Thursday, September 30, 2004
The Classic 6-horse Series Championships Boy do I wish that I was at the The Big E Draft horse show this week. Its also the Championship for the Classic 6-horse hitch series. Ohh boy is there a lot of very nice horseflesh there. The Keystone Classic show is also going on this week. Seems that the east coast is loaded with fancy show hitches. Perhaps next year we can get our act together to go to one of those shows. I sure would like to but time and expenses come into play since we are only a small operation. We are working our horses getting them ready for the Great Lakes show so at least we will be able to do one last big show. I cant wait to see the results.posted by Chris @ Real Horses @ 1:31 PM
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Monday, September 27, 2004
Some Trail Riding We decided that work could be put on hold and that we would take a day off and enjoy ourselves on Sunday. So we packed some ham and cheese sandwiches, pepsi, rootbeer and some chips and headed off for the Cummings Center for some relaxing trail riding. I thought about taking the camera but couldnt for the life of me find the case to keep it safly attached to my saddle. Boy do I wish that I hadnt been in such a hurry to leave the house because the afternoon was so grand that it deserved to be recorded in some way. Lauren rode Hank who was a super nice guy for her. It was so funny to see this little girl on such a big horse. He is only 16hh but weights 1600lbs so her little legs only make it 1/2 way down on him. Duane rode Barney who seemed to enjoy being out on the trails and I rode Doug who is not my first choice in mounts because at a whopping 18.1 hh and just under 2000lbs he is a monster to get on and off of. I have resigned myself to the fact that he and I are going to have to become good buddies because I feel that we are lacking a bit in the showring and not totally in touch with each other so he has become "My" horse now. Doug was originally purchased for Duane to Show 3 years ago and he did well with him. At the end of last year at the Great Lakes show, Duane handed over the lines to me and took on the madman Barney. Barney is by no means a madman but his action is insane which is more suited to a men's horse instead of a ladies horse thus the switch. So this summer Doug and I have had our high and low moments. When we got it together we did excellent but when we didnt it was a mess. It has been a struggle to make that bond/connection when he has been Duanes horse for the last 2 years and of course he is still Duanes horse being used in the team, tandem and unicorn class. Hopefull my putting some one on one miles on him will sync us up better.posted by Chris @ Real Horses @ 8:40 AM
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Tuesday, September 21, 2004
Far Fetched Dream? Life sure is funny. It throws ya some curves and sometimes it seems that it’s an uphill battle but the reasons come out in the wash so to speak. The story behind this comment is a long one that is still a work in progress going on for close to 2 years now. Its about both Duane and I in regards to out lifestyle and career. I started out in the high tech field but since 9/11 have been laid off and have yet to find a job in my former career. I work now but don’t make nearly as much, nor am I in the tech field – then again I have significantly less responsibility and my life in general is much easier with regards to having free time and being able to take time off. I no longer need blood pressure medicine nor am taking pills to control my acid belly because it’s no longer that way. Strange how fate works. Duane has been struggling in his field as well. He is a Machinist by trade and since we live in Michigan the auto industry drives this vertical market - need I say more? He has been laid off many times after short employment stints at a number of shops. Then again so have many others. We have operated a wedding carriage company as a side business for the last 5 years which thankfully has kept our horse hobby in tact. Things have been tight to say the least. Both Duane and I have enjoyed showing and working our Percheron draft horses. So with that in mind we sat down to try to figure out how to go about making these magnificent animals our career going forward. So with Duane and I closing in on our 40th birthdays we made a pact, we are going to pursue our dream and somehow make this a full time business. The plan is simple, get a sponsor. Yea right, easier said then done. So we fine tune our goals to get to the end result. 1. Show our horses at some national shows and place in the top five. 2. Be able to fit and show our horses in all regards from Shoeing, thru training and hitching. 3. Put together documentation about us and our skills/abilities for a dog and pony show. So far we have nearly accomplished all of the goals we set out to meet nearly a year ago. We have one more show to go to see if we met our goal there (it’s a big one, biggest so far) so that one is almost checked off. Duane is finishing up an apprenticeship with a master farrier to enable him to meet our horses unique shoeing needs – it has also become a new career for him which is very good news and we have a good start on our goal of being able to manage our horses better. We also have a good start on our documentation. Now we just have to get someone to give us a chance and have confidence in us. So with that said we are now beginning to endeavor on the 2nd phase of our goal which will be the toughest one. We need to research companies to pitch them our show hitch and get them on board. I’m overwhelmed at this point on how to do that but that is what I must do. I have yet to get things down in writing on how to accomplish this but am diligently working on it at this moment. More to come on this.posted by Chris @ Real Horses @ 3:32 PM
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Monday, September 13, 2004
SAGINAW PICTURES Pictures removed - problems with serverposted by Chris @ Real Horses @ 8:49 AM
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Tuesday, September 07, 2004
Blasted Computers I haven’t posted in a bit because1, I have been so busy getting things back in order and
2, my computer has been down.
I was promised it back last week but we all know how that works. Seems that my computer, which is over 5 years old now, is having hardware issues and not cooperating in the least. I’m going to have to break down and get a new one – perhaps for Christmas. So while that is going on there will be no photos or updates to our website. It’s just too much to bring into work and upload from there – and I’m sure my employer wouldn’t appreciate it either. The Memorial weekend is now behind us. The official ending of summer in my book! Reflecting back over the summer it sure was fun but boy was it a ton of work. I’m going to have to figure out a way to take some extra time off because this working 4 days a week then hauling in horses, setting up, showing and then hauling out on my 3 days off killed me. The no down time is the real issue. I don’t seem to spring back as easily as I use to after the stress and effort of showing horses.
Goals
We have discussed at length on the farm what our goal for next summer is going to be. More time between shows is a necessity but how that will work out is at the heart of the issue. I believe a mix of larger shows with a couple county fairs will be the route to take but that’s pure speculation on my part at this early stage of the game. We have one more show – the grand daddy of them in our regional area. The Great Lakes International in October will be the show that will put things in perspective for us as to what our goals should be for the next season. Last year we were very pleased with just getting a ribbon with the outstanding competition. This year I have heard that the competition is even deeper. Our goal is to place in the top 5 for our classes. It’s a very tall order to fill. I believe that Duane and Barney have an outstanding shot of doing so. Doug and I have had some ups & downs so I’m not certain what is realistic for us. If he is on then we should be in the top 10 IMHO. The team class is the big question. Last year we placed 9th and the boys are doing better then ever but we didn’t get a chance to compete in the team class at the State fair because of loosing a shoe on Doug so I’m not sure where to gage our progress in that class. Duane is feeling good about the team and thinks that placing in the top 5 is within his grasp if he has a perfect go. One can hope ;-}