A New approach for a New Year!

2011 brings change for Creekside Curlies. Our decision to retire from our breeding business, due to my health issues has been a journey for us. Our quest for quality, however, has always remained at the top of our goals, and we have several youngsters still here. Some are offered for sale, and as horses sell, others may be removed from our sales list.

I am very excited to pursue a life long dream and move into the world of carriage driving. In addition to driving for pleasure, I discovered, that CDE's ( combined driving events ) offer dressage tests in a driven form. Putting driving together with my past goal of producing top notch dressage horses suddenly came into focus....I have landed in my own dream world! All the years work spent breeding quality horses will now benefit me in the world of driving. Watch us as we get started in the world of driving, we hope to have 2 horses going nicely in harness in 2011. We also have retained frozen semen from our superb stallion "Shadow's Hawk Spirit" aka"HeartBreaker" and will be looking for trades, so we can raise one more foal, this time from a HeartBreaker filly.

Stay with us as we pursue our goals, summer looks very promising around here, but I have a bit of medical work to do before then.....so, stay tuned!

Merry Christmas Everyone!

We wish a Merry Christmas and Happy New Year to each and all of our dear friends....Creekside horses span the world and we hope that all are toast in their beds and a true blessing for their owners.

Raising horses has been a God give gift to me, the joy of a newborn foal, the pride of seeing a youngster learn and grow, the thrill of a Champion, it all is a treasure I will cherish.

What a better place for baby Jesus to be born, than in a stable manger...all the animals, along with the humans celebrated this new life.

Merry Christmas to all!

Pretty in Pink

Here is my filly "Kallie" !!! Pretty in Pink! Kallie wears pink...Legacy wears purple and the rest of the herd...well, they have to earn their colors so to speak!

I have been having a blast training Kallie...she is one of those horses that just connect in a way that only folks dream about. She is smart, capable, eager and willing..and oh so talented...Trainer Mike says she moves every bit as nice as her Sire "HeartBreaker" or even perhaps a bit better!

Kallie and I are aiming to be a team, a driving team....she has made great progress, and has never made a miss step in her training. Soon, I will be hitching her up, we have just a few things to tweak before we head out driving. I will say, this has been one of the MOST enjoyable journeys in horse training I have even been on...and I hope the same for when Legacy and I become a driving team also.

Happy Halloween!

A whole lot of Halloween fun happened on Sunday evening! AJ, his Mommy and Myself went out for a little trick or treating....( just showing off, no candy involved ) ....what fun! I have to say that the "Cat in the Hat" costume was the absolutely cutest thing I have ever seen! AJ, of course, enjoyed all the attention..course, he always does !

My Grandson

To date I have not been one of those obnoxious Grandmas...You know the type...always sticking new pics of the Grandbaby in your face...always bragging about the new Grandbaby...yadda, yadda....well, I can certainly see where that can happen! but...I will try and control myself and share a pic every now and then.....and to make this "horse related" AJ told me he wanted a pony! so, without further ado...my Grandson Mr. August James VavRosky....2 1/2 months old..and absolutely as cute as they come. This young man holds the keys to many of our hearts...!

Fall videos in the can

*C-C Heartfires Spark

*C-C Henri

*C-C Hanalei

As our days turn shorter and nights longer, we have had some spectacular fall days. The last two weeks have been our most enjoyable weather of 2010!

I took the opportunity, even with my old painful body, to do some new photos and video of some of our youngsters. I had not watched Hanalei too closely at the trot, she really prefers to canter alot of the time. I was very thrilled to catch this shot, which shows proper DAP. DAP is when the hind foot, lands before the front foot hits the ground at the trot. Good DAP is essential to a dressage prospect, as the more natural it is, the less you have to train for it. It shows that a horse is indeed using his/her hind end to propel themselves forward, not drag behind being heavy on the forehand.

Henri was a whole lot of fun to video and photograph. He is so kind and willing. He is going to make someone a wonderful riding buddy. He too, has a wonderful forward trot with good DAP.




My best surprise of the day was "Spark".....I know she is a wonderful mover, powerful and forward, excellent DAP! but the pics really show her ability off. Spark is also a willing gal, she tries very hard to please, even if she is hesitant about something, perhaps thinking us humans are plumb crazy wanting to 'wash her face" as seen on the video. Here I caught her with all four feet off the ground in a moment of suspension.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2d1ShqDp-pE
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=63GhTfF4zn0
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LowHHIOzVyE

I had to spread my work load over several days, just too much for me to them all at once right now...and then 4 hours of creating, editing and posting video, and now I can rest a bit...perhaps? and perhaps get BACK to blogging on a regular basis.

Fair Bounty

AHHH !!! Time again for the Nez Perce County Fair! This year our photo entries were limited to 4...down from the usual 8 allowed...sure makes it tough to chose, but it seems I chose pretty well. My beloved pic of Hattie ( foal ) and Darryl ( young lady ) got 1 st place, and Best of Class in the Human Interest category. My silhouette pic of Nicole accomplished the same thing in the PEOPLE category...a widely entered category...I also entered my album I had made of my Dad's WWII pictures...doing the best I could without names of place or dates....I compiled the few facts I did know, along with the pics and some letters to home he had written and we took home Blue, best of Class and a judges award..the "Award of Merit"......so, I feel really honored with my winnings this year..the competition is always very tough, and I love to compete :-) Thank you judges at the Nez Perce County Fair.

Interview day

Interview day.....when the phone rang yesterday, I was completely surprised to find on the other end..the weekend style reporter from the Moscow/Pullman Daily News...."Christina" ask a few questions about our horse breeding operations, then asked if she might in fact, come and visit and potentially do an article on our farm......yahoooo !!! my answer, of course, was YES !


I am all about details, and I never let the opportunity for a first impression to be less than top notch...
So, at the crack of dawn I was up...first the house had to be cleaned up a bit....then out to the barn to do chores, straighten the barn, tack room and the area close to our arena up a bit....Next was a bath for HeartBreaker....he is always a bit less than receptive on the whole bathing issue, but he takes it never the less ;-) scrub, scrub...out with the dust and in with the clean! I put HB in the stall to dry, rushed up for lunch and showered just in time to see Christina pull up the driveway.

Christina came inside and we did a bit of an interview....she then wanted to see the horses, so off we went....HeartBreaker was more than happy to be a perfect gentleman for the interview, and frankly, he looked just dang handsome. When I was putting him away in his paddock, another car drove in, the photographer...so, I caught HeartBreaker again, and we took him out for a few pictures.

Next we visited our weanling foals..who are being supervised by Kallie. I took out Kallie for a few pics, and we then moved on for a bit more conversation. Hanalei and Henri were right in the mix of things too...curious minds you know

It was a wonderful visit...Christina is new to horses, and I am afraid I have spoiled her a bit..she now thinks all stallions are as mannerly and as kind as HeartBreaker...perhaps someday in the future, when she interviews another horse breeder, she will find her first exposure to a stallion was an exceptional moment.

The thinking horse vs the listening horse

The thinking horse vs the listening horse. Quite a few posts have been floating around some of the groups about how folks love their "thinking" horses. Sure we want our horses to think, but what I want, is my horse to listen. A fine example I can share happened yesterday. I have been training Kallie to drive...each step has gone well and she is now pulling my custom made travers with ease. while I drive her. Yesterday, when I went to unhitch her, the travers move a bit and startled her. I could see her mind working...she really wanted to escape, and escape fast...BUT....my whoa command, was met with just that...a WHOA ! I was actually a bit surprised she responded to my whoa command as quick as she did..I was actually planing an escape route so I would not get plowed over by the travers. Kallie whoa "d" and she relaxed and we went on to unhitch with no problems. Hitching and unhitching is a bit of a challenge alone, and a real recipe for disaster if you have a horse that will not listen..... For me that is a true relationship .....a willing partner that follows the lead of the herd mare (me) yet does it willingly and without question. Thank you Kallie! you just added a feather in your cap ;-)

The wrong Turn

When you live with a large acreage a herd that plays together, stays together is a thing of beauty. Every one knows the rules..you can wander off grazing, but you best be ready to move, when your herd leader says MOVE!

As a horse owner when you do not have complete access to your horse's pasture within a sight line, a lost horse, away from the herd, can only mean one thing....trouble!

After being gone to town, when I returned home today, my mare herd contained 5 horses, not 6. This is NOT good news...it generally means one thing...someone is hurt and can not travel with the herd....other things come to mind, none of them pleasant....SO, I fed the mares/youngsters and rushed to the house for a quick change of clothes and a 4 wheeler ride to find my lost soul ....Flame.

Lots of things went through my head....where was he ? was he stuck in a fenceline somewhere? had someone shot accidently shot him?( we have an elk season going on ) was he on the other side of the perimeter fence and I would need a miracle , with fence pliers to get him back through the fence?

I was TOTALLY relived to find out that Flame had simply taken a wrong turn...LOL...he was with the herd, and followed one of their "horse trails" but the herd took the other trail instead...and there was Flame, really only 50ft from the trail that would lead him to the herd, but since he is a youngster, and could not see it, and did not know it was there close, from years of experience, there he stood, waiting for help ;-) He was perfectly fine, and downright happy to see me ;-)

WHEW !!! I put my heart and soul into my herd, and never want to see one injured in any manner...this time we got lucky!

Kallie at work

Kallie has been working! I am starting Kallie in harness, soon to be put to a cart....and I finally found a suitable cart for us...a heavy duty training cart with thick, nobby motorcycle wheels...Kallie has shown a stellar attitude in all her lessons, I attribute this to her early training with Trainer Mike ( Mike Kincella- Deer Park, WA well respected dressage trainer ) He found Kallie's work ethic for us, and she has not failed to step up to any challenge I give her.



My process of cart training has been as follows....there was not a whole lot of ground work I still needed to do with Kallie..she even ground ties! so, intro to harness, wearing her harness while lunging, long linning, ground driving, into to blinkers, working with blinkers while long linning, with me out of sight, into to the travers, dragging the travers beside her, travers work with 2 helpers ( Kallie in travers, but not hitched to it ) hitching to travers....


NOW..we start, travers and long linning, travers and blinkers, more long linning, travers and driving OUTSIDE the arena....up, down, over gravel, on the road edge ( I have a huge advantage, we live on a noisy county road, BUT I have a safe place to work a driving horse along side of the road, including room for a travers, and esp using blinkers.

and soon...I will hitch Kallie to our cart...the "keen green" LOL...it screamed NAME ME !!! and we start the whole process all over again ;-)


stay tuned!

Tiny Bundle...HUGE miracle

Our tiny miracle

James and his Son...."AJ"

For those who say miracles do not happen in this day and age, I say to them...you are most certainly wrong!

Last January, my Son James informed me I would be a Grandma. He and his fiance' were surprised with this news themselves. "Elissa" the Mom to be suffers from Rhuemotoid arthritis, for one...and has not been in good health the last couple years. The chances of her carrying this baby to full term were slim...and that was before the problems started.

Elissa spent the majority of her pregnancy in the hospital...she could not take her RA meds, putting her body in severe pain. Seizures resulted from that pain, and meds, meds and MORE meds were given her....seizure meds are NOT what you want to be taking during a pregnancy, the risk of birth defects or the loss of the baby were very real. Many, many times through out her pregnancy she would start having contractions. First we hung on to hope she would make it to 32 weeks, the point of which the local hospital could handle the baby if he came at that point...then we hung on to hope she would make it to 33 weeks, 34, well, you get the picture. We were indeed waiting for August...her due date was August 21st.

After much of Feb. most of April, all of May, June, and 3 weeks of July, Elissa was released from the hospital....she headed home and took things easy. We rushed in a baby shower, and I spent a day organizing the nursery......we soon would see a real life baby arrive...several questions still remained though...could she delivery him ? or would there have to be a C section ? and the big question...would he be alright?

Last Tuesday, I was to meet up with the kids and drop off some more baby stuff at their house..when I got to their house, there was a note on the door....Elissa's water had broke during the early morning hours and they were at the hospital....I headed there.

I really had not intended to be there for the birth of my first Grandbaby...but once I got there, I just could not bear to leave, and frankly, no one asked me too ;-) It was Wednesday afternoon before the baby arrived, but I treasured every moment....My Son was "going" to video the whole thing, haha! but in the last hour he panicked and got way too nervous and scared....I don't blame him at all!

Elissa had a tough last hour, the baby lodged on her bad hip and she could not get him moved for quite a while...but then, almost before the doctor could get in the room, our first Grandbaby arrived.... I cried, James cried !!! Elissa beamed !!!

and...our baby was not only healthy, but handsome too! his name is "August James" he weighed 6 lbs 13 oz and was 20 " long....he is perfect in so many ways...his name was chosen in honor of his two Great Grandpas....and August means "determined" that would certainly describe what he went through to get here...and you see...after all that...we really WERE waiting for "August"

The best news is...his Mom is feeling REALLY good, and is taking excellent care of him...his parents beam when ever they see him ;-) course, his Grandma probably does too. Hours and hours of prayer were spent..and we appreciate everyone who prayed, stressed and cared along with us. THANK YOU !!!

Happy Birthday Krinkle Clown !!!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Gv1_qYwn06Y
This month Krinkles celebrates her 25 th birthday ! It is a great milestone in a horses life...Krinkles calendar may say "25" but according to our vet, her body and her teeth say "I'm really only 10" Krinkles came to live with us in 1997 when I was searching for a broke horse for my 11 year old son Matthew to ride. I went to look at a farm not too far from our place, with the intention of buying a gelding. The geldings I saw, were either not for sale, or way too green for a young man to enjoy...so, I took the chance and bought a mare.

Krinkles was nicely started under saddle, but she had her own opinion about how you rode. She insisted on kind, soft hands, and legs that stayed quiet unless she was being cued. I swear her and Matthew went backwards more than forwards that first year...but he eventually got the hang of riding her and him and I and our horses spent many peaceful hours out trail riding together. I do not think there was ever a moment when Matthew felt he could not handle her, she was gracious and forgiving, strict and loving all at the same time. They frequently spent time waiting for me and my gelding to catch up...Krinkles walks out faster than any horse I have ridden...big, swinging stride, that really covers the ground. There is no where on the trail she won't go, if you point her in that direction. There were moments where I thought she was going to blow up with Matthew...but over miles and miles of riding, she never did..she thought better of it, and kept him as safe as she could.

A couple years passed and we decided to raise a foal from Krinkles. We were blow away by what this mare has produced, quality every time, no matter the stallion....As we enlarged our herd, added in more broodmares, she was deemed the herd leader. Over the years there were times she was NOT boss mare, other mares got to eat first, but even those mares fell into line when Krinkles headed out. At 25 years old, she is still leading our herd, and has the current luxury of being boss mare too ;-) I think she deserves it, the luxury of being fed first!

Krinkles is a fairly opinionated horse. She has riders she likes and some she dislikes...and if she dislikes you as a rider, you will know it! She has a way of making her opinion known..without violence or bad manners...just a special way of telling you. I have spent quite a bit of time riding her in the last few years, and found we communicate quite well. She sometimes "needs" to know the reason, but if she understands what is being asked, she willingly obliges.

We have had a variety of foals out of Krinles...but one thing remains the same. No matter how much or how little they are handled at the start of their life, when time comes for weaning, halter breaking, saddle training they are kind and willing students. I can not say this of all the mares we have owned...but I can honestly say this of each and every one of her foals.

I dug through a stack of old pictures and found some of her and Matthew together, and also her and some of her foals...enjoy the slideshow/video.....

My neighbor recently asked...."What is going on when I hear the horses in the middle of the night?" oh...an easy reply..Krinkles is gathering her herd, to move grazing locations or to go to water...and believe you me...if you are ANYWHERE close, you will hear this mare..she has a rather exhuberant whinny!

I suppose our farm, someday will not be the same...but I have learned so much for this mare I will always treasure the moments and miles we have shared..enjoy the video !!!

More video is UP!

New Video of *C-C Handsome Dark Knight

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KxXwAzywgqM

Here is our video of "Darkie" He shows off his manners and his kind and willing attitude while working with Darryl....enjoy!

Kallie

as promised...LOL...my blog updates are starting....this might be old news to those who surf my website often, but I will add a bit of an update too, so it can be new news!

A couple weeks ago, we brought *C-C Hotel Kalifornia "Kallie" home from the trainers. Kallie had been in training for several weeks with Mike Kincella, a well know dressage trainer. Her training went well. Mike does an excellent job with my horses, and Kallie was no exception. Here is a link to the videos I prepared when we picked her up.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wVS8a7NB2Wo

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MAyqSkFNJGg

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pAjzj99gAQo

Since Kallie has been home, I have started her in the process of training her to harness. She has learned to accept the harness, lunge and work in harness and we will start long reining and ground driving soon.

The more I work with this filly the MORE I love her ;-) She is highly intelligent, very athletic and is very, very lovely to look at! Keep checking as we will soon start our journey in harness and hitching to a cart.....

catching up!

My oh My ! Technology is great when it works....! not so great when it does not though...for the last month, I have been on limited bandwidth, and unable to access and up date my blog! and there has been SO much going on.....so, over the next few days, I will be chattier than usual..and get all our latest news and pictures posted...stay tuned!

Taking a drive

Leah and Daisy .... ready to drive

Last Saturday I ventured out to be part of the INDS ( Inland Northwest Driving Society ) Pleasure drive at Farragut State Park, near Athol, ID. Since I do not have my own horse and carriage going yet, I was kind enough to be offered a chance to ride with Linda and Greg S. on their surrey....the surrey was pulled by their team, Leah and Dixie. I happily rode in the back seat, snapping a few pics along the way ( not so easy in the bumpy back of a surrey )...it was a lovely drive...the carriage trail at Farragut is 10 miles long..The trail winds through open areas, lovely cool forest and then back to the horse camping/staging area.


When we were fairly close to the end...My hosts for the trip, let me take the reins and do a little driving myself. WOWZERS !!!! Chances to drive a reliable team, in a lovely setting put me on the top of the world : ) .....towards the end of the drive, we got a little lost...the grass was very high, due to our very wet spring, and the signs on this trail are a little thin....we were following the cart in front of us..and I really had no clue of direction in this case....BUT...we soon broke out onto a main road in the park, and had a nice little drive the rest of the way back, albeit down the paved road....Actually, the "paved" road, with its chuck holes, gave me a great opportunity to practice my driving skills...

Other members of the INDS participate, as did members of the Selkirk Driving Society.....There were also horse back riders that tagged along too.what a wonderful day...horses, carriages, a chance to learn more and more for me....and good conversation and food back at camp......

Clinic day

Clinic day at Teddy Bear Fjords in Mead, WA

Me !!! driving the cones at Teddy Bear Fjord farm in Mead, WA...... the host of the clinicians....

The story.....

A couple weeks ago, when I emailed Warren Riddle of Teddy Bear Fjords, and asked if I could audit the upcoming clinic, I had NO idea what a day I would have. I figured I would get there early, watch folks prepare, watch and audit and learn...but I had NO idea that my day would in fact be much, much more.....

Saturday morning I headed out...it would be an hours drive to the clinic location at Teddy Bear farms, and I wanted to be on time...OK...for me, "on time" is usually a bit early.
When I arrived, I saw no one around.. but I quickly met up with Warren and he took me over to the dressage ring, dropped me at the feet of Brian Jensen the clinician, and set me to learning..right there and then!

Brain and Ursula Jensen had come to the clinic from BC where they live on their Fjord farm. They both hold judges cards for here and abroad. They raise and train a few high quality Fjords a year and compete also. These folks are well rounded in the sport of CDEs that is for sure. Brain has driven a variety of hitches, and now prefers the "four in hand" while Ursula often drives a single. As I spent the day with them, watching and learning, I do not think I have ever seen such helpful, kind clinicians....they have no "movie star" attitude about them, and the beginner is just as important to them and the advance student..lucky for me!

I got to sit next to Brain, and tabulate his markings during the dressage test....in quiet moments I got to ask my own questions, of which there were many. After the dressage test, and his comments to the drivers, we headed to the cones. I intently listed to his direction to whips for the cones, since it is something I have never seen done! After the cones, the whips and horses usually did part of the marathon course.
Here is Sylvia Riddle going through the water hazard with her Fjord team.

Part of the reason I went to the clinic was for photography...I was NOT disappointed. There were ample opportunities through out the day, and I was wishing I had planned to stay Sunday too. Many of the teams were Fjords, but there were also single horses and whips. Often there were a different breed, certainly a different color!
One of my favorite shots from the day...I call this "Fjord Faces"

Around mid morning I heard talk that there may be empty time slots that needed to be filled with students...seems one gal that booked several time slots and could not come due to a sick horse....I jumped right in and volunteered to fill one of those time slots...oh HELP !!! I have no horse or cart! Warren and Sylvia Riddle, clinic hosts were kind enough to loan me a single horse and a cart for my very own lesson with a world class whip .....WOW !!!! talk about my lucky day.
Here I am !!! with Brain Jensen, clinician......whoo hooo !!! and below..going through the cones !
WOW...I learned so much, and I found that my hands were not quite as clumsy as when I drove for the very first time a couple months ago....yeah ! and also found..cones are ALOT easier at the trot....LOL....

Don't "judge" me just yet,.I know I am a bit out of position..but dang, this is hard! Brian wants me to drive the horses head, stay in good position, have good contact, and he expects me to breath too?

At noon we had a potluck lunch, hosted by Sylvia and Warren Riddle in their lovely home. We had a few rain showers in the morning, and Warren had a roaring fire to warm us all up. Lovely homes, gracious host....what more could you ask for? I met many of the INDS ( Inland Northwest Driving Society ) members, and found them to be a fun, helpful, kind bunch of folks...all with that interest in driving...

After lunch, we headed back to the dressage arena and I watch and learned more. One of the highlights on the day was Michael and Susie and their team of tandem Fjords. I used my skills to take some of the loveliest photographs of Michael, Susie and their team, the lighting, the weather, the scenery, you would probably think they were in Norway!
As Michael drove down the centerline of the dressage arena..all you could see was one horse! That was truly an awesome sight....and very, very correct...I think many of us can appreciate the training that goes into doing this...most people find it hard with one horse, much less two.

To say I leaned alot would be an understatement....I learned about so many things, from carts, to horses, harness, what things are strictly personal preference, tradition, oh so many things, and to take the lines in MY VERY OWN HANDS.....well, lets just say that though I was already hooked on driving...I am obsessed now ;-)

My most heartfelt THANK YOU to all the INDS members that were at the clinic, to Warren and Sylvia Riddle, "Ridder" my patient driving partner, wonderful, gracious, host farm, and to Brain and Ursula Jensen....I started at the top, learning from the best..and I hope to learn under you again...THANK YOU SO MUCH !!!!

BSB pictures

"Black shadow background" pics are a type of picture taken where you see the subject ( with me, usually a horse! ) standing at the edge of a "black hole"...this black hole can be as simple as an open door, or as big as the doorway for an indoor arena..it also works doing it outside as shadows fall on the ground....the result of doing this shot correct, is good lighting on your horse, and a solid black background that needs no touch up...some arenas are better than others...some have unique benefits.

Last week I had the chance to do some BSB pics of our beloved stallion "HeartBreaker" doing these shots always takes a handler, so I stopped by my friend's place for a little practice and some help in handling...I took a class on BSB last year, and found that my friend's arena was an awesome spot for this type of photo...his arena is very dark inside, and has a door facing south, giving us good sunlight to work with...so, we worked a few minutes, got the shots I wanted and here are the results...HB was being silly, and insisted on smiling for us! enjoy !!!

cleaning up my act

There is just something about a sunny warm day that reminds me....all those dirty brushes and winter crusted halters need a bath !!! I have to admit..most folks probably do not enjoy scrubbing horse brushes, washing halters or other such menial jobs...but I do ;-)

Nylon halters have a way of getting dirty around here..and a quick soak in some soapy water goes a long ways to getting them clean.

Next comes the horse brushes, curry combs, both rubber and metal, hoof picks, assorted other tools, and shampoo bottles that have been used, but are not empty need a little clean up too.

and....after a good soak, a dash of fabric softener in the rinse for the halter and leads ropes ( to keep them soft and pliable ) they all get hung out to dry on my trusty clothes line....
AHHHHH !!!! Life is indeed good ;-)

Dreams coming true

*C-C HOTEL KALIFORNIA

"Kallie"

3 years ago, on my son Matthew's 21st birthday...a curly coated black filly arrived on our farm....I knew when she arrived, she would be here awhile....LOL..usually that comment is reserved for a foal that did not quite live up to expectations...homely, poor conformation, or something for me to know that foal would be a tough sell....BUT in this case, it was just the opposite! Named "C-C Hotel Kalifornia" and quickly barn named "Kallie" I have been watching this filly grow since that wonderful day....Kallie has grown up nicely! This spring, we took Kallie to our dressage trainer, to see how she would progress in training....and finally after weeks and weeks of rain, we got a break and I got a chance to see how Kallie is coming along under saddle with Trainer Mike.

Trainer Mike graciously rode Kalie outside for me..so I could do a few pics of her...she is coming along really nice! Kallie is a very capable horse, she has a wonderful kind and willing to work under saddle attitude. Trainer Mike has just started her canter work. I was mighty pleased to see her large expressive trot at liberty, was the same trot under saddle.
Trainer Mike is doing an excellent job with her, and I am mighty pleased at her progress...she will be a wonderful and capable dressage mount. I am really impressed with her ability to "go long and low" this is not always easy for horses of the curly breed....this indicates a proper length of neck, and good physical ability.... As usual, I like to capture head shots, they say a horses eye is the window to his/her soul....here are a couple of my captures on Kallie's face and kind, willing attitude..enjoy! I certainly AM.
We shall see where your talent takes you, the world has lots of possibilities .

Whaaattaaaaa Wedding !!!

Some events in life, just stand out more than others...a child's wedding has to qualify as of one those really special events. I can hardly believe it has been two weeks already! Two weeks since my youngest son, "Matthew" tied the knot with his longtime girlfriend/fiance' "Lauren".....
Wedding day was just spectacular !! We have one rain shower in the morning, then the rest of the day the outside lighting was just "soft box" ( light clouds/awesome lighting ) ....a photographers dream!
Our extended family started arriving on Friday, the day before the big event, we had a family dinner Friday night, and the groom-to-be made an appearance....Dinner at O'Shays..nothing better!

Saturday was busy...esp for me....Since the wedding was held at an event center, there was no Friday night rehearsal dinner..instead the kinks were worked out early Saturday and I held the rehearsal dinner as a rehearsal brunch instead....my friend Dawn Q. ended up being my right hand..there was not much time for the wedding part to eat and then get dressed for a couple hours of photos. Dawn even helped me put on my makeup....poor me....hard to put on makeup when you can not see your face without your glasses.....
When my Sister "Sally" called and asked us if they should come early to help...I said YES.....lucky thing too, she seemed to be the only one who could help us correctly put on boutineers and corsages...geeeeee. has it really been THAT long ago...? well...yes, it probably has.....I had certainly lost my touch. We also had a few cases of mistaken identity...James and Matthew look a whole lot alike...and at one point, James was banned from the dressing room, because he was thought to be the GROOM !!! even Lauren could not convince the door guard...
Here is James and his fiance' Elissa....
The ceremony was simple elegance.....vases of single flowers lined the aisle....white chairs were our seating and more vases of flowers were at the alter. Hardly a dry eye in the place as Lauren walked down the aisle....her Dad had been killed in a logging accident about 7 years ago...she gave a flower to each sibling of her Dad's family, and her Grandma too....like I said...not a dry eye....esp me...... The minister ( a family member, who has many wedding ceremonies under his belt ) wore a kilt and quoted Scottish blessings..he did such a fantastic job...and after hours of practicing "VavRosky" he introduced "Mr and Mrs VavRosky....I now have 2 sons, and a daughter ;-)

Dinner followed the wedding, lots of time for good conversation and a chance to visit with the Bride and Groom...we left the event center around 9:30pm , when we left the Bride and Groom were still busy enjoying friends. Matthew had friends from elementary school, high school , college and work attend in his honor...plus, of course all the family that could make the trip.
Pictured here was the other best gal at the wedding...our Great Niece "Edie" ...she made a lasting impression on us all...what a sweetheart she is!

Saturday night I slept very little.....a slideshow of the whole even kept running through my brain....everything about this was so perfect!

Sunday I had the honor of bringing Matthew's Jeep home...the Bride and Groom took their other vehicle on their short honeymoon, and I took the extra one home.....Got a few horns honked at me....the wedding part had decorated BOTH vehicles, not know for sure which one the Bride and Groom would be traveling in...better to be safe, than sorry. I also took a few moments to stop along the way and do some fun "wedding" pictures of my own.....
Guess I got carried away on the Jeep pics ;-) since I had no time at all, to take pics of my own..this was my way of satisfying my need for pics.

Whaaattaaaaa wedding this way...and we wish the Lovely Bride, the Handsome Groom all the best for years to come .....we were all surprised to see a photo album already made up..the Bride and Groom looking at pics of the Bride and Groom and ceremony ! What a clever idea...the photographer's wife was in another room, process and editing photos as the night went on...gotta love technology...

and...the proud parents.....looking a bit older than in our own wedding ....oh well !