Virtual Brush Box

Awareness of the outside world. Once again, completed my survey for the Johns Hopkins COVID Long Study. As I said in April, the survey seems shorter. I assume (lot of assumptions in this post) that they want to make it as easy as possible on people so that we don’t wander away. [Milton Works at the Walk]
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Stepping Stone Farm is at the World’s Championship Horse Show, aka Louisville. I am watching from afar. Livestream by Richfield Video.

Reagan Upton & CH Callaway’s Reality Show, screenshot

Helmet Watch

Suit helmets. Spotted a few, all on kids. One per class in Walk Trot Eq for 8, 9, & 10 year olds (that’s three separate classes) & Walk Trot Show Pleasure, 12 & Under. Classes ranged from 5 to 9 entrants. Two standard helmets. Two helmets that matched the attire. If they placed, it was middle of the pack. To me, a solid-colored helmet styled to match the suit looks as good or better than the traditional derby. Sleek and smooth.

Hunter Country Pleasure. None in the first section. Everyone worn hunt caps. Three helmets in section two. As far as I can see, these split classes and the championship are the only HCP classes at the show. No separate classes for kids. So, the three could be juniors and helmets could be required, as I assumed they were at Lexington. [Living the Livestream, Lexington 2026]

Ladies Roadster. Two out of nine drivers. Since there is a Youth class, these must be adults? Yay! One wore a standard black helmet with bling. The other had a solid helmet in colors matching their silks. Looked as good or better than the cloth cap others wore, speedy and serious. Bling helmet took 4th. No helmets in the second section.

Youth Roadster & Junior Exhibitor Roadster Pony. All had helmets with colored cloth covers. I assume required.

An ASTM-approved helmet styled as a derby is possible. You can find ads floating about the Internet. However, they are no longer for sale. Lack of demand, one guesses.

Misc

Ninety-year-old Raymond Shively won the Open Roadster to Wagon Stake. Squad goals.

Saw a handful of Black and Asian rider and Latino faces among the competitors and in the crowd. Unfortunately, horse shows are not a bastions of diversity in gender, race, cultural heritage, body style, or so on. Although, Louisville had more male riders & drivers than usual. Could be a Kentucky thing?

Still weird. “To me, Peter Doubleday is the voice of big jumper classes.” [Watching Louisville 2021 & Them There, Me Here, Screenshots From Louisville 2019]

All comments based on the classes I happened to watch.

Previous Posts

Virtual Louisville over the years, with one IRL. Looks like I skipped 2023, 2020, & 2017. Or I may have watched without posting.  Possibly 2016 was the first year I livestreamed? If memory serves, I started watching virtually when SSF started taking more riders. Perhaps.

“Waves hi to SSF at Louisville.” [The Year of the Foot Continues] 2025
[Vicarious Louisville 2024]
[Cheering The Championships, Another Couch Potato Weekend, ASB & Vaulting] 2022
[Watching Louisville 2021]
[Them There, Me Here, Screenshots From Louisville 2019 & Go Team! Louisville 2019!]
[Go, Team! SSF at Louisville 2018]
[Louisville 2016]
[Spotted on the Green Shavings & Logistics: Shipping] 2014

I had fun watching virtually. I am tired of living vicariously. Two things can be true at the same time.

Coach James waits for results, screenshot.

Onwards!
Katherine

Awareness of the outside world. Grooms Podium! International Grooms Association: No More ‘Where’s Wally’?

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Let me start by saying that a good horse is any color & the right horse is any breed. Given that, ya gotta start somewhere.

The Standardbred was the closest we’ve come to bringing a horse home. The more time goes by, the more I agree with myself. “Did not dissuade us from thinking that the breed would fit in well around here.” [Taking Tiny Steps on the Horse Hunt Path]

However, Standardbreds are not a Southern phenomenon. The Standardbred Pleasure Horse Organization of New Jersey is putting on a big, annual show in September in Allentown, New Jersey. “Three days, 195 classes and 81 divisions celebrating the versatility of the Standardbred — dressage, driving, hunters, western, gymkhana and more.” The National Standardbred Horse Show.

However, again, the show is six states away. Fourteen hours – minimum – is a long way to drive for reconnaissance.

Writing From the Right Side of the Stall: A Soft Spot for Standardbreds, scroll down for judging at a Standardbred show.

Bonus

Since I’m not saying much here, have some recent adventures from elsewhere in the horse blogosphere.

“Looking all grown up in the big barn. In all honesty, the way he settled in with no questions asked after loading into my trailer in the middle of the road, in the middle of the night, with police lights flashing everywhere is a testament to how he was raised. This kid really takes everything in stride and I couldn’t be prouder.” A Collection of Madcap Escapades: July 2026. The author does not go into detail & previous posts are unavailable (ACOME: Journey). Whatever the situation, Bravo Chip!

“And I feel like such a jerk saying that because a year or two ago I would have killed to be working on his lateral work again, or the canter work like this.” A Enter Spooking: Do Less. I see myself in this mindset. Right now I would love to be able to simply stroll around the pasture on horseback. How long would that last? I have wondered this before, “Will I grow weary of … “.[Wondering If What I Want Is Really What I Want]

“He looked at me questioning. I looked down, he had moved in front of a log where I could easily remount. I swear I heard the words ‘silly human’ in my head.” Heccateisis’s Blog: Best Ponies.

Onwards!
Katherine

Awareness of the outside world. I’d like to comment on the trade situation with Canada, but I have nothing to add to the conversation. Other than, I would bet a shiny nickel that someone, somewhere is making bank.

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I talk a lot about our morning walks. Aside from those, what else are Rodney & Milton up to?

Not much.

Blog says I rode Rodney in 2025. If so, it was early in the year & not often. Nothing this year. Going barefoot puts the bow on his retirement. [Going Bare]

Earlier this year, we – using the barn we – decided to see how Milton felt about riding. He was fine. For a while. Over the period of a few weeks, he went from fine to fidgety to hissy fit.

We started groundwork, but then it got hot in the afternoon and the project floundered.

When I say not doing much, I mean not doing much people stuff. For horse activities, their schedules are packed. Grazing, chilling, napping, wandering about their pasture. They get cookies and meals. Hosing when it’s hot; blankets when it’s cold. Milton is more amenable that he used to be. He’s gotten friendlier about his ears. Rodney is setting the house longevity record for Thoroughbreds.

That’s were they are. Morning walks & living the pasture potato life.

Onwards!
Katherine

Awareness of the outside world. Lawyers, Guns & Money: On the USS Doris Miller. Farley, August 21, 2026. Background info including international repercussions.

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Milton: Hello.

Me: Oh. I didn’t see you.

Milton: Why not? I’m standing right here, by your shoulder.

Me: I can’t see behind me.

Milton: What! How do you know what is going on around you?

Me: I have to turn my head.

Milton: That’s weird.

Me: I don’t have normal horse vision. I have limited predator vision.

Milton: Must be a hard way to go through life.

Onwards!
Katherine

Pastries of the outside world. Coupe du Monde de la Pâtisserie.

Side note. My desktop translates this page automatically. My phone does not offer the option, at least that I can find. Weird. Also, more interesting visuals on the desktop version. Also weird.

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Pastry Chefs Dessert Table
Elizabeth Moore Chocolate
21 August 2026

As part of my monthly box subscription, I get to take a class. Cooking class? Moi? It is to laugh. I chose one where we sat and ate and admired as Chef Jen plated and explained each dessert. They were both visually appealing and tasty.

Each dessert was plated with an absurd number of ingredients. Yet, nothing was there for mere decoration. Every item added to the favor.

I neither took notes nor remembered what was said. Oooh, food. Pretty! Yummy!

Plated by me from the petit four table.

Onwards!
Katherine

Ice cream magic is, as you would imagine, a subset of food magic. Therefore, it shares in the strengths and weakness of that branch of magic.

Food magic works best with spells of healing, protection, and gentle persuasion. It is difficult to do harm with this branch of magic. Intentions count. Food spells prepared with ill intent do not taste good, often to the point of being inedible. Hard to get people to eat bad tasting food. A few practitioners are undoubtedly working on this, but no one is going to admit to trying to make evil palatable.

Of course, there’s poison, but that’s just chemistry.

Food magic works if the recipient voluntarily accepts and is invested in what the practitioner offers. Deception and force feeding negate the effects. Studies have been done on how much of the positive the effect is due to the spell and how much is due to the pattern bias on the part of the participant. Experiments with placebos are intriguing but have been statistically inconclusive.

Ice cream has been used as projectiles. Turns out enchanted snowballs work just as well. No reason to waste the ingredients.

Enough about the dark side.

As indicated above, ice cream is general used for positive outcomes: healing, strength, calming, community. Sitting down and eating with folks has an inherent magic. Spells reinforce these effects.

You will probably start with prepared ice cream, most do. Eventually will want to churn your own. This is the best way to discover what works for you in terms of flavors, amount and type of dairy, inclusions, and so on. How the spells relate to the ingredients is unique to each practitioner, but there are general rules. Fruit flavors effect the body. Flowers and leaves effect the mind. For example, mint is know to increase mental acuity. Chocolate acts as a general enhancer, which is why you find it in so many flavors. It also explains the popularity of mint chocolate chip ice cream.

Onwards!
Katherine

Art of the outside world. Global Citizen: Everybody Poops, But These Artists Made It Into Masterpieces, 2015.

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In an effort to keep Milton from gorging, his hay is portioned out and served in clean muck buckets. He also eats out of a bucket hanging on the wall.

Therefore, there are often empty buckets lying about waiting to be picked up.

At one point, he pooped in his feed bucket. Other Barn Minion had a brief panic attack thinking the mass was uneaten breakfast.

Nope. Just poop. Dump & rinse.

A few days later, same thing. This time I found a decorated hay bucket.

Water was turned off at the barn. I needed a way to tell Other Barn Minion that the bucket required rinsing before use, in case I forget to mention it in time.

So, I plonked the bucket on top of the previously discarded poop and & draped the hose over it.

Other Barn Minion arrived at the barn. Asked that eternal question.

Is this a housekeeping message or a contemporary art installation?

Onwards!
Katherine