State of the Blog, This is a Horse Blog, What’s With All The Off-Topic Fiction?

Blogging About Blogging

 

Without an audience, a story is half-formed.
Response to comments [Warts]

I have been publishing short fragments of fiction on Saturdays. Why?

Scheduling
Several blogs that I read take the weekends off. (How dare they! Don’t they know I require entertainment on all days?) Instead of doing that, I change direction. Saturdays are writing. Sunday are graphic design.

Sometimes, Sundays are also about horses [Equine Logo, KLLM]; sometimes not [You Know You Have Fallen Down The Lettering Rabbit Hole When …]. Saturday fiction writing is rarely – dare I say never? – about horses. Equine fiction leaves me cold, either to read or to write [Horseback Reads]. That’s okay, the world is vast. Topics are everywhere.

Author bios often say that X book came about because they wrote what they wanted to read. That’s kinda what I’m going for. At least I will amuse myself.

Posting
I have designated three of the four Saturdays as fiction days, with varying degrees of success. The last Saturday of the month is for a discussion of blogging, as herein. This weekly posting schedule provides me with a sufficient illusion of accountability to get my fingers in gear.

That is true, but only partly. Moving forward, I want to dwell less on filling space and more on telling.

Fiction is telling a story. Fiction is telling a story TO someone. Yeah, I’m quoting myself up there. I really like both the turn of phrase and the idea behind it.

You are the audience I am telling the story to.

The hope is that the bits & pieces with eventually coalesce in to a coherent short story that I can send out. Or form the basis for my Hugo-award-winning novel. You will have been along for the ride. Share the journey.

If it all never goes anywhere, well then, I get blog posts & you get entertained.

Fiction To Date
2013
[Off-Topic: Fiction]
2014
[Two Sentence Genre Stories]
[Two Sentence Horror Story]
2019
[A Ring On The Table]
Published! “You Had Me At Blue HairBending Genres, Issue 11.
[Where Are They Now? Fiction Sketch]
2020
[Quantum Truck, A Writing Sketch]
[Faces In The Crowd, A Fiction Exercise]
[So Many Questions, A Plot Fragment]
[Origins of the Lunar Colony, Plot Fragment]
[The New Normal, Fiction Fragment]
[Warts And All, Contest Entries & Fragmentary Fiction]

Stay safe. Stay sane.
Katherine Walcott

Found Fotos, Milton at Full Circle Horse Park

Photography

I’m calling it coronavirus cabin fever. When you are so bored, you finally clean your house. Found these in an old secretary’s envelope from Full Circle Horse Park. Odd & ends being handed out by the photographer I assume. Jeremy Villar Photography

The whiteout in the photos below is an error with my scanner, not a problem with the original photos. They look fine. The sensors got confused by a light-colored horse on light-colored footing. The photo sensors didn’t do all that much better with a white shirt against the sky, above. Issues fixable if I spent more time with my camera or with post-production. As a professional, Mr. Villar handles white shirt, white sky, white horse, white ground just fine, naturally. Look, pretty pictures! Look, pretty horsie!

Figuring out which Full Circle Show

Not this one, he was braided.
[So It Begins, Show Photos, Dressage at Full Circle Horse Park, Summer 2018]

Not this one, wrong shirt on rider.
[So It Continues, Show Photos, Dressage at Full Circle Horse Park, October 2018]

Ditto
[Dynamic Duo Does Digital, Show Photos, Dressage at Full Circle Horse Park, March 2019]

Dressage, white shirt
[Preliminaries Accomplished, Show Report, Full Circle Horse Park, April 2019, Dressage]
&
Jumping, red shirt
[Our First Competition Course, Show Photos, Full Circle Horse Park, April 2019]

No photos
[We Cantered! We Won! Guess Which One I Care About! Show Report, Full Circle Horse Park, May 2019, Dressage]
&
[On Course Again, Show Report, Full Circle Horse Park, May 2019, Show Jumping]

Milton expresses himself
[Looking Goofy, Horse Show Outtakes]

Stay safe. Stay sane.
Katherine Walcott

Rodney’s New Show Name, Briefly

Training Journal

If you’re riding a horse, you’ve already won.

 
Note. This was originally scheduled for Monday, March 2, 2020, as a preshow post before the barrel race show report [The Meaning Behind Mondays]. We went. We barreled. We did not show. Therefore, no need for a show name [Not From Around These Parts]. I put post and name aside to be used later for a dressage show. Then we decided to put dressage on hold [Horse Show Cookies]. Then the world decided to put everything on hold. Posting now because who knows how I will feel about his name when horse shows are back on the agenda. Stay safe. Stay sane.
~~~
Introducing …

… drumroll …

Dr. Whooves

We needed a name because we went to a show. Report later this week. You aren’t going to believe what Rodney did.

Why Dr. Whooves? Because Rodney has the whole scarf thing going on.

Photo by Craig Zernik

Portrait by Martine Greenlee [Art Week, Day One, The Reveal].

Artist’s inspiration photo [Art Week, Day Two, Painting Dr Whooves Part 1, Guest Reblog]. Original post [Foto Friday: Doctor Whooves].

Dr. Whooves is a My Little Pony character based on the lead from the TV show Doctor Who [Latest Additions to the Blog Stable]. While the title of the Doctor is never abbreviated, the Time Turner’s title is.

Actually, the scarf is more 4th Doctor, while the Time Turner is new series, mostly #10. As with Macho’s
costume, “Dr. Whooves” is slightly easier to explain than “Trot Baker.”

The name Lord Chummingly Mountjoy III would be even harder to explain. What?

For your amusement, MLP references on Doctor Who from the Tardis Data Core, Toys from the real world, My Little Pony . Also, an artist’s rendering of #12 as a pony, and Peter Clopaldi. Neither of these are canon or fanon, as far as I can tell.

If none of this means anything to you, just smile at the geekery and carry on.

Thank you for reading,
Katherine Walcott

You Sexy Thing

Adventures in Saddle Seat

Enjoy the ride.

 

 
Unconcerned with the latest news cycle, Bob shakes his booty at the ladies.

Had to go by the barn for a pick-up. Employed proper protocol: i.e. made appointment, stayed away from people, kept it short, touched nothing, made sure I wouldn’t need restroom while there, even supplied my own peppermints. Spring was springing out all over.

More peacock plumage [Threads Make Feathers].
 

 
Stay safe. Stay sane.
Katherine Walcott

The Horse World Goes Virtual

The world is vast & weird & wonderful in parts.

 

 
Rolex, as was
#LRK3DE Virtual Event
Virtual version of the Land Rover Kentucky Three-Day Event
April 23 – 26, 2020
Fan membership required, free promo code supplied

Video teaser says 20+ years of content, TV programs, rider reflection, ride reviews, athlete features, winning ride, course walks, horse features. That’s all I know. No idea if there will be new content. No idea what the schedule will be.

Will there be an in-depth look the issues facing eventing? I doubt it. Tragedies? No way. Advertising for Land Rover? All over the place. A weekend of pretty pictures featuring green grass and jumping horses? Yes, please.

Did I call it Rolex? Okay, so I’m a curmudgeon. I haven’t been since the name change and my brain has not updated.

Starts in 2 days.

More info, USEF Network
Event website, LRK3DE, does not mention virtual

 

 
Shutdown Eventing
The NAF Virtual 5* Eventing Competition
Free Live Stream
6-10 May 2020
Donation requested

“We have an all-star global line up with over 50 world-class riders from a dozen countries … The format itself will include a trot up as you’ve never seen before, a single mounted phase, riders will participate in a dressage test … This footage will not be shown until the livestream when our star-studded judges’ line-up will be judging the competition live. We will be including a series of unmounted cross-country and jumping challenges during the weekend plus much, much more which will remain a surprise for our viewers.” Virtual Eventing Facebook About

Plus a virtual Trade Fair. It’s UK, so watch the shipping. Donations will go to the UK for NHS Charities Together, or equivalent support charity in the rider’s home country.

More Info, The NAF Virtual 5* Eventing Competition
Hat tip to Equine Ink: Eventing goes Virtual

 

 
Model Horses
BreyerFest
July 10-12, 2020
Ticket Purchase Required

“We have decided to shift BreyerFest 2020 Celtic Fling to an online experience, still taking place July 10-12, 2020.” BreyerFest Blog: BreyerFest 2020 Announcement

“The event will be a combination of live and pre-recorded video and photo content and will include equine demonstrations, interviews with guest horse owners, artist demos, workshop tutorials, seminars, raffles, contests, access to exclusive BreyerFest models and swag, music and dance performances, an online vendor marketplace and Artisans’ Gallery, photo model horse shows, and more.” BreyerFest Blog: More info on this year’s Virtual Celtic Fling

Despite much chat in the model horse world, that’s really all anyone knows so far. I had no plans to go IRL. Now that it is virtual, I bought a ticket. As much to see how people solve this problem as for the swag & plastic ponies. Its a weird new world out there.

More info, Bryer: Celtic Fling – BreyerFest 2020

Stay safe. Stay sane.
Katherine Walcott

To Ride Or Not To Ride, The Question Is Irrelevant

Horsekeeping

Lucky enough to have a horse.

 

Looks around. Gathers courage. Steps quietly into the ring.

The Internet has been awash with opinions. “Closer to home, I’ve seen some *insane* comment threads on social media. ” ‘fraidy cat eventing: news from the front

In One Corner: Horses count as an agricultural exemption. I can do anything I want.

Voice of Moderation: This isn’t a court of law. The virus is not going to be impressed that you found a loophole.

In The Other Corner: Don’t ride. If you get hurt, you will clog up the medical system.

Voice of Moderation: All of the not-ride rhetoric is coming from within the horse world. Medical and scientific experts are saying Stay Home or Stay Separate. They are not saying Don’t Move.

Me: Weighing all of the arguments, I have decided …

Rodney: I lost a shoe.

Me: Well, shit. Two horses. Off at the same time [Shoeing]. No one who owns horses will be surprised in the slightest.

Rodney: I have a shoe. Now my foot hurts from being barefoot.

Me: Well, shit.

Update [Saddletime, The Sequel]

Stay safe. Stay sane.
Katherine Walcott

Coverage With Flair

Celebrating Art

 

Note one. This is about golf. Imagine it for horse shows. Wouldn’t that be cool? Of course, horse media outlets do not have the deep pockets of Golf Digest.

Note two. No illustrations here. You will have to click over. Don’t want to step on any copyright toes. Not as familiar with how those issues apply to art.

“The draw of drawing the Masters”
By Christoph Niemann
Golf Digest
March 24, 2020
Drawings and discussion of his process

“Last year I went to Augusta to draw the Masters for Golf Digest.”
Christoph Niemann, Twitter

What a dream assignment!

Apparently, Niemann is a regular illustrator for them, GD: contributor archive.

His website.

For ongoing doses of art, see his Instagram site, Abstract Sunday.

Other interesting ways to cover horse shows, golf tournaments, engineering conventions, whatever: hire a songwriter, have a cartoonist post hourly drawings, sell custom-decorated cupcakes. Your ideas?

Stay safe. Stay sane.
Katherine Walcott