Ginger's Relatives

I'm suffering from serious horse withdrawls. So what'a girl to do? Create hypothetical breedings to daydream about even more Sec D awesomeness? Check.

In the course of researching the perfect boyfriend for Ginger, I of course have to research her pedigree. I came across a few of her half brothers and sisters from her dam's side, and thought it was super neat to see how much they all resemble their dam. Here's Ginger's mama, Ayr Hawks MacKenzie Rose :

from http://www.davidsondales.com

I hadn't seen that picture before, Ginger sure turned out a lot like her mom!

Ginger, summer 2013

Here's Ginger's half brother, Whispering Telynor. There's definitely a family resemblance:

From: http://www.davidsondales.com/Telynor

Another half brother, Whispering Sparkling Comet. 

http://jensingspringsfarm.weebly.com/stallions.html

Yet another half brother. Sugarlane Ovation:

www.sugarlaneponies.com

Finally, a half sister! Talywern Fair Rose:

http://www.llawenfarm.com

And one more half brother. Whispering Magic Marvel:

From http://evenstarwelsh.com

Ginger's dam appears to have had a pretty long broodmare career - these are just her foals I can easily find online. What's funny is most of the boys appear to have been stallions at some point in their lives, so their stats are mostly listed. From what I can see, they're all between 14.1-14.3hh. Ginger is the giant of the family at 15.3hh. I can't find much info on her sire, but I'm guessing he must have been taller than most. Ginger, of course, is obviously a girl of extremes, so I wouldn't be surprised if she's just the odd one out. It would only make sense :)

The Most Boring Blog Ever Award

I nominate myself :)

Thank you again to everyone who has stuck through this incredibly uninteresting part of my life with me.

Ginger is fine, I still miss her more than I can say. Work has totally gone crazy, with coworker insanity and all sorts of departmental drama. I try to stay out of it, but it's a small department. I hate conflict and the stress of feeling like the middle ground is getting to me. I can't wait for this contract to be over! I prefer the drama around me only comes courtesy of super cute Welsh Cobs :) After 6 months off, I suspect she's got a little bit saved up for me.

Ginger's barn on the coast. Also, the status of my department at work :)

The Drama Pony being dramatic over picture taking

I've been in a real funk the past month or two since May. I'm typically the girl who is always happy and positive - you know, that cheery person that annoys the crap out of you, particularly on before-coffee Monday mornings.So, this whole serious persona and NOT feeling like I radiate sunshine and rainbows (ha, I never really felt like that, but I love the visual) thing is kind of new and weird to me, and apparently not conducive to blogging. (Or doing much of anything interesting.)

Ginger,G, and I. 2012. (Sorry,  I couldn't resist.)
Also my Halloween costume circa 1985. Yes, that makes me old, but it's a fact that is too awesome not to share.  No, I am not going as far as sharing the actual pictures of my uber cool self.

OK, never mind. That picture has cheered me up considerably. Carry on with your day :)

Human Jacket Reviews

I have to start by saying I love, love, love my Kerrits gear. I love it so much that I have had two very similar winter coats from them in different colors. Sadly, the first one is pretty beat up after numerous winters at the barn. Most of the buttons and zips are now unreliable at best. The second one? It was pretty roomy to start and now I've lost a bit of weight and it's just too big. My search for a Kerrits replacement ended in disappointment as it appears the coat I love has been discontinued. I was willing to try another style, but after months of eBay and sale stalking, I couldn't find an appropriate Kerrits coat in a price range I felt comfortable with.
Kerrits discontinued "Precip" coat that I love:

Lots of nice coats at www.kerrits.com

I'll insert a quick recap of what I need in a winter coat because it's probably more of a spring/fall coat for some of you.

1. WATERPROOF. I hang out on the Pacific Coast. Water resistant doesn't cut it. There's nothing worse than being out in the cold/wind/rain an hour or two from home and feeling water trickling through the seams of your new (expensive) coat.

2. Multipurpose. I'm on a budget. My coat has to be fitted well enough to ride/run/hike/bike in, and look presentable enough to wear to the grocery store now and then.

3. Dark color. So I can pretend no one can see how dirty it really is.

4. Not too 'puffy'. While it definitely gets chilly here in Alberta, the coast sees more moderate temps and I get pretty grouchy if my coat is making me all sweaty and gross. I have a gorgeous Mountain Horse down jacket that I wear maybe once or twice a year because it's so warm. Which makes me sad when I think how cute it is and how much it cost. So, I look for lighter weight and figure I can always add a layer if I'm cold ( or move around a bit more!).


Being the penny pinching, horse expense drained girl that I am, you can bet I was shopping for my new winter coat on the clearance rack this past spring. I failed to find the perfect coat. Instead, I found two very nice coats for screaming deals. Both were about 75% off retail so I felt I could justify the splurge.

Jacket 1 - Columbia Hot Thought jacket. MSRP $140.

Sounds like it would be baking hot, right? Nope, it's a super lightweight waterproof coat with a tinfoil-esque lining designed to reflect your body heat back at you and keep you warm. Or something like that, I admit to not reading/understanding all the gimmicky scientific sounding words on the tags.

http://www.columbia.com/Women%E2%80%99s-Hot-Thought%E2%84%A2-Jacket/WL2127,default,pd.html

Pros:

-Super light weight.

-Flattering fit out of the saddle

-Waterproof!

-So far, keeps me at just the right temperature, even with just a t-shirt on the below freezing mornings we've been having

-Feels like decent quality 

Cons:

-Not crazy about the color (same as picture)

-Fits a bit on the long side, I suspect that will equal it bunching up around my midsection while in the saddle

-Hood is attached, and tucks into the collar. Not sure how I feel about that, although I suppose it's main purpose is to be my rain coat so I'll need the hood more often than not :)

Overall: Nice coat, but I wouldn't have paid full price for it.

Next up, coat 2.

Outback Trading Company Oxley Softshell jacket. MSRP $120

Such a pretty coat, and it fulfils my need for plaid. It has a soft shell exterior and a nice fleece lining.

http://www.outbacktrading.com/shop/item.aspx?itemid=479

Pros:

-Definitely designed for time in the saddle. Length is just right, and back tapers down a bit to cover better while you're riding.

-More traditional than the Columbia jacket. Looks a little more professional for some of the lessons/clinics I go to. It matches all of my breeches.

-Nicely fitted, so even though it's a thicker coat, it doesn't look overly bulky.

-I did end up getting stuck in a rainstorm last week and it kept me dry. I don't think it's up to serious long term rain, but nice to know I'll be OK if the weather surprises me now and then.

-Dirt fighting/hiding capabilities.

-Well made

-Looks cute with jeans, I've worn it for walking to work on casual Fridays and got compliments on it.

Cons

-It has an attached hood. A rather bulky attached hood. I'd rather it had no hood or a detachable hood since I've got my helmet on in the saddle and won't use a non waterproof hood at any time - I'd rather wear a cute hat if I'm cold out of the saddle. 

-Too thick for more intense sports (running, mountain biking), but I can see myself hiking and walking in this one, as well as riding of course. 

-Fit is on the small side - I had to go a size up. (which isn't really a con except for making me feel fat ;)

Overall: Love this coat, wish it was west coast standard waterproof, then it would be my favorite coat ever. I would actually consider buying this coat even at full retail price.

The clock is ticking - not too long before I go home and try these coats out a little more seriously on horseback!

Updates

Wish me luck, the municipality I live in on the coast is actually getting closer to the 21st century and hiring a tech type person. I sent my resume in this morning. I'm keeping it secret from G because I don't want him to be disappointed if I don't get it. On the other hand, I'd LOVE to surprise him with good news. Whichever the case, I have resisted all temptation of pay raises and promotions here and am still on schedule to return home in December, job or no, although working student is still on the table. The dream property is still waiting for me, (as is G lol) and life is generally feeling like it's still moving along in a positive direction. But still, a job AND my man AND my Gingersnap all in one place? Dare I dream to lead a normal life like everyone else ? :)

Ginger is still happy as a clam (Are clams happy? Really? Where did that come from...sounds like something my grandma might have said!) and enjoying her all inclusive vacation from the stresses of real life. I get regular updates regarding her awesomeness, but sadly no new photos to show you yet. I can tell you she's been healthy and happy and even been excellent for the farrier the whole time she's been gone, so I suspect it really was an issue with that one specific barn and farrier. And hey, maybe she's grown up a little too. I have no clue what I'd do if she really has randomly become all grown up and mature about things - she's such a princess it's hard to imagine even when the farm owner tells me she is 'quiet' and 'easy' to have around :)

You Can Take The Girl Away From Her Horses....

But she'll still be obsessed.

I went to try out a new (to me) running route this afternoon. I've been eyeing it up for a while via all the satellite imagery I deal with daily at work.  Real life did not disappoint - it's a beautiful park and the trails are really nice. It's a bit of a drive from where I'm currently located which is why it hasn't made my list of go to places. It was a beautiful sunny fall day, the temperature was just right, the trails had some nice inclines to add a little challenge, and for once I just felt good right to the end of my loop (I am the world's most naturally UNgifted runner. Seriously. I suck. So to finish without feeling like I'm dying/scaring passers by is pretty awesome all in itself :) There was even a rowing regatta taking place on the river right next to my trail, so I almost felt like I was being encouraged along myself with all the yelling and cheering coming from the rowers.

So what could have possibly been wrong with my day? I spent the whole run thinking:

A. How much more fun I would have riding my run route.

B. How the trails are wasted for hiking/running and would instead make a kick ass cross country course.

C. How fall is here and I've officially missed an entire summer of riding.

The trails. Seriously, how is this not a cross country course? :)

View along the river, just cause it's pretty by prairie standards

Actually, it was a pretty nice afternoon.

Ginger's Stuff

Takes up more room than Ginger! I hope I am not alone in this. In my absence, G has been tidying up our basement and has just realized the extent of Ginger's things. How I got away with it for so long, I have no idea. I think he must have thought the miscellaneous boxes and bags in our storage room were the remnants of moving out of my house and into his. Now that he is organizing, he's realizing it's all horse gear. He just texted me asking if Ginger is secretly living in the basement too - after all, she'd probably take up less room than all her belongings.

It's funny, I'm pretty minimalist in real life. I love having things organized neatly and hate clutter. I have a bare minimum of possessions. Ginger, however, owns the better part of a tack store. I've tried to downsize, but her collection only grew larger this summer with all those vacation deals. We definitely need a larger barn  :)

Working Student

Anyone out there done a working student gig?

After this contract is done I'm considering packing up myself and Ms Gingersnap and putting ourselves at the mercy of one of my very favorite clinicians for a few months. She's one of the few that travel to our town in BC for clinics, so I feel like I have a good idea of what she can teach us (a lot!) and what she'd be like to work for.
Event though I have a career and I'm ancient by traditional working student standards, I'm considering this option because it would solve a lot of my first world horsey problems and hopefully get Ginger and I on track for an actual show season next year :)

A Day At The Races

I can't believe it was two weeks ago already!

Our day started with me being uber lazy and not wanting to get out of bed - I told G I was jet lagged. Ha ha, one hour flights do that to me every time :)

Finally, off we ventured to Hastings Park, home of Hastings Racecourse, and of course the Pacific National Exhibition, along with Playland (an amusement park) and for Vancouver Canucks fans, their previous venue, the Pacific Coliseum.

The racing didn't start until 2PM, so we had a couple of hours to tour the PNE. We entered to win the prize home lottery (fingers crossed!), checked out the livestock barns, and generally milled about with the rest of the fairgoers. I was disappointed not to see any draft horses in the barns, although we did see part of the 4-H light horse show which was neat. After a veggie burrito which turned out to not be veggie at all (boo!), we decided to go for a ride on the roller coaster. It's a super cool old wooden one that apparently is on most hard core roller coaster fans bucket lists. I love it because its old and rickety and rattley and so very much fun! I'm not sure what was different this time, but The Coaster beat me up good :( I got a huge bruise all across my chest from getting slammed into the restraining bar thingy repeatedly. Still, it was awesome, and made for a great story at the beach. "Oh this little thing...yeah, got it riding a roller coaster" lol. It made a refreshing change from all the horse related bruises I usually sport on vacation.

At last, it was time to head over to the track and admire all the beautiful TBs. With the fair going on next door, I have to think these particular thoroughbreds are pretty much bombproof. There's a ride called "The Hellevator" right outside the paddock that lifts people way way up over top of everything and then randomly drops them. The sound of it kept scaring me, but the horses were totally oblivious lol.



"3 year old TB gelding. Has some get up and go, but Hellevator safe"

As you can see from the pictures, the weather was typical dark and gloomy Vancouver weather, so the pictures live up to my usual low standard. Coming from a baking hot sweaty prairie summer, I admit I enjoyed the luxury of wearing a light coat and the excuse of staying warm by snuggling up to G in the stands :)

This jockey made up pretty great save when his horse got away from the outrider and had a bit of a meltdown. Very well ridden and they managed to get settled enough to start and place.

Resident eye candy. Horse is obviously gorgeous and I am told the rider was a pretty good looking guy. You can see where my priorities were, though ;) Sorry good-looking-guy-with-no-head!

 

All in all, we had a really great afternoon horse watching and I saw more than one I wanted to take home. I make a bit of a hobby of watching how they move warming up and trying to predict what the outcome of the race will be. That day, I was good enough at it to buy G a nice steak dinner :)




Ginger's Digs

As I mentioned in my previous update, she's looking AMAZING. This is pretty embarrassing to admit, but when we pulled into the farm and parked the truck I walked right by her field! I saw her in the distance, but the shape had me thinking she was one of the farm owner's more mature cob mares :)

So. we had a quick visit at the other pasture with the other welsh cob mares, all of whom are gorgeous and were crowding the fence, vying for our attention. I could hear a horse whinnying for us in another paddock, and found this:



Beautiful Welsh D begging for our attention, but, again, not Ginger!

 

Finally, I walked over to the truck to grab Ginger's stuff before resuming the search, and there she was, quietly waiting for me by the truck. I guess she was letting us know she knows who she belongs to, but is way too cool to make a big dramatic display about it like SOME ponies lol.

Of course, she was immediately fed the rest of our fruit stand apples and spoiled thoroughly. (G was like : "You are NOT taking these nice apples to feed Ginger." Then, guess who gave her almost all 'his' apples:)

I gave her a good grooming, which she loved. As mentioned, she's filled out considerably - she looks like a mature Sec D at last. Silly girl has again rubbed out the top bit of her tail, and her mane is really long with a shorter patch she's rubbed, so I'll have some work to do to get her looking 'proper' again. She's the itchiest horse EVER, so the mane and tail rubbing is an ongoing thing with her, not to mention the belly scratching! I've yet to find any reason for the excess rubbing (dry skin, allergies, bug bites, etc), it just seems to be one of her quirks. Ms Ginny does like to do everything to excess, so I guess I shouldn't find it too odd. I'm sad to see the relatively small blanket rub she got last Christmas on her mane grew in a completely white section of mane - it's pretty punk looking :( Every little scrape she gets seems to do that, I'm not sure if it's because she already has a lot of roan type hair or whether we're just unlucky.

I taught her to bow! Actually no, she's just itchy...again.

She then took me on a tour of her paddock and introduced me to her friend around the barn and across the fence. I know it sounds completely anthropomorphized and silly, but as far as I can tell this is exactly what happens. Every time I move her or she has a new paddock neighbour, she is quite deliberate about either wanting to introduce me to her new friend or wanting me to see she doesn't like her neighbour. She'll also show me her new shelter, water bucket, etc. She's never rude or pushy about it and I think it's pretty funny so I play along. After she's done it once, she forgets about it and she won't do it again until the next time something major changes.

Geeky fly mask horses. Her new friend on the left:

I love their indoor, it's really nice for the summer, and probably just fine for the fairly mild winters they get:

Super ginormous Ginger mansion. Hard to tell in the pic but it's probably about 16ft wide and 24ft or so deep:

All of my Ginger pictures basically suck since she was following so close and really wanted to visit, and being pony deprived I had absolutely no problem with that. G was wondering quite how I got so filthy, them he saw the multiple hugs Ginger was getting.

She just can't stay away for something as silly as a photo op

I have lots of pictures of this nose. Is it an elephant or a horse? lol

 The weather was obscenely hot and humid, so I resisted the urge to lunge her for some nice pics. We had intended to take her up the nice trail through the neighbours vineyard, but it just didn't seem fair given the weather, and we opted to return the following day.

Sad true story, though, farm owner was away on her own vacation and all the area hotels are booked, apparently because they're shooting a movie there (with George Clooney!). So, as we got farther and farther from town, we opted to leave Ginger to admire George on her own and continue on our travels. I was a bit upset not to spend more time there, but at least we had a really good visit :)

I'm already counting the days until I get to ditch this city girl act and return to the horsey life-
T-92 days!



Vacation Shopping

Tomorrow is payday! Great, right? Nope, it's all got to go to paying off my credit card that was used way too much on vacation. I admit, it's still kind of awesome although my more responsible side feels more than a little guilty about my splurges. I blame G for actually stopping the truck at every tack store. He should know better and just keep driving :) I'd glad we bought the extended cab model truck, because the back section turned into my mobile tack store. Hey, we have no kids, so we might as well find a use for that space, right ?

First stop was in Chilliwack, BC. There's a little tack store that sells the basics cheaper than I've ever seen. So I loaded up on Swat and Supershield Green fly spray for Ms Gingersnap, as well as some cheap vet wrap because vet wrap is one of those things I can't seem to have enough of. I also bought a new schooling/trail helmet for myself, which I'm quite happy with for the price. I think the total bill for everything came to $45.

Helmet is pretty comfy and super affordable:

http://www.ovationriding.com/helmets/ovation-protg-helmet-467716

Next up, Greenhawk Kelowna. This was a pricey stop. 2 new pairs of gorgeous breeches at half price, a rainsheet for Ginger, a fly mask, more fly spray, 2 saddle pads, 2 pairs of gloves, Cowboy Magic detangler, and a new cactus cloth type mitt. I was super close to buying a new safety vest as well, but with all the gym time lately I've been losing weight (and I'm super determined to keep getting fitter) and would hate to end up with one that's too big.

The breeches are like so, and I got grey and beige:

Elation Platinum Euro Seat Breech. www.greenhawk.com

I wish I could adequately describe these breeches - they're beautiful! The material is a tech type fabric that's lightweight without being TOO lightweight for those of us who'd rather leave a little to the imagination :) Reg price is $139 and they were on sale for 50% off. I'm very happy with my purchase. I saw several people in the Thunderbird hunter classes wearing them so it would appear I'll be one of the cool kids for the next couple of months at least ;)

Ginger's rainsheet looks like this:

Again, at www.greenhawk.com

Pink plaid is going to look super cute on her! Sale price was $89, so not a screaming deal, but I've had these sheets before and they hold up really well. It was much too hot out to put it on her for a photo op, so you get to see the pretty Greenhawk model horse instead.

The saddle pads are pretty standard - a black one with silver piping and a navy one with lime green piping, again sale priced at 40% so I 'needed' them. The gloves are also basic : your standard summer leather crochet back type. I got a pair in black and a pair in baby blue for fun.

Ginger did model her new fly mask for us:

So ridiculous :)

Finally, a stop in Kamloops, at the Horse Barn. This is a more western themed place, but it's HUGE! They have a regular sized store space for boots and clothing, a second for basic farm/stable supplies, a third for saddles, and another for blankets, saddle pads, etc. It's kind of crazy. They even have a big art/gift gallery in the upstairs part, and a feed store attached. I saw tons of things there I really wanted, but sadly nothing was on enough of a sale for me to jump at. I ended up with a cowboy themed day planner for 2014 with great photography.

The boots I saw that I'm going to get. I have a similar pair I wear everywhere that have finally earned replacing. Justin Gypsys:  http://www.justinboots.com

I think I have now exceeded my tack/apparel budget for 2013, but it sure was fun!

Thunderbird Show Park

I think I'll start my horsey vacation events recap with the most recent first.

Yesterday, on my way back to Vancouver, I talked the ever agreeable G into spending a day at Thunderbird Show Park in Langley, BC. I was tempted by the $100k Grand Prix taking place in the afternoon, he was tempted by my promise of German beer and, of course, concession stand hot dogs. He's a pretty easy sell ;)

I've been to Thunderbird once before for a regional Quarter Horse show a friend was taking part in. That was a number of years ago now. I was aware that the parks main purpose in life is mainly to hold hunter/jumper shows throughout the summer months, but the timing just never worked out for me to visit, so I was left with a rather vague imnpression of a mid winter visit to a couple of their indoor stabling areas and a rather crowded trade show area. Living in Alberta of course all you hear about is Spruce Meadows. Even in BC, Spruce is the venue my friends all talk about visiting. Long story short, Thunderbird had (unfairly) fallen off my radar.

We followed Google maps which apparently led us to the 'back door' of the park - the camping and horse trailer parking area for competitors. FYI, it's on the exact opposite end of the park as the main entrance and the main arenas :) No problem for me, I got an up close look at a lot of very beautiful horses (and tons of very expensive gear!). As a result of our little adventure, I can also say with authority that the grounds and facilities are stunning - absolutely gorgeous and incredibly well maintained.

We showed up in time to watch a 10k jumper class in one of the main rings. It was a super fun course with lots of twisty turns and roll backs that caught out a few competitors. I'm not sure what the footing was, but it was some sort of sand/fiber mix that I immediately wanted for my own - it looked like a prettier, fluffier version of the Nike footing we have at our club grounds at home (So technical, I know ;)

Here's a couple of pics from that class:

So pretty!

Quick little grey made it to the jump off

Bad pic of the triple combination that a few people had trouble with

After feeding G, we wandered over to the Grand Prix ring. Again, the grass and landscaping was immaculate and the jumps were beautiful. We ended up being too late for bleacher seats so we sat on the grass ringside in the sun. I got a super awesome farmer tan complete with a ring around my neck from the necklace I was wearing. I also got pretty envious of the caliber of riding - G was like "you should practice and do this sometime." What a sweetie he is. I had to gently explain to him that I am not as good of a rider as that, or even as good as the small children we saw on their hunter ponies :) He thought I was being falsely modest, and was pretty sure Ginger was up for the course too - gotta love him.

Some not so great pics from the grand prix:

People who actually pay for seats get to sit in the nice pavillion in the background and have drinks and appies served

Our free seats on the back side of the ring. Complimentary hot dogs and beer available if you're nice to your girlfriend :)

 

On our way out, I took a shot of one of the practice rings for the hunters. Gorgeous ring and jumps!



In my next life, I would like to have enough money to tour around to shows like this with my horse in tow.
 

If you're curious there is much more info (and nicer pictures!) here:

http://www.tbird.ca/

I see on the schedule that they hold dressage shows in the spring and fall. Maybe Ginger and I do have a chance of living this particular dream :)