And Now For All The Other Parts Of My Life

We had a plan.

It was a good plan.

When I committed to Nationals back in August [Madness], there were eleven weeks until we left for the show. For four of those weeks, lessons would be unavailable or restricted. NBD. I’d up the lesson rate a bit when coach Courtney was around. No reason to get crazy.

Then life happened. Some of it was good. I played Annoying Competitor in a group lesson as show practice 🙂 . Some of it was bad. The week with two funerals 😦 . What with one thing and another, I went three weeks without a formal lesson.

Cue the crazy. [Sentiment]

One or two lessons a day for the last two weeks. Now we are done. The barn has all but shut down as the majority of the show & academy horses head up to Alabama Charity Championship Horse Show for the week. I will have one or two more rides before we leave for Nationals. Of necessity, they will be reminder lessons. We have reached the Que Sera, Sera portion of the program.

Time to pick up the threads of my life. Time to exercise. Time to scale the mountain of unwashed dishes. Time to make the progress that I feel is in the air, or find out if I was just blowing hot air electrons [Turning Point?].

Thank you for reading,
Katherine Walcott

Letter Art: V is for Vest, Again

2016-letter-v

New Year. New Vest. Let’s hope I get some wear out of this one.

Looking Back
Yellow vest [At The Horse Show]. Borrowed for first shows in 2013.
Blue vest [Show Photos SE Charity]. Bought in 2013 [Show Report, It Takes a Village]. Worn with salmon plaid shirt.
Purple vest [Show Photos Nat 2014]. Bought at Nationals in 2014 to liven me up [Show Report NACHS 2014 1]. Worn through most of 2015.
Blue vest revisited [Show Photos GA Fall 2015]. The purple was deemed too lively at Nationals 2015. Switched back to blue with blue striped shirt that I had brought as an extra for Nationals 2014 and never used. Worn through first half of 2016. Used for last year’s alphabet [V & below].
Light purple vest [Show Photos NE GA]. Bought in 2016 [New Clothes].

That’s a lotta vests.

2015
2015

~~~
2016 Alphabet

 

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

Foto Friday: Teenage Wasteland

water-tower

 

Back when I was doing things other than endless saddle seat, e.g. photography [Daily 10], I tried to get up high for panorama shots (Double Oak Mountain, for local folks). The main road led to a gated community. So, I hacked my way along the ridgeline. Not so much as a glimpse of the valley, but I did finally make it to the highest point. This is what I found.

Good use of color. Busy composition. Disappointing lack of originality. C’mon younger generation, step it up & say something new.

Thank you for reading,
Katherine Walcott

Macho Dresses Up As Dr. Whooves

The most anticipated class of the year is the costume class at the Stepping Stone Farm fall fun show. This year Michelle Duplichien talked me into it, or I talked her into it. History is not clear. We chose the Doctor Who/My Little Pony crossover character Dr. Whooves.

Macho needed protection from the scary horses in costume.
Macho needed protection from the scary horses in costume.

Seriously. Macho was a star about wearing a hat over his face, having a scarf around his neck (hook-and-looped rather than wrapped, for safety), and being painted with glitter. Then we got to the ring. He took one look at the witch, the airplane, the tractor, et al. and said, ‘Holy crap on a cracker, I do not like this one bit. They smell like horses. They don’t look like horses.’

Michelle was the Tardis. I was a generic Companion, complete with hash marks on my arms. Macho had glittery red sneakers. Technically, Macho was more Trot Baker, but I figured Dr. Whooves was easier to explain. Most people had no idea what we were doing in the first place. Yes, “The Doctor” is not abbreviated, but the My Little Pony version is. And the glitter? Blame it on too many years of saddle seat.

 

Close up of the Time Turner cutie mark
Close up of the Time Turner cutie mark
The TARDIS
The TARDIS
Costume classes are serous business.
Costume classes are serous business.
Friends
Friends

~~~
Earlier in the day, Michelle rode Sam in her first horse show.

Game Face
Game Face
Victory!
Victory!

Photos by Clark Duplichien

Thank you for reading,
Katherine Walcott

Short Show Report: SSF Home Show 2016

Saddle Seat Wednesday

Driving with Alvin. Second place. We cantered. The last time I was in a cart [MTCC], cantering was encouraged. I forgot to dial it back.

Riding Iggy. Three second places. Two important take-aways. Iggy has more go at a show. This makes my job easier. I don’t get sucked into heaving and flailing in a deluded attempt to get the horse moving. Also, Iggy got better as the classes went on. This bodes well for a three-day show. (Provided I ride all three days. Have I mentioned that I have 21 in my division this year at Nationals? No automatic qualifying for the old farts this year. 😦 But I digress.)

Assigning numbers. Unloading food. Driving. Tack switching. Riding. Ringmaster. Buffet. Costume class (more on this tomorrow). As I said last year, home shows are a blur.

Previous Years
Show Report & Tweets: SSF Fall 2015
Show Report & Show Tweets: SSF Fun Show 2014

Thank you for reading,
Katherine Walcott

After the Party

(For those who don’t know me IRL. I don’t have kids. I never wanted kids. I get nervous in the presence of kids.)

bday-party-2016-1

 

A birthday party at the barn …
twitch, twitch
… for a 7 year old …
twitch, twitch
… and 35 of her closest friends.
twitch, twitch
I narrowly escaped the pony rides.
whole-body twitch in sympathy
Instead, I groomed. Five kids per horse. Poke Alvin [Greetings] and Miss Lace [Queen] with brushes. Switch horses. Bring in next group.
twitch, twitch
Alvin stood like the champ he is.

Alvin’s response to the first group: Why am I surrounded by little ones?
Alvin’s response to the second group: Little ones come bearing sugar cubes!
Alvin’s response to the third group: Sug! Ar! Cubes! Sug! Ar! Cubes!

All without moving. His owner, Miss Julie [Show Report], was at the front talking to the kids and helping them feed him from their treat bags. I was at at the opposite end of the horse, telling Alvin how wonderful he was, and keeping the smalls from getting stomped.
twitch, twitch, twitch

At least I got a blog post out of it.

Thank you for reading,
Katherine Walcott

bday-party-2016-2