Kick the Cat

Our Wild Thing DNA filly Kick the Cat is getting bigger! I´ve been fooling around with her quite a bit lately and she´s really makin strides. The cool thing with a horse like this is, if you give them enough time to absorb stuff and stay within her self, she´ll be one explosive individual. One of those horses where you think left and she´s already going, think stop and she´s already backin up. We´ll se where we end up, but she sure looks promising.


We are working on getting her to do all the excercises at the walk and not fly around like she´s at the All American.


We´re getting there, slowly but surely.



She´s takin all my foolishness in stride.

Offside.

Tools.

My old slickfork. Seen a few backsides.

Ida and her friend driving Fiffelina.

Brady´s good side!

Dr Doolittle with Tiger & Gizmo

My darling, Annelie!

Avenir & Brady. Look closely at Bradys right hind. He´s just about to throw a shoe! I actually saw it on the pic, got my barings and walked out there and found it in two feet of snow!

He was pretty full of himself today.

Lookin good though.
'


Avenir got going pretty good also.

No news is good news?

If thats true I guess we´re ok!?

Not much to report actually other than winters back, full force -13F or -25C(sounds even worse in Celsius doesn´t it?) The broker is showing the house again today so we have to stay away tonight. Water and horses freezing, my fingers and toes aswell! Gearing up to climb aboard Cat one of theese days. She´s taking the saddle deal relly well but still needs to simmer down some. Too cold to ride Brady in the spade, so I´ve put him in the bosal I made for Cat. He really likes it! It´s a bit on the soft and forgiving side and it seems to agree with him. We´ll se what he think´s when the snow´s gone and we ad some cows and speed.

Arbuckle Mtn Futurity is underway and the 2nd go of the 5/6yo is about to start.
Really strong field with some of the best horses around! Third Cutting, Don´t Look Twice, Boon To Suen etc. Notable too how many good horses missed in the 1st round, LHR Smooth Jamie May, Hangem Cat, Blue Dox Com, Smart Cat Moria and a number of others that normally you´d see in the 2nd and even the finals.

Vaquero Fiesta 2011

Sorry for keeping you out of the loop for awhile, been awfully busy around here with selling the house and all that comes with that. The weather is back to beeing uncooperative, though beautiful with tons of snow, cold & crisp, it gets pretty old with all the shoveling and frozen waterlines.

The date for the 2011 Vaquero Fiesta has been set to August 6-7th 2011. This is one of the coolest events I ever attended! Real low key but with some of the best ropers & stockmen around participating, along with some really outstanding vendors!
Host Richard Caldwell

Dwight Hill

Cat has been saddled and worked from the ground a couple of times now. She´s going to need a lot of time to allow her mind to keep up with the rest of her. She´s a handful, but when she settles down I know she´ll make one heck of a horse!

Rode Brady a few times too, mostly out on the trail just to get him out and about alittle. When this house business is over and done with he´s going to get his too.

Third Cutting & Boyd Rice were at it again this weekend in the Cutting Bonanza. Won the 5/6 yo with a 226.


Futurity Champ One Time Royalty & Lloyd Cox leads the pack in the 4yo after the first go.

Sunday

Allrighty, here´s the results from the NRCHA World Championships & Worlds Greatest Horseman:

Topsails Reinmaker & Russel Dilday won WG for the third time! This is indeed an awsome little horse and Russel sure knows how to get him ready. Split reserve goes to AQHA Superhorse, Play Dual Rey & Todd Crawford and Olena Oak & Ron Emmons 1/2 a point behind the winner.
Worlds Greatest Horseman

Wagonhounds Genuine Masterpiece came away with the win in the two rein. A friend of ours, Kevin Meyer, started him back when he was in charge of the horseprogram at the ranch. Two rein

In the Hackamore my favourite, Moody Blues Brother & Ken Wold messed up in the reinwork and scored a big, fat 0! Didn´t really go for it in the cowwork after that and finished last. Good looking horse though, with a lot of style and eyeappeal on a cow. Solano Cat & Ron Ralls finished strong with a 225 in the cowwork to claim the crown.
Hackamore

Another aquaintance, Kenny Schueler, placed 4th in the Novice and 6th in the Non Pro and drove home with more than $3.000 in his pocket. Congatulations Kenny & Michelle!!

Doug Williamson & Gardiners´Hes Wright On won the Open Bridle finals with a composite score of 448!, 10.5 pts ahead of the second place Mr Dual Brooksinic & Robert Chown!
Bridle

Tried staying awake for the Super Bowl final last night but it just wasn´t happening! Passed out on the couch 5min into the first quarter with 2 cats, a already sleeping mrs, and the dog snoring by my feet.

Got the coming two year old, Kick The Cat saddled Saturday! She looked great sporting my old slickfork! She crowhopped a little, bucked once or twice and that was it. I´m so happy her leg seems to be holding up, and this springs going to be exciting! Will try to get some pics posted, cause she looks good!

Gearing up for the sale

Not much time for fooling around with the horses in the coming weeks unfortunately. Major overhaul of the house for the upcoming sale in a week or two. Tons of stuff to get rid of. Getting a couple of tons of hey tomorrow too, big birthday bash at my parents Sunday with Ben, my mom, brother and two of the kids cousins celebrating their birthdays. I guess spring brings something in the air and May, if my calculations are correct, is a busy month.....

Shows;
A bunch of Cowhorse finals today in San Angelo, Two rein and a bunch of youth and ltd classes. Worlds Greatest prelims also conclude today with the steer stopping and cowwork. Jennifer Black marked a 207 in the rein and will have to score big in the remaining legs to make the finals. She´s doing great though and Hickory, her horse, is a real, working ranchhorse unlike most of the other´s in there who´s never seen the outside of an arena.


Tunica finals:


The 5/6 year old went to Dont Look Twice and Phil Rapp scoring 75:s all around for a 225 score. Second place to Bet Hesa Cat and Austin Shepard 224 and pushing his winnings over $100.000. Bet Hesa Cat is a young High Brow Cat stud standing at the 4 sixes.
Bet Hesa Cat
Pretty decent damside there too with Bet Yer Blue Boons $350,000 and producer of foals earning nearly $500,000!!

4yo finals today,

Whollottashowin goin´on!

From San Angelo, TX, the Worlds Greatest Horseman competition started yesterday with the herdwork.

Mr Playinstylish was about as dominant as you´d expect marking a 222 with Robbie Boyce in the saddle. Just Plain Cat, Hes Wright On & Oh Cay N Short chasing with 219 and 218 respectively.
Mr Playinstylish is an outstanding cowhorse by champion Playin Stylish and great cutting mare Tari Chick Gay $250.000, winner of both the open and non pro Super Stakes!

Jennifer Black & Hickory held their own and placed in the middle of the pack with a 206.


WGH continues today with the reinwork.

Kenny & Blondies Peppy Grace again placed 8th in the Novice Non-Pro Bridle prelims and thus made the finals in both the Non-Pro and the Novice NP! Leading the novice class is Morgan Holmes aboard Nic It In The Buds half brother Dun It Big, by Hollywood Dun It and AQHA Superhorse Genuine Redbud!

Tunica Cutting Futurity in Missisippi is also underway with finals in the 5/6 Yo Open today. Your usual suspects showing off there:



The 4Yo open 2nd go today also.
They´ve had problems there as well as in TX with blizzards and foul weather with power failures and problems getting to and from the arenas.

Ben´s B:day

Had Ben, girlfriend and Ben´s mom, spouce and their little Lucas over for his birthday dinner last night. Man, can´t believe he´s 17 years old! I don´t feel much older than that myself!

Annelie made a great dinner, salmon, and we finished off with a cake not exactly weightwatcher friendly!! Little Lucas follewed Ida around where ever she went, calling out -Ida car, or -Ida dog, really cute! Great evening, and I´m really happy we all get along so good.

The Celebration of Champions continue today with NRCHA World Championship Open Hackamore, Non-pro Hackamore & Non-pro Bridle Preliminaries followed by the Worlds Greatest Horseman Herdwork.
In Worlds Greatest Horseman I´m rooting for Martin Blacks wife Jennifer, riding Call Me Docs Hickory. Tough lady and she takes on some of the industrys top names. Any of theese ring a bell? Rice, Crawford, Williamson, Ralls, Boyce, McLaughlin, Dilday, Bergen? Go Jennifer!

In the NRCHA World Championship Two rein prelims, Wagonhounds Genuine Masterpiece & Jay McLaughlin took a comfy lead, topping Jay´s second horse Shiners Hot Flash by 6,5 points.

In the Non pro Bridle my fingers are crossed for Kenny Schueller and his Blondies Peppy Grace, he placed 8th in the prelims and thus are in the finals. Kenny is a friend and where we got our great broodmare Justa Bita Pep.

Celebration of Champions

After the Abilene Spectacular and the Augusta Futurity, the cowhorses are now on the move! Celebration of Champions has kicked off in San Angelo, Tx. The Circle Y Derby for 4-5 year olds concluded last night with the cowwork. A really uneven bunch of cows had the contestants really working for it. This is the top 20.


My favourite among them was CNN Crystal Boon. A five year old stallion by Boon A Little - Crystal Lady Gun. Boon A Little is a blueroan full brother to Wild Thing DNA meaning Smart Little Lena on Autumn Boon. This powerful bayroan, CNN Crystal Boon, started off great with a 146 in the herdwork followed by a 146,5 in the reinwork. Unfortunately rider Kyle Noyce drew one of the less cooperative cows and only marked a 131 in the cowwork. Good looking horse though and worked like a charm in the herdwork especially.

Winner was Boyd Rice, surprice, surprice, riding Boonie Tunes by Pepto out of great mare Shiney Tari. The pair scored a respectable 147 down the fence, for a total of 440.5, to hold off Lyn Anderson aboard Tuckers Smart Cat with half a point. Lyn and Tucker grew stronger for every dicipline and marked 141 in the herd, 148 in the rein and finished off with a sizzling 151 in the cowwork.


On the home front we´re gearing up for the move. Got appointments this week with realestate agents to sell the house. Plenty off things to keep us busy, sorting through all the crap you´ve kept over the years, cleaning, washing and trying to make the house respectable for their visit.

Another champion, Ben turns 17 today! Happy birthday son, love you!
Will have him & his girlfriend, his mom and her spouce over for dinner tonight too. Somewher in there I hope to get some work done with the horses. I´m real anxious to get Cat started and will get her out and about today hopefully.