Orbit Around the Dragon Moon

Wow! A vacation sure does a body good! ^__^

Part of the family went on a trip to Eastern Oregon this week - my grandfather has been talking about the round barn that was built over 100 years ago, and how interesting it was that this rancher had decided to build a round barn for breaking in his draft horses and such. So we finally got organized and went to see it! With the added bonus of seeing part of the Malheur Wildlife preserve and possibly the Steens Mountains (home of the Kiger Mustangs, you know!).

( many rambles )

Wow, it's been a while since I posted here! Didn't mean to drop off the face of the earth, but it's been difficult posting to my main journal. The first week of 2009 has been much better, and hope to be more consistent around here as well. :o)

It's been a while. Darnit. Haven't been online that much, and haven't felt like posting when I have been online.

A couple of weekends ago Heather and I took Michael to the Enchanted Forest. He absolutely loved it!!! We had a great time as well. So neat to see all the things we used to like (the Crooked House still makes me feel sick and wrong!) and all the new stuff they have. Next year Heather and I want to go on some of the "big" rides, and Michael might be up for them next year. He actually enjoyed the Haunted House!! Heather isn't into scary houses, so I had to go with him. Eeek! He just about freaked out at one thing - turned a corner and heard a huge snap, not sure if it was a mouse trap or a shot, but it was loud!! He ran about ten feet backwards, but he was able to make it past it and we flew through the rest of the (very dark) house. lol. He really, really enjoyed the Old Lady & the Shoe slide. I think he probably went down it 50 or 60 times throughout the day!! So Enchanted Forest was definitely a hit!! Will post more about it when I get the pictures transferred off of my cell phone.

Went to a fantastic tack auction last week. They had around 100 saddles and then tons of other tack. They started out with the small stuff and then ended with the saddles. I ended up getting a blanket, a headstall/rein/breastcollar set, a three-hook horse rack to hang my necklaces on, an australian saddle and a western show saddle. O.o I've always wanted to try an australian saddle and they went very reasonably, and the western saddles were going cheap because it was after 11 and everyone just wanted to go. So they ended up putting the bulk of the saddles out and having people bid, then everyone who wanted one could get one at that price. Fabulous!! Had the opportunity to try out the australian saddle this weekend and it will be really nice when I get used to it. The seat is super comfortable, but the stirrups are too long and I think I'll take it in to the saddle guy instead of doing it home style. I've never had much luck with hole punching leather, anyway. lol. Haven't had a chance to try the western saddle yet. It's gorgeous. I bought it instead of a trail saddle because it's beautiful and because my sister frowns upon the synthetics. It's way lighter than the roping saddles, so it's a good deal. And the Australian saddle is actually an endurance saddle, so it will be awesome for the trails! Not sure if all tack auctions are as fun as this one was, but I'm so glad we went to it!

http://thepugnaciousvegetarian.wordpress.com/2008/08/05/the-loneliness-of-the-lone-kool-aid-pickle/#comments

Kool Aid pickles!! They look interesting and are intriguing. Shall have to get up the nerve to attempt making some!

Yesterday we went to the Scandinavian Festival. We had Michael with us, so perusal of booths was at a minimum. ;D We had a great time watching him attempt the Rock Wall, though. OMG, too cute! I wish we'd been able to get a picture of him. He'd get about 1/3 of the way up and then just swing. They finally had a second aebelskiever booth, so we were able to get some this year! They're so yummy. Found the neatest jewelry booth - they make necklaces out of stones from all over the world, and also from coins from all over the world! Some really beautiful ones. I splurged on a red paua (?) stone from New Zealand, which looks similar to the abalone only it is a really rich red. And then also on one of the more frugal horse coins - the one I got was from Lithuania. Next year I'd like to get the Great Britain sidesaddle coin - size of a silver dollar and quite beautiful!

Today was the big day - we took Bo and a couple of saddles to the sale. We were nervous about how Bo would be at a strange and full-of-action place, but he did absolutely wonderful. The trailer ride made him nervous, but the rest of it he was a champ. Unfortunately, all the horses were going for next to nothing or people would say it didn't meet their minimum and they'd withdraw them. So Bo only brought about 1/3 of what I paid for him, which sucks, since he's a nicer horse now than then. *sigh* Oh well, it looks like he'll be going to a good home! I hope he works out for her, because he was a sweetheart and had some really nice qualities. And both saddles sold, so at least that's something. :o)

We ended up not riding yesterday. Saturday mornings we typically have a family breakfast, and then we had to make a long overdue garbage run. We discovered that Rocky had a dewclaw that was starting to pierce the pad underneath the dewclaw. Rocky is "blessed" with double dewclaws, but this was a new development.

EDIT: Need to change Rocky's picture from huge to "web" sized. Gah!

Our clippers don't open (you have to slip the claw into them), so we took Nate and Rocky to the new "wash them yourself" place. The lady there used a Dremel to grind/cut the dewclaw. We'll keep an eye on it and take him to the vet if it doesn't heal up right away. Rocky survived his first bath with flying colors and was a champ. He was snoozing next to the tub when we gave Nate his bath, so it wasn't too traumatic for him. *G* She also takes pictures of the dogs, so it's too bad she wasn't able to catch Nate with his head lying out the side of the tub with his patented "I'm so miserable I could die" look. hehe.

( two pictures of Cactus )

This has been a very hectic week - I wouldn't have thought that the holiday over the 4th would have impacted the following week so much, but I guess it did! We had a zillion calls on Monday and Tuesday, and then the last two days of the week were just long and chaotic. Hopefully it'll be back to the normal level of craziness next week. ;D

This morning we (Papa, Grandma, Mom and me) went to Cottage Grove Rodeo to watch the slack. (Not an "actual" performance with huge crowds, but you still got to watch competitors in the timed events. Nicer in the sense that it's not crowded and no fee for spectators.) It was a really nice morning. We got to see the team roping, tie-down roping, steer wrestling and barrel racing, as well as breakaway. That was cool, because it tends to only be at the amateur rodeos instead of the pro rodeos. It's amazing how fast some of these events can go - 3 seconds for several of the breakaway ropers! And under 19 seconds for most of the barrel racers and team ropers. Wow!

It was hot, so we stopped at DQ on the way home for shakes. I broke the mold and got the Thin Mint Blizzard instead - that was pretty good! Even better than the actual cookie, which I find a little dry.

We haven't ridden since last Sunday (various reasons), so we really didn't want to skip today too. So we (sis, mom and me) saddled up and rode for a little while. It was hot enough that we only walked, but it was still a good ride. My silly dog couldn't wait in the shade while we rode (like Rocky did), but stayed out in the hot sun right by the gate so we'd get the hint that it was time to go back. lol. I think by the end of the afternoon I may have been exposed to too much sun, but hopefully it won't be too bad. I did wear sunscreen! Will know more tomorrow.

It's always fun to wake up at 4 and not be able to get back to sleep. *sigh*

Yesterday was a good day. Started out with a nice family meal - my cousin P came over for breakfast, because afterwards she and my Mom were going to help Grandma clear out her closet and shoe collection. o.O Turns out that they did an amazing job - filled up the back of the van with clothes and shoes! My grandma has a harder time letting go of that stuff than I do, so I know it was an experience for everyone. lol.

My sister and I rode the horses over the trail. It is absolutely wonderful to be able to ride all the way up the hill again!! YAY!! I'll have to start hiking it again as well - there are a lot of sticks down in some areas due to the logging they did this fall and due to the tractor work to clear out the trail. So I'll toss those off the trail. Not sure I'll make it clear to that point on foot the first time out, though. Cactus is a really nice horse in the arena and out on the trail. We haven't decided if we're going to try to go over the hill again today or if we'll just ride in the outdoor arena - depends on timing at this point. As stiff as I was yesterday when we got back, I thought I'd be too sore today but so far seem to not be creaking around too bad. ;D

Speaking of horses, these Best Friend bareback pads sound awesome! I am going to have to get the western style pad - the pockets would definitely be nice! While in theory you might be able to ride that pad over the hill, I'm not that keen on the idea. I rode Crisco over the hill truly bareback the other year, but I did fall off at one point and the rest of the time it was just more work than it was worth to stay on. But it would be nice to just ride for 30/45 minutes after work without it taking almost as long to tack up or needing help lifting Cactus's heavy saddle. Save the long rides for the weekends or my day off that way!

The Belmont was a combination of a let down and a beautiful race by the winner. I've been so excited the last few times that we might actually have a Triple Crown winner after so long, and Big Brown seemed like he had such promise to be able to do it! Yesterday just wasn't his day, though, regardless of the reason for it. Disappointing in that aspect, but Da'Tara ran an absolutely wonderful race from start to finish. You don't see the front winner pull that off very often!

One of the commentators made a comment that (the racing committee??) may consider the timing of the Triple Crown - I think they are considering making the time longer between them? While I think that's better for the horses in the long run, I'm not sure that it would still have the same effect of winning the Triple Crown. Isn't the whole point of it that it's very difficult and only the absolute best can win it? I wouldn't think that winning it in a longer stretch would give you the same degree of "Wow!" that the past winners have. But maybe that's just me. And it's purely speculation at this point, anyway.

http://www.warhorsechallenge.com/warhorseinfo.htm

OMG, that would be so cool!! And it's fairly local - it's at least in the Pacific Northwest! I love watching the jousting and stuff at the renaissance festival, so it's neat to have a whole show based on war horses and events! Definitely something that would be fun to do in the future, if all works out well. Costuming would be great fun, but sewing isn't my thing at all. So we'll see if that is a possibility at all. ^___^

Years and years ago, I bought an english saddle at a small sale on a whim. My sister and I attempted to ride it a few times, but really, had no idea what we were doing. I don't think it actually fit our horses (one wide backed QH and one american shetland pony) very well. Or at all. lol. So, it basically was relegated to the back of the tack room. Today I unearthed it and oiled it up - it actually still looks pretty decent. I don't think it will sell for very much, but a little is better than having it be unused in our tack room.

Rode this afternoon with my sister - had a really nice time. We visited quite a bit, and spent ages up there riding. Cactus stumbled while cantering but somehow everything lined up right and I was able to pull him up with the reins. It happened too fast to be scary, which is sort of a good thing. :o) My new boots will be comfortable, I think. They were a little stiff the first 30 minutes and my stupid right sock wouldn't stay up, but they felt good after that.

There's a possibility that my grandpa may have been able to clear out the horse trail on the hill. He took the tractor up there and it sounds like he made it to the Scotch Broom patch. Grandma said that he told her it was 20 feet tall! Scary thought. Something went wrong with the tractor, though, so I don't think he was able to get a path through the Scotch Broom, which is too bad. That's the part that's been nigh impassable for the last couple of years. But at least we'll be able to make the whole lower circuit now.

We've been watching Extreme Cowboy Race on tv, and it's pretty entertaining. The host is a bit too much sometimes, but he's nice enough. I had read an article about Wendy riding a pony last year and doing super well, and she has another pony in it this year. He's a pretty little buckskin welsh cross. Anyway, she must be a fabulous trainer because she does all sorts of "wow" things with her horse - in the last round she took off his bridle and just used the reins around his neck for the final flying run home. The preview for the final round shows that she's going to have him kneel/lay down in order to mount, which is a pretty neat little trick.

It's always sad to see a horse put down due to injuries - just found out that they had to put Teddy down after an injury at home. From the USEF statement, it sounds like he spooked and ran, then slipped and sliced up his tendons. Scary how quickly something like that can happen. :(

From USEA:
Lexington, KY − The United States Equestrian Federation is devastated to report that Theodore O’Connor was humanely euthanized today as a result of an injury sustained in an accident at Karen and David O’Connor’s barn in The Plains, VA.

The 13-year-old eventing super pony defied odds and gravity throughout his career. Standing only 14.1 hands, the Shetland/Arabian/Thoroughbred cross gelding was the reigning Team and Individual Gold Medalist from the 2007 Pan American Games and had top six finishes at the Rolex Kentucky Three-Day Event in 2007 and 2008. He was the 2007 USEF/Farnam Horse of the Year and recently had been named to the USEF Short List for Eventing for the 2008 Olympic Games.

Ridden by three-time Olympic veteran Karen O’Connor, ‘Teddy’ made friends and picked up fans everywhere he went. Seeing was believing with Teddy as it seemed impossible to imagine that a pony of his size could do his job with such tremendous ease.

Contact info at the USEA site for comments and thoughts. I'm so glad that I got to see him compete (at the trials?) earlier this year. Thank goodness some equestrian events still get televised, because it was neat to see him in action.

Teddy over Calumet Farms jump

Teddy over Rolex jump

Neat underneath shot, but it's got lines and grey spots in it. The tiny preview was cool.

Another Rolex jump

Water jump

Cool jump!

Another cool one. Though it is a small picture.