Dec

1

Santana is Home!

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That’s right, Santana is back home!

Wait, what do you mean I never mentioned that he’d left? Are you sure? It was a full 4 months ago, and I’ve been doing a really good job of keeping my blog up-to-da…. oh.

Well, regardless, Santana is now home from training. They did a good job with him there and he’s all shiny and muscled up and cute and fairly well-behaved under saddle. He’s also become an evil mastermind when it comes to escaping from his stall, though.

At first I made plans to hit the US Treasury building with my newfound lock breaking wizard (Merry Christmas to ME). Then I realized that they probably don’t use elaborately-tied pieces of baling twine to secure their building. If they did, though, I would be rolling in it (money… not twine… or anything else that one might roll in, especially nothing like what my sister’s dog rolled in during their Thanksgiving visit).

Speaking of Thanksgiving, you can anticipate a post all about it in approximately 7 months and 2 days (spoiler: we ate a lot of food… wait, crap, that is pretty much the entire post).

Sep

22

Fantastico

Filed Under horse shows, horses, tennessee walkers | 1 Comment

Hopefully you read my last entry and guessed that I went to the Tennessee Walking Horse National Celebration.

My dad and I journeyed down to Tennessee where we had a hell of a time. We met fantastic people, got to watch the best horse show on Earth, enjoyed some good ol’ Southern food, and did I mention the horse show? The best of the Tennessee Walking Horse breed come to compete for World Championship and World Grand Championship honors over the 10 days on the Celebration.

We only went for the final 3 days, when the World Grand Champions are crowned, but next time we’re going to need a few more days to fit everything in.

No doubt about it, the final class, aka the Big Stake, is the culmination of the whole event. Over 20,000 people attended the show that night to cheer for their favorites. And cheer we did!

This video is of the entrances by the contenders for the Big Stake — 11 horses were eligible to show and 11 answered the gate call. They are announced one-by-one as they come into the ring and it is pretty clear to see who the favorites are. My cheers went for the mare, Victoria’s Secret. She got reserve in the class, though I maintain that she probably deserved 1st (and a couple of the judges agreed with me). Listen to the crowd when her name is announced!

Jul

8

All Grown Up

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2 years old.
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4 years old.

He’s gotten so big and filled out a ton in the past few months. He came here in December, shorter than Piecey, and now he is taller and kind of resembles a tank.

It may look like his tail has not grown a bit in the past two years, but let me assure you, it has. It was just about down to the ground last summer and then a horse in a neighboring stall chewed it off to a few inches below the hocks (cue massive weeping and gnashing of teeth from yours truly). He has not put on as much tail growth as an older horse would have, since he’s been putting so much energy into growing his massive shoulders as well as breaking things in the barn.

Jun

20

Puddle Jumping

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My sister Lil and I are out gallivanting in the great Pacific Northwest. We flew in today, which was my first time flying EVER. The trip to Washington was actually quite uneventful and not the least bit scary. We had a 3 hour layover in Seattle before getting on a “puddle jumper,” aka a small aircraft, and flying in to Portland. I didn’t like the small airplane at all, but luckily they did provide free beer and wine on the 1/2 hour flight. So, y’know, that goes a way to win me over.

Besides puddle jumping, I have not been doing any sort of even semi-athletic movements for the past fews days. Santana, aka “Mr. Mega Bucks,” decided to audition for the rodeo on Wednesday when I rode him. I hit the ground pretty hard, but after I got my breath back (from all the cursing), I got back on. Santana took the opportunity to do an encore performance as I was mounting, which served to reacquaint me with the ground. Uncharacteristic of him for sure, but such is life with horses. I think he’ll probably be going to a trainer soon to let them deal with whatever demons he has.

In the mean time, I’ve been hobbling about with a very sore hip and wrist and a scraped up arm and chin. It’s not exactly the worldly traveler image I was going for.

Jun

6

Various Thoughts, the punchy edition

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1) Sometimes I worry about people who shop at J. Crew. Sure, some things look classy and well-made, but then there’s stuff like this:


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That is what looks like a Hanes undershirt (the kind that comes in a 2 pack!) with a large dead squirrel draped over the shoulder. It costs $148. I think I could make a pretty good replica (I would even forgo the dead squirrel for something more attractive) for, oh, about $5. And I would sell it to you for $140. It’s a steal!

2) I also sometimes worry about people who go onto “What Not to Wear” and freak out about having their hair cut. Mostly because:
A) You’re getting a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to go on the show. Take some risks!
B) You’re getting, like, 5 MILLION DOLLARS (or thousand, whatever) to buy awesome clothes and get a professional makeover. Your hair is part of it, you knew that getting in, suck it up!
C) It’s hair. IT GROWS BACK.

3) Lil and I leave for Portland in under 2 weeks! I’ve been put at ease by the several hour-long special marathon of a tv show called “Crashes that Changed Flying,” news reports on the recent plane crash and Mom’s helpfully informative input on planes being TORN APART IN THE SKY.

4) Santana, aka “Destructo,” is maturing into a… well, let’s say “ornery” young adult. And by “ornery” I mean “he’s annoying the heck out of Mom.” I have yet to find a diary filled with angst ridden poetry in his stall, but that’s probably because he’s so busy destroying everything he can reach. Good thing he is so dang cute.


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5) La Cocina de Kalin has been thriving, thanks to a rotational food preparation scheme in which I participate with Mom, April and Lil. I cook supper for all of us on Tuesdays and so far I’ve made po’ boys, shepherds pie, empanadas, sloppy joes and tortellini, all of which have received rave reviews. I have to brag on this because I caught so much flack from people (April… Mom… Lil…) who didn’t actually believe I could cook. Unfortunately, cooking enough food for 14 exhausts me and so I never get around to taking pictures of my culinary masterpieces.

Mar

14

Nap Time

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Santana has started taking afternoon naps while out in the pasture. Apparently his life of leisure (current schedule: waking up in the morning, getting fed, being turned out in the pasture to play and eat, being taken inside and fed again, sleeping) is tuckering him out. Not that I’m judging, because lawsie mercy do I love a good nap myself.

While it’s not totally unusual for a horse to nap out in the open during the day, it’s not completely common, either. After all, it leaves them vulnerable to predators like wolves or bears or mountain lions or equine photographers.


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Mar

4

Wordless Wednesday: Hunting as a Pack

Filed Under horses, tennessee walkers | 3 Comments

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