Wild Horse Goes Walk-Trot, Alabama Fun Show #3 2018, Heathermoor Farm

Photos by Bryan Pope, @thebryonpope

ASHAA Fun Show
Saturday, September 8, 2018
[Show Report]


Strollin’ along.


Could he be more pleasant?

Winning never gets old.

Obligatory ribbon shot. Milton fails to see the point.

Milton rides totally different than he looks. Even I have to admit that in photos Milton seems a joy and a delight. There is no trace of the horse who is counter-bent, staring with alarm at the world outside of the ring, uninterested in contact, and equiped with green horse point-and-shoot steering.

Whoa there, wild horse.

Thank you for reading,
Katherine Walcott

Leaving The Wheels At Home, Show Report, Alabama Fun Show #3 2018, Heathermoor Farm, Driving, Not

Driving


 

ASHAA Fun Show
Heathermoor Farm
Moody AL, USA
Saturday, September 8, 2018

I did not drive at this show. Riding only [Show Report]. Since Coach Courtney had a full load, she could not bring the cart. I had a choice: bring cart or bring Milton.

Pro Milton/Anti Driving
+ Working with Milton is my primary goal.

+ None of the regular driving horses were going. I had driven the available driving horse. Once. Briefly.

+ For year-end awards, I’d rather confirm Milton points than driving points. The rule is that one needs to show in three classes at two shows. I don’t know if that means three classes overall, which I have done, or three classes in each division, which I have now done for hunt seat but not for driving. I’ve been told that it is the former and that therefore I qualify in both. I’ll believe it when I hold the ribbons in my hot little paws.

Years ago, Previous Horse and I were in the running for a year-end award. My first year-end award! In jumpers no less! I eagerly checked the standings each time the list came out. I called the coordinator repeatedly to insure my points were counted correctly. Then, at the end of the year, the division disappeared from the list. ‘Oh, there weren’t enough shows,’ I was told, ‘We canceled the division.’ Poof went my fancy year-end award. I’ve been traumatized ever since.

Pro Driving/Anti Milton
+ Missing one day of work is not going to wreck Milton’s progress. He’s done this show twice. Does he really need to do it again? (As it turns out, yes, but we didn’t know that in advance.)

+ I don’t have many chances to drive. With the ASBs, I’d rather ride. If I have time for two lessons, I will opt for a drill in the round pen [Leg Lessons]. Driving lessons are an add-on. With Milton, prying the reins out of the driver’s hands is much like prying the nozzle away from a firefighter. In either case, good luck with that.

+ Driving with an ASB is closer to the spirit of the show than hunt seat with a Thoroughbred.

+ If I didn’t drive, no blog post for Thursday. Oh wait, I finagled around that one.

Bottom Line
Which would you have chosen?

Thank you for reading,
Katherine Walcott
==========

Resting On One’s Laurels Never Works, Show Report, Alabama Fun Show #3 2018, Heathermoor Farm, Saddle Seat

Adventures in Saddle Seat

 

ASHAA Fun Show
Heathermoor Farm
Moody AL, USA
Saturday, September 8, 2018

Sultan’s Miracle Man/Sam
30 Academy Showmanship WTC Adult, 2 of 2
31 Academy Equitation WTC Adult, 1 of 2
Thank you to Courtney Huguley for Super Sam.

Between Milton’s warm-up and classes [Victory!], I reverted to saddle seat.

First Class
Stellar show last time [Show Report]. Lovely lesson the week before. Felt invincible. No one is invincible. We took second. Pffffft. Good thing I don’t take these small shows too seriously (… looks at keyboard … searches for sarcasm emoji …).

Second Class
From the sidelines, Coach Courtney told me to go faster. We picked up the pace. We won. I keep forgetting that saddle seat is not a pastoral lilt. It is a Sousa march played by a New Orleans jazz band.

Thank you for reading,
Katherine Walcott

Victory Is Ours! Show Report, Alabama Fun Show #3 2018, Heathermoor Farm, Hunt Seat

Home Team


 

ASHAA Fun Show
Heathermoor Farm
Moody AL, USA
Saturday, September 8, 2018

Milton
30a Academy Open Hunter Pleasure Walk and Trot, 1 of 2
31a Academy Open Hunter Equitation Walk and Trot, 1 of 2

Warm-up
Milton is not afraid of big trailers. He’s been shining us on [NEGA1, NEGA2, SSF]. At Full Circle [Show Report], he stood quietly eating hay while several medium-sized trailers pulled up next to him. At this show, we arrived early so that we could park our little two-horse out of everyone’s way. No one around. I’ll hop on & school in the the nice empty ring. Of course, as soon as we started to tack up, the big rigs arrived. Milton lost his freaking mind.

Yes, the rigs are bigger. Perhaps the environment at the saddle seat barns sends a different vibe than at the dressage show. I doubt it. I would put money on the premise that if Milton had been untacked & eating, he would not have flicked an ear when the rest of the trailers showed up.

Anyway. We eventually got the whirling dervish under control and I had a chance to school in the ring. We walked, giving the side-eye to the announcer’s tent at one end and a tire swing at the other. We even trotted. Still side-eying, but trotting.

First Class
Dilemma. In a hunter flat class, I would hold my stick in my right hand the entire time since that is what I would do on course. In a saddle seat class, one starts with the stick to the left (inside) and switches on the reverse. So, in a hunt seat class at a saddle seat show, do I switch or not? Which tradition applies?

Same with the hands. Hunt seat, down, with whip across the leg? Or saddle seat, up, with whip vertical along the horse’s shoulder?

Before the class, we held an impromptu competitors’ meeting and decided to swap whips. As for my hands, I wobbled between the two.

Since there were two of us, I got to do more trotting than I would have in a solo class.

Second Class
Me: Okay horse, this is an equitation class. That means I look nice while you get on with it.
Horse: Um, Boss. I’m not sure I’m ready to solo here. Boss? Hello?

At the end of the last class, Milton was still looking around more than I would have preferred for his fifth show. He never got over himself the way he did for the second test at the dressage show. He likes Full Circle? I have less interest in, therefore put less pressure on at, dressage shows? Who knows.

OTOH, we did trot longer and with more vim than at the previous two ASB hunt seat shows.

Future
These shows have been great for schooling. Time to step it up. At this point that means the Stepping Stone Farm big ring for cantering & the round pen for jumping while we work on creating an enclosed space at home. Open spaces do not appear to be Milton’s friend. We’ll work on that as well.

Onwards!

Show Posts
Victory Is Ours!
[Resting On One’s Laurels Never Works, Show Report, Alabama Fun Show #3 2018, Heathermoor Farm, Saddle Seat]
[Leaving The Wheels At Home, Show Report, Alabama Fun Show #3 2018, Heathermoor Farm, Driving, Not]
[Wild Horse Goes Walk-Trot, Alabama Fun Show #3 2018, Heathermoor Farm] Show Photos

~~~
Note. I am aware of the date. I have made the conscious blogging decision not to memorialize. 1) Like we are going to forget without my reminder? b, no 2) Where would it stop? There are too many tragedies. 3 or c) How would it help? The best I can do is attempt to distract you with cupcakes [Speaking Out].

Thank you for reading,
Katherine Walcott

If The Pin Fits

Tackbox Tidbits

 

by Letter Hen, on Etsy, on Instagram
Photo shoot at Birmingham Botanical Gardens

Did I use the right photo? Should I have used one with a different background? Or one with this background but with different lighting? Did I crop it correctly? Should I mention that it was a Kickstarter project? And so on.

Because this is me at every horse show … every ride … every day.

Thank you for reading,
Katherine Walcott

M is for MEPSA

Graphic Design

 

MEPSA 2017 Championship Results
by Jennifer Cole
Model Equine Photo Showers Association
Photo Shower’s Annual
Cole/Lulu 2018

The model horse project has been pushed so far onto the back burner, I don’t think it’s on the stove anymore. I look at the pretty pictures from the show, and think, ‘Hmmm, maybe.’ Then I read how much work goes into taking quality close-up model shots, Desktop Stables: How I Photograph My Models – Revisited, and I think, ‘Eh, maybe not.’

Since I am now showing Milton (Kermit dance!), I feel less pressure about side projects. If I get to them, I get to them. If not, then not. So, I will continue to buy the annual book [2015, 2016] and use the idea of photo showing as an excuse to buy models [Fire 2015, Peppermint Kiss & Sam 2016, Illumination 2018].

Note to self, because in six months, I’m going to wonder where these came from. In order, from lower left corner, [My First Model] [Spotted at Sunset] [Banquet Photos] [Eclipse Party] [Spotted at Sunset] [Spotted at Oak Mountain State Park] [I’m Baaaaaack … With Camera] [Frankenhorse] [Spotted on the Green Shavings] [Life Choices] [Show Report: ASAC, Clemson, SC] [Models Rule].

Thank you for reading,
Katherine Walcott

In Which I Consider Adults Playing With Toys

Writing

 

Breyer models, LEGO sets, My Little Pony knickknacks. I certainly have no trouble admitting to childlike enthusiasms. Some adults have trouble admitting, or get grief when they do. I’ve read about model horse aficionados who don’t tell their co-workers about the live show they attended over the weekend. MLP bronies get a raw deal. Unless I go to a LEGO store, I gotta shop in the kids aisle.

Why?

If a humanoid form is made of plastic and costs $10, it is a toy. If a humanoid form is made of china and costs $1000, it is an objet d’art.

Who determines these things? Is there a Board of Toys?

One of the best parts of being adult – aside from being done with school – is the ability to impulse purchase a shiny, pretty, transparent blue horse model in the gift shop of the Kentucky Horse Park. No nagging of adults. No waiting for Christmas. From want to have in the time it takes to run a credit card.

So what? I’m not doing it in the streets and alarming the horses. Why does it matter if spend money on toys or on decorator pillows?

As I kid, my big deal was stuffed animals. I had over a 100. All sizes. All species. Didn’t matter. Now that I am hoarding giving houseroom to live animals, my need for the stuffed variety has declined. As an adult kid, I have a handful of Breyers, more than a handful of LEGO bricks, and a smattering of MLP. While I’m fond of these, they remain side enthusiasms to the aforementioned live animals.

What childhood toys have you discovered, rediscovered, never left behind?

Thank you for reading,
Katherine Walcott