Learn To Ride and Drive In Style

Attention all you American Saddlebred fans out there. Here is an offer you can't refuse.



If anyone is interested in taking them up on their offer of a free lesson on an American Saddlebred, or driving a Hackney pony, and is having difficulty finding a local stable, please comment on this blog, and my network of Saddlebred loving humans will help you find one.

Mom

My sister Cocoa's people suprised me with some photos of my Mom.... Isn't she pretty?

We have a new little baby sister.




Even though I got my gorgeous color from my Mom, Brita still thinks I look just like my Dad. I'm so happy to have pictures of Mom. She's 24 years old, and still looking pretty darn good for her age. Ooops, sorry Mom, I probably shouldn't have told on you.

Meet my little sister: My Cocoa Latte

The most interesting thing about the Internet is the social connection capabilities. Yes, Facebook and the Internet work for horses too! Not too long ago my little sister Cocoa found my blog through a friend of a friend and was able to contact me and reconnect. We have the same mom, Attache's Galatea, but different fathers. Here are some excerpts from our correspondence:

Dear William Pendleton,

Your blog was shared with me by another rider at my barn, as I am your sister! My owner and I live in Florida and I am training to be shown in the Country Pleasure class with my rider an 11-year old girl. You look like our Mom, she has the same coloring as you, she also lives in Florida, about 30 minutes from me. I look like my dad, a Bay.

I was born in TN, but moved to FL when I was young. I lived with my Mom and some other Saddlebreds with a man bought Mom (he is a farrier).He brought me to a nice barn with lots of kids and to be trained. That is where I met my people family. They tell me they fell in love with me the first time they saw me! When the farrier man thought I was ready for a forever family, the lady bought me as a surprise for the girl for her 11th birthday. We have been inseparable ever since! Mom lives at a very nice stable and is pregnant again!

I am so happy to find a sibling of mine and can't wait to hear about all our adventures and will keep up with your blog regularly.

Love you little sister,

Cocoa

Cocoa's people also shared some info with me about her bond with her young owner. It sounds like Cocoa is lucky to have a very kind family as I do, and they have bonded in a special way:

"She is very sweet and loves other animals. She gives kisses to the dogs and the goat that live that the stable. She gently leans into my daughter every time Julia goes into her stall. Her personality is the reason we bought her (we have never owned a horse before) not her pedigree.

She is being trained for ASB Country Pleasure and competed in her first show in March 2011. She can be a bit little lazy, but is VERY smart. Cocoa knows how to get her way and realizes Julia loves her as a pet, not just a show horse. Julia is having to learn many new things in order to keep her on track. The are like two peas in a pod and sometime I think Cocoa is the equine version of Julia (not just in personality, but also in physique). They are both very long-legged and lean, so they look great together in the ring. "

We congratulate Cocoa on finding such a wonderful family and wish her well in her future endeavors and hope to hear from her again. I do so hope she can get me a picture of my Mom Galatea for my scrap book!

Home Movies

Would you like to meet my father? This is a recent video of my sire Deep Blue. I think I look alot like him. I'm working on turning all brown too. It sure is nice to have some family movies.

Family Foto Friday

Ride 'em Cowgirl!

So you say that it used to be so much more fun to ride a silver pony that felt like a coiled spring.... ready to test the limits of one horse power in a vertical context? Sissy... Get out yer winter gear, and let's ride!

"Bronco Billy"

Showing Horses in the Heat

**Editor Interruption**

Mom said to me yesterday, as we were sitting on tack trucks eating sherbet, "Aren't you glad we aren't at a horse show in this heat?" I reminded her that the Lexington Jr. League Horse Show is this week. Not only am I glad I'm not sitting there in a heat wave (because I've experienced that joy before) but can you imagine hauling this rig all the way from California to Lexington, Kentucky and outfitting it? Even the headers were dressed as clowns! Thank God it didn't rain! Michele McFarlane always goes above and beyond the call of duty, and she has a grand imagination and the budget to back it up.

This is Michele McFarlane's circus wagon which I understand will represent the American Saddlebred breed in exhibitions at the World Equestrian Games. Michele is driving, and that looks like Don Trunk sitting beside her. Yes, I know Michele has a staff to help with these things but WoW! Just....WoW!

More photos of the Concourse D'Elegance can be found on Howie Schatzberg's site. Go to Thursday Evening Class 202 and click on any individual photo to see an enlarged version.

This is my favorite... Awesome! This is 2007 World's Champion Five Gaited horse Casey's Final Countdown who Michele imported from South Africa.

You will probably also enjoy the Four in Hand Coaching class below it.

Now I guess I'll have to check the results to see if any of Grey's brother's or sisters were showing.

** Update** Grey's big brother Preston won the Stallion/Gelding Fine Harness class. Good Luck Preston in the Championship!!

Let's get this show on the road...

Several of my siblings... those who have careers... are in Kentucky this week showing at the Lexington Jr. League Horse Show.

You can click on their names to see pictures from the photographer's website.

Congratulations Foxy Camilla for your third place in the Adult Show Pleasure Driving, and CH Revolover for your third in the Amatuer Fine Harness Stake. I wonder if Paranormal will be showing?

They look like they're having lots of fun. I'm not sure I want to go to a horse show afterall. Brita made me get on the trailer again yesterday, and closed me in. For a looong time. At least it seemed like a long time. I threw a teeny weeny fit. I think she's mad at me. She seems to be plotting and planning.

Once Upon a Time.... Conclusion

So, Ganey had determined that it was time for my Grandmother to part with some of her money. Ganey (like many horse trainers) always assumed that other people had money. Which, in relation to himself, was usually true. I had been showing horses since I was 7 years old, and was now 16. Besides the nice trail horses of various descriptions I had grown up on, I had also managed to borrow at least one Saddlebred. I had shown all seats in 4-H winning up to the state level, and had shown huntseat on our competitive saddle club circle, even capturing the high point award one year. But for the most part my dreams of showing horses like I had seen at Louisville went sadly unfulfilled. What I really wanted was an elegant three gaited horse and a top hat. So, we went horse shopping.

Ganey was in his element. Not only did he get to burn up the phone lines telling everyone he knew that he had some money to spend, but he got to ride around the countryside in a much newer car, lunching in backwoods restaurant in 3 states with what he considered to be a whole posse of good looking women. Besides horses and money, women were also a big deal to Ganey. Especially long legged women, since he was about 5'4" ("they aren't too tall on a couch"). I remember for my 16th birthday he insisted I come up with the most elegant red dress I could find (specifically "no pigtails") and meet him at a restaurant so he could take me out to dinner. I don't even remember what restaurant it was anymore, but he had been feeding the bartender all sorts of stories, and he needed an accomplice.

So, he got permission from my mother, and we all played along. He instructed me with just as much detail as he had about my ringmanship about how he wanted me to walk into that bar. I have to say, it's a lesson I have kept with me to this day. Not only do I know better than to pull up a cantering horse in the middle of the long side of an arena, but I know to walk into a bar like I meant to be there, with a destination in mind. Knowing my mother I am still sort of baffled that she had no problem with an 85 year old rascal like Ganey parading her teenage daughter around a bar like a trophy girlfriend, but by then Ganey was like family and he was good fun.

We looked at a few horses. Ganey was ready to buy each one, but none of them were really a good match. Finally, he said he thought he had located a good horse in our low price range, and we headed to Richlon farms. See, I told you at the very beginning this was about how I met Lonnie Lavery... While Ganey and I ran sort of a shabby operation in our old has been of a barn, with our string of has been show horses, Richlon Farm was at the other end of the spectrum. The stables were very well run, and the lounge (noticeably absent at the other places we had been) was luxurious. Within minutes of our arrival, I was prepared to have a pretty good time. Even though we were "no one from nowhere" here to look at one cheap horse, we were greeted with great hospitality. I'm sure this was not only due to Lonnie's graciousness and professionalism, but also was being done as a favor for Ganey. The horse we had come to look at "Bold Type" was ready, but Lonnie told us he had two other similar horses to show us so we could make a fair comparison with what we were looking at.

The first horse was a very pretty, refined gelding with nice motion. He had the neatest pair of Valley View Supreme ears at the end of that long neck. I still remember rounding the far end of the indoor looking through those ears thinking "pinch me I'm dreaming". He was a very kind horse, with a wonderful mouth who tried every day of his life to do what you asked him. After we rode that one, Lonnie brought out a cocky little flaxen horse, followed by a really nice horse, much like the first, but with more age and experience. He was also twice as expensive. I was allowed to ride each one, and each one was beautifully trained, and packed me around willingly.

It was pretty obvious that the first horse would fit the bill nicely, and also was what we could afford. But, not to be rushed into any decision involving a horse, my dear mother asked if we could ride him a second time. We had already taken up a good portion of the Lavery's morning riding horses, but no one missed a beat, and the first horse was quickly readied and brought out again. This time, we tried him in the outdoor arena with the beautiful cinder track. I was truly living a dream. Of course, we were all behaving like Hillbilly's at Disneyland. My mother was snapping photos and my Grandmother was bending the ear of Lonnie's lovely wife Renae. I don't recall what Ganey was up to at the time, probably hiding in the corner trying to pretend he didn't know us.

We did buy the first horse. He turned out to be a wonderful teacher. First he went back to Ganey's while we got to know him, and then I took him home. I used that horse as a guinea pig for every training device that could be either purchased through a catalog, or rigged up from the picture. I showed him for years in everything from three gaited to pleasure, and on down to western (never beaten) and then leased him to a gal who showed him successfully in country pleasure driving. We also spent hours trail riding, and driving along the roads in a cart or a sleigh. I even took him calf penning once and he tried his very best. Some years later, I decided I would rather have a five gaited horse. So, I taught him to rack. He really wasn't five gaited material, and was aged at that point, but I do have a video of him racking along as true as can be.


He was the perfect first Saddlebred and I am indebted to Ganey and Lonnie Lavery for matching us up. I think that was my most successful horse shopping experience ever. It certainly was a memorable day.

Once Upon a Time... Part 2

Things were starting to liven up around the old Terrace Farms. Besides Saturdays, several times a week, when I got off the school bus Ganey's ancient, ramshackled, Cadillac would be waiting in the driveway to take me to the barn. We would work the horse, then put him under a cooler, and my real education would begin. We would retreat to the warmth of the local diner for a sandwich (there was never any food in the Ganey household) or we would go to the Horse Room which held the largest collection of photos, books and magazines about the Saddlebred that I had seen before or since.

I learned more while that horse was cooling out... Ganey and I were a good team. I did the high stuff, and he did the low stuff. We hauled trunks full of ancient tack out to clean. I learned how to tell the difference between "Shit and Shinola". I saw wonderful old fashioned equipment like wooden sweat scrapers and handmade bits... and a blonde, wooden "walk-trot stick". I learned how to take care of a set tail. I learned never to trust a measuring stick, and to bring my own when horse shopping. I learned that not all L.S. Dickey's horses were really by Des-de-mon-ee-a Denmark, and that (unofficially of course) Guided by Love was named that because that's the only way anyone could steer him. Ganey was a wealth of knowledge, and of entertainment. He had a hundred stories, and they were all entertaining. My Grandmother said at first she thought he was lying, but over the years the facts never changed with the telling, and she said that was how you could tell a story was true.

More horses started to show up in the barn. There was the black three gaited mare with nerve damage in her mouth who had developed the nasty habit of trying to knock her rider off with her head, and at least three Tattersalls specials including a "Nine Year Old" gelding who turned out to be 17 when his papers were finally found. During the week, I would work these renegades trying to figure out their quirks well enough to get them to go nicely for their owners and not get anyone hurt. Ganey had never been much of a rider (but was a darn good minor league baseball player), and he would be the first person to admit this. He was short legged, and ham fisted, but his wife told me "he was the best damned ground man I ever had". He would hold my finger tips and show me how he wanted me to feel the reins. He taught me to "con" a horse, to get him to do what you wanted. We also rode everything in the same snaffle bit. The day he told me to "put the work bridle on the black mare and ride her around the farm" I objected. Strenuously. He told me if I couldn't ride her in a snaffle, I might as well not ride at all. It was true, she couldn't feel any bit, so which one we used wouldn't matter much. Ganey taught me that bits don't control horses, your mind does. If you can't learn to get along with a horse, and reach some sort of amicable arrangement, no fancy equipment was going to solve your problem. The mare and I had a nice little walk around the farm, and thankfully I managed not to piss her off before I got her back to the barn.

We did make it to some shows over the next two years. The second year was the summer I met my good friend Adolph, who was the son of Al Morando who had been a horse trainer back in the day. His wife had started to trail ride for fun, and as was Adolph's nature, he took over the hobby and went whole hog. He had tackroom curtains made with his farm name, and Ganey's old colors. We found his wife a fancier horse, polished up the old black mare, borrowed Ganey's wife Theo's outdated riding clothes (which didn't fit me), and headed to the Erie racetrack for a show. The racetrack was a pretty appropriate place to show that black mare. She did a bank turn off the announcer's booth, lengthened the ring with my knee on the other end, and lined up on top of the ring master. But, we had a blast anyway.

Adolph had bought an old schoolmaster of a gaited horse by the name of Sparkling Five Speed. He was a pretty good old horse for our area, and I was happy to go the shows and groom while watching that golden horse burn up the tanbark. Ganey was feeling pretty young again. He had gone from doing absolutely nothing to do to having a barn full of horses and being the hub of the horse activity in our area.

Besides working the renegades, we were trying to gait the 3 yr old colt, but things were not going well. We started by just raising his head, progressed to shaking him, and finally out of desperation, nearly knocked him over! Still nothing. A few people sent mares to be bred to him (we rode those too, just in case there was something good in the lot) and he was developing a stallion's attitude. He was never mean, but if things got complicated, he would simply tune you out. Ganey finally gave up, and the lady sent him to Lavery's. They also found that the horse didn't want to rack, and he was later sold. Since the ASHA website has become so well developed, I've looked the horse up and see that much later in life he actually placed 6th out of 10 in a jr. exibitor five gaited class... Lonnie and I remain skeptical about this fact. The problem this all posed for Ganey, is that he now no longer had a decent horse to get ready to show. We were busy working about 5 horses, but it was becoming more and more obvious that none of them were any good. There is a lot to be learned working renegades, but if you want to learn how to improve a nice horse, you need some nice horses to work with. He decided that my education had progressed to the point where I had better have my own show horse, and so he went to work on my Grandmother.

Once Upon a Time... Part 1

I would like to hijack Grey's blog for a moment to thank Lonnie Lavery for adding us to his favorite links on his Ask the Trainer website. Since I consider Lonnie to be not only a very respectable and knowledgeable horse trainer, but an excellent writer as well, I take great compliment in the fact that he finds this blog entertaining.

Let me tell you how I met Lonnie and how he gave me one of my most memorable Saddlebred moments... Because this sort of ties into how I got into Saddlebreds in the first place, and because I've been looking for a good excuse to tell this story anyway, I'm going to start right from the beginning. I am also going to borrow a technique from Lonnie, and give it to you in parts. Otherwise, it would probably be a real snoozer! Anyway, here it goes....


I grew up in a Saddlebred family. My grandmother had a broodmare, and she raised a few colts. Since Saddlebreds were pretty scarce in our area, and because she was a pretty nice mare, most of the colts were sold before they reached a trainable age. So, I grew up riding an Arabian pony, and an assortment of Quarter Horses, Appaloosas, and borrowed Saddlebreds. My father was from Shelbyville, KY, so every year we would go visit family during the Fair, and of course, attend just about every night of the World Champion show. I clearly remember every five gaited World's Grand Champion from CH Belle Elegant through CH Sky Watch. That's about 13 years of watching from the sidelines.

When I was 13, I began riding for an old retired Irishman named Charles Ganey, known to everyone, including his wife, as simply "Ganey". In fact, the only person I ever heard address him as "Mr. Ganey" was Don Harris. That about knocked my socks off. About a year and a half ago, I had the distinct pleasure of introducing myself to Don Harris while at Tattersalls. I proudly identified myself as one of "Ganey's Girls". He paused for a moment, taking that into consideration and then said "I'm probably the only person in this building that would mean anything to anymore.". It's true, most of the rest of the horse world has long forgotten him, and he was truely one of the old time treasures. Ganey was a wheeler dealer, a good old fashioned horse trader. His favorite person had to be L.S. Dickey. To say those two were "In Cahoots" would be an understatement. When I think of them, the first phrase that comes to mind is "Thick as Theives." Anyway, one day, Ganey called the house and I answered. I'll never forget these words.. "your Mama says you want to learn to ride horses." Well, I already knew how to ride, and Ganey knew that. Otherwise, he would not have said what came next.... "I have this 2 yr old stud horse here, and I need someone to ride him." Yes, to repeat, I was 13 years old.



What was going on over there, was a lady from up in Grand Island, NY had sent Ganey this colt. Saddlebred barns are in pretty short supply in this neck of the woods, and I think everyone else was full at the time. He was the only horse in the barn besides a retired road pony, and having this horse was what got Ganey out of bed every morning. He doted on him. He started him in lines then got a local guy to come and get on the horse a few times. From then on Ganey was cross tying him in the lower barn, climbing up from a hay bale, unsnapping the cross ties, and riding this horse. The colt had thrown him at least once, and besides getting himself hurt, I'm sure Ganey was worried about the horse getting out in the road and getting himself killed or worse. I may be off by a year or two, but at the time, Ganey was at least 81 and had both hips replaced. So, putting a 13 year old horse crazy girl up on a 2 year old green broke stallion was actually an improvement in the situation. Plus, I worked for free which was an important consideration. Well, my Mom and Grandmother not only trusted Ganey not to get a child hurt, but they trusted my riding ability. The next Saturday, we all went to see me ride this horse, and yes, we were all excited. From every view point it was a wonderful opportunity.



We started in the round pen on a longe line, and everything went smoothly. The horse wasn't too tough, just quick, and I was every bit the rider Ganey thought I was (almost certainly better than I am 25 years later). I only came off him once, it was the following spring, and I landed on my feet. However, Ganey refrained from telling the owner about our arrangement for a few months until the colt turned 3, and I turned 14. He said those numbers sounded better than 2 and 13 did. Of course, the lady rushed down to put an end to it, but after seeing things first hand, she decided Ganey had everything under control, and the horse stayed. Now that Ganey had a horse, and a rider, he was back in business. To say we breathed life back into the old place was an understatement. We staged the biggest comeback ever seen in the Western NY Saddlebred world!

Under the Spotlight

Check out this new painting of my big brother Preston (CH Revolver) by Jeanne Newton Schoborg. The original will be auctioned at the ASB Museum's Fine Art Auction in July. Prints are available from Jeanne's website. I think everyone needs one!

http://www.jnsfineart.com/

8" x 10" $35.00

13" x 19" $50.00

painting by Jeanne Newton: Copywrite 2009 used with the permission of the artist

Since I'm frumpy, I'm catching up on my reading

I've been catching up on my reading today, flipping through the stack of Saddle Horse Reports in the tack room.

Congratulations to my big brother CH Revolver (Preston) for his Reserve Championship at the Royal this year.
Isn't he handsome? And CLEAN! I don't know if I would want to be a fussy champion show horse. I love rolling in the dirt. Preston doesn't look like he has seen any dirt in years!
I can't believe he is still that darkly dappled. I'm going grey a lot quicker than he is. I know his daddy was black, but he must have been using that grecian formula that he used to be named for. Yeah, that's got to be it.