A-list

A
A dozen words & phrases beginning with A that have to do with horses. The blog version of When a long-running series…Does a cheesy clip show!!!!!!

(Note: I was going use A for my April Announcement About A to Z. I ended up using that on Sunday. That left me in a late scramble to get ideas for today. Hence the cheesy clip show)

Authenticity, The Dilemma [Price?]

CW2 rider

Art Deco, The Zebra [Foto Friday]

zebra

Arabian, The Breed Then [Days Past]

Photo by horse's owner, whose name is lost in the dim, dark past.
Photo by horse’s owner, whose name is lost in the dim, dark past.

Aquatics, The Cross-Training [Spring Fitness]

Illustration by Jean Abernethy
Illustration by Jean Abernethy

Anniversary, The Good [Husband Training]

Photo by Kathie Mautner
Photo by Kathie Mautner

Anniversary, The Bad [Aftermath]

Rlx press

American Saddlebred, The Breed Now [Ears]

Sam ears 3

Amber, The Guest Post [Babies & Books]

cov Dutton & AH

Alvin, The Champion [Show Report]

Photo by Mariah Bouchet
Photo by Mariah Bouchet

Advisor, The Coaches [Decatur]

Photo by Julie Wamble
Photo by Julie Wamble

Acetate, The Goal [Day 3+3]

Photo by Kathie Maunter
Photo by Kathie Maunter

Academy, The Division [Showtime]

NACHS

Note on ordering: Given the option, I always list in reverse alphabetical order. Revenge from a childhood spent at the back of the line with a T last name. Nor did I have the distinction of being the very end. Master V and/or Miss Z always beat me to that.

Second note: five of the 12 posts are from my saddle seat life. That sounds about the right ratio.

Third note: None of the posts are about Rodney. If he wants to feature in a retrospective, he should pull his socks up and do something featureable.

Fourth note: The idea of list as narrative device was inspired by Listful Thinking. Given the number of lists I make to get through life, I really should have thought of this.

Baker’s Dozen Extra: Art, The Appreciation

Art Ashes II

atoz [2014] - BANNER - 910
Still time to sign up. A TO Z CHALLENGE SIGN UP/LIST [2014]
Deadline: 4/2/2014 11:59 PM North America – Eastern Standard Time

List of A to Z posts

Reader Requests?

End-of-the-month meta post. Previous posts on blogging here.

Over at Whatever, John Scalzi took reader suggestions for post subjects: Reader Request Week 2014: Get Your Requests In! He’s been doing a week of 8 to 11 entries for the last six years. It seems to work for him. So I thought I’d give it a try. The requesting, not the week.

What should I write about? What personal &/or obscure topics have I not addressed that you would find interesting? I would be particularly intrigued to hear from those of you who know me only through the blog. I have no idea what image of myself I project.

Granted, all the words are as accurate as I can make them. I’m not subtle enough to adopt an intentional persona. But, the picture must – of necessity – be incomplete. For example, if I see a photo of a blogger after reading several entries, the person never looks the way I imagined.

Given my April A to Z project, if your requests happened to concern late-occurring or obscure letters of the English alphabet, that would be lovely.

Alternatively, are there questions I should put in a faq?

If you would rather not leave a public suggestion in the comments, feel free to email me at the blog eddress: rodneyssaga@gmail.com.
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Gratuitous Cat Picture

Ghost March 20 2014

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atoz [2014] - BANNER - 910A TO Z CHALLENGE SIGN UP/LIST [2014]
Deadline: 4/2/2014 11:59 PM North America – Eastern Standard Time

Twitter Storage 2 of 4

Using the blog to archive tweets, because I am that compulsive.
Twitter Storage 1

Attempt #2. Pithy “Rodney says …” tweets each day. Too much work to come up with a daily tweet idea in addition to a daily post idea.

July – August 2013, 30 tweets

Saddle Seat Celebrity

A few weeks ago, Gayle Lampe gave a saddle seat clinic in my area. She was kind enough to come talk at Stepping Stone for a few minutes. I totally geeked out.

Right, Gayle Lampe, Professor Emeritus, Equestrian Science, Saddle Seat, William Woods University. Left, me. Photo by Courtney Huguley.
Right, Gayle Lampe, Professor Emeritus, Equestrian Science, Saddle Seat, William Woods University. Left, me. Photo by Courtney Huguley.

As she was talking, I kept looking at her and thinking, ‘Wow. This woman is a NAME in saddle seat. Instructor, author, rider. I would LOVE to interview her.’ Then, she asked for questions. Questions? Questions! Sure, I got questions!

1996
1996
Brain: um, sorry, i can’t think of any.

Me: What do mean no questions? This is what you DO.

Brain: well, mathilda got hurt last week. you’ve been bathing me in corticosteroids for five days. it’s sludge in here.

Me: Think, dammit.

Brain: hmmm …

… Jeopardy music …

Brain: okay, maybe i can adapt from the usdf interviews.

revised 2013
revised 2013
So I asked, If you could give one piece of advice to every saddle seat rider, what would it be?

Lampe: “Enjoy each ride.”

Good advice for all riding styles.

To adult riders, particularly adult beginners: You are not learning to be horse trainers. Keep it fun. Share any physical limitations with your instructor.

To show moms: Stay out of the way. Be supportive of your child. Let the instructor tell the rider when it’s going badly.

After her talk, she had a tour of the barn to greet our furry faces. After meeting, I must assume, thousands of horses, Lampe was still deeply interested in all the horses, wanting to know what they did, their breeding, and where they came from.

Partial Progresses

horse bootsRodney
We’ve started a new episode of ground work, hence the new booties. We’ve even had glimmers of success. However, there have been many false starts over the years. Too often, my grand plans fail because I run out of steam or Rodney has an overabundance of steam. Or both. Therefore, I am holding off on belaboring you with details until I have progress to report. Meanwhile, know that we are nibbling at our issues.

cov CrabtreeKatherine
While sitting about for tooth rehab/mare care, I stomped through Saddle Seat Equitation by Helen Crabtree [Western 1970, rev 1982, reprint 1999]. This was half of my reading goals for the winter [Days].

Meh. I remain unconvinced on the value of theory. I interviewed one fellow on the particular type of saddle he liked. He didn’t know why it worked. He didn’t care why it worked. He rode in that saddle. His horses won. End of story. In my case, theory can get in my way by keeping me too much in my head instead of reacting instinctively.

Still, I said I would and I did. So, checkmark.