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Month: May 2014

Two Socks Designs Saddle Pad Giveaway!

Two Socks Designs Saddle Pad Giveaway!

It’s no secret that I love all things preppy.  A few of my life slogans include “Monogram all the things” and “Chevron everything.”  True statement. So you imagine how giddy I am over today’s giveaway!  It’s chevron, it’s embroidered and it’s oh so pretty!  We’ve been lucky enough to be sponsored today by Two Socks Designs who creates fantastic embroidery creations and is just south of us at SMTT headquarters. What is the fantastic giveaway prize? Two Socks Designs is offering…

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WEF – Boots in the Equitation Ring

WEF – Boots in the Equitation Ring

If you’re like me, you grew up thinking there was one kind of boot that belonged in the equitation (and often jumper) ring.  You know what I’m talking about… the “boots with the fur” otherwise known as leather sheepskin line open front boots.  Bonus points for a matching fetlock set. I still like those boots, I really do!  They have their downsides though – they are hard to maintain, super expensive, and they tend to warp and not always fit…

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Selfie Sunday – Sickie

Selfie Sunday – Sickie

I dropped off my husband early Thursday morning for a bachelor party weekend in North Carolina.  I was happy for him to have a weekend with close friends goofing off and forgetting about responsibilities.  For me, I had several days scheduled of lots of barn time and working on my yard planting spring flowers. What did I get instead?  102 fever on Thursday.  I stayed home from work and slept all day.  By sleeping all day I also slept through feeding…

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Death of the Equine Photographer? Part II

Death of the Equine Photographer? Part II

Last week, I wrote about some of the struggles I faced when I shot horse shows professionally.  There was a lot of great discussion in the comments, some surprised and some understanding.  As with anything though, there are two sides to the story.  Today I hope to talk about the competitor’s needs and frustrations with equine photography as it stands today. Believe it or not, just owning my fancy camera setup does not mean I get good quality photographs from…

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Slight Change of Plans

Slight Change of Plans

Well not really a change of plans, more an experiment in the planning department.   See it’s no secret that I love the hunters.  I love the perfection.  I love the outfits.  I love the overall goal. My horse jumps cute and has potential as a hunter, even with some obstacles (both his and mine) we’re currently working through. So I do love the hunters, and if I had to pick my ideal goal for Simon it would be to…

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Spend it on him

Spend it on him

I love buying my horse stuff.  He has a collection of bonnets and a respectable stack of saddle pads.  It’s not just Simon either, like many of us equestrians I just love buying things for “my baby.”  I don’t anticipate that ever changing. However, I don’t necessarily have the budget for unlimited shopping sprees and the latest and greatest of everything.  In fact if I were to be honest, big purchases are either put on my credit card if they’re absolutely necessary…

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Transformation Tuesday – Ramone

Transformation Tuesday – Ramone

Most of you are familiar with the blogger behind today’s Transformation Tuesday, Viva Carlos. If you’ve been paying close attention to her blog lately, you’ll see an amazing transformation with her new horse, Ramone.  Today she shares his story with us for Transformation Tuesday! 11 Months ago I put Carlos down, that is still one of the hardest sentences to think. 4 days later my trainer brought another horse to the barn. Too soon? Yeah, it really was. 16.2hh and…

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Simon Plays Dressage

Simon Plays Dressage

It’s been a busy time here in Austin with horse shows galore (and more coming up!) so I was happy to have a free morning where Jen of Wyvern Oaks and I could head to the barn together. Even though she’s been around Simon and heard quite a lot about Simon, she’s never actually ridden him.  It was time for that to change!  Plus, since she’s been rocking the dressage lately we took this as an opportunity to dress Simon…

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Selfie Sunday – Be Good to Yourself

Selfie Sunday – Be Good to Yourself

Since this is primarily a horse blog, I tend to keep the topics fairly upbeat and of course… pony related.  In the horse front, I have a lot to be thankful for.  It is such a privilege to be able to lesson, train and show like I am right now.  Even with our challenges, I am so thrilled to have Simon and really enjoy our time together. That doesn’t change the fact that behind the scenes, I’ve been pretty low this…

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Products I Can’t Live Without – EcoGold Hunter Pad

Products I Can’t Live Without – EcoGold Hunter Pad

While I have been through a lot of schooling saddle pad options with some good results, for the longest time I had a really hard time finding a decent hunter fitted show pad. First I had a Thinline Sheepskin fitted pad, but it was incredibly hard to clean and stayed an off-white yellow color.  Sheepskin is expensive, hard to clean… and super expensive!  After seeing so many hunter horses at WEF with fleece fitted pads, I said bye bye to sheepskin…

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Death of the Equine Photographer? Part I

Death of the Equine Photographer? Part I

If you’ve ever been to a horse show at almost any level, there’s a good chance that you’ve experienced an equine photographer.  They come with all different levels of equipment, professionalism and skill.  The good ones are a rare mix of photography skills, equestrian sport knowledge and an artistic eye.  The business of equine photography seems to be in a strange and dangerous place right now.  Photographers complain about rising costs, stolen photos, and fewer orders while show goers complain…

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