Indiana CDE 2017

We did it! Our first Combined Driving Event!

 

Indiana CT & CDE
September 22 -24, 2107
Hoosier Horse Park
Edinburgh, Indiana, USA

I can say we/our because I was physically on the cart for marathon & psychologically on the cart for the other phases.

Before I spend the rest of the week yipping about the show, I want to recognize Kate Bushman, aka Coach Kate, Whip Hand Farm, Franklin, TN, USA.

Huzzahs for …
… Trusting us with Bliss.
… Lending miscellaneous pieces of driving equipment as needed while we purchased our own pile. So. Much. Equipment.
… coaching, shipping, advice, support, enthusiasm.
… for sharing your love of driving with so many people.

Basically, she made the whole weekend possible.

Thank you for reading,
Katherine Walcott

Equestrian Bloggers Blog Hop: A Blog Is More Than Words

September Equestrian Blog Hop Theme: Why did you start blogging? Write a post about why you were inspired to take the plunge and show the world your experience as an equestrian. What have you learned?
Bridle & Bone: Equestrian Blog Hop
Equestrian Bloggers Facebook Group

Why did you start blogging?
Blog history, with links, appears on my About page [About]. Short answer: I was being paid. Metaphysical answer: I was being paid, at the start. I continued on my own as an exercise. I keep going as my way of fight back against the void.

What have you learned?
At the end of last year, I had my fifth blogiversary [Five Years Ago Today]. At the time, I didn’t think I’d learned much. I hadn’t; not about producing text. My blogging voice hasn’t changed. I’ve been writing professionally since the late 80s, so I already knew about cranking out copy. Twenty inches of school board report on deadline will get you over writer’s block in a hurry.

What else?
In considering this blog hop, I decided that I have learned something: A blog is not just text.

Photo Skills
Loading photos from camera to computer. Uploading photos from computer to blog. Location scouting. Photos that look good in the camera don’t always look as good on the screen. Take extras. Cropping. Embracing digital (yeah, I’m that old). Resizing. Watermarks.

Graphic Design Skills
GIMP. Layout. Paragraph size. Use of white space. Headline fonts.

Social Media Skills
Posting to Facebook [Rodney’s Saga]. Understanding Twitter, or not [Another Aborted Twitter Adventure]. Instagram [rodneyssaga].

Still To Go
Photo post production: light levels, color balancing, other than for humorous effect [Color Cat]. SEO. Self hosting. Analytics.

Words of Encouragement
If you are new to blogging, or are considering a blog, don’t be intimidated. Starting a blog is extremely simple. The hardest parts are deciding on a name & picking a color scheme. As for posts, I will often throw up an unadorned wodge of text and call it a day. You can do all of the above, or none. It’s your blog, do what you want with it. If you’d like direct help, feel free to email me, rodneyssaga@gmail.com.

Blog away. Entertain me.

More to Read
Blog Hop list to appear here, soon. My posts are scheduled to publish automatically at 12:01 am. Once I’m up, I will add the required code. Come back & check out the rest of the hoppers.
Click the blue button to read more posts in the blog hop.

#EquestrianBlogHop #EquestrianBloggers

Previous Posts
Referral Saturday, Equestrian Bloggers Facebook Group
What Makes You, You? A Blog Hop.
My Best Class: Blog Hop Invitation
Loot. A Blog Hop.
~~~
Today’s post will count as State of the Blog for September. [Previous SotB]

Thank you for reading,
Katherine Walcott

Letter Art, AlphaBooks: T is for Tewson

 

The Fat Pony, Adventures, Mishaps and Musings 2009-11
The Fat Pony, Incidents, Accidents and Pumpkin Lids
The Fat Pony, Has Anybody Seen My Halo?
The Fat Pony, The Slim Years
By January Tewson
Lulu.com
The Fat Pony on Facebook

Tewson on RS
Book Arrivals

T Authors on Rodney’s Saga
Tuttle Aunt Faity
Toby Milt Toby, author of Noor, on Researching for Books

~~~
This Year

[S is for Severin]
[R is for Rubin]
[Q is for Queen]
[P is for Pace]
[O is for O’Connor]
[N is for Newsum]
[M is for McKinley]
[L is for Lewis]
[K is for Krementz]
[J is for Journal]
[I is for Ipcar]
[H is for Hatch]
[G is for Gray]
[F is for Francis]
[E is for Endicott]
[D is for Doty]
[C is for Cooper]
[B is for Brown]
[A is for Anderson]

Past Years
[2016 Alphabet] [2015 Alphabet]

Project explanation [AlphaBooks 2017]. Open to recommendations for the remaining letters. Which books would you choose?

Thank you for reading,
Katherine Walcott

Starting Points

In August, my mother went to the 100th anniversary of her summer camp.

At the age of 7, my mother began attending Camp Nyoda, an all-girls summer camp. She acted in plays. She did arts & crafts. She took riding lessons, briefly. She stayed at the camp for thirteen years, eventually becoming a counselor. In college, she rode in her one and only horse show. She won a ribbon. She rode a handful of times on vacation or with relatives. She has not ridden in decades.

At the age of 7, I began attending Fireplace Lodge (now defunct), an all-girls summer camp. I acted in plays. I did arts & crafts. I took riding lessons, briefly. I rode in a camp show. I won a ribbon. I left the camp after three years to attend a horseback camp. I went to a dude ranch for one summer. At 15, I leased my first horse and disappeared into the horse world.

Same start; different paths.

At the age of 7, my mother began attending Camp Nyoda, an all-girls summer camp. She acted in plays. She did arts & crafts. She swam. She swam throughout camp, elementary school, junior high school, and high school. At college, taught swimming and was on the Water Ballet Team, now known as the Olympic sport of Synchronized Swimming. These days, she does water workout. One of her spirit animals is a seal. She gets cranky if she does not immerse herself in water on a regular basis.

At the age of 7, I began attending Fireplace Lodge, an all-girls summer camp. I acted in plays. I did arts & crafts. I swam. I passed the Red Cross Advanced Beginner swimming test. I went to a new camp. I passed the Red Cross Advanced Beginner swimming test. I went to college. I passed the two-lap swim test. Soaking in a bathtub makes me feel like a stewbeast marinating in its own gravy. Until recently [Spring Fitness], I had not been in a pool for decades.

Same start; different paths.

Thank you for reading,
Katherine Walcott

Milton Meets Butt Brakes

Driving Thursday
Stepping Out

Aside from the gorgeous horse and handsome driver, the significant part of this picture is the strap in the back.

When going downhill, the breeching keeps the cart from running up on the horse. Saddlebred harness does not have this. They do not expect to be going up hill and down dale. If breech-less harness goes downhill, say into the ring at Louisville, a person hangs onto the back of the cart to perform the same function. Biggest show of the ASB year and you have drag your help into the ring. But I digress.

Saturday: lesson with breeching. Sunday: schooling, hitching ourselves for the third time, breeching. Afterwards, Greg walked down the short but steep hill that exits the ring and took a few circles in the driveway and on the grass.

Downhill turned out to be the easy part. The uphill caused Milton to ride the struggle bus. To get up a short, gentle grade, Milton dug in like a draft horse dragging the championship weight at a pulling contest. Overdone, yes. First time he’s had pull on his chest. Not up to us to say how it felt.

First breeching. First terrain. First time out of the ring.

Progress. Progress. Progress.
~~~
Well …

Progress far as driving is concerned. Riding, not so much. Milton could be excused for getting upset at a strap goosing him in the butt. Not a bit. We put various driving paraphernalia on him, he considers it, says okay. I put riding paraphernalia on him, here’s what happens:

Photo, Milton in hand, with halter and saddle.

Text, “Wearing a saddle during a pasture walk. Milton’s first step toward dual citizenship. Spooked whenever something touched the saddle. Sigh.”

During his all-terrain adventure on Sunday, a low branch brushed the harness. This is exactly what happened with the saddle. Did he mind the branch pulling on the harness? OF COURSE NOT.

Thank you for reading,
Katherine Walcott