Virtual Brush Box

Retrospective, Horses in my 10s, 1973-1982

Horses I have ridden.
Horses I have OWNED.

Horses
Horses of Clairmont Riding Academy, NYC
Horses of Camp Longacres, East Aurora, NY: Randy: Hooligan, Wind Chines, Pepper, & others.
Horses of Bar 11, Wyoming: Puff, & others
Starter
Booie
Boogie
Horses of Avenel, Potomac, MD: Chantilly, Sabo, & others
Horses of Turtle Creek Farm, MD: Wilbur, Jonesy, Joe, & others
Horses of Morton Farm, NH: Trescott, Bronson, Rogue, & others
Horses of the IHSA
Horses of Upper Valley PC, VT
Horse swaps at my C3 & B tests
Horses in Europe: trotting an Italian racehorse & a tourist ride in the Camargue
Zephyr
Chantilly (different one)
BENTLEY

Milestones
1978, age 15, someone told me about “leasing” horses. The next day, I found an ad for Starter in the newspaper.
1979, age 16, leased second horse, Booie.
1980, age 17, leased third horse & first active competition horse, Kanu Boogie. Joined Potomac Pony Club.
1982, age 19, first horse!

Thank you for reading,
Katherine Walcott

Retrospective, Horses in my 0s, 1962-1972

Horses I have ridden.
Horses I have OWNED.

Horses
Bucky
Horses of Riverdale (?) Day Camp
Horses of Fire Place Lodge

Milestones
As a horse-crazy kid in Manhattan, I used to buy knicknacks from Miller’s & Kaufman’s. I could not afford, nor did I need, bridles or brushes, so I bought oddments, e.g. a pair of driving goggles, a measuring tape.

Thank you for reading,
Katherine Walcott

Letter Art: A to Z 2016

2016 Alphabet

Overview
Done.
Strong on object manipulation.
Less hand drawing that I would have liked.
Some machine (vector?) drawing.
A fair amount of get ‘er done.
New project planned for next year.

Links
Z is for Zoonoses
Y is for Yin & Yang
X is for Xerophagy
W is for Whip
V is for Vest, Again
U is for Ulcer Meds
T is for Training Level
S is for Swim
R is for Reins
Q is for Quote
P is for Polo Wraps
O is for Opinion
N is for Nature
M is for My Missing Motivation
L is for Leadline
K is for Knabstrupper
J is for Jenny’s Jodhpurs
I is for I Love You
H is for Halter
G is for Ghost Gallery
F is for Fence
E is for Eventing
D is for Do
C is for Carrot
B is for Brush
A is for Apple

2015 Alphabet

Thank you for reading,
Katherine Walcott

Geographical Center: Georgia

geo-center-ga

The true center is in the middle of the woods, so this is as close as one gets. Taken Sunday, February 21, 2016, on the way home from the Georgia banquet [ASHAG Awards 2015].

The monument is on the side of the road in front of a church. All these folks arriving, dressed in their Sunday finest, and I’m lying in the grass taking pictures of a sign. #poortiming.

Geographical Center: Tennessee

Thank you for reading,
Katherine Walcott

Foto Friday: Snapshots

My first Instagram picture in several months.

igram-cats-dec-2016

Phone camera has been dead since June [Hiatus]. We were on our way – ON OUR WAY – to buy me a new phone. I accidentally – ACCIDENTALLY – hit the Instagram camera icon. Suddenly I was looking at my own face. WTF? The camera works. I have no idea why or how. An update? A reset? Whatever, I’ll take it.

Not many pics so far. Not used to having a camera with me once again. I suspect I will adjust quickly. Look for a return of impromptu photos to blog and Instagram account. Clearly the Internet is crying out for more cat pics and horse selfies.

Added Instagram widget back to sidebar. Removed Top Posts & Pages widget.

Thank you for reading,
Katherine Walcott

Cross-training

Driving Thursday

driving-bit

While I don’t ever see Rodney hooked to a cart, he’s working in driving tack at the moment. I’ve discussed the harness saddle [Meanwhile]. The driving bit is on loan from Coach Kate. The center is constructed so that the bit flexes up, down, and forward, but not back, making it a cross between a French link and a straight bar. As soon as I saw the bit, I knew Rodney would like the combination of movement and gentleness.

As we proceed in the various disciples, it will be interesting to see how they might benefit from each other. For example, everyone ought to have an Academy division, a place for reliable schoolies to compete free from smooth-moving Thoroughbred hunters (if any of those remain) or powerful Warmblood dressage horses.

The important question here, How long can one “borrow” an item before offering to pay for it or having to buy one’s own?

Thank you for reading,
Katherine Walcott

Countdowns

Saddle Seat Wednesday

Another competitor in Adult Academy used the hashtag #howmanydaystillnationals. I thinks to myself, I can answer that. So, when I updated the AEC counter ([AEC], link in the upper right corner), I added a Nationals countdown. Since that came out in months & weeks, days.to gave me the exact answer. As of yesterday, 324 daystillnationals. I remain adamantly ambivalent about the show itself.

My competitive side: Horse show! Horse show!
The sane part of me: No! No! No!

Competitive, adopting a wheedling tone: If I work reeeeeally hard at my equitation all year …
Sane: I can ride with no stirrups from now till October. I still won’t have the temperament for equitation.

Competitive, stomping feet: I want that Sunday blue!
Sane: It’s about the process, not the ribbons. Happiness is not tied to results.

Competitive: It’ll be good experience.
Sane: It’s been four years of good experience. Enough is enough.

Competitive: I got something else to do the last weekend in October?
Sane: —

Competitive: Horse show! Horse show!
Sane: I’m never going to be reasonable on this subject am I?

Competitive: HORSE SHOW!

In reality, until such time as I ride in a suit class, Nationals will remain an option. We’ve seen how good I am at resisting the siren song of the show ring [To Show or Not To Show].

At least I got a blog post out of it.

Thank you for reading,
Katherine Walcott