Wednesday, June 13, 2007

Horse Expo 2007: Day 2

We got to the Cal Expo grounds about 10:00, and went right to the Breyer booth. My siblings (and aunt!) wanted to PAINT THOSE MODELS! So, we all had fun doing that first.

When all our little models were “perfect” (it’s quite amazing how persnickety you get doing those!) and quite dry, we went over to watch Benny Guitron speak on hackamore training. It was cool – he said something about not being used to giving clinics or not having done a clinic before, so after he gave a very brief introduction to hackamores and their use, and his experiences/credentials, he asked for questions from the crowd. He said he wanted it to be a good learning experience for everyone, and he didn’t really have an agenda for what to say, so he wanted to talk about whatever the crowd wanted to talk about. I really liked his clinic – no frills, very simple, and some solid gold information. A lot of what he said dovetailed exactly with 2 other sources I have been studying lately, which I'll have to probably save it for future posts! :-) As I get more involved in the horse world, I meet/see people of all types, and there are some that I file away for future reference as being “real” people, people who seem genuine, open, and interested in people as well as horses. Benny Guitron is one of them.

We then went to a different arena to watch a vaulting demo. My sis is thinking about trying vaulting someday, and had actually talked to the vaulting team coach earlier, so we all went over to watch the demo with her. It was cool to watch all the stunts they can do, but our seats were far from cool… Right in direct sun – we were miserable, so my brothers and I left a bit early to go get lunch. But it is amazing to watch vaulters work!

The last thing we watched that afternoon was Donna Snyder-Smith’s clinic on riding with correct posture. Lots there – I might have to do another separate post on that. The relationship between the rider's posture and the horse's nervousness or relaxation has always been fascinating to me.
Anyway, I hope you all enjoy the pics, small as they are! Maybe next year I'll have a camera with a telephoto lense and be able to get close-ups... Next post: Saturday Evening.


L

4 comments:

photogchic said...

Great stories and info from the expo. I love the Breyers you painted. Nice job! I will have to read more about Benny. I have been riding my mare for over a month now with a rope halter and extremely pleased with how she responds without a bit. I maybe becoming a hackamore girl:-)

Esther Garvi said...

Hi L! Thanks for dropping by! I was looking for pictures of you as a kid but couldn't find them. Let me know if you post any! Toddlers are great fun to look at, especially when they're falling in love with animals. In my case, I hardly cared about the difference between a pony and a pig - they were all the same. In a way, maybe I still don't. For the moment I am the owner of two horses and the future adoptive owner of two dogs of considerable size; will probably add a goat or two in the coming year and why not a little donkey mare? Oh well, anyway, just wanted to say that Mira is really beautiful and I love your landscape!

Warm greetings, Ishtar

Original L said...

Thanks for the comments! photogchic - Isn't riding with a halter fun? I don't do it often, but I like knowing I can do it with her!

ishtar - You're right, toddlers are adorable with animals. I've visited your blog some lately, and we seem to have a lot in common re: foreign countries and animals... :-)

Bill and Darlene said...

Hello, from one Christian horse person that likes Breyers to another! You have a nice blog and horse. Come visit me at my blog sometime. :)
DJ