It's a secret

I have a couple orders I have been putting off for a really long time. Yesterday I finally said, "Enough is enough." I cleared off my desk...

This is what passes for clear at Braymere Custom Saddlery!

and went to work!

I worked deep into the night,

slept a couple hours and woke up with the sun.  

Only a slight exaggeration

Then it was right back to work.

And just like that, one of my problem orders is done. I wish I could show it to you because it turned out really well. Unfortunately, I can't.

It's a seekrit!

Black Friday

In a little less then an hour (12:00 PM mountain daylight time), I'm going to open my Etsy shop for a little Black Friday sale.

There's nothing too exciting there.

There are no saddles.

It's mostly halters...

plus a bridle,

a hackamore...

and a breastplate. 

Everything is priced to sell, however, so if you're in the market for stocking stuffers, visit my shop in forty five minutes!

Thanksgiving

I am thankful for a lot of things, but not for my oven, which stopped working yesterday.

How will I finish the cornucopia?

Fortunately, Carol was hosting Thanksgiving this year. The broken oven was a minor irritation rather than an all out catastrophe. 

It was a good day filled with food, 

family... 

and football.

Just kidding! I think that's the first time he's ever held a football.

Hope everyone else's Thanksgiving was happy, too!

Almost wordless Wednesday

I still have too many pictures, but at least now I feel like I've made a dent in the backlog. Hurray! Today's last group of pictures were also taken at the USDF Regional Championships at the Colorado Horse Park in Parker, Colorado. Enjoy!

The best cowpony

It wasn't all hunters, jumpers and equitation horses this summer. I also photographed a few events and a couple dressage shows, including the USDF Regional Championships which were held in September at the Colorado Horse Park in Parker, Colorado.

My friend, Andrea, and her Quarter Horse, Haidaseeker Playboy AKA Matt the Cowpony, rode in the Intermediare I Championship class.  

Matt looks and moves like the Quarter Horse he is.  

He doesn't have the big Warmblood gaits expected at this level...

but he and Andrea put in a solid, accurate test with lots of nice moments.

I thought they looked great.   

What a good cowpony!

After their ride, Andrea and Matt posed for photos...

and showed off a little bit.

Eventually, the scores were announced. Andrea and Matt placed third.

They won a big ribbon and celebrated with some fancy prancing.

Congratulations to Andrea and Matt the World's Best Cowpony!

Huntseat equitation

When I first started going to model horse shows, I was confused by all the huntseat equitation entries with patterns, judge dolls and cones.

Then, I went to a Quarter Horse show.

Lo and behold, Quarter Horse huntseat equitation is, in fact, a pattern class! Each entrant performed individually.

Then they all came back for a very abbreviated rail class.

That's not how it works at a hunter show.

A typical huntseat equitation on the flat class is a rail class. The entrants perform as a group, usually in a ring filled with jumps.

Riders are asked to walk,

trot (posting and sitting)...

and canter in both directions. 

Additionally, they may be required to halt...

and perform other tasks, such as lengthen stride at the canter.

At the end of the class, the entrants are called to the center of the ring before receiving their ribbons.

Currently, pelhams are the bit of choice in the equitation ring.

Boots, both front... 

and hind, are also common equipment choices.

Since I am a hunter girl at heart, I will always consider this format to be the "real" one. 

However, as far as models go, I have to admit that patterns, judge dolls and cones add a lot of visual interest. 

This is not the first time I've written about huntseat equitation. My older posts can be found here, here, here and here.