Wordless Wednesday - Trotting through the Woods

Saturday's 4H Show

T and Zip did really great at Saturday's show.  She got 1st in barrels, 2nd in Poles (even though he knocked down 2 poles), and 3rd in Keyhole.  Plus she has some points for year end and her requirement of showing at one pointed show is now complete.  She needs to finish her project book and barn inspection and then she has met all of the requirements for Roundup.

Warming up

Barrels

Barrels

Poles

Poles

Keyhole

After the pointed classes were finished, the 4H leader decided to do a Fastest Lap class, just for fun.  T and Z finished at just over 18 seconds which was the best time.

Fastest Lap

Fastest Lap

One more 4H show this season and then it's county Roundup!

Rebranding

I have been sort of rearranging things (electronic and otherwise) and projects and have decided to "rebrand" myself as far as photography goes.  I have slowly made the transition to G. Elton Photography.  New logo designed, new cards ordered, new photo book ordered, moving right along...What do you think??

Sunday Stills - Black & White or Sepia

This week's Sunday Stills Challenge is Black & White or Sepia.  I'm trying to get pics taken for each week's Sunday Still but it seems sometimes that I just can't get there...Anyway, back to Black & White or Sepia.

I'm not a huge fan of Black & White/Sepia (I really like vivid colors) but I thought this pic really lent itself to monochromatic.  This is Zip spiffed up and braided for the 4H grooming & showmanship requirement.  Something caught his attention while he was waiting in his stall and he posed for me.  I love it.  He's not a classicly pretty or handsome horse but there's something about him.  He's come along way since he stepped off the trailer 2 years ago.

Original

Sepia

Black and White

View other Challenge participants here

Riding

Things have been so busy that I haven't had many opportunities to ride and it's been very hot and humid so the motivation factor is out the window.  I did get the opportunity to ride Rocky with just a bareback pad on Thursday.  We are working on turning and staying in a consistent gait and I think that whoa is his favorite thing to do.  What a great little horse!  

Today is the pointed Bits and Pieces 4H Show.  T has to show at least one pointed 4H show as a requirement for Round Up so this will be one more thing to cross off the list.  She will be riding Zip in Barrels, Poles and Keyhole.  I hope the thunderstorms hold off and she has fun!

Riding in the 4H ring after Grooming & Showmanship

Tomorrow we are planning a morning trail ride in the woods.  Should only bean easy one and then maybe some more work with Rocky but I'm looking forward to it.

Grooming & Showmanship...done!!

T fulfilled her Grooming & Showmanship requirement for 4H.  It's definitely not her thing but she got through it and she got to ride when she was finished.

A couple of requirements left and she's eligible to show for county Roundup which qualifies for Regionals and ultimately States.

Grooming and Showmanship

Tonight T will be fulfilling her Grooming and Showmanship requirement for 4H. It's not a class she normally shows but it's good for her to know and part of the requirements for her 4H project. One more thing to cross off the list! I'll try to get pics.

A Picture-less Weekend

It was a busy weekend and I had my camera along but never really took it out of the case.  Hay auction on Saturday.  We had 6 really nice round bales delivered - alfalfa/grass mix.  Trimmed feet on Zip, Maccabee and Rocky.  Lots of clean up, filling up water tubs, putting out a new round bale.  It's been hot here so I'm not terribly motivated to ride during the day and don't always get to it once the sun goes down.  Sunday we went out to breakfast, spent a little time at the barn, came home for some unusual downtime and then back to the barn.  Craig and The Girls are off to New Holland and the grain mill this morning.  T has her Grooming & Showmanship requirement tomorrow night at the 4H meeting.  Busy start to the week!

A Team

T and Zip have come a long way since we bought him in September of 2009.  It's so much fun to watch them grow as a team.  He has gone from scared and high strung to mellow and trusting.  She has gained so much confidence working with him.

Becoming a Solid Citizen

Rocky has been coming along really well.  Once he healed up from gelding and having his wolf teeth extracted, we turned him out with the herd (after checking with the vet to make sure he would be ok around the mares).  No studdish behavior or even any aggressive behavior at all.  The introduction to the herd was a total non-event.  Maccabee tried to get him to run around a bit but that was about it.  He mostly hangs out with Rooster and Rosie and all of the horses eat around the round bale together and hang out in the shed together.  He totally gets herd dynamics and the older horses are teaching him a lot.  He comes in daily for grain and has free choice hay/grazing in the field.  T started him under saddle.  Now the real work begins...

View video of his first ride here

Wordless Wednesday - 12 Little Peeps

Reserve Champion

T and Zip had an awesome night on Saturday at the Buxmont gymkhana.  The footing in the ring was good since it had rained earlier and the ring had been raked really well.  She got all first and second place ribbons with a no time in pole bending - they've done that pattern so many times but knocked a pole down.  It was cloudy and threatening rain but the rain held off until the last class.  We got back to the barn at twilight.

Click to biggify

T and Zip have grown so much as a team.  She is able to get on Zip before the classes and ride him around which was not a possibility last year.  He goes into the ring much quieter and seems to be enjoying himself more.  It's fun to watch them go.

Show Time!

Off to the Buxmont gymkhana this afternoon - between the rain drops and thunderstorms.  The earlier show got a late start which will probably delay our start but...oh well, that's showing.  Wish T luck!!

Training Session

My friend Michelle asked me to take some pics of her and her assistant working with two young Thoroughbred fillies so we could send to the owner.  I put everything together in a slide show.  These girls are headed for the race track.  It was a lot of fun and I got to practice taking pics from some different angles.

"Miss Tea Party & Miss Ribit"

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Wordless Wednesday - Race Horse in Training

4H Show

T's 4H club, Timbertalk Trotters, asked me to take pics at their pointed show on May 21st.  This was a challenge since they run over 70 classes in two rings at the same time.  Craig manned a second camera for me and T assisted (she didn't show since she had another local gymkhana the next day).  We took over 600 pics and I was really happy with the results.  This is a slideshow for the club's website:

"Timbertalk Trotters 4H Show 5/21/2011"

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The weather was beautiful and the kids did a great job.  It was fun to take pics but exhausting at the same time.  You can see the entire gallery of 500+ photos here.  Any opinions are appreciated!

I've been a bad blogger...

I can't seem to find enough hours in the day to get everything accomplished. I'm behind on laundry, I've got lots of pics to download/edit/compile into videos. This working for a living sure sucks :)

I will make more of an effort to get posts up ever day and comment on other blogs (I do read them in Google Reader). Stay tuned for lots of updates.

Looking Good

Rocky continues to gain weight and energy and to heal from being gelded and having his wolf teeth pulled.  Most of the old hair has shedded out and his new coat has grown in well.

We are hoping to turn him out with the rest of the herd soon.  The vet had told us to wait at least 10 days after he was gelded since there's one last chance for him to breed a mare right after being gelded (we certainly don't want that!) but 10 days out was safe enough.  I would like to wait about 2 1/2 weeks just to be cautious and to make sure that he's healed.  He is very interested in all of the horses in the herd, especially Zip, and calls to them whenever they come into the barn or one of them walks by.  We have made introductions over the fence with Zip, Rosie and Rooster.

I would love to know what Rosie was thinking.

Saying hi to Zip.  Zip just took it all in stride.

Wordless Wednesday - Baby Baby Baby