“Hello again friends!
It seems ages since I last blogged and, in looking at past blogs, this is about the same time last year that I introduced myself to you. Thank you for a wonderful year of allowing me to share with you and you sharing your comments with me!
Our first show of 2011 was this weekend and boy was it HOT! There was a heat advisory with temperatures expected to be over 100 degrees! When you show black horses that weigh almost a ton, you simply must be concerned about heat. We vacillated between going and staying home but in the end, our horses are worked every day in harness so, we had to believe that they were acclimated as much as possible to the heat.
We like to move our horses at night whenever possible because it is typically cooler and traffic is usually lighter on the highways. Saratoga, the show we were attending was about a three hour trip, four hours at worst pulling a rig and with a woman who needs at least one potty stop! We left home around midnight and pulled in to the show grounds around 3.30am. This is a young show string for us and we have been pleased with how they traveled and settled. We all took a quick nap on various cots and, by 6am, we were all back up to feed and water.
As the show day got started, the first horse in the ring was our three-year-old mare Lorelei, by our stallion Wincredible. The three-year-old class typically has pretty deep waters and Judge Ryan Black looked all of them over carefully. Lorelei and Tim had a good go at the trot and, she stood like the lady she is with a beautiful expression as she looked out at the bleachers and all the people gathered. When the placements were announced, Lorelei left the ring with a fluttering blue ribbon attached to her halter.
We found a place in the shade of a tractor trailer to wait out the rest of the classes and give Lori a bucket of water before heading back in to the ring for Grand Champion Mare. This class consisted of all the winning mares in all the different breed classes and the second place winners of those same classes. The championship class was called and Lorelei trotted back in to the ring like she was the winner, an attitude that I personally love to see in any horse! That mare of ours always shows and never quits showing! The judge looked at all the horses and lingered on a pretty shire mare a few horses down from us. Hmmmmm, Tim and I looked at each other, wondering if that would be the winner.
The judge stepped up to the announcer’s booth and we all collectively held our breathe. The crowd got quiet and after what seemed like hours under the hot sun, but was actually only minutes, the Reserve Grand Champion was announced… The Shire mare. Tim and I looked at each other, neither saying a word but my fingers were secretly crossed! When the Grand Champion was announced, it was Lorelei! It was so nice to hear our farm and names announced and to hear the applause from the crowd. The fluttering Grand Champion rosette that the fair queens placed in my hand felt wonderful and we were very proud of Lorelei!
We had no time to rest on our laurels as Nick was up next! We pressed our college intern Matt, in to service with the video camera and made our way to the ring. We felt like Nick was something special and, as we walked to the ring, several folks stopped us to inquire who the stallion was. Nick had been hiding in plain sight on our farm in Connecticut since June when he had arrived from Nebraska. Once in the ring, Nick did a great job of showing himself off. Like the true adolescent that he is at two-years-old, and, feeling good despite the extreme heat, Nick gave an “I feel great” buck right in front of the spectators sitting in the stands before carrying on. Matt, who is very close to Nick, said the buck made him smile; “That’s just Nick being Nick,” he told me later.
The judge again looked Nick over carefully, as he had done with all the horses, feeling for side bone, feeling his mouth and touching his side to judge weight and condition. I always say that a great judge uses many senses to evaluate an animal and I think it is terrific when they actually use touch to confirm what the eye sees.
One of the issues with a young horse that cannot yet be ridden or driven is to build muscle and to get them fit. Nick eats a really balanced diet and he spends a lot of time on the aforementioned golf cart. He looked very fit and conditioned which, in our opinion, is how a horse should look. A few exhibitors use drugs to get that look of fitness but we just use plain old fashioned hard work and we are proud of the job that we do. Nick looked every inch of the powerful stallion that he is! One of the reasons that we wanted Matt to come to this show was so that he could see what the hours of work mean and, he could appreciate why we put in all those hours!
In the end, another blue rosette was attached to a North Point halter! Nick pranced but immediately horses were called for the Stallion Championship class so there was no waiting in the sun for Nick, which we were grateful for! It seemed like mere minutes after the class started that the reserve stallion champion was announced, another shire owned by a very nice gentleman that we had met a few years ago at another New York show. And when Grand Champion was announced, Nick was the winner!
As we got back to the barn there were congratulations and hugs all around from our show team as well as fellow exhibitors. The horses were watered first and then all of us dipped in to the coolers filled to the brim with ice for water ourselves. All the hours spent driving horses and the grooming and training had really paid off for us in Saratoga and as we loaded up and called our goodbyes, we were satisfied with the work everyone had done, including the horses. It will take a day or two of regrouping and rest but we are already looking forward to the next show in a week’s time!
Thanks again for reading and sharing! Stay cool during these dog days of summer and check back for the next installment of the blog! You can also visit us at www.northpointfarm.com or see us on Facebook!”
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