Me and one of my first pets - Buzzy the Hamster. My parents were doomed.
Our old blind cat, cleverly named "Paleface". He was in his late teens in this picture, poor old dude.
Me, looking oddly 'sly', while petting the cat.
Paleface again, this time looking a little more lively.
Did I already say that my parents were doomed? This should be all the proof needed! This haul is from a single Christmas I believe. (I still love presents)
Good ol' family holiday dinners
My mother and grandmother
Can YOU find the alcoholic?
This is after we moved to Corvallis. This kitty is Raisin, on the day we brought her home from the pound.
Left to right - My dad, Raisin looking to get under a bed, me in my sweet color-changing looney tunes threads
Raisin pretty much never looked pleased about anything.
This is before we moved from Seattle, this puppy is Max. They all start out so adorable...
AWW. Max again, with my aunt's senior citizen dog. She was such a good sport, putting up with Max's puppy energy.
Max as an older dog, being cute
This is the "I did NOT chew your shoe!" look.
Max doing his casual
Here's me at horse camp near Seattle, learning to "vault" on a very very patient walking belgian mare named - you guessed it - Bonnie.
"HOLY CRAP SHE'S TROTTING" (Like my safety keds?)
This mare was my parent's bargaining chip to get me to be a good citizen about moving away from Seattle. Her name is Mistie, and I got to half-lease her! She was such a patient mare.
Mistie and I at our first schooling show, in the arena of the barn she was boarded at. I got a fourth in this class, and a third in another.
Yep - those are western spurs on my rubber muck boots. Picking up leads for kids with no leg muscles was not on Mistie's to-do list without a little extra attention-getting.
Mistie and I at fair! Ahh, the days before 4-H required helmets.
Getting ready for showmanship. The girl behind me is Britney, a club and barn-mate. I was SO jealous of her leather boots, show halter, and actual hunt coat. My parents wouldn't buy any of that until I'd proved that this wasn't a phase. HA!
I did not braid her - her lovely owner did. That woman was a saint to me!
Mistie is pretty much over this whole 'little girls and ribbons' crap.
Here we are getting ready for our rail class.
That's Britney again - her horse is a little POA mare named "Princess Patti" or something like that. She ALWAYS threw her head in line.
I still don't know who let me buy a teal halter and lead to go with my royal blue sweater.
But apparently the judges didn't care - that was my first blue in what was to be a long horse showing career!
I look so happy and cute, and Misty looks so ready to have some hay and a nap.
This is Timone. Yeah, I had a Llama too. I showed him - he was the only one in our 4-H group that would lay down on command. In Llama Speak, that's called Kushing. Or Cushing. Can't remember... Anyway, llamas are cute when they yawn!
Adorable!
Practicing Llama showmanship
Look at my poise! Those other kids clearly didn't know who they were up against.
And I won! Side note - it is typical to tie knots in llama llead ropes, because you need hand holds/grips for when they won't go and need to be dragged. Seriously!
Llama jumping, with a pack on. He was such a tolerant llama.
More showmanship practice. Timone knew how to set up!
This is the horse I took lessons on after Mistie went out of commission to be a broodmare. His name is Tuffy, and in these pictures he is about seventeen and navicular. Poor old dude. He was a good citizen, packing us around.
I sometimes took lessons from this other lady, Harmony, when Gina wasn't available.
Jeebus, look at those front legs... no wonder he was navicular!
But I loved him. I took about forty pictures of him and sent them to Breyer, and told them of his school horse history and pleaded for them to make a model of him. I got my pictures back with a form letter about how they don't have enough time to make horses for every little girl that writes. :-(
One of my pictures for Breyer
Cute belly spot! I love quiet old geldings.
Here he is kind of square, 'dressed up' for the photo shoot for my 4-H records. The fun part about never owning a horse was that I got to complete records on 3-6 horses each year to turn in.
There's my teal halter again... looks like I got a matching shirt. *sigh*
This is another horse I did a partial lease on that year, Frankie. She was the most challenging mare I had ridden to date, being only four and pretty green. We did alright together.
We did not know the secret of not being back lit!
This is the only photo I have of Rasha, the gelding I partially leased after Frankie. He had some soundness issues, so I only rode him for a few months. When I think about it though, he was my first arab! Gateway gelding!
This is Darafix, aka "Footie". She had quite an attitude, but I loved her - I rode her for about a year. She and I won high point at fair, even! Trail was our strong point, she would do anything.
Jeebus, the things my trainer let me leave the barn in... looking like an Olive Garden server here. This was also before the day I was clued in that those hair nets are referred to as "hair scrotums". If you don't think so at first, really look at one the next time you see somebody wearing one at a show. Yes, they are fast and easy - but NOT worth it.
Barn-mates hanging out in between classes at fair. The appy gelding there is Dusty, who would become the first horse I actually owned that Christmas! I paid for half, and my parents paid the other half as my christmas gift.
Footie and I, pwning the trail gate
The fact that she had a two foot stride probably helped us in things like this jogging cone serpentine.
I think this was the trail championships, and we had to dismount and answer horse fact questions. Good thing I was also on the horse bowl team, I aced them! That is also a good shot of my old Billy Royal show saddle, the first show saddle I owned.
That is the lowest her head EVER got.
I HATE JUMPING. I was about to soil myself before this class, and the thought of going over those HUGE JUMPS.
Tee hee. This is Bob, the father of one of my 4-H club mates. I thought it was funny to try and get him to get their quarter horse mare to set up like an arab. She made a valiant effort! And so did Bob, for that matter!
AWW. Old gelding love. Both the horses in this photo are at least three years older than their riders.
More proof that I would accept and show anything with four legs that was remotely equine flavored. I had a lot of fun at this donkey show though! We totally won that class. His name was Cactus.
Everybody loves withers scritchies!
This is a litter of kittens we fostered from the humane society in Corvallis. I volunteered there 10ish hours per week for all of high school.
My dad is invincible! He's the one on the far right.
This is us, we did the MS ride on that tandem. My poor dad, but I so chose horses over bicycles.
Aben! This is Aben Hassan, an aged arabian stallion I showed when I was sixteen. He was a blast! I think he was 19 here.
Aben stepping in a hole.
Aben would not like to be a hunter horse, thankyouverymuch. Getting him to trot like this was a once-a-year kind of activity, and you can see how happy he was to be doing it. Ignore those ears though, and it's a pretty picture!
He showed halter once - at the Crabbet show, where they had Halter Stallions 15 & Older.
Us at Scottsdale! I was so nervous.
More of us cruising around in grass, trying to get a good picture. We never did get a decent moving pic.
This one is cute though, wish my eyes had been open...
Jogging from left to right down the hill did not make for any good pics...
Pretty old boy.
Here's Harley, my first foray into foal ownership. I got him for $500, and this is us at his first PtHA show. Yeah - he got registered pinto from the 2 square inches of white that extended past his cheekbone! w00t!
Harls & I getting pictures for records.
I swear that's not a worm belly!
Ahhhh. Here come the Amber days. Gina bought this mare as a broodmare, and allowed me to ride her, and show if we got good enough. She remains the "horse-shaped hole in my life", I still mist up thinking of her. Perhaps she is why I have almost a shelf full of white arab mare models...
This is us our first time off the farm, at 4-H pre-fair. She ALWAYS looked that happy.
And so did I! Wouldn't you, if you got to play with a pretty white magic mare like her?
Pictures for 4-H records. She was so easy to get to look pretty like that.
These were taken just after our very first class A show - we won first in hunter pleasure, maiden horse.
She was really snorty that day though, so I was afraid to get moving pictures.
Here's us later the next year, practicing for trail at an open show. Everybody laughed at me when I wanted to get her going western!
SO CUTE
The definition of pretty.
This is us at a show later in the fall, that's a new bit for her and she was very very respectful of it.
Amber & I, and Levi & Jennifer, barn mates. Amber had won the halter champ that morning, and Levi got the western champ!
This is her doing working pairs with my friend Stacy and her mare Cassie. Nobody told us that vetrap straight on the cannon could cause bowed tendons... Amber's owner saw it shortly after this picture and it was removed post haste.
Mae! This is Amber at Region IV regionals, doing showmanship 13 & Under with Mae. Mae was a girl at the barn that I really liked, so we started having her work with Amber, and go with me to shows. I think I had more fun helping Mae to show than I did showing myself.
SUCH A GOOD MARE. She never stayed square in front for Mae, because every time Mae would switch sides, Amber would be worried where she was going and try to follow her.
I was tall enough to make it clear she was to stay put.
Amber & Mae, standing in line after one of the Western Walk/Trot classes. 13 & Under was really Amber's calling, she was SO perfect for it.
This is Amber & I at Region V regionals, winning a Top 5 in horsemanship. None of my barn-mates thought I would do anything in that class, so none of them came to watch. HA!
Here's Amber & I at a smallish show after regionals. She did get going western very well after a while! She never would have a quiet jog, but one could learn how to sit it.
That same show, winning a hunter class.
And a western class!
This is Mae at a pre-regionals show I believe. You can tell that it's the Walk/Trot western equitation class, because she's just been hissed at to keep her chin up.
Happy kid, happy mare.
This is us at regionals, in one of the JTR western classes. I know the PROOF across these is pretty distracting, but most of these photogs aren't in business anymore, so I can't get real copies...
Amber & I at Scottsdale, doing trail. Shortly after doing this bridge, we had to canter over a "broad jump", and she really went for it - and me, not knowing how to handle an actual jump, went flying over her withers. It's on video somewhere out there...
Amber & Mae in line after one of the huntseat walk/trot classes, looking precious.
Waiting after a western walk/jog class
You can barely see me to the left of the shot, about to impart some words of equitation wisdom.
Whoopsie. This happened every now and then, and fortunately I had a friend on the rail that untied her tail when we went by at the walk. We still won that class!
Amber doing her best snorty hunter impression, at regionals with Mae. She got a top five!
There I am again in that lovely purple fleece, doing my best 'rail mom' impression. I really did have so much fun with Mae showing my favorite mare.
Us at Scottsdale, in halter class. This is the only shot in which you can see her star/stripe, and the marking on her bottom lip that isn't on her papers. Arabian breeders, you make me laugh.
Us in a pleasure class at the Region V regionals.
So many poles!
Mae, once again taking me a little too literally about keeping her chin up.
Scary lope poles! But she looks so pretty doing them.
Yeah, I made her do trail too. Any horse of mine had to go for high points!
Us in showmanship at Region IV regionals. We were regional champion! Amber and I were one of only three horses in the class that actually executed a haunch turn. Showmanship in arabs was still new then, and most of them fudged it.
Mae and Amber, looking adorable in line.
Mae and Amber, looking adorable on the rail for showmanship.
Amber & I in a hunter class in Salem. This was the first time we tried her in a ported bit for english, and it was way too much for her. Back to the full cheek!
Mae & Amber again, jogging on the rail
Regional Champion showmanship!
Here's us with the top 5 ribbon, but I don't have a pic of us with the neck ribbon and bronze we won. :-( The bronze is on my wall though! We won it the last year they gave the big bronzes out, next year they were something different.
We also made her do halter at regionals, but she didn't really have the neck for it, poor girl. Her job is looking beautiful while packing children around!
This is us doing horsemanship, I can tell because of how incredibly stiff I look.
Amber & Mae walking on the rail at regionals
A very odd phase of the jog, here's Mae & Amber with their top 5 ribbon win picture.
Amber & Mae in hunter under saddle walk-trot
Amber & I doing western at an A show, not regionals yet!
This was before we'd worked much on our cue-downs, LOL. "Yes, I'll go over, but I am NOT lowering my head to pretend to look closely..."
Amber & Mae trotting on the rail again. I hope you're not getting tired of admiring the cuteness - I'm not!
SQUEEEE!
Chilling out in between classes at one of the many shows where we did EVERYTHING in the quest for some belt buckle or another.
Here's Junior - the reason I had to stop riding Amber. I actually bought this colt, but had to sell him for a variety of reasons. It's a neat shot of a baby grey, with those fake leg barring dealies they get! This shot is entitled - "Cute Baby With Dirty Mare"
Another picture of his neat-o leggies
Baby itchies!
