Posts Tagged ‘2011
A Piece of the Island
These two tomato sauce jars filled with sand might not look like much to you, but to me they hold much significance. See back when I visited Assateague Island at the end of October (2011) with all three of my Chincoteague Ponies – I took a little piece of the island with me. I collected these jars of sand from the beach – as a way to always keep a little part of the island with me.
My little jars of sand weren’t much to look at these past few months, but a little visit to the antique shop, and $5 later they had a pretty (beach worthy) glass jar to call home.
Now my Assateague sand sits happily on my shelf at home with my jars of sand from Belize and Nicaragua and everytime I look at it I’m reminded of the special trip I took with all three of my boys!
2012 Trick Pony Goals
Happy New Year Everyone!
Last year we made a list of goals for 2011, so it’s come that time where we look back and see how close we came to accomplishing all of them. We’ve also whipped up a whole new set of goals for 2012.
2011 Goals:
1. Take some western riding lessons with Boomerang. It seems writing out my 2011 goals really started a fire under me, because in January of 2011 I took Boomerang to his very first western lesson with a local trainer.
2. Push myself past my comfort zone and compete in something I’ve never done before. In February of 2011 I took Boomerang to the Horse World Expo to compete in Craig Cameron’s Extreme Cowboy Race. This was one of the most nerve racking/intense things I have ever done on horseback. I was never so nervous in my life, but I’m so glad that Boomer and I pushed past the scary stuff and tried something new. It has made us both so much stronger, and we even made it to the finals – placing 6th! Boomer and I also tried a whole bunch of new things this past year, like riding on the beach, trail challenges, mounted shooting, and even some cowboy events.
3. Teach Minnow to sit or lay down. Well, this is one of those things that I didn’t quite accomplish. I started to teach Minnow how to lean onto his bean bag chair this year, but eventually the summer craziness happened and things got pushed to the back burner. However, I did begin to capture Boomerang’s “sit” when he begins to get up from the laydown. Hopefully this year we will be able to perfect the cue even more!
4. Fine tune Boomerang’s cues for bow and lay down. Recently I just started perfecting Boomer’s cue for bow, and he’s finally started to go down to the ground without my help. He probably would have mastered this a lot sooner had I found the time to work with him, but better late than never!
5. Train some more tricks using the pedestal. This year I began training Boomerang to stand with all 4 feet on the pedestal. Admittedly I haven’t been good about documenting his progress, mostly because we’ve been training in the dark! But hopefully soon I’ll be able to get his progress on video to share.
6. Teach Minnow a brand-new trick skit for Pony Penning 2011. This past year Minnow performed his new “Super Pony Picnic” skit during Pony Penning. I thought it was one of his best skits to date. We’re hoping soon to put all of Minnow’s skits on DVD, just as soon as my filmmaker brother has some more availability! Perhaps this coming Summer.
7. Teach Ammo the Dachshund a skit he can perform alone. Ammo performed his new skit with his pal, Trooper at the 2011 Keystone Dachshund Races. Super Ammo vs. Super Trooper was a big hit, and I still laugh when I see Ammo in his cute little super helmet and cape.
8. Take Blitz on an outing (Dressage, Paperchase, Mounted Games, Tricks, etc). My mom really stepped up Blitz’s training this year and took him on a bunch of new adventures, like mounted shooting, cowboy events and riding on the beach. We’re both looking forward to trying even more with the boys in 2012!
9. Paint with the boys more often. To date the boys have painted over 180 paintings, and this year Minnow painted even more during outings like the Ludwigs Corner Horse Show and The Dog Days of Summer event. Hopefully the boys will get to spend lots more enjoyable time painting in 2012.
10. Read a training book (or video) and teach one skill from it. Ok, so I sorta failed on my reading list goal – but it was much more tempting to spend time with the boys on the farm just having fun.
11. Teach Boomerang flying lead changes, rollbacks, and a better sidepass. Boomerang mastered all three of these skills in a matter of 6 weeks as we were training for the Extreme Cowboy Race. He’s such an amazing pony, and so smart!
12. Read Misty of Chincoteague…again! Right before I took Minnow to visit the Renaissance School Academy I re-read Misty of Chincoteague, always the classic!
2012 Goals:
1. Teach the ponies how to Spanish Walk.
2. Begin taking steps towards writing a book. (Something that has been on my mind for a while now).
3. Introduce Boomerang to cows.
4. Take one picture a month for the ponies’ 2013 Calendar!
5. Teach Minnow a fun new “party” trick he can use at expos and fairs.
6. Take the ponies swimming at Marsh Creek more often.
7. Ride on the beach again.
8. Become more regular at posting on the blog and to our facebook page.
9. Teach the ponies how to pull/drive.
10. Build a new obstacle for the ponies to play with out on the trail.
So what about you? Any new goals to strive for this year? Anyone know where I can introduce Boomerang to cattle in the Chester County, PA area?
The Ponies Celebrate Christmas
Christmas time can get pretty hectic for me. My custom frame shop in town starts booming with Christmas orders right after Thanksgiving and most nights when I leave work in the dark I struggle to keep my eyes open as I move horses and hay bales out on the farm. The ponies start to see my comings and goings as a blur while I make promises to get back to riding and training them after the Holidays.
But, despite how busy this time of year can get I never forget my boys when Christmas rolls around.
This year I headed out to the farm first thing Christmas morning with Ammo the Dachshund and my husband in tow. Ammo brought along a special treat for all of his favorite ponies.
And he was sweet enough to taste test the first few bites.
Not only did Ammo bring the boys treats, but it looked like Santa had visited the farm too.
With Ammo supervising, Minnow set to work opening his special gift from Santa.
Boomerang had a bit more trouble grasping the concept of present opening, but luckily little Ammo is a pro at opening gifts and was more than happy to help.
All the horses received Himalayan Salt Blocks from Santa! But most importantly I think the ponies are thrilled that the Holiday rush is over, and we can get back to trick training! We’ve got lots of work to do to prepare for the Horse World Expo and it’s time to start thinking of new tricks!
Make sure you check out Ammo’s blog to see what Santa brought him.
Boomerang creates a special Painting
Boomer was thrilled when he was given the opportunity to create a very special painting for his previous owners – to be sent home to the place that he was born. And while this happened back in October (oops for not sharing it sooner) I thought it would be fun to share the special video I helped Boomer make to send “home”.
Boomer had a blast creating this custom painting, which was later titled Peekaboo.
Custom paintings are always available in our shop. You can choose the colors and it comes with a fun video of the artist painting your masterpiece! Makes a wonderful gift for the holidays. Gift certificates are also available.
Painting Pony Cyber Monday Sale
Since today is Cyber Monday we’ve decided to have a special Holiday Sale for everyone in our online shop! So starting today you can use the code CYBERSALE11 at checkout to get 20% off your entire purchase.
We have many wonderful paintings by the boys – with someone for everyone’s budget. From greeting cards to DVDs – we even carry gift certificates if you can’t decide what to get someone.
Our Cyber Monday sale ends Monday, November 28th at 12pm midnight EST, so make sure you don’t delay! You can visit our online shop HERE and make sure you use the code CYBERSALE11 at checkout to receive 20% off.
