Don't you hate it when it's too sticky to ride in the afternoon? BUT! There is still equine entertainment to be had that doesn't result in sweat!
Although I didn't get an invitation. Typical. They probably snuck the beers in after I went inside...
Who needs hosing? *apology disclaimer for lack of real camera in pocket*
Aaaand that's why I call him my hippo. I've been known to scramble on bareback with a neckstrap & swim him around a pond or two: So. Much. Fun. Although he's a very powerful swimmer, gotta keep your legs clear of hooves...
Solo: "C'mon in, bro, nothing bites except me!" (Encore is the clothed one)
Finally, the temptation is too great...who can resist the full head-dunk??
I believe that is Encore's first, adorable, tiptoe pond swim.
For 175 lbs of feet or bum! Solo box incl. for scale.
Raise your hand if you are so over digging for the hoofpick in the abyss that is your grooming box.
Yeah. OVER. IT.
Lucky for you, I've always got one eye open for the perfect box. Brush box. Clipper box. Blanket box. Boot box. Organize ALL THE THINGZ box.
Well, what if it has a treaded top & is weight-rated for use as a mounting block (or picking ticks like a monkey braiding manes) too? Oh yes.
The polypropelene Horze Smart Grooming Box has not only that, but also sports a lock loop on the front for security & arrives in your matchy colour of choice (maaaan, I should have gone for the powder blue, it's our accent colour...but hey, there is even something for you crazy pink lovers!).
Removable divider & "bits 'n pieces" tray in place
With a lift-out accessory tote & divider, it doesn't become the dreaded Bottomless Purse.
Neat trick: the basket will sit on the edge for mud slurry avoidance needs!
Its only shortcoming: it is a tad too short for the critical "spray bottle test."
Derp. But it's ok, your WD-40 still fits!!
BUT. Domed lid still leaves room for sticky-uppies. (It's a word now, deal)
However, as a compact organizer with double-duty stool powers, I think it's a great option with lots of flexibility, especially for the trailer: a travel grooming, clipper, wrap, braiding, or what-can-you-think-of box for the trail or showgrounds that hangs around to give you a leg up, so you don't have to do that "I totally meant to slide off my trailer fender to check out my horse's girth VERY closely" moment (oh, is that just me?).
Added size information: boost height is 12", while your standing platform on top is approximately 14" long by 11" wide.
For all your favourite matchy thingz! Ok, so I really like blue...a lot... What product placement?? ;P
Check it out along with other great grooming goodies here; all products come with a 30-day 'happiness guarantee' & orders over $75 ship both ways for free!
Thanks again to the great & always friendly folks at Horze for the opportunity to share a hands- (& feet) on experience with you!
My apologies to the patient (& hilarious) entrants to our SmartPak gift card giveaway for not posting sooner. Jobs & sad things both tamp one’s ability to keep up with it all.
Hey, some work!!
It was very educational for me as well. I learned that HorseWorld has no faith in my redneck ideas either, ha! I kid, I’m sure (at least, I’m telling myself) the guesses at my ETA to failure were based on personal experience.
However, apart from the eventual smashing of aforementioned magnet (which I maintain doesn’t really need a shape anyway, now it’s just unique), my Bucket Magnet actually worked!! Well, I didn’t find any nails after a very thorough search, but the mechanism stayed intact for the entirety of the search area.
Alas, the universe always seems to hear when you start getting all proud of yourself. Across the final slope of the evening, the edge of the bucket juuuust brushed the rising ground mid-turn enough to produce that ego-popping bump.
So congratulations (and thank you very much for your vote of confidence!!) to Abigail Powell, charming author of The Maggie Memoirs, for coming the closest the optimum time of 0.8 hrs (48 minutes; you were only 3 minutes off, I see a bright eventing future!) by tractor hour-o-meter!!! You can click the little green email envelope at the top right of the page to contact me or leave your email in the comments & you get $10 to splurge during sale season at SmartPak!
Despite my ever-present worry for these young athletes, there is an uncanny series of connections between this afternoon’s grueling 1.5-mile thunder of hearts & hooves & the dappled liver chestnut I just hosed off after a short hill session.
American Pharaoh was sired by another Baffert-trained stallion, Pioneerof the Nile. The latter made his own attempt at much-coveted garlands when he ran in the 2009 Kentucky Derby. If it doesn’t immediately pop to mind, that was the year of 50-1 longshot, Mine That Bird’s incredible upset.
Under the guidance of legendary jockey, Calvin Borel (who also steals the show starring as himself in the film portrayal I JUST saw), that determined little gelding started dead last & ended up leaving the entire field of prestigious hopefuls in his wake on the way to collect his roses.
So why can’t I look away?
Some recent perusing of Equibase, made my eyes bug out (ok, it’s not that hard, but still…). Encore’s own sire, Crowd Pleaser, was a 1995 PA-bred turf champion by AP Indy, winning his owners over $600,000 on the track.
And his last jockey in his final stakes wins (including the 2000 Sycamore Stakes, covering just over 1.5 miles on the beautiful grass of Keeneland Park, where he beat an Irish TB named Royal Strand who had set the track record just the year before)…was none other than Calvin Borel (who was finally inducted into the Hall of Fame in 2013...I think winning over $125M earns him a spot!).
Click to embiggen
However, even if Pharaoh doesn't carry our historic connection across the wire first, breaking from #7 atop Curlin' son, Keen Ice, is Hall of Fame jockey, Kent Desormeaux, who rode Crowd Pleaser's dam, British mare Creaking Board in her last race in 1993, for yet another household racing name, trainer Bobby Frankel.
Regardless, just as I say in eventing: may everyone keep the steel side down & run home safely!!
Will we see one? Seattle Slew's 1977 Triple Crown trophy
I repeat often how lucky I feel, to have made friends with & learned from so many wonderful people since getting involved in Adult Riders & volunteering.
One of those people (although she surely counted for at least 3 or 4) was Seema Sonnad. Those of you involved in eventing are no doubt already aware, but we lost Seema this week. She suffered a fatal heart arrhythmia during an ultra-marathon in Seattle.
Yes, ULTRA-marathon. Because Seema was Wonder Woman incarnate in a thousand ways & I think she even ultra-walked out her front door every morning. It would never even occur to her to be 'regular.'
She
would show up to work four 13-hour days at an event after usually having
flown across the country from a marathon or conference with about 3
hours of sleep...and I never heard the word "tired" cross her lips. I
always joked to her that I felt compelled to take a nap for her!
And she most certainly ultra-gave every ounce of herself to the world around her & changed lives on a regular basis. Including mine. So, Seema, I want to say thank you, although those words are so woefully inadequate.
I'll never forget arriving at work one morning & opening my inbox to
find your email (I don't even know how you knew my work
address), informing me that there was a paid entry to any horse trial I
wanted through Event Entries, just waiting for me, as a thanks for
volunteering & advocacy.
I burst into tears as I wrote a thank you. It was completely out
of the blue, & meant so much to me because I cannot afford to compete
on my own, as you knew.
We often refer to such acts as "going out of your way." But that never applied to you...because it WAS your way, in the most beautiful connotation that "routine" can have. Such seemingly small things which touch
people's lives in an unforgettable manner.
You perfected what I try (emphasis on try) to live, captured by my
favourite poet & author, May Sarton, another amazing woman:
"I would like to believe when I die that I have given myself away like
a tree that sows seeds every spring and never counts the loss, because
it is not loss, it is adding to future life. It is the tree's way of
being. Strongly rooted perhaps, but spilling out its treasure on the
wind."
It's tempting to say it's the end of an era, or some close cliche. Nothing could be further from the truth, however. Because of the blueprint you inspired us to build on, as not just eventers, but as women in science, as givers, as doers, as forces of life, being here, being now: it's only the beginning. Or to phrase it better, we've reached the start flags of Phase B & it's time to fly, primed by impossibly comprehensive coaching & warmup that could only have come from a spirit as fierce & gracious & bold & brilliant as this one.
In less than four hours (post parade at 6:40 pm Eastern Time, 
