Busy Busy Busy

I cannot believe that the last time I posted on my blog was September 26th! Wow! So you might be wondering what was going on that kept me away for so long. (On the other hand, you may not be wondering at all but I am going to tell you anyway because its my blog.)

First up - Injuries. When last we spoke (okay, when last I typed and you read) there were a couple of injuries in our family. I am happy to report that the injured parties are fine. We gave up trying to keep a bandage on Ebony and settled for keeping it clean and some antibiotic ointment on it. It worked find and the leg healed up nicely. In fact, she did so well we splurged and got her a nice new pair of shoes. Very nice. They are a low profile shoe in all steel. She rather likes them and shows them to whomever is willing to look. (Which is usually us as we try to clean the mud out of them.

I am fine as well with the single exception of not being able to raise my big toe. The Doc says that it is some nerve damage that will probably resolve itself in 18 to 24 months.

New Business - Annual Show. This is an incredibly busy time for Westernaires. Our one big show is taking shape and even though White Division does not have a big part in the show, we do have a part. We (meaning the riders) have to learn a couple of new drills and practice carrying some flags. The Volunteer Arena is the Westernaires practice arena and it is the same size as the National Western's main show arena so we practiced a bit in there. It gives the riders a feel for how much space they will have to work with.We also got to practice outside. In the wind. Horses + Flags + Wind = Fun for all. Actually, there was only one horse that had issues with the flag. The other horses did fine and watching the flags in the wind is kind of fun. Here is a little clip of the white division owners practicing for serpentine. Riders are posted at 8 places, 4 spread out on each side of the arena. The rest of the riders serpentine around the posted riders in a very specific pattern that allows the first riders to be leaving the arena as other riders are just entering the arena for the serpentine line. During the show this allowed for 250 horses and riders to go through the arena in less than 5 minutes. Pretty impressive.



Tomorrow - show pictures and stories.