Equestrian Fun This Weekend: Feb. 3-5 highlights for horse lovers

Maybe Punxsutawney Phil was scared of his own shadow, hiding back in his hole on Groundhog Day and proclaiming that winter would last another six weeks. 

 

However, Badger State horse lovers are much bolder, if this weekend’s roundup of equestrian events is any indication.

We may have Super Bowl Sunday coming up, but the big game doesn’t start till early evening. What’s in store for you before that?

Why not get up and out for equestrian fun?

Take a look at all the fun ways to horse around this week in and around Wisconsin:

• Fish Creek Winter Festival boots winter blues February 3-5
• Lake Geneva Winterfest reins in US Snow Sculpting Finals Feb. 4-5
• Pro bull riders and Montgomery Gentry come to Midwest February 3-4
• Dodge County Horsemen’s Association Tack Swap set for February 4th
• Heartland Stables lines up February 4th open horse show

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Who’s in for horse-related activities this weekend in or near Wisconsin?

Are you headed for one of these fun-filled events, or do you know of another? Be sure to leave a comment and a link, if you do! Or tag me on your Facebook event page for this weekend’s and future events (for possible press coverage).

Or do you plan to spend time with your own favorite horses this weekend? What’ll it be this week, horse lovers?

Please subscribe at the top of the page to receive free e-mail updates whenever this columnist publishes a new article. Feel free to follow on GooglePlus and Twitter. You are also invited to join this writer's fan page, as well as the Equestrian Examiner and Madison Equestrian Examiner on Facebook.

Image/s:

Winter horses photo

 copyrighted by Linda Ann Nickerson – Nickers and Ink

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Congratulations to new mom Rachel Alexandra and Stonestreet Farms

Congratulations to new mom Rachel Alexandra and Stonestreet Farms

It’s a boy!

 

Proud mama Rachel Alexandra is taking parenthood in stride, so to speak, according to Kentucky’s Stonestreet Farms.

Here's the story:  Rachel Alexandra delivers bouncing bay boy
 

Take a look at the retired racehorse and her first foal, a beautiful bay colt by Curlin. This 125-pound strapping son stood to nurse on his own sturdy stilts within 90 minutes.

Who knows? Maybe Rachel Alexandra’s baby will line up for the 2015 Kentucky Derby.

Congratulations to Stonestreet Farms on this lovely legacy to the late Jess Jackson. The blessed event resulted from the joining of  two Horse of the Year winners to produce a potentially prodigious prodigy. Rachel Alexandra was Horse of the Year in 2010, following the colt's sire, Curlin, who won racing's top horse honors in 2008 and 2009.

Racing fans would be willing to bet the folks at Stonestreet Farms are raising glasses of their own Kendall-Jackson wines to celebrate the arrival of Rachel Alexandra’s colt.

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Image/s:

Rachel Alexandra and 2012 Colt

Stonestreet Farm promo photos

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The Mane Point salutes Martin Luther King Day

Today is Martin Luther King Day, in honor of the human rights leader. Prejudices of many sorts still abound. Racism is rampant in far too many places in our world, even today. And animal abuse is all but abolished.

Here's what the famous American clergyman and civil rights speaker said:

“Never, never be afraid to do what's right, 

especially if the well-being 

of a person or animal is at stake. 

Society's punishments are small 

compared to the wounds 

we inflict on our soul 

when we look the other way.”

Martin Luther King, Jr.

(1929 - 1968)

 How might these words impact you today, or everyday? How do they apply to the ways we care for our own horses ... and those that may seem to belong to no one at all?

Photo copyrighted by 

Linda Ann Nickerson - Nickers and Ink Creative Communications

Jockey beefcake calendar tracks 2012 & benefits PDJF

 

Psst! Wanna know why so many women love horse racing?

OK, for many of us, it really IS about the horses. Consider those beautiful athletic creatures with rippling muscles and soft flowing manes.

Wait! Are we still talking about horses?

Thoroughbred horse racing jockeys have often been called the fittest athletes (pound for pound) in any sport.

Want to see for yourself?

A popular photographic calendar is available again this year for horse racing fans, or just those who love the athletic jockeys that pilot the ponies on racetracks across the United States. This calendar collection, produced by Brown Trout Publishers, is becoming an annual attraction.

The 2012 Thoroughbred Racing Jockeys Calendar features pin-up photographs of 12 of today’s best known horse racing jockeys:

1. Calvin Borel
2. Shaun Bridgmohan
3. Javier Castellano
4. Kent Desormeaux
5. Ramon Dominguez
6. Garrett Gomez
7. Channing Hill
8. Julien Leparoux
9. Edgar Prado
10. Mike Smith
11. Terry Thompson
12. John Velazquez

All photos were created by Barbara D. Livingston, Eclipse Award winner.

The calendar is available online for $13.99, plus shipping. An autographed version may be purchased for $50.00, plus shipping (by phone: 630-595-7660). A portion of the proceeds benefits the Permanently Disabled Jockeys Fund (PDJF).

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What is the Permanently Disabled Jockeys Fund?

According to the organization’s own website:

The Permanently Disabled Jockeys Fund (PDJF) is a 501(c)(3) public charity that provides financial assistance to some 60 former jockeys who have suffered catastrophic on-track injuries. Since its founding in 2006, the fund has disbursed over $3 million to permanently disabled jockeys, most of whom have sustained paralysis or brain injuries.

The PDJF is based in Elmhurst, Illinois.

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Image/s:

2012 Thoroughbred Racing Jockeys Calendar

PDJF logo

Promo photos – fair use

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Galloping into 2012 with The Mane Point

Whoa!

2011 flew by, and 2012 is upon us already, faster than a runaway steed.

What goals have you made for yourself, your horses, your equestrian pursuits and life in general? Are you hoping to dabble in dressage, head out on a hunter course, catch some combined training, win a western pleasure class, blast through a barrel race, rehearse a reining pattern or what?

However you ride into it, I hope 2012 will be an excellent year for you and your horses.

Horse and Carriage Vintage Postcard

Public Domain Artwork

Happy New Year!

Mistletoe + Mares = Merry Christmas?

Mistletoe + Mares = Merry Christmas?

Don’t try this at home … but it sure is cute.

Check out this vintage Budweiser Clydesdales television spot, featuring a pair of doting draft horses in their Christmas-decked barn.

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Homer and Kitty are absolutely adorable in this 2007 video, as they meet one another under the mistletoe on a wintry night.

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Mistletoe is poisonous to horses.

Peppermint candy canes may be a favorite equine holiday treat, particularly when broken into bite-sized pieces (to prevent possible choking). So go ahead and give your favorite horse a minty candy delight this Christmas.

But hold the mistletoe.

Mistletoe is also toxic to cattle, dogs and many other animals.

This white-berried leathery-leaved plant is commonly known as “thief of the tree” (for its parasitic qualities). Perhaps ironically, mistletoe is part of the plant order known as SANTAlales. Even so, this poison plant has no place around ponies (or other equines).

So, although mistletoe may be the kissing plant at Christmastime, it can also be the kiss of death for horses and a host of other creatures.

For more information:

Many Plants and Flowers May Be Fatal to Felines

Beware of Flowers that May Poison Your Dog

What Plants Are Most Poisonous for Horses?

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Image/s:

Mistletoe – US Government Photo – Public Domain

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Giddy-Up with Gomer Pyle, and Jingle All the Way!

Giddy-Up with Gomer Pyle, and Jingle All the Way!

Remember Jim Nabors, who played the title role of Gomer Pyle on the 1960s black-and-white television comedy series? Actually, he got his start on The Andy Griffith Show.

Well, Jim Nabors was actually best known in his day as a singer. Just for fun, here’s his much-played version of “Jingle Bells,” a familiar song to horse lovers and others.

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Nabors’ version of the Christmas classic is somewhat different than the usual one we all sang in early elementary school.

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How many verses of “Jingle Bells” do you know?

Here are the lyrics to “Jingle Bells, as we know them. Are you aware of any additional verses? If so, please cite those lines in a comment (below).

Jingle Bells

Dashing through the snow
In a one horse open sleigh;
O'er the fields we go,
Laughing all the way.
Bells on bob tails ring,
Making spirits bright.
What fun it is to laugh and sing
A sleighing song tonight.

CHORUS:
Jingle bells, jingle bells
Jingle all the way
Oh, what fun it is to ride
In a one horse open sleigh
Jingle bells, jingle bells
Jingle all the way
Oh, what fun it is to ride
In a one horse open sleigh.

CHORUS

A day or two ago,
I thought I'd take a ride,
And soon Miss Fanny Bright
Was seated by my side.
The horse was lean and lank;
Misfortune seemed his lot.
We got into a drifted bank,
And then we got upsot.

CHORUS

A day or two ago,

The story I must tell

I went out on the snow,

And on my back I fell;

A gent was riding by

In a one-horse open sleigh,

He laughed as there I sprawling lie,

But quickly drove away.

CHORUS

Now the ground is white;

Go it while you're young.

Take the girls tonight,

and sing this sleighing song;

Just get a bobtailed bay.

Two forty as his speed.

Hitch him to an open sleigh,

And crack! You'll take the lead.

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Merry Christmas to you and those you love … from The Mane Point!

For more information:

Falling Camel Steals the Show in Florida Church Christmas Pageant

12 Christmas Tree Safety Tips for Cat Owners

Top 10 Famous Poems for Christmas Cards

Image/s:

Vintage Sleigh Ride Artwork

Public Domain

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2011 World Clydesdale Show is this weekend!

2011 World Clydesdale Show is this weekend!

Who's going to see the Clydesdales?

No matter what breed of horses you prefer, the ground-shaking pounding of those massive, prancing feathered hooves have to set your heart a-thumping.

Madison, Wisconsin, will echo with the sound of approximately 600 giant Clydesdale draft horses, gathering at the Alliant Energy Center for the 2011 World Clydesdale Show. Equestrians and their horses will compete in halter, hitch and saddle classes.

And the Clydesdales may not return to Madison for another four years.

Who's headed for Mad-town this weekend to see the great gentle giants in action?

For more information:
World Clydesdale Show is this weekend!

Image/s:

World Clydesdale Show – promo logo

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Reunion Aloft - Saying Goodbye to a Special Horse

Reunion Aloft – Saying Goodbye to a Special Horse

Today is a sad day at the stables, as a friend bids a favorite horse farewell. Saying goodbye to an old equine companion may be one of the most difficult and painful, yet loving, things a horse lover may ever do.

We hope her sadness is softened somehow by the certainty that this special one is fairly beckoned upwards by his lifelong friend, who went on ahead about 18 months ago.

Gallop on, boys! We’ll miss you.

Reunion Aloft

The day has come,

The clouds foretold.

A cherished chum

Will join the fold.

Our hearts may fall

To watch him go.

We miss his call,

The bleached beau.

A partner dear

Calls him aloft.

We cannot hear

The whisper soft.

We witness not

Reunion’s glow,

As comrades trot,

Their joy to show.

His limbs are strong.

Behold, his gait.

He strides to song

With running mate.

Their chalky coats,

White and champagne,

Do fairly float

In flight, free rein.

Without a word,

But winged, fair,

They join the herd

In open air.

Image/s:

Cloud and Albert photo/s copyrighted by Linda Ann Nickerson

Nickers and Ink

“Death is the starlit strip

between the companionship of yesterday

and the reunion of tomorrow.”

Mark Twain (1835 – 1910)

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Related Items:

• NEIGH - Five Ways to Support One Whose Horse Has Died
• Top 10 Favorite Songs for Horse Lovers
• Unbroken - Rhyming Courses on Wild Young Horses

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