Equine Extravaganza

And it was a little hit. The best part was spending time in great company. But there were good points.
First we saw two really cool Gypsy Vanner stallions. They had to use two french braids in the mane, two braids in the tail and the forelock braid went past his nose. We missed the stallion showcase, but heard that the owner rode one stallion while long lining the second so they both could be seen. I did not realize Gypsy's came in 3 sizes: Cob, Vanner and Grand Vanner. The things you learn :)
Second we walked around the vendors. Neither of us really needed anything, but you never know what will jump out at you. We went into a tack store area and I noticed black bridles. I told Peggy Comrade needed a new bridle. His is too small. She told me to pick one out. These bridles were $80 dollars and nice looking, but they all had crank nose bands. So I just moved on and kept my eyes open.
Sometime while I was looking at bridles, Peggy disappeared so Mom and I started looking for her while checking out vendors along the way. This wide, padded halter caught my eye in a "that's weird" kind of way. I walked over to see what it was and noticed the black bridles just above. I never did find out what the halter was for, but I did find out the bridles were "a hit in Europe." The vendor, for Horze, came over and started selling the bridle to me. I did not have the heart to tell her, that I was sold when I saw the $36 dollar price tag. She found me the right size for Comrade and wrote me a ticket. It was then that I noticed the bridle has the slightest bit of bling on the brow band. I am not a big bling fan, but this was subtle and did not rub me the wrong way. The bridle came with web reins, which I prefer, has buckles for the bit and rein pieces and the throat latch has buckles on both sides. So for the price it is a great bridle.

Comrade says "really"

It is a bit smashed from however it was packed

Subtle bling

When I paid for the bridle, I noticed the brand of boots Peggy wanted to buy. We tried to call Peggy, but could not get a hold of her. Off we went again looking for Peggy. After a few circuits around, no luck. We decided to head back to the vendor with the boots figuring she would end up there at some point. Sure enough, she was trying on boots when we arrived. She was so happy to buy new sets of Red Back boots just in time for her birthday.
As we were heading to the next vendor area we were caught by a demo. Guy McLean was doing a demo that eventually involved 5 horses, doing liberty work and two did some ridden. I love watching horses do liberty work because you know they do the tricks out of joy of working. Were the horses perfect, no but that made the whole demo more fun. One of the best things he said was that growing up no one told him he couldn't do anything he wanted with his horses, so he always tried. And out of trying he developed a relationship and trust with his horses. Between his personality and that of each of his horses the demo was really great. Peggy had fun during one part when he put a tarp over his 3yr old horse completely. The girl sitting next to her was a bit snotty about having to sit so close and Peggy was determined to break the ice. She turned to her and said "A couple of my horses have laid under tarps just like that." The girl's eyes widened and Peggy continued "But they were both dead." After a heartbeat the girl broke out laughing. Horse people what can you say.
When the demo was done, Peggy wanted to show us a pair of spurs she had seen. She just had to remember where in the three buildings they were at. Cue the walking and walking. Of course we walked right by them maybe two times before she finally noticed the right vendor. These spurs are called "Spursuader" Instead of the small ball that pokes a small area on the horse, these are round like a coin about a 1/4inche deep. They are suppose to be for the more sensitive horses. We did get a set to try, but I have not been able to test them yet. So more about them later.

Different, Can't wait to try them

So the show was a little hit in that we found what we were looking for, and something new. We ended the day trying out Comrade's new bridle. Mom has not seen him work for awhile and she was impressed with how he is moving. We have moved him into the widest gullet Wintec makes and he is coming out his shoulder the way he did wearing the treeless. After some warm up, Comrade and I showed off a bit by doing a flying lead change. He surprised me the ride before this by doing a flying change and he did it just as smoothly to show Mom. Such a great sign he is moving forward, literally and figuratively :)