Skywatch Friday - Season 4, Episode 42

Late afternoon sky with a touch of pink

View skies from all over our planet at Skywatch

Selective Color & Photo Editing

I have had a lot of fun this week playing with different effects for some of the pics from the horse show.  One of my favorite effects is selective color where only a select piece of the picture is color and the rest is black and white.  I also love softening a photo.  It adds a mystical quality to it.  Along with the Wordless Wednesday post, these are some of my favorites.

My daughter warming up for the Western Pleasure classes

A friend & fellow Buxmont member also warming up

A friend and his mare in a Western Pleasure class (same horse from Wordless Wednesday)

All of the photo editing was done using Picnik.

Wordless Wednesday - PB, Half Arabian Mare

The Eyes Have It

A sleepy Kali waiting for her class

Her buddy Zip who wasn't quite sure what I was doing

Macro Monday - Maple Leaves

Japanese Red Maple tree in my garden, in the rain

Craig took this one so he gets the credit.  I'm still tired from 11 hours of horse shows on Saturday.

First Show of the Season - DONE!

We headed out to the first of the Buxmont shows for 2010 on Saturday.  We decided to show Kali in Green Western Pleasure and we brought Zip along for the gymkhana later in the day.  The Western Pleasure show had a record number of horses and was running late.  We got to the show grounds around 11 AM, T didn't head into her class until some time after 4.  Kali pinned in 2 of the 3 classes while Zip cheered her on from outside the ring.  Zip was very well behaved all day, probably because he had Kali with him. 

Green Western Pleasure

I really love this picture and I'm going to do some editing to enhance it.

The gymkhana started about an hour late so we were hustling to get all the classes in before the rain started. 

The gymkhana warmup looked a bit like a circus.

Zip did really well and was Grand Champion for the show on Zip but the surprise of the night was Kali who actually beat Zip in 2 classes and took first place for barrels.  T won some cash in an open money run on Zip for 50 yard dash (she came in 2nd and money pays for 1st, 2nd and 3rd).  T rocked and I'm very proud of her!

Zip's times and placings
Bootlace 1st – 25.967
Pole Bending 1st – 28.037
Bat the Bottle 3rd – 17.450
50 Yard Dash 4th – 8.576
Keyhole – No time
Scramble 1st – 17.507
Barrels (Clover Leaf) 4th – 21.287
GRAND CHAMPION!

Kali's times and placings
Bootlace 3rd – 29.537
Pole Bending – 38.754
Bat the Bottle 2nd – 16.924
50 Yard Dash 2nd – 8.357
Keyhole– No time
Scramble – No time
Barrels (Clover Leaf) 1st – 19.958

Bootlace on Zip

Poles on Kali

Poles on Zip

Since it was late in the day and a storm was looming, I wasn't able to get great pictures for the gymkhana.  You can see more pics here.

Sunday Stills - Barns

This week's Sunday Stills Challenge is Barns.  I was seriously short on time this week since we helped at the riding club to get ready for the start of show season and we had our own get-ready time.  We are lucky enough to live in an area that is rural and mostly farmland so there is an abundance of barns.  These are from my archives.

Field stone foundation for an old barn

Dairy farm across from Kutztown Produce Market

Pennsylvania Bank Barn, used for horses

Abandoned barn that will be torn down to make way for a school

You can see other contributors to Sunday Stills here.

Show Season 2010

Today is the start of show season for us.  Buxmont Riding Club is having their first Western Pleasure and Gymkhana shows of the season (6 total for each).  

Zip will be making his show debut in 7 gaming classes.  T has been working hard to get him acclimated to working patterns and turning.  I think he's ready.

And if all goes as planned, T will also show Kali in Green Western Pleasure earlier in the day (2 shows back to back).  Busy day!

WISH US LUCK AND CHECK BACK FOR SHOW RESULTS!!

Skywatch Friday - Season 4, Episode 41

Last night's sunset

View skies from all over our planet at Skywatch

Fly Like a Bird

Every time I watch this it makes me laugh.  Jet thought she was taking off.  He's such a good guy!

Fly Like a Bird from CTG Ponies on Vimeo.

First show of the season is Saturday so we will all be busy little bees until then.

Wordless Wednesday - Newborns

Almost the Same Size

I haven't been able to get many pictures of Zoey and Bandit lately, mostly because Zoey doesn't stand still long enough and she requires all of your undivided attention with her boundless energy.  She's grown so much and is now almost the same size as Bandit.

A rare moment, sitting still waiting for a cookie

Macro Monday - Hellebore

One of my favorite flowers, this is a Hellebore.  This was taken at the garden at the 4H center.  For some reason, I don't have this planted in my garden at home.

You can find Macro Monday here

Old Stone Bridge

One of the old stone bridges in the area.  This bridge is closed to traffic.  Most of the old stone bridges are either being closed permanently or are being replaced by more modern sturdy one.

Skywatch Friday - Season 4, Episode 40

Late afternoon sun washed out the sky and provided a great reflection on the creek

View skies from all over our planet at Skywatch

Freedom of Movement

Kali, Zip and Jet enjoying a good run in the field

Wordless Wednesday - "TA DA" and a horse worth his weight in gold

A Good Gallop

T is very much enjoying the conditioning track.  It gives her the chance to really work Zip at a gallop and it has the added benefit of giving her parents gray hairs  ;)

A Good Gallop from CTG Ponies on Vimeo.

Macro Monday - Wildflowers

We took a ride the other day and stopped at an old bridge along the creek (more pics of that later this week).  Along the hillside were these really pretty wildflowers.  The blue ones are blue bells but I'm not sure what the other one is.

You can find Macro Monday here

Sunday Stills - Hands

This week's Sunday Stills Challenge is Hands.  I wasn't sure what I was going to use but then Craig took some pics of T being silly on Jet.  I think this one is perfect.

He's such a good boy to let her do stuff like this.

You can see other contributors to Sunday Stills here.

It's a big pond...

but for some reason they all needed to drink from the exact same spot.  And the funny thing is they lined up in size order, shortest to tallest (Zip is the tallest, Kali in the middle, Jet is the shortest).

Skywatch Friday - Season 4, Episode 39

The moon at sunrise

View skies from all over our planet at Skywatch

A Girl and Her Horse

Wordless Wednesday - Taking a Sip

Playing in the Pond

We did get a chance to ride at the new farm this weekend but I took it easy since I wasn't feeling well.  T had the chance to run each horse on the track (she galloped about half way which was a quarter mile and slowed down for the rest) and rode each in the indoor.  When we were finished on Sunday, we were playing around in the pasture.  T wanted to see if Kali would go in the pond but Princess Kali had other ideas so she set her sights on Jet (Zip was in the back corner eating hay - I swear he doesn't really like people but lots of treats will fix that).

Since Jet was so willing to go in, I suggested she get reins and her helmet so off to the barn she headed.  I gave her a leg up and she headed into the pond.

I love the fact that she was having a great time and was all smiles.

She headed off to the other side where it was a bit flatter.

Kali followed along to see what was going on.

The water was a bit deeper near the bridge.

Jet settled down to take a drink.

It was a fun experience and I look forward to being able to ride in and along the creek in the near future.

Macro Monday - Blooming Trees

All of the ornamental fruit trees in our development are in full bloom.

My neighbor's tree

It sure looks pretty but it smells terrible

Still Here...

I have a cold this week that is totally kicking my butt.  I spent most of Saturday sleeping and finally ventured out into the sunlight today.  Some things changed this week and the horses are now at another farm in the next town.  All are settling in well and T and I got some riding in.  The new farm has a 1/2 mile conditioning track which has been great for T to work Jet and Zip.  Even Kali got a run on the track, part of it anyway.  1/2 mile is way too much of a run so T's doing one long stretch and taking it easy the rest of the way.  We've also ridden all 3 in the indoor to get them used to it.  The pastures have ponds so T rode Jet bareback into the pond for the first time today.  Pics to post later this week.

Skywatch Friday - Season 4, Episode 38

The spring sky reflected in the creek

Green grass is just starting to spring up

View skies from around the world at Skywatch

I won an Avatar Challenge for April!

I'm so excited!  I won the April Avatar Challenge for the Spring Blooms group on RedBubble.  For the month of April, my photo is the one you see for the group. 

My RedBubble profile