This past week...

...has been a fun one (blah lesson notwithstanding)!

Wednesday's lesson was...mediocre. For some reason, I seem to have developed a lead foot when it comes to long approaches. I keep my leg on unnecessarily after we've turned to our jump and so every stride gets longer and longer until - oh crap! - I can't see a distance whatsoever and Keenan is forced to take off super long or chip. I don't know when this started happening or why I can't seem to knock it off, but it's really setting me back - and making me look like an idiot.

Actually, I think I know how it's come about. I think I'm so anxious to have a good canter and keep Keenan in front of my leg that I forget that a.) a good pace DOESN'T mean you have to freakin' steeplechase over the jumps and b.) once I have the proper canter, I can stop squeezing and keep that canter. Sounds like the classic "Missy is trying to do too much and she's getting in Keenan's way" scenario. Hopefully knowing is half the battle.

Thursday kind of made up for a less-than-stellar lesson. Henri and I drove up to TREC to deliver a check that I had forgotten to leave the day before. Henri has been to the barn a handful of times before, but he has either been sleeping or too little to really be interested in the goings-on. Well this time he was wide awake and very interested!

When we got there, Rachel had just warmed up Keenan and was getting ready to school him over fences. Henri was fascinated. This was perfection, as far as he was concerned - he was bundled in mom's arms, enjoying the fresh air and watching something big move around. All his favorite things! After Keenan's workout, we visited him in the cross-ties and that's when the real fun began. I took Henri over to show him how we gently pet horses' soft noses. He caught on immediately and was soon stroking Keenan's nose all by himself. Then, before I knew it, his little hand made its way right up Keenan's nostril! Ewww, horse boogers! Fortunately, I caught Henri's hand before he put it in his own mouth and managed to wipe it clean. Keenan, bless his heart, didn't bat an eye - he actually seemed to enjoy the attention. He was sure enthralled by little Henri! In fact, he was so enthralled, that when I stepped back to talk to Kristine and Rachel, he reached out and started tickling the bottoms of Henri's feet with his upper lip. So cute! Lead line classes in a few years anyone?

Finally, we took Henri to my favorite tack store, Gallops, for the first time on Saturday. I had money burning a hole in my pocket and have been desperately in need of new show breeches (I ended up getting a pair of FITS Bekas in tan and a pair of chocolate brown Devon-Aires to school in). Henri enjoyed all the interesting things there were to look at, as well as the rich leather smell. He even took his first pony ride - well, a rocking pony, that is. Keep it up, my little equestrian!

"Let's try this again."

"Let's try this again."

"I need to get reorganized."

"He's never done that before!"

"I thought I had this figured out..."

I feel like I'm living oddly parallel lives these days. By day, I'm a new mom with an incredibly particular diva of a son. By night (and by that I mean Thursday evenings), I'm still a horse-crazy teenager locked in an almost-27-year-old's body. Thing is, I find myself comparing these two lives and coming away with the notion that the are more similar that they might seem on paper.

My little boy is a moving target. He likes to throw me a curve ball just when I think I'm starting to get things figured out. Optimists would say "ah, it keeps you on your toes!" Well, I don't *want* to be on my toes. My body is too worn out from holding, bouncing and rocking the little bear!

Keenan threw me a curve ball himself just last week (is there some sort of chat room these two go to? www.howtomesswithmom.com??). After almost two years of being a professional butt-saver, the little stinker threw me under the bus. It's like all of a sudden he decided that the best way for me to figure stuff out was to cease being the world's most generous horse. Of course, he was right. I had to ride him like I've never done before - very forward and determined, with gritted teeth and a steely resolve that we WOULD do the line in three strides. We WOULD get our lead change as soon as possible. I went from riding in a very reserved, conservative way (the way I *had* to ride when there was a baby in my tummy) to having my guns blazing, with a "Seize the Day!" mentality. And darn if there wasn't a knowing look in that horse's eye when I put him back in his stall an hour later. He and Henri sure are smart.

Baby Henri meets some very special friends

These photos were taken in Henri's first week of life, but I'm just now getting around to posting them *sheepish grin*. This was his first real outing - of course, he slept the whole time, which was a-okay with me. The horses took varying degrees of interest in him - Keenan was a little on the ambivalent side (he did not understand how me holding the baby was better than the baby being in my tummy), Henry seemed afraid that the baby might eat him, Rapper was enthusiastic to the point of dangerous (isn't he always) and Reno...well, Reno fell head over heels, as I'm sure you can see. If Old Man Reno is still with us in a few years, I have every intention of him being Henri's first ride. Not that I'm anxious to pigeonhole our child, but if he wants to be the next Michael Matz, Jon French or David O'Connor, far be it for me to hold him back :)

Had to post photos separately for some reason...

It's getting tougher and tougher...

It's getting really hard to be at the barn these days.

I get tired SO easily, it's hard to get anything done with this tummy in the way, hardly ANY of my barn clothes fit and...well...sometimes I get really bummed out. It's tough to watch my friends, my horsey family, carry on with riding and training while I am stuck on the sidelines. I try not to be too much of a downer, but sometimes it feels like what I imagine a recovering alcoholic would feel like if he or she went into a bar. Maybe that's a weird way to think of it, but *shrug* there it is.

It's made all the more difficult by Keenan's attitude. I love that horse to death but MAN has he gotten cranky with me! Actually, it's not so much cranky as impatient. When I go out to see him, it's as if he can't decide whether he misses me or he's angry at me. It's actually kind of funny to be around him - he's trying to nip my shoulder and cuddle up to me at the same time. He wants to be loved but he also wants to punish me for "abandoning" him. He glares at my tummy, too - he's not sure how it works, but he knows that we haven't gone for a ride in over three months now, and that that bump has something to do with it!

Thankfully, Rapper is going about all this in exactly the opposite way. He's totally seeing this from a glass-half-full perspective. Mom's not riding me? No problem, I get to play outside more and torture Anna and Sophie! Mom's only visits once a week? No problem, I have Armando to annoy! He's happy to see me but he's not being a drama queen or trying to convince me that his world is coming to an end. Thank goodness!

I'm about a week and a half away from my due date and, pardon the phrase, chomping at the bit to get this pregnancy over with! For one thing, I am getting extremely uncomfortable - for another, IT'S ALMOST HORSE SHOW SEASON! I spent all last Friday at the Mother's Day Classic here in Eugene and it was wonderful/heartbreaking. I can't wait to ride again OR to show off my adorable baby boy to the rest of the Wilsonville gang!

I love my boys

It's MARCH?! Since when?

Okay, call me crazy, but I swear it was just Christmas! Okay, it was at least just Valentine's Day...where on earth does the time go? I have the feeling that time is going to keep flying by - until I'm three weeks from delivery, that is, THEN it's going to slow to a crawl so as to maximize my inevitable discomfort. It will then start a peculiar pattern of zipping by again during the wonderful moments of new-Momhood and all but stop during the sleepless nights, dirty diapers and teething months. Oh well, I guess, such is life.
I haven't written anything here for a couple months now. Obviously. I guess I don't want this blog to turn into a blog about babies and my pregnancy. Maybe I'll start a different blog for that, or write notes on my Facebook page, but this is supposed to be about my growth and development as a horsewoman; my goals, accomplishments, struggles and successes. I suppose I thought that since I'm entering the final phase of my pregnancy and haven't ridden in a month and a half, I didn't have anything to write about on the horse front. I know I'm still a horse-crazy gal, but I thought "what kind of things can I possibly be learning when I'm not even riding?" Much, as it turns out.
There have been times during my riding "career" (ha) that I have become too focused on winning and my accomplishments and haven't given enough thought to the amazing blessing it is just to be around horses at all. I am sure realizing this blessing now! Aside from a handful of very casual and abbreviated rides on Mr. Rapper, I have been "grounded" since early February. It can be very discouraging at times to watch my friends ride, train and grow without me, but I have come to appreciate the little things I do with my horses. Or, at least, I used to think they were little things. Now I understand that the groomings, the treats, the walks up the driveway are not "little" at all, but the very foundation of my horse-and-rider relationships. Rapper is reaping many of the benefits of my riding hiatus. After all, he enjoys grooming while Keenan frets and fidgets; he relishes long slow walks up the drive whereas Keenan tries to drag me facedown alongside him. Rapper turned 17 on March 8 and I can honestly say, I have never seen him so happy. I am very grateful for this time I am able to spend with him - it has made him so much calmer and responsive, I feel like I can do anything with him.
Keenan is definitely getting some of the perks. Rachel is schooling and hacking him nearly every day and I must say, I cannot WAIT to get back on such a fit and well-schooled animal. Rachel told me that she always wanted to ride Keenan (she spent her younger days watching him in the show ring) and she has been doing great things with him. I can tell Keenan is starting to wonder what the heck is going on with me, though - he's started to get a little edgy with me, like he's annoyed that we haven't gone for a ride in a long time. As much as it would pain me to say good-bye to my hunter boy for a few months, a part of me hopes I can find someone to lease him for the show season. He's such a phenomenal horse and really deserves to have a great show season with an Adult, Child - or Pre Adult or Child - rider in the saddle.
Well, we are on our way out the door for family dinner, but I hope to make more time to write soon. After all, I may be a Mom-to-be, but I am ALWAYS a horse girl, no matter what!

Award Time again!

On January 8th, OHJA is having its awards banquet and I thought I'd just make note of some of our accomplishments ("our" meaning Triple Rise) from this year.

Open System
Lauren and Bella - 2nd 3' Pre Green Working Hunter
2nd Adult Amateur Working Hunter (18-35)
2nd 18 & Over Hunt Seat Equitation, flat
3rd 18 & Over Hunt Seat Equitation, over fences

Julie and Henry - 4th Adult Amateur Working Hunter (18-35)
3rd 18 & Over Hunt Seat Equitation, flat
4th 18 & Over Hunt Seat Equitation, over fences

Debbie and Houdini - 3rd Adult Amateur Working Hunter (41 +)
7th Large Working Hunter
6th 18 & Over Hunt Seat Equitation, over fences

Regional System
Kate and Titan - 1st 3'3" Pre Green Working Hunter
2nd Adult Amateur Working Hunter (18-35)

Anna and Patches - 8th Children's Working Hunter (13 & under)
2nd Modified Child/Adult Hunter
2nd Pre Child Hunter
4th Small Working Hunter
7th Pre Child Equitation, flat
7th Pre Child Equitation, over fences

Kristine and Q - 5th Children's Working Hunter (14-17)
1st Modified Junior/Amateur Hunter
2nd Open Working Hunter
1st Children's Equitation, over fences (14-17)
5th 0.95-1.00 Meter Jumper
4th Low Child/Adult Jumper

Sophie and Jackson - 3rd Children's Working Hunter Pony
3rd Pre Child Hunter
5th Pre Child Equitation, flat
3rd Pre Child Equitation, over fences

Jessie and Honey - 4th Pony Working Hunter

Missy and Keenan - 1st Large Working Hunter
1st Pre Adult Hunter
2nd Pre Adult Equitation, flat
2nd Pre Adult Equitation, over fences

Holly and Lucky - 2nd Long Stirrup Hunter
1st Long Stirrup Equitation, flat
2nd Long Stirrup Equitation, over fences

Alison and Bijou - 4th Short Stirrup Hunter
4th Short Stirrup Equitation, over fences

Tamara, Jakob and Cloudy - 5th 18 & Over Hunt Seat Equitation, flat
3rd 0.85-0.90 Meter Jumper
5th Low Child/Adult Jumper 3'

Jessie and Houdini - 6th Children's Equitation, over fences (13 & under)


We pretty much rock :)

beach details and what's coming up

Don't have pictures of the beach, yet - Kate took them and she's a super-busy architecture student, so I understand the delay. I just can't wait to share! We had such a great day at the coast!

I'd been really nervous to take Keenan, because, unlike many of the other horses, no one seemed remember a time when Keenan had gone to the beach. And after my falling experience this summer after his several weeks off, I'm more aware of what Keenan is capable of when he's not 100% on board with something. I had visions of him bucking me off and taking off down the beach, never to be seen again. But Sarah assured me that everything would be okay, and the younger girls finally talked me into it. So I put a stronger bit on his bridle and prayed for the best! And it worked! Granted, he was definitely frisky, and not entirely convinced that going in the water was a good idea, but he seemed to really enjoy himself. We trotted, we cantered, we even made it into the ocean up to our knees! We chased sea gulls and stepped over driftwood - all the fun stuff that comes along with a trip to the coast, haha. And when it was time to leave, Keenan just stared wistfully out at the dunes - like he was saying "Why don't we just live here?" Can't wait for next year's trip!

But in the meantime, it's back to work...

We have a lot coming up this fall - schooling shows in early October and late November, a vet clinic with Lisa, Halloween Fun Day, the list goes on and on. Sarah is going to have me jump 3' at the November schooling show so that when Spring Hunter/Jumper rolls around next year, the height is not so scary. So needless to say, I have a lot to work on in the off-season!

beach day!

Went to the beach.

Took Keenan.

He rocked.

Exhausted.

Details (and hopefully pics) to come soon.

life is getting back to normal

Shows are great, but it feels good to be home. Back to evening lessons, watching kids learn how to tack up ponies and hearing Rapper nicker for me as I'm crossing the arena. One of the post-show things I love most is discovering how much the experience bonds Keenan and I. He always seems a little more attentive and snugglier after a show.
Tonight was a good solid night at TREC. Kristine and I were the only ones in our lesson, which was kind of nice. I love riding with Kristine - she's a good rider and watching her always helps me, even if we're working on different things. She works super hard and is really dedicated to what she does. Not to mention, she's working up to 3'6" right now, so if I'm good and work hard, too, I might get to jump her warm-up jumps, haha. Seriously, though, Sarah is planning on Keenan and I moving up to 3' next year. Not that that's anything new to Keenan (he's a pro), but I am really excited about it. We jumped 2'9" today in our lesson and it felt really good. I've actually jumped 3' a handful of times, but not consistently, like in a course or anything. The thing I was most pleased about was hearing Sarah say that my position is right where it needs to be, given what I am working on right now. I feel like I'm starting to develop more of an independent seat, release better over fences and not carry my hands too low. I still resort to kind of a schlumpy, hands-down position when I'm tired or we're working on something hard, but I feel like I'm getting better.
In other news, I think I discovered part of Rapper's recent problem. I know I didn't write about it or anything, but Rapper has been in this stage lately where he prefers that I not have any contact with his mouth while I'm riding. Anytime I'd try to connect with him or put him in a frame, he'd toss his head straight up in the air. Today, I put Keenan's double-jointed D-ring bit with the plastic mouthpiece and it was like night and day. He's still resisting, but not in a painful way. I'm really looking forward to working him harder now that I don't feel like his bit is hurting him.
*sigh* Glad to be home and back in a routine!

Spectacular results

Fancy and Kate: Reserve Champion - Modified Child/Adult Hunter
Henry and Julie: Champion - Adult Equitation, Champion - OHJA Adult Medal
Lucky and Holly: Reserve Champion - Long Stirrup Hunter, Reserve Champion - Long Stirrup Equitation
Jackson and Sophie: Reserve Champion - Pre Child Hunter Pony
Patches and Anna: Reserve Champion - Pre Child Hunter Horse
Keenan and Missy: Champion - Pre Adult Hunter, Reserve Champion - Pre Adult Equitation, 5th - OHJA Mini Medal
Q and Kristine: 7th - OHJA Children's Medal
Keenan and Jessie: 3rd - OHJA Children's Medal
Bella and Lauren: 6th - OHJA Adult Medal

And major congrats to Tamara and Jakob who got 4th (out of 14) and 5th (out of 20) in two of their jumper classes; and to Allison and Bijou who competed in their first 'AA' rated show and did a phenomenal job!

Spectacular photos

Tamara and Jakob

Clayton and Keenan became fast friends

Keenan with his Champion sheet and Grand Champion ribbon


look how handsome my boy looks - fancy or no



I'm finally not jumping ahead!

2010 Medal Finals girls!

we're both a little tired, can you tell?

Jessie and Keenan, taking 3rd in the OHJA Children's Medal

Julie and Henry with their Circuit Reserve Grand Champion ribbon in Adult Equitation

Lauren and Bella

Anna and Patches

Kristine and Q

Sophie and Jackson

what an end to the season!

Two weeks of horse shows...wonderful, yet exhausting! Northwest Spectacular was absolutely fabulous. It was the perfect way to end a wonderful show season. I am so proud of Keenan and very pleased with the progress we've made this year.
We started off the show by winning the OHJA Mini Medal on Thursday afternoon, thus qualifying us for Medal Finals. I knew going into the class that we had to get a fourth place or better in order to have accumulated ten points - but Tamara was having none of that kind of talk, haha. As I was mounting up, she laughed and said "Don't come back without the blue ribbon!" I smiled back and promised her I wouldn't. And it turns out...we didn't! I felt so great after that, like the Mini Medal curse had finally been lifted! I think part of why I did so well was because I wasn't heaping pressure upon myself. Sarah asked me before I went in the ring if, for some reason, I didn't qualify for Finals, could Jessie ride Keenan in the Children's Medal? See, she had qualified earlier in the season, but with Cody a little foot-sore, she didn't have a horse. I told Sarah of course, and so felt like if I didn't qualify, something good would still come of it. As it happened, she rode him in the Children's Medal anyway - but I'm getting ahead of myself.
Classes were a little turned around at this show for me, so Friday was equitation day. We won our first class and got a fifth in the next (ugh, I hate it when I do that...inconsistency is my number one enemy!). We pulled off a third in the flat class, which got us Reserve Champion for the division! Turns out, we had enough points to be Circuit Reserve Grand Champion - I didn't even know that was a thing until Jessie came bounding up to the barn with a giant red, white and yellow ribbon.
Friday evening was Medal Finals for everyone (well, it was supposed to be - they ended up having to push the Children's Medal to 7:30 the next morning because our daylight was waning). Jordan had designed what I thought was a heck of a course - tough, but not impossible, just as it should be. I was super nervous, but for once, I was able to breathe deeply enough to ride through it. After we finished our round, the announcer called out our score to the spectators - a 78. That was the highest score so far, and stayed so for awhile. At the end of phase one, when those points had been combined with our written test scores, I was in second place with a total of 87.
Saturday morning started with Jessie and Keenan blowing everyone else out of the water and getting a score of 84 in phase one of the Children's Medal. Keenan and I kept up the good work by getting a first and a second in our two Pre Adult Hunter rounds. Then, before I knew it, it was time for the second phase of Medal Finals. For us in the Mini Medal, that meant a flat class for the competitors with the top ten scores from phase one/written test. Well, after an ETERNITY of trotting and cantering (and an awesome part where the judge called for a halt and a reverse - I know that you're always supposed to reverse and continue at the same gait, so while a lot of the riders did a tiny circle and started walking, I turned Keenan on the haunches and continued to halt - Sarah smiled and winked at me from the rail) we lined up in the middle of the arena. Keenan and I wound up fifth out of the original 28 competitors! Not half bad for our first-ever Medal Finals! Jessie and Keenan got a third in the Children's Medal - that was such a proud moment for me, cheering on my boy. He worked so hard for Jessie and I over the weekend.
Just like the week before, Sunday was the quiet day. Keenan was so tired that instead of going for a gallop, Nathan and I took him for a walk around to stretch his legs. That seemed to agree with him - in fact, he really liked strutting around the show grounds, all braided up and spiffy. We finished up our hunter division by getting another first and second over fences, just like the day before. Our Under Saddle class that day was one of the best flat rides I've ever had on Keenan. We ended up in fifth, but with every step, I could tell that Keenan was trying his heart out for me. He was exhausted and wanted nothing more than to go back to the barn, but he stuck with me and was almost flawless. He couldn't help that other horses were more well-rested or "fancier" than him, he just gave me everything he had. Our points were enough for Pre Adult Hunter Champion and, as it turned out, Circuit Grand Champion as well! I honestly can't think of a better end to the year than that.

photos!

Oregon Summer Show

Wow, what a weekend! I'm still exhausted from it, so bear with me.
Keenan was an absolute stinker for Sarah in the Large Working Hunter classes but he and I won the Low Amateur 2'6" Hunter class on Thursday. That set us up for a great day on Friday - we got third in our schooling round but as soon as I got Keenan moving in front of my leg a little more we improved and won both our Pre-Adult Hunter classes over fences. We took sixth in the Under Saddle class because the other horses were "fancier" than my boy and Keenan spent the entire time trying to convince me that he didn't need to work hard. Saturday was, as has become my tradition, not as good. We got third in both our Hunter classes, but that was enough to clinch the division championship by 1.5 points (close one)! We also earned four more points toward qualifying for OHJA Medal Finals, now we just have to get a fourth place or better at this week's Northwest Spectacular to qualify!
The Hillcrest Starter Medal Final on Saturday night was, well, a complete disaster. I think it would have been okay if I'd managed to hold Mr. Keenan to a trot ALL THE WAY to the trot jump, but he decided that two trot strides was enough, then picked up a canter again. D'oh! We ended up finishing ninth out of ten competitors. Hey, that still got us a neck ribbon! A nice, pretty, light gray one. I'd really been looking forward to the victory gallop afterward, but as it happened, Keenan had a racetrack flashback and our gallop turned into a trot circle with a halt at the end in order to keep his sanity intact.
Sunday was like the calm after the storm. Even with as hard as I've been working, I'm not as fit as I should be and couldn't keep my legs from wiggling all over during the Equitation on the Flat. But, we did get a first and a third over fences, getting us reserve champion!
We had a great weekend as a barn:
Julie and Henry - Adult Amateur Hunter Champions, Adult Equitation Champions, Hillcrest Child/Adult Medal winner, Hillcrest Adult Medal Final winner, OHJA Child/Adult Medal winner
Holly and Lucky - Long Stirrup Hunter Reserve Champions and Long Stirrup Equitation Champions
Jessie and Cody - Children's Hunter 13 & Under Reserve Champions, Equitation 15 & Under Reserve Champions
Sophie and Jackson - Pre-Child Hunter Reserve Champions
Lauren and Bella - Pre-Green Hunter 3' Reserve Champions
Kristine and Q - Modified Junior/Amateur Hunter Reserve Champions
Also, Lauren and Julie rode in the $2,500 USHJA National Hunter Classic and even though they didn't place, they did really well. Katherine and Casper showed together for the first time in years and did really well, too!
Can't wait for Northwest!

calm. cool, collected

Okay, so crisis over. I'm no longer freaking out about a rough week of lessons. There's nothing better for the nerves than two great lessons in a row. On Friday and Saturday, we had Medal Finals prep courtesy of TREC's owner and head trainer Mike. Both lessons were amazing. On Friday, Mike had us hike up our stirrups to jockey length and gallop around the ring. THAT was fabulous - I've always wanted to be a jockey/exercise rider and with Keenan being an ex-racehorse, galloping around like that was exhilerating. On Saturday we switched horses so that Anna hopped on Keenan, Sophie had Patches, and I wound up with Jackson Browne, our smallest pony. Small, yes, wimpy, no. It was actually really fun trotting around on that little guy. And our course that day had a few tough spots and a gnarly turn at the end but it was just a really fun ride. The whole two days made me feel so much better about the next two shows. I was reminded of why I love to ride and what it's all really about. I think these next two weeks are going to be a blast.

there's a purple stain on my jeans that wasn't there this morning...

(just wanted to share a cute picture of my husband and I - he barely gets any airtime on this thing, haha)

...because I spent all afternoon in the washrack! Yes, today was bathtime for my boys! Keenan has been getting almost daily baths, what with horse show time being weeks away and his ability to get dirty at an almost freakish speed. Poor Rapper, though...baths have never been his favorite thing to do and he seems terrified to set foot in the wash stall. Still, he was a good boy tonight - it took only a little convincing to get him in there and a lot of cajoling to KEEP him in there. It was worth it, though. I forgot how drop-dead gorgeous that horse is when he's clean; his coat takes on this almost maroon glow.
And Keenan was SUCH a good boy. We just hacked tonight, no lesson, but I was super-impressed with how he felt. When he's moving in a frame and we're connecting, it feels like we're moving on a cloud. Yes, it's cliche` but that doesn't mean it's not true! I was super-sore after yesterday, but his gaits are so comfortable and he is so responsive that an ouchy back didn't bother me in the slightest. I seriously could not ask for a better horse!

weather's cooling down...competition's heating up

Well, it may not be 85 degrees every day, but that doesn't mean we're not working hard! Oh man, lesson today was IN-TENSE. With Medal Finals just around the corner, we can't afford NOT to be intense...we spent almost the entire lesson today working without our stirrups, at the canter. Ouch. Don't get me wrong, Keenan has a great canter, but...well, ouch! We were cantering two low cavaletti at a regular, extended and collected canter - working on getting 7, 8 and 9 strides in between the cavaletti. The hardest part was just the physical strain it was taking on me, haha. It's a simple exercise, but a hard one. Even cantering two cavaletti, there's a lot to think about and when you throw in me with no stirrups trying to maintain a connection with Mr. Keenan, it's not always the most graceful thing you've ever seen. And not without some frowning, huffing and puffing! The good news is, I survived - and up until that point where I thought I was going to die, we were doing really well! We started out with some trot work, to test if our horses were in front of our leg and to see how adjustable they were. Regular posting trot, extended posting trot, collected posting trot, collected sitting trot - the works. I loved collecting Keenan's trot - man, he's good at that! When we trotted by the mirror, it looked like we were barely moving at all and the way he was lifting his legs up instead of floating them out, he looked like a Baroque dressage horse! His extension was great, too - better than it normally is on my lazy-bones horse, that's for sure. *sigh* and then things got tough. It's okay though, the harder I prepare now, the better these next two shows are going to be!

portrait

I just got an e-mail from a fellow model horse collector (yes, go ahead and laugh, I still collect model horses) who wants to use Keenan as a reference for a customized model she's having painted! Apparently my boy has a quiet a following on ModelHorseBlab (keep laughing)! And why wouldn't he? He's gorgeous!

If only someone thought my little guy was pretty enough to paint...oh well, I do!

In a million years when I have saved up enough money, I'm going to have customs made of my boys. Carol William's Valor resin would suit Keenan perfectly - or a Peter Stone Palouse with its head tucked and mane and tail braided. I haven't found a mold or sculpture yet that perfectly epitomizes Mr. Rapper in all his glory, maybe Eberl's Tamino or a drastic CM'd Breyer PAM...yep, I'm officially a nerd.