Tiffilicious

Awhile back, my kids coined the term "Tiffilicious" to describe all things pink, leopard print and gaudy.  Tiffany found out about this, and instead of being offended, she embraced the word with open arms.  One thing led to another, and now there is a brand new over the top custom named Tiffilicious.

Naturally, I was expected to make Tiffilicious a show bridle.  I finished it today, and I think it turned out really well.

But you know... this might be the least Tiffilicious bridle Tiffany owns.  It's not pink or crystal laden and there's no leopard print in sight.  In fact, it's so un-Tiffilicious that even my kids would approve!

Ratdiculous!

The weathermen got it right--this weekend has been really cold.

Because I am not a fan of subfreezing temperatures, I didn't leave the house at all yesterday.  Instead I holed up in my studio where it's nice and warm and kept myself busy with Tiffany's bridle and Rev's ancestors.  It was a good way to spend the day.

I would have happily stayed home again today, but the kids informed me in no uncertain terms that we were having a rat food emergency.  

"Rats are scavengers," I told them.  "Surely they can survive on vegetables, dog food and cereal for one day."

But the kids were having none of it.  "You need to buy rat food," they insisted.

So Seth and I headed out to Petco and we came home with rat food... and a brand new rat!

This is Jellybean.  She was in the adoptable animal section, having been relinquished by an owner who could no longer provide for her.  

We hadn't planned to buy a rat today, but Jellybean was just too cute and friendly and curious to resist.

Of course the kids are delighted with the new addition.  In fact, I think they'll be inventing future rat food emergencies in hopes of a repeat performance!

Jellybean is still settling in so it's a bit too early to start her saddle training.  However, I have to admit that I'm already dreaming of rat dressage pas de deux and rat drill team and rat fox hunting and....

Researching Rev

If you're like me and have a passion for riding and ponies and horses, now that you know what the Crumb looked like, you'll probably want to know where he came from and how I came to have him. It's sort of like seeing a horse van or trailer go by--I always ache to stop it and look inside and find out whose horses they are and where they're going, and certainly where they came from...

This passage from the first chapter of Jean Slaughter Doty's The Crumb has always resonated with me. Like Cindy, I am endlessly fascinated with the horses in my life. I want to know all their details - where they were bred, who they've belonged to and what they've done. In the old days, this information was often impossible to gather.

 

Now, of course, we have the internet. With just a few keystrokes, I've discovered a wealth of information about my new best bud, Rev. An old sale ad on equinenow.com describes him this way: Gorgeous, Flashy Registered Arabian Gelding. Champion/Regional Titles in Hunter Pleasure, Country English Pleasure, English Pleasure. Fantastic Endurance or Dressage horse. "Ralphie" never takes a day off! Willing and kind, really eager to please and protect his rider. Very safe, perfect ground manners, great personality. Wonderful with other horses, especially youngsters. Easily worth 4x what we're asking! $1000 OBO. It also included several photos of him in his summer coat,

and, best of all, his full pedigree.

I used that information to find pictures of his sire...

Regal Basque
(La Basque x Gay Gazelle)1998 
U.S. National Top Ten Pleasure Driving AAOTD
1995 Canadian National Reserve Champion English Pleasure AAOTR 40 & Over
1994 Canadian National Champion English Pleasure JOTR 14-17
1994 Canadian National Top Ten Park AOTR
1994 Canadian National Top Ten English Pleasure JTR 17 & Under
1994 Youth National Top Ten English Pleasure JOTR & JTR 17 & Under
1993 Canadian National Top Ten English Pleasure JOTR 14-17
1993 Youth National Top Ten English Pleasure JOTR 14-17
1987 U.S. National Top Ten English Pleasure AAOTR

Regal Basque

and two of his half siblings.

Ames Encounter
(Brass x CR Berry Brandy)

1998 Bay Arabian Stallion

2012 Youth National Top Tens in Country English Pleasure 13 & Under, Show Hack 14-17, and Show Hack 13 & Under and Region Top Five in Show Hack ATR

2011 US National Top Ten in Ladies English Sidesaddle, Youth National Top Ten Show Hack 17 & Under, Regional Champion Show Hack AOTR and Top Fives CEP ATR and Show Hack ATR

Oscar de la Renta

(DS Major Afire x CR Berry Brandy) 

2006 PB bay gelding. Scottsdale Signature Stallion 2010 Res Champion English Pl Futurity and 2011 Top Ten English Pl Maturity ATR.

It's not a complete history by any means, but it's definitely a start. Now if I could just track down some old show photos, wouldn't that be wonderful?

Stock Show weather

With the Stock Show comes Stock Show weather.  The forecast for this weekend is positively frigid, so I raced to the barn this morning in hopes of squeezing in one more ride before the temperature plunged.  

It was forty one degrees and sunny when I pulled Rev out of his pen.  By the time I was mounted, the sun had disappeared and the wind was blowing like crazy.  Carol had come with me to meet Rev and take pictures of the two of us.  However, the weather was deteriorating so rapidly we decided to call it quits after just one photo!

Carol and Rev.  You can't tell from this picture, but the snow already starting to fly.

Poor Rev. 

I think this is his OMG-I'm-freezing-can-I-please-have-my-jammies-back-now? face. 

I can't say I blame him, either.  We'd gone from sunshine to blizzard in forty five minutes flat...

Only in Colorado!

Fortunately, the day wasn't a total bust.  The time I didn't spend riding was put to good use in the studio.  

Stock Show weather might be bad for riding, but it's great for getting things done at home.  I predict this is going to be a very productive weekend!

Two parades

Carol and I went to the National Western Stock Show parade in downtown Denver today.

Because parking in LoDo is difficult, we decided to take the light rail.  Neither of us rides the light rail often, and we overestimated the amount of time it would take to reach our destination.  As a result, we arrived at the parade route really early.  It was too cold to stand and wait, so we decided to walk to Union Station.  There were a couple horses there, but they weren't terribly interesting.

We walked a bit further and saw a few more horses.

Naturally, we decided to keep walking.

 Eventually we reached the parade's staging area...

which was Coors Field!

We weren't allowed inside the gates,

but I had no trouble finding ways to amuse myself! 

Just as we'd decided that it was time to return to the parade route, there was a clatter of hooves...

and the longhorns...

started making their way down Wynkoop. 

And just like that, the parade--or the pre-parade--was on!

We followed the riders as they made their way to the parade's official start.

Pre-parade is less crowded and less formal than the real parade.  

Without the crowds...

we were able to get much closer to the horses. 

The riders were relaxed and happy and many of them talked to us. 

We were having so much fun that we lost track of time and never made it back to the actual parade route.  I was mildly disappointed to have missed the official parade, but the honestly, what the pre-parade was just as good.  

Neither of us was ready to go home, so we decided to go out for lunch.  We were nearing one of Carol's favorite restaurants, when I was once again distracted by the sound of hooves.  We made a quick detour down to 15th Street and came face to face with a couple parade horses.

I peeked down the street and started to laugh.

Without meaning to, we'd stumbled upon the post-parade! 

Sorry, Carol.  It looks like lunch is going to have to wait!

We spent the next hour watching the post-parade.

It was even more exciting than the pre-parade... 

mostly because the post-parade involves traffic! 

When the street sweepers passed us for the second time, we knew we'd seen all the parades we were going to see. 

We headed back to the light rail, hungry but happy.  Thank you so much for going to the parade(s) with me, Carol.  I promise next time we will make it to the restaurant!

The princess diaries, part one

For reasons I do not fully understand, Princess Trillium insisted I make her a pink princess bridle.

I think she's up to something...

Kellye's Criollo set

The first finished tack order of 2013 is done and in the hands of the United States Postal Service.

Here's a look at all the individual pieces... 

and a close-up view of the saddle and overgirth. 

Although I really struggled in the early stages of this saddle's creation, I couldn't be more pleased with the final results.  In fact, now I really want to buy a Max and make a Criollo saddle for myself!