My Muse and her First Show of the Year!

How can you deny this face..?

Show season is upon us. It has been a long spring to say the least. Miss IllyMay’s heats have been especially bad this year.  With this, we have had a limited number of productive rides and training sessions. Rather than jumping off the property, we decided to start the season out in the hack division at the Teen Ranch schooling show in Orangeville.  It’s a well organized schooling show with inviting surroundings. I am very fortunate to have a dedicated, hardworking and patient amateur rider by the name of Kayla Sweet who showed her. Kayla has been riding Illy since the fall of last year and this was their first show together. I of course, stood by the ring like a proud mama and took a bizzillion pictures..teehee!!

Neither Kayla or I knew what to expect. She didn’t school well the day before, AND, the weather had turned chilly, drizzly, breezy and fresh overnight. The kind of weather that lights up your beast! Despite this, I tried to remain positive. I have always felt that Illy is the proverbial show horse, not to mention a girly, girl who just likes to show off. Braided, bathed and all prettied up, she knows it! So what happened…? She went out there and Kayla and Illy cleaned up. They were absolute stars together and ended up taking home reserve champion out of 30+ entries.

Way to go Kayla and Illy..aka..Artistic Impression.. !!!!

Signs that spring is here..

There are many signs that people look for to see that spring is actually arriving. For me, the first sign comes from my muse Illy. It’s called transitional estrus, in other words, she is in heat! The first spring heats are the strongest and worst. Illy show no bones about hiding it either. I love my mare dearly, however this time of year, she turns into a complete hormonal monster!!  

We are currently investigating some different hormone therapies to combat the situation…until then, I am posting the above pic of her taken at a horse show last year…sleeping ringside…quiet and sane…:) can’t wait for that horse to return!!