More Horseplay

Jet and Montero are both pretty mild mannered but tend to play hard in the pasture. Jet usually starts it off but Montero gets a few good shots in. T was trying to replace Jet's fly mask but he wanted nothing to do with that. He would rather chase Montero around. It's great that they get along so well.

Horse Play 6/27/2009 from CTG Ponies on Vimeo.

Scenes from the Trail

The weather was really great this weekend and we managed to get a trail ride in. It was perfect riding weather. We met Penny and Razzle at the trail head and headed off. We rode in the woods, up the hill in the meadow, and also rode the end of the Perkiomen Trail to the Equestrian Campground. The path up to the campground is a long windy hill so, of course, T and Jet had to run at full speed. Montero was kind of tired at that point and cantered about half way and then settled into his gait. Penny and Razzle brought up the rear but kept pace with the other 2. It was a really great ride! I did manage to snap a few shots and quick video while on the ride but wanted to give my attention to Montero since it was only the second time that he had been on that trail.

Some of the photos in the video:

Sunday Stills Challenge - Things with Wings

This week's Sunday Stills challenge is Things with Wings. Since our pasture borders several large fields there's lots of birds that swoop in and out of the tall grass and hang out on the fence. They also like to hang around when the horses eat as they clean up any crumbs and they like to pick through the manure.

Some kind of finch. There were several of these milling around when I took this picture.

A barn swallow. This is one of a pair that have a nest in the rafters of the horse shed.

Swallow in flight. They move so fast it's hard to get a good shot of them.

A red winged blackbird.

The persistent fly on the roof of the truck cab that just would not leave.

A small airplane circling around to land in the local airport nearby.

Check out other bloggers who participate in the Sunday Stills Challenge.

Quietly Munching

The Pied Piper of Ponies

A mulberry tree hangs over the pasture where the 2 minis and the Welsh pony spend their days. The mulberries are a favorite treat and the 3 of them will stand patiently waiting for their snack.

Taking it on the Chin

T has 7 stitches in her chin and is going to have some spectacular bruises. She fell off her bike Wednesday night and her chin took the brunt of it. She chipped a tooth and I think one of the front ones may have shifted on top (thank heavens for the braces - they held her tooth in place). She has some small scrapes on the inside of her bottom lip too. A scrape on her elbow, her knee, her hand. Nothing broken that they could tell. She took a big chunk out of her chin and it was really deep. She flipped out a bit when we told her she had to have stitches and the needle for the anesthetic was painful but she's pretty tough. I think we need to stick to horses...

Skywatch No. 50

After several days of rain, we had some glorious sunshine in the late afternoon.

Jet quietly grazing.

Just a little later in the day. The skies were a wonderful shade of pink.This is Bingo, a Pony of the Americas mare.

Check out skies from around the world at Skywatch.

Window to the Soul

They say the eyes are the window to the soul. In Bandit's case, I think it's true.

Wordless Wednesday - Outlined by the Sun

My World Tuesday - Visitor

The pasture where we keep our horses boarders a large turf farm. The farm is no longer in business but a local hay farmer does cut and bale the grass. Since it's been raining so much, it hasn't been cut and is about waist high. There are 2 large fields separated by a tree line and the old farmhouse and barns. Lots of wildlife call this home including various types of birds, foxes, groundhogs and a herd of whitetail deer. We usually only see the deer at dusk but yesterday we noticed a darker spot among the seed heads of the grass. The only reason we spotted her is that we are on a hill and had a higher vantage point. This small doe very carefully made her way across the field. You could just about make out her ears as she turned to see what was going on. We were surprised to see only one deer as they are usually not solitary and where's there one there's almost always more. There are very plentiful around the area and can be a bit of a nuisance but I still think they are very pretty to watch.

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Sharing a Drink

We finally had a break in the weather and the sun actually came out. The afternoon was gorgeous. Jet and Montero shared a drink. It's a big tank but Jet has to drink the water from the same spot that Montero does.

Sunday Stills - Tri Color

This week's Sunday Stills challenge is tri color - the more colors in the shot the better. Sounds simple, right?

Tuesday and Wednesday, I had a two day meeting for work that I coordinated that included people from 9 countries and which I planned for weeks. Everything went well but it was exhausting and I feel like I lost 2 days somewhere. Add to that 15 out of 20 days of rain for the month of June and I'm not feeling terribly inspired. My garden is water logged and falling over, there's no color except gray, even the horses are crabby from the rain. Ok, enough whining, on to the challenge...
This is my daughter riding the opening ceremony for last week's gymkhana. It rained (big surprise!) so the skies were gray but the trees and wildflowers lent a bit of color to the background. Plus she had a red, white and blue shirt with lots of fringe. Proud mama moment - she won Grand Champion in Youth Division for the night (highest amount of points).

This is also from last week's gymkhana. This is my friend, her husband, and her son. It was her son's very first horse show and he was dressed to the nines for it - cowboy hat (helmet to ride in), new boots, jeans, button down shirt and safety vest. I really like this picture for the simple reason that while it was absolutely pouring and they were completely soaked, the whole family had a blast and was all smiles. The parents were good sports and he thoroughly enjoyed his first show. He even slept with his ribbon that night (too cute!).

Something that you don't know about me, probably because I've never mentioned it, is that I make jewelry. I started a couple of years ago and I did a couple of craft shows but found that I am not a good salesperson for that kind of thing so I decided to shelf it for a while. It's sort of had a resurrection as of late so I have been busy creating. Everything is hand made with whatever materials I come across. This is the bin of single/left over beads that I rummage through from time to time.

Some of the bracelets that I've made
And finally, a jar of buttons
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Tired and Happy

Bandit is one of those dogs that will run and chase a ball or frisbee until he literally falls over. We make sure that he takes a breather when he's been playing hard even if he thinks he doesn't need it. This is what he looks like after he's been playing frisbee and is just chilling. I made him go lay down since he wanted to play with a tennis ball even though he was breathing like a freight train. He slept well that night.

Skywatch No. 49

I had a 2-day meeting earlier at Normandy Farm, which is hotel and conference center housed in a historic farm that had been a dairy farm. This is the view from the meeting room on the third floor. They have done a very good job with keeping the aesthetics of the farmhouse while still offering a really well appointed hotel and conference center.

Check out skies from around the world at Skywatch.

Wordless Wednesday - Cat's Eyes

My World Tuesday - Cichlids

One of the things that keeps us busy is lots and lots of fish. Craig and T are trying to breed Cichlids. I couldn't tell you what kind but T can go into lots of detail. We've had some fish eggs and babies but none that have survived. Until now...

This is a breeding pair of Cichlids that have laid eggs and nurtured the babies so we now have a whole bunch of small fish. The tricky part is figuring out when mommy and daddy decided they aren't babies anymore and they become fish food. With any luck, some of these babies will survive and we will have hybrid Cichlids.

To visit other bloggers and experience a piece of their world, check out My World Tuesday.

June 12th Gymkhana

Our Saturday started off quiet enough. As we left home to head over to the barn to hook up the trailer and head over to the club grounds, we noticed 2 horses where they shouldn't be, in a hay field across the street from our development. Next thing we know they were in the road. We managed to catch them both - an Appaloosa and a huge Clydesdale and while Craig and Tessa stayed put with rope we had in the truck, I ran home and grabbed halters. Luckily a neighbor drove around and found out where the horses belonged and Rita was kind enough to hook up the trailer and haul them back home. So we had a slight delay but we were off...

The Buxmont Riding Club gymkhana was another success! T carried the American flag for the opening ceremony set to music. We got one class in before the downpour started and had a rain delay of about 45 minutes. We managed to get in 5 more classes before the last class was cancelled so everyone could get packed up before the next round of thunderstorms. I wasn't able to get a lot of pictures because of the rain and the quality of the light (lots of black clouds).

Opening Ceremony

T's show results for Youth Division:

On Jet:
Hoop the Barrel - 1st place with a time of 10.132
Poles - 3rd place with a time of 28.560
Double Bowtie - no time
Barrels - 2nd place with a time of 21.517
Magazine Race - 1st place with a time of 30.987
Keyhole - 3rd place with a time of 12.599
Grand Champion for High Points (by 1 point)

On Montero:
Hoop the Barrel - 5th place with a time of 10.836
Poles - 6th place with a time of 32.815
Double Bowtie - time of 24.825, not in top 6
Barrels - 3rd place with a time of 22.156
Magazine Race - 5th place with a time of 38.179
Keyhole - 2nd place with a time of 11.533

She is currently number 2 for year end points, working towards a jacket.

Hoop the Barrel on Jet

Double Bowtie on Jet

Double Bowtie on Montero

Poles on Jet

Poles on Montero

When we got back to the barn, there were some ponies loose so our day of catching horses wasn't over. All 3 were returned safe and sound to the barn and Jet and Montero got turned out with their late dinner. All in all, it was a good day despite the rain drops.

For more gymkhana pics and show information, please visit my Shutterfly site.

Sunday Stills - Water Towers or Grain Silos

This week's Sunday Stills challenge is Water Towers or Grain Silos. This one was a piece of cake as we are surrounded by farms with silos. Not so many water towers but silos abound.

This is a dairy farm that is across the street from the Kutztown Produce Auction. There's several silos on the property including a smaller one next to the barn. What I love about this farm is how clean everything is. Gotta love the dairy farmers - their barns are always immaculate.

This is the view from the horse barn. This farm sits on a turf farm and has been vacant for a long time. It's very picturesque in the morning mist.

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Farmer Fred

Every new critter that comes into our family is affectionately nicknamed "Fred" by Craig. Doesn't matter what kind of critter or what gender - everything is Fred. Jet was referred to as Fred for so long while we were deciding on a name that it *almost* stuck. Somehow the name Fred announced over the loud speaker at a show wasn't quite what T had in mind.

So, it's only fair that we refer to Craig as Farmer Fred when he's puttering around.

Cutting the pastures on the 1953 Jubilee Edition Ford tractor

Skywatch No. 48

After lots of rainy days we finally have had a break in the clouds. I took this today as the storm clouds and the mist/fog were clearing and the sun was breaking through. This is the sky above the horse pasture.

Check out skies from around the world at Skywatch.

Waving Wheat

This is wheat at the edge of a field that wasn't harvested. It looked so cool waving in the breeze.

Running Montero

Since we don't have a riding ring, we regulary ride our horses in our pasture. The pasture has a slight slope to it which is great for conditioning. T is working with Jet and Montero for the next gymkhana. This is an uphill run on Montero. It was very windy so the sound quality is really bad. Don't you just love the fashion statement too?!?

Wordless Wednesday - Peacock

My World Tuesday - My favorite tack shop

In this part of Pennsylvania, we are in horse country. Unfortunately for me, it's predominantly English riders and the tack stores either don't carry any Western or the selection is limited. The one store that does, Leid's Shoes and Saddlery, is very close to the Kutztown Produce Auction and is a regular stop for us when we are in the area. Leid's sells everything from hay and grain to tack and supplies and also washes and repairs blankets and can do leather. They have a great selection of tack including used saddles and we always find something while we are there. The store is located next to the Leid family farm and also carries fresh eggs.

Halters, bridles, saddles, blankets and more

They even carry driving harness

First Aid, general supplies, pet food

Breyer horses, wraps, blankets, fence supplies

Boots, helmets, chaps

Boots, boots and more boots

Saddle display behind the counter

To visit other bloggers and experience a piece of their world, check out My World Tuesday.