The day I went to Germany was Stu's ball day. He got them taken off, as well as had his hernia fixed. I was provided all the photos by Stu's breeder, although I will only share the non-gross ones. The castration went in the normal fashion, but the hernia fix was quite interesting. A[...]
The second day was the free jumping. The dressage horses went first, followed by the jumpers, although the format was the same. First, they were run around the arena in a figure 8 to show those lead changes, then they were sent down the chute. Sadly my battery wasn't charged (dang confusing foreign[...]
The afternoon of the first day was the 2nd Inspection. First, all the jumping stallions were led into the ring and then free lunged. After they got a chance to strut their stuff, they were collected and strutted their stuff out of the ring. The DJ would put on an up-tempo song, the au[...]
After a very wet morning, the rest of the inspection was inside. Thank goodness! There was a lunch break which allowed for some time to explore and marvel at the facility. I'm very upset with myself because I failed to get pictures of the door handles, which were the "W" inspection brand. But, maybe[...]
After visiting the fantastic Bavarian region of Germany, we moved on to the actual reason for our visit. As a member of Westfalen NA, I was invited to make the trip to Germany to attend the Westfalen Stallion Licensing. Likely this was the kind of invite that is only extended out of politeness,[...]
I'm back from Germany! Happy to be home, but sad to leave such an amazing place of castles and fabulous horses, definitely two of my favorite things. It was an incredible learning experience. On the horse side, I learned so much about the stallions, the breeding, the inspection process, tra[...]
Way back in September of 2015, I learned of an incredible device that would allow me to record my riding without the assistance of someone else. The SoloShot 3, the automatic cameraman that tracks you and pans to follow you around as you ride. What an incredible invention, especially for someone who[...]
On any typical, normal day, you head to your barn. You greet your girlfriends, you chat with the female working student, and you all make plans to have a wine evening. Your favorite topic of discussion is obviously horses, but you also talk about husbands, boyfriends, dates. It's easy to have these[...]
I saw this yesterday, and it's both unbelievable and absolutely believable. To summarize - horse agent/trainer is being sued by former horse owner because she sold the horse for $900,000, and told the owner she only sold it for $300,000, pocketing $600,000. It's unbelievable that someone could think[...]
I have a new trailer!!! My excitement levels are almost maxed out! I have not been able to use it yet due to lack of time, but I cannot wait to use it. It's almost shocking to me how much not having a trailer has affected my horse activities. Granted, I don't board, so it's just me here at[...]