward the other end of the ring.

When Caesar said no, he meant, No, that is not physically possible. No horse in history has ever done it.

We never got near A again until it was time to leave.

Did the jumps fairly well, as I recall.

Since I was the only one willing to jump my dressage horse, we were the only entry. So, we won the class. Warts and all.

Onwards!
Katherine

Awareness of the outside world. ““AI is not intelligence—it is prediction.” World Economic Forum: What is artificial intelligence—and what is it not? 2023.

~~~

One of our previous horses was Mathilda.

Mathilda. 15.2h QH-cross mare. Mama was a Quarter Horse. Daddy was anybody’s guess. Husband horse. Of her 30 years, 23 of them were spent with us. She lives on in the first 2 1/2 years of the blog. [About, paraphrased]

I showed her once, and only once, if memory serves. We entered an intro dressage test at a local show. I managed to get myself eliminated in a comprehensive fashion.

This was during the time I was riding Caesar, so I was in a bulletproof phase. Sure, I can take this horse and do a walk-trot test. Hand me the reins.

Enter at A. Piece of cake.

Halt at X. This was back when we halted at X.

Proceed Working Trot. Pas de problem.

Track Left. On it.

And then we reached the corner. Whereupon I executed a somewhat less than than 90o turn and we popped neatly over the ankle-high fence.

Husband looked up from reading the test to see us cantering down the long side on the outside of the ring.

Cantering, in a walk-trot test.

Exited the field of play.

Bzzzzzzt.

Thus began and ended our dressage career. [Mathilda in USDF Connection]

No media. This was long before we all carried cameras in our pockets and the show was too small for a professional photographer.

Tomorrow, Caesar in Montgomery.

Onwards!
Katherine

Awareness of the outside world. Scientific American: Scientists calculated how much money and lives ‘Medicare for All’ might save—it’s a lot, by Kovac, edited by Cameron, August 12, 2026.

~~~

Stroll. Saunter. Share space.
Greenery. Cool morning. Ha!
Hard sun. Air soup. Hot!

Afterword

Once, again, this is closer to an exercise in word choice than true poetry. “Another factor to be aware of is that the misguided focus on 5-7-5 syllables in English puts excess emphasis on form, to the great detriment of content and other strategies necessary to writing haiku.” NaHaiWriMo: “Why “No 5-7-5”? I did manage two opposing ideas, if not two images, and a cutting word. Kinda. This is as close to poetic as I’m gonna get.

Re title. While I dislike perpetuating a literary misconception, part of the problem is what else to call it. Presenting a perfectly precise polysyllabic prose poem?

Onwards!
Katherine

Awareness of the outside world. The Guardian: US firms that kept DEI policies despite ‘go woke, go broke’ threats thrived, Gupta, 14 Aug 2026.

~~~

Barn lime for the win!

We’ve been having trouble with footing in the run-in area of the barn.

Raining a lot. Mud everywhere. No surprise.

Less rain. Pasture drying out. Inside footing still muddy. Surprise.

Deep & muddy everywhere. Need boots to do barnwork. Slick & squishy under the mats.

Enter 600 pounds of barn lime & a several bags of pellets.

First batch went onto walking areas as proof of concept. Mud began drying up immediately. I swear the barn felt drier.

Second batch under mats and more around the entrance.

Such improvement.

Easier to walk on. Horses not leaving post holes when they walk. I can do barn chores in sneakers. No longer sink up to my ankles. I swear the mats are leveling out. At least they are not buckling up and down where the horses stand. The mats are definitely moving around less.

It has been raining a little less lately. I have to keep reminding self that the improvement is not a matter of timing. Something was wrong. Barn stayed muddy even when the ground outside dried up.

I thought it was a matter of drainage. The stall is downslope of the run-in. Over time, the stall floor has been stomped into a less permeable form. Water had nowhere to go. Other Barn Minion mentioned that the chemistry of the dirt might be off. Makes sense. Soil has chemistry, right? Or both.

Either way, limestone soaks up the water, or balances out the dirt. Or both.

No photos. Not a visual event. Brown dirt, piles of white powder, topped by little tan niblets of compressed sawdust.

Onwards!
Katherine

Art of the outside world. More Mythical Menagerie. The Brothers Brick: Fiery Phoenix.

~~~

Suncatcher Green Shadow

Not specifically attached to BreyerFest. The best solution I could find for the intersection of art, Breyer, and my abilities.

From Triple Mountain Model Horses. An interesting project would be to paint several of the same model in different ways. Or do so with a group of folks. Hmm. Anyone out there interested in a blog hop or a guest post with a suncatcher pony?

Green Shadow is named for the Green Shadow Magnolia Tree. The suncatcher model uses the magnolia mold, Arbor Day: Green Shadow Magnolia & IDYB: Magnolia. “Model refers to the paint job (or lack thereof); mold is the underlying body. AFAIK” [Carpet Herd 2020]

More Magnolias, [State of the Carpet Herd 2021]

Technical Details

Phone camera. Portrait mode. It’s growing on me.

The paint pots have a clever leverage closure so you can pop them open instead of struggling with a tiny tab on the lid.

Onwards!
Katherine

Awareness of the outside world. “The Kentucky Horse Park has an economic impact of $240 million.” Kentucky Thoroughbred Association: Economic Impact of the Equine Industry in Kentucky. Also has stats for the green shavings & the event former known as Rolex.

~~~

This will be my – almost – last BreyerFest post. One more post tomorrow to round out the weekend. This is not so much a reference post as a reminder to self.

I need to be more thoughtful about the things I sign up for.

I get excited. I get bored. I sign up for virtual BreyerFest, or virtual WorldCon, or whatever. I peruse the schedule. I make plans. Come the day, it doesn’t happen. Other things come up. I tell myself I will watch the replay. I don’t do that either.

This isn’t so bad when it’s a free lecture on the gratuitous use of the word Belgium in a screenplay. Harder to be sanguine when I have paid for the privilege. There are times when I can consider it a donation. BreyerFest is part of the corporate entity and does not need my support. [WorldCon Virtually]

As one can see from the links, my main activity at virtual BreyerFest is to buy stuff and do a virtual 5K. This year, I checked in on the live horse demos a few times, bought stuff, and … that was about it?

Time to admit that my planning requires a dose of reality. Time get honest about my interest level the next time an fascinating idea floats by.

So, as we go our separate ways, thank you BreyerFest. Live long and prosper.

Virtual BreyerFest

[Mood On Monday, Upside, Hard To Be Happy] 2020
[Happenings at the Horse Park, In Which I Live Virtually and Vicariously]
[I Came, I Saw, I Sat On The Couch, Show Report, Virtual BreyerFest 2020]
[Virtual BreyerFest 2020, Haul I, Kentucky Horse Park Gift Shop]
[Virtual BreyerFest 2020, Haul II, Breyer]

[On Being An Energetic Couch Jockey] 2021
[Where The Clicking Is Easy, Virtual BreyerFest 2021, Haul I]

[A Full Dance Card] 2022

2023 – 2024. Referred to in posts, did not virtually attend.

[Model Horses to Go With Model Trains, Guest Photos] 2023

[It’s That Time of Year Again, Vicarious Lexington] 2024

Let pass unremarked. 2025.

2026. Here we are.

Virtual 5Ks

[Gaelic Gallop 2020]
[Splash of Color Dash 2021]
[Strudel Sprint 2022]
[Sulky Sprint 2023]
[Never Say Neigh-ver! 2024]
As above, let pass unremarked. 2025.
No IRL run. [Two Types of Tired, 5K] 2026

Onwards!
Katherine

Photography of the outside world. Ranker: Famous Photographers from Sweden, 2024.

~~~

Loot pix from virtual BreyerFest 2026.

Dalana. Limited Edition model, freedom scale. Breyer: A Dala Delight!, Identify Your Breyer: Standing Thoroughbred, BreyerHorseRef: Dalarna. I don’t usually like this in-between size, but so much color! Backdrop painted with supplies from recent art class. [Extra]

Corgi Hill Flinka, Celebration Horse. Included with ticket. Breyer: Meet Our 2026 Celebration Horse!, IDYB: Norwegian Fjord Mare, BHR: Corgi Hill Flinka.

Yàn Wǔ. Regular stock, not associated with BreyerFest. Jumped into my cart, as things do. Once they are in the cart, it is hard to convince them to climb back out. Breyer: Yàn Wǔ | Chinese Year of the Horse, IDYB: Amazigh Stallion, BHR: Yan Wu – Fire Horse.

&

Hygge because cute. Limited Edition model, stablemate. Breyer: But Wait, There’s More!, IDYB: Icelandic Horse, BHR: SM Icelandic Horse: Red Dun Tobiano – Hygge.

Onwards!
Katherine