Texan in Tokyo, Blog & Books

Referral Saturday

Mineta drawing

Japan in general and Tokyo in particular fascinate me. When I found Texan in Tokyo by Grace Buchele Minta, I read all her posts, bought the three books then out, and began drumming my fingers waiting for her to write more.

Part of the appeal is her writing and her honesty:
I (still) get hate mail because I married someone who isn’t white

For me, the majority of the appeal is the vicarious travel:
11 Awkward signs found on Trains in Japan
Why Are Japanese Kids So Calm? Parenting in Japan VS America

In the Kickstarter campaign for her latest book, one of the tiers had the option for a personal sketch. “.. + Drawing of you/your loved ones! Send me photos and I will draw whomever you want on the inside page of the book.” Meh. I wanted to support the artist, but had no desire to see myself in comic form. Aha! I asked her for something at the intersection of horses and Japan: statue, racing, cartoon, whatever. She went with yabusame, a form of traditional mounted archery. More info, Wiki: Yabusame & A Modern Girl, Yabusame: The Japanese Art of Horseback Archery . Cool.

Mineta cov pic

Previous Saturday Referrals
Horseback Reads
Cover Girl
Snark-o-licious
Adieu

Thank you for reading,
Katherine Walcott

ISO Truck

We are being dragged, kicking and screaming, towards ordering a new truck.

What we want is simple, a 3/4-ton, extended-cab pickup, probably a Ford, capable of hauling a gooseneck trailer. Doesn’t exist.

Dealers carry striped-down work trucks or fancy, 4-door, leather-seated, lux wagons.

The used market has a few. If the price is reasonable, the mileage is not. We don’t need an old, high-mileage truck with problems. We have one of those.

New or used, the last time we had the towing package added after-market, the mechanic punched a hole in the gas tank.

Fortunately, unlike ISO a suitable date, or ISO a suitable horse, we can have a suitable truck made to our specifications, with the towing capacity dyed in the wool.

We are looking at the options and girding our loins to enter the lion’s den dealership.

Thank you for reading,
Katherine Walcott

Progress: July 2016

Progress report for last month.

Goal: Put halters on both horses twice a day. [Summer Plan]

Plus: Success. As possible. Some days I wasn’t around [MTCC]. Some days, I was physically present, but mentally absent, i.e. after an up-and-back, one-day Tennessee jaunt [Sidelines]. There were only one or two days when I said FTS entirely.

High point: Rodney wore a bit for one day of groundwork. He hated it. He opened his mouth. He stuck his head out. He acted like a spoiled brat turning his nose up at work. In short, standard horse histrionics. The operative word – in case you missed it – was “horse”. He did not have a Rodney reaction. He did not curl up like a shrimp. He did not retreat to his happy place. He did not tune me out. This is progress. I can deal with attitude (crosses fingers).

Minus: Did not do as much bodywork & groundwork as I would have liked. A lot more grooming and fussing with. OTOH, when the RealFeel(R) temperature is 106o, it’s hard to do much more than hose ’em off.

On blogging note, I need to get back to using more photos. Having my phone camera die [Hiatus] has cut down on the incidental snaps. I was more reliant on those than I realized.

August goal: more of same. Stir in more bodywork & groundwork.

Onwards!

Thank you for reading,
Katherine Walcott

Polo Wraps Giveaway

polo wraps

Up for grabs, the polo wraps I used yesterday.

Given my ability to imagine disaster, I am a boots-instead-of-wraps kinda gal (wrap comes loose, horse steps on end, leg stops moving, rest of horse does not …). Therefore, I will not be using these. To spread the love, the first person to squeak gets choice. Second gets the other set. If only one person is interested, congrats, you get all four. Seriously, speak up & they are yours.

Per usual, limited to USA or APO, for postal reasons. I reserve the right to change my mind, or bail for any (mostly legal) reason.

I bought the wraps for the letter P and as a gesture of support for the shop owner, who is a saddle seat blogger, Riding Like a Lady Truck Driver: the Misadventures of an Adult Amateur. The author shows ASBs in the Academy division and writes about it. You can see why I have fondness for the blog, yes?

Links to check out:
Things You Can Do That Require NO Talent and NO Money.

Why Adults Need Horse Show Moms Too. The SSF moms have been wonderful about adopting a 50-year-old kid.

Today I Had the Most Horrible Ride… It’s a Matter of PERSPECTIVE. Go over. Read the image from top to bottom. Then read it from bottom to top. Amazing.

There aren’t many saddle seat blogs. Photos, certainly. Saddlebreds are all over Instagram and Facebook. Text, not so much. The Jodphurs Company has a good blog, but they haven’t been as active this year. Eventing Saddlebred Style does what it says on the box: competing in eventing with a Saddlebred, rather than playing in the saddle seat arena.

Know of any saddle seat blogs I should be following?

polo wraps jod straps

I also ordered a set of jod straps. Less than my usual amount of bling, but one can never have enough extras. These I am keeping.

Thank you for reading,
Katherine Walcott

Letter Art: P is for Polo Wraps

2016 letter P

Purchased from The Little Chic Pony Boutique.

Polo wraps are used to protect & (possibly) support the horse’s lower leg. Polo wraps on Wiki. I believe the name derives from their use by polo players. Anyone know for certain? Google takes me to Wiki & shopping sites.
~~~
2016 Alphabet

 

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