Blackridge Quarter Horses
2nd Annual Holiday Party
& Fun Show
Nov 10, 2007
HUGE turnout - great food, lots of fun!   We had 30 people. Our show had everything from Spear the Ring, trotting races, egg and spoon, bribe your horse obstacle horse, and toilet paper race and the Stick Horse Buckaroo Race.  We started around 3pm and about 10pm, started cleaning up.  Even with all those horses and all of those kids in the ring, we had no episodes of anyone kicking or getting kicked, falling off or getting run over-that itself is a testament to the kind of horses in our barn.  More than half the arena was in use for games or obstacle courses so the horses on deck were in pretty tight quarters We like to have fun but safety always comes first. Can't wait to do it again for New Years! 

Thanks Steve for providing the bonfire, hot dogs & s'mores. Thanks Brian for getting & keeping the fire going. Thanks everyone for coming out and all the good food and gifts exchanged. Thanks to all for sharing horses so the non-owners could participate in the games as well. 

I'd like to say this was a special event, but come to think of it, seems like we always have food and silly games going on in the barn!   More pictures to come but here are a few...(my camera batteries only lasted as long as the stick horse races -will gather more photos from the other party guests.
Jess and Titan
Titan also was the partner for many non-riding adults in the Bribe-your-horse game, winning first time ribbons for many of them!  Jess' horse Scooter also carried many beginner riders to their first ribbons ever.


Emily in the Stick Horse Races. Emily also rode and won ribbons in the mounted games.  Yes, she is just as pretty a rider on a real horse as she rides on a stick horse.
Izzy (Foreground) and Colin and Damien background.  Damien was bucked off his stick horse at cone 3....
Stephanie and her stick horse partner "Casper", whom she did an excellent job in training. Look how quietly he is standing for his championship picture!
Izzy again with her stick horse, Black Beauty.  And that heap in the background is Colin, bucked off again......
Tory and Jazz - they are so good - they do egg and spoon with the spoon in Tory's mouth!  Speaking of mouths, Jazz is no slouch either.  In the Bribe your horse competition, Jazz was champion oatmeal cookie racer - winning four of the top eight places with different partners!
Izzy and Damien - a rare moment when he managed to stay on his horse....

                                   BELOW: Colin bites the dust again.  When I asked Colin why his horse kept bucking him off he said his horse was a "wild mustang'.
This stylish young rider is Kaylee, also competed and won ribbons in the riding classes on several different horses and has inspired her mom Bonnie to take up lessons as well!  Bonnie won ribbons with Jazz in her first ever horse show class
Damien contemplating if he should stick with showing his real pony, Angel, while lying on his back from his latest fall from his devilish stick horse....
Colin and Damien - they certainly had the wildest horses in the bunch.  Don't worry though- these future horse trainers can handle it.
Kayla & Precious - ribbon winners of the evening along with Jess and Titan
Check back for more pictures of the riding games including Emily & her little sister Sarah - only on a horse a couple of times in her life - but with Emily's encouragement, was out there trotting around and playing games - Way to go both of you!  Emily is also known as the Enforcer around the barn. She'll get on any horse anytime and if you give her an assignment -she'll go off on her own and work it out.  For instance, Jazz didn't care for our 'car wash' obstacle - strips of plastic tubing hanging from the rafters that moved like you were going through an automatic car wash, so the Enforcer took Jazz over and patiently worked it out until he went through without thinking about it. And our other Sarah who rarely gets to ride took Casper in the trotting race and won. No small feat as Casper as known as our bounciest trotter thanks to his endurace racing heritage.

and Miss Rhiannon - started the day on an uncooperative horse and it looked like all was lost - but then she rebounded with a BLUE RIBBON!

I'd like to list the 'winners' here but the fact that everyone turned out, had fun, and cheered everyone else on makes them all winners.  More photos to come.
Looking forward to an even better 2008 - a lot of good things are expected from this group:

Emily D and her sister Sarah D.,  Kayla, Kaylee & Emily P, Rhiannon, Kathleen, Damien, Colin, Izzy, Jess, Sammi, Sarah &  Brittany

And our adults  - Marge, Tory, Brian, Karen, Sue, Beth, Janeen, Roxanne, Bonnie (Anita and Denise - you know we'll have you on a horse sooner or later)
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