We have returned from our brief excursion to the All American Quarter Horse Congress. Amber and I took care of some business in Columbus, Ohio while Wayne and Company (thanks Tara!) took care of business at home.
Chevy and his two year old son Kramer went on a little field trip to Congress. Amber rode/schooled them the whole time we were there. It's great exposure for the horses to get off the farm and see and be seen by the world. Hopefully, Kramer will be showing at Congress next year as a 3 year old! He was very quiet and handled the circus of activity well.
On Friday, after we arrived, Amber walked him the length of the grounds from the stall area to the longing area. She then stood in line with him nearly an hour for their turn to exercise. En route to the exercise area, there were golf carts, tarps, heavy winds, spitting clouds, people in sparkley clothing, horses running about, and countless strange sights. Kramer walked along beside Amber and waited his turn patiently. He then exploded into an flurry of activity as she longed him. After only 10 minutes or so, he was still playful but the longing area was closed. After the long wait, it was not possible to find another area before riding him so Amber decided to "give it a go" and took him to the "Scottsdale" which is a large outdoor covered riding area. There were no less than 100 horses riding in all different gaits and styles but they boldly stepped out into the oncoming deluge of horse traffic. Kramer's large eyes blinked twice and they proceeded to begin their regular workout routine. After a couple of laps around the arena amongst the rush hour traffic, they settled in and he stepped out handsomely turning more than one head his direction.
Chevy was visited by some of his friends and fans. He enjoyed his workouts in the crowded arena because he likes the show environment but I think he lives for the moments he gets to meet people up close. Several different groups of people came by the stall and we dutifully pulled him into the aisleway each time so that they could take his picture, pet him, and pay homage to his beauty. Like all royalty, he wore his crown with ease and posed and signed autographs until everyone was satisfied.
On an interesting note, Chevy will have a foal coming next year to a lovely Congress Champion Western Pleasure mare named Sabrina. Sabrina was stalled about 300 feet from Chevy this year. Although their offspring will arrive this Spring, they have officially never been this close to one another before. It boggles the mind that two horses will have a foal in several months and they have still never laid eyes on one another- Science is a wonderful phenomenon!
Many, many thanks to Christa Baldwin for her hospitality for a few days. They opened their stalls, tack room, found an electrical outlet for our trailer, and fed us while we were there. Christa's husband is an amazing chef who can work magic with a crock pot.
We arrived back at the farm after our whirlwind tour of Congress yesterday afternoon in the nick of time. Wayne and I rushed off to join Tara in a Trivia Tournament Benefit for Special Olympics and more importantly, Amber was on time to feed the ponies their dinners.
And now we are back on our regularly scheduled blogging duty- See you tomorrow. Khris
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