John Crandall Riding “Heraldic” Wins Endurance Race, Again!

 Crandall and Heraldic ~ AERC 2007

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John Crandell, riding his famed Arabian horse, Heraldic, has just finished and taken First Place in the 2007 AERC National Championship 100 Mile race.

Crandall and Heraldic won this feat in 2006 taking First Place in the AERC that year, as well.

This years event was held in the Owyhee Country of Southern Idaho, which highlighted a 5 day Festival of Endurance in North America. 
 

Crandall and Heraldic Accept Tevis Cup, 2006

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Last year, John Crandell set one of the most astounding records ever accomplished in the history of endurance riding.

Crandall and his brilliant horse, Heraldic, swept wins in all of the top three endurance rides: The Old Dominion,  the Tevis, and the AERC National Championships.

Story Link:  AERC National Championship 2007

Story Link:  Tevis Cup 2006

Friesian Horse Team Joins North Carolina Police Caisson Unit

North Carolina Trooper Ernest Ramsey Welcomes New Recruit

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The North Carolina Troopers Association (NCTA) strongly believed a horse-drawn caisson unit was a worthwhile project to take on, because it would add an extra measure of dignity and solemnity to funerals of police officers and firefighters killed in the line of duty.

The newly formed North Carolina State Highway Patrol Caisson Unit were thoroughly searching for the ideal horse team.

Meanwhile, Janet and Jay Stingel were looking for the perfect retirement home for their Friesian four horse team who annually spent their summers at Mackinac Island.

North Carolina Trooper Ernest Ramsey who spearheaded the creation of North Carolina’s caisson unit worked with Janet and Jay Stingel for their Friesians to become the official North Carolina Caisson Unit team.

For the last ten years, the Islanders had called them “The Boys”.

However, the 22-year-olds, Detlef, Fetse, Kenny, and Fonger, won’t be making the trip north from their winter home at Biltmore Stables in Asheville, North Carolina, because the Stingels have donated them to the newly formed North Carolina State Highway Patrol Caisson Unit.

We wanted to make sure they would have a good home,” said Janet Stingel. Keeping the team together was the couple’s biggest concern, agreed Mr. Stingel.

 

The Island trails and demanding hills were a little more than the aging horses could easily handle, he said, but as caisson horses, they will travel only about six blocks with each funeral hearse they pull.

The Stingels were the first to introduce Islanders to the Friesian breed at a time when no more than 1,000 of them lived in the United States, Mr. Stingel said.

With the gift of the Stingel’s Friesian team to the North Carolina Caisson Unit, the state officially has four new troopers.

The Friesian horse team have been assigned badge numbers and are considered North Carolina Troopers and protected under the law. 

Each saddle patch displays an official emblem.

According to Terry Story, NCTA president, the caisson unit is unique and may well be the only state group of its kind in the nation.

Only trained team members with experience working with horses and operating horse team-drawn wagons are authorized to operate the caisson unit.

In addition to use at police officer and firefighter funerals, the unit also can be used for services for current and past governors of North Carolina, incumbent members of the North Carolina General Assembly, and law enforcement officers from other states killed in the line of duty.

The wagon being used was built by members of the Amish community in Ohio and purchased for $18,000 by Trooper Ramsey as a donation to the NCTA. The wagon was made to exact Civil War specifications and is similar to wagons used in Arlington National Cemetery.

Military personnel from the Arlington National Cemetery have agreed to provide training free of charge for caisson unit members.

Clearly there is much excite about the new additions to the North Carolina State Patrol.  All are committed to making this caisson unit a first class operation. 

As for the Stingels, they are encouraging other Friesian owners to donate their horses to similar noble services

Story Link:

Jutland Draft Horses ~ Denmark

Early farm photo ~ Gathering of Jutland Horses

Also known as the Jydsk Hest (Danish)

Hackney Pony ~ The Old Mare At The Fair

At 37, Flirt Still Struts Her Stuff At County Fair

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Richard Nixon was President and polyester leisure suits were all the rage when Flirt, a high-stepping Hackney pony, made her first appearance in Ohio at the Lorain County Fair.

She’s still going strong.

Flirt once again won top mare in the fine division for ponies, as the only entrant, according to John Barber one of her owners.

At 37, Flirt may be the oldest animal exhibited, fair officials said.

A champion from the start — the Hackney pony won First Place in the fine division for ponies at the Ohio State Fair 36 years ago.

Flirt seems to enjoy fair week, according to her admirers. “She’s just delightful,” said ticket taker Snow Wiech, “She’s a little long in the tooth and has a sway in her back, but she’s adorable.”

John Barber, 43, was just a little kid when his father brought the pretty pony home for his mother.

“When she was young, she was quite the ornery one,” he said.

His father once raised dozens of ponies and exhibited at five to seven fairs a year.

Now Flirt is the only show pony they have.

The judge gave the pair a break: Flirt did not have to demonstrate the graceful, piston-like trot which is the signature of Hackney ponies.

John’s mom no longer goes to the fair, but her children and grandchildren are keeping the tradition alive.

He wouldn’t put it past Flirt to make it to the fair next year.

“She’s stood the test of time,” he said.

Story Link:
 

Draft Teams ~ Gotta Love Those Names !

Tom and Jerry 

Lucy and Ethel 

 Mickey and Minnie

Ike and Mike

Molly and Dolly

Nip and Tuck

Pete and Repete

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And not to be missed … Mule Teams!

Sonny and Cher

Fred and Ted

Jack and Bill

(Read all about Jack and Bill)

If you know more clever names for teams, please let me know. I’m collecting them.  Would appreciate photos, also. Thanks!

 

Little Miss Cool

Advice Column For Horses ~ 2

Dear Mane Mare
A “Dear Abby” for horses
and their problems with people … (us).

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Dear Mane Mare,
We’ve been doing dressage for a while now, but apparently we need to have more collection. That’s according to the new coach. But I think that collection is what is causing all the sore muscles I have since we switched coaches.  What do you recommend?
*Achy

Dear Achy,
I think you’re right about the cause of your aches and pains. Make it perfectly clear to both rider and coach that if they want collection, they should hire an agency. For some reason, people don’t think collection is quite so desirable if it comes through an agency.

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Dear Mane Mare,
My owner is the trendsetter at our stable, which means that I am the first one to wear the newest trend in tack, suffer through the “improved” training methods and try to eat the hottest supplements on the market. She’s driving me nuts! I’m just a …
*Routine Guy

Dear Routine Guy,
Set your own trend: refuse to eat any supplements, refuse to go along with the new training methods and destroy all new tack.

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Dear Mane Mare,
The instructor says that I should be put into a better frame. What does that mean? Will it hurt?  Will I like it? Is a frame a good thing, or a bad thing?
*Frameless

Dear Frameless,
For those of us who do not naturally possess the desired frame, yes, it can hurt, and it is always hard work.  If the instructor demands a good frame, tell her to go to a gallery.  She’ll fit right in there once you add a little color to her. Black and blue are nice colors.

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From Ride Magazine
 

A Mustang Artist Named ~ Cholla

 

Many people make money with the talent of their horses, some on the race track, others in the show arena, or the jumping fields, even the rodeo grounds, but this horse is different.

This horse is an artist.

Cholla, is a gorgeous copper colored Buckskin, Mustang/Quarter Horse with black mane and tail, standing 15.2 hands and weighing in at 1300 lbs. He has a dorsal stripe down his back complete with zebra like markings on his legs.

Named after the infamous cactus, Cholla, he was born in Nevada in 1985 from a Mustang Stallion and a Quarter Horse Mare. His owner, Renee, got him just before his fifth birthday, the first and only horse she had ever owned.

 

The early years of Cholla’s life were rough.  He was broke the old fashioned way, with ropes and force.  It didn’t work for Cholla. It taught him not to trust man. It has taken years for Renee to fully gain his trust, and he is still quite the wild thing with a mind of his own.

It was certain that with Cholla’s intelligence, no one was going to manipulate his mind. He had a bigger future than rope training ahead of him. He was an artist in waiting.

It all began when Renee was painting the fences. She had a very observant horse looking over her shoulder. Knowing that Cholla loved to hold things in his mouth, Renee tacked a piece of water color paper to the fence and showed him one uneducated stroke. 

Cholla took the brush in his teeth, stroked the paper. He got both the concept and a carrot right away.  

With a big sturdy easel and non toxic water colors, Cholla’s artistic career was off to a galloping start.

Cholla applies the paints to his art and no one moves the easel, or rotates the paper.  He does get help with dipping the brush into the watercolors as he tends to knock things over, but he is the creator of his own masterpieces.

  

Cholla creates his art standing at his easel while holding a true artist’ brush with his teeth.   He mindfully directs his brush with fine and deliberate strokes creating the artistic essence that only a horse named Cholla can reveal.

 

Cholla’s art speaks for itself and his style is present in each piece that he brings into existence. His natural expression and intelligence come through in his creations and his Mustang wildness can be seen emerging from each canvas.

 

Cholla’s art has been exhibited in galleries around the country, including Art At Large in New York City.

 

Even with all this fame, Cholla is still a horse that hangs out in the deep grass of the pasture content to munch the day away.

But the minute Cholla sees the easel he comes trotting and Cholla is again a happy and dedicated … artist.

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Link:  Cholla’s Website

Link:   Horse Art Collection

Link:   Video of Cholla at work

Thanks to the artist, Cholla, and his owner, Renee,  for permission to post these works of art.

All artwork holds a copyright.

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March Update
Cholla will have 5 framed originals showing at
The Grand National Art Show & Sale in
San Francisco at the Cow Palace.
This is an invitational show only in April 2008.

Twin Arabian Horses Celebrate A First Happy Birthday !

 It all began a year ago when Scandalous Love successfully delivered twins and made the newspaper headlines. 

This was a rare event in the horse world.

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Scandalous Love, a 7-year-old Arabian, stood by her foals, unsuspecting of the humans in the small stall.

 Lying on a bed of hay, Scandalous Surprise put her head between the back legs of her brother, Scandalous Trouble, trying to use him as a pillow.

Her brother, also on his side, tried to kick her off his body, to no avail.  Laughter filled the stall of the Graham, Washington horse farm.

 

“You’d never see other foals do this,” said MiKael Caillier, who owns the farm and horses.

Siblings generally aren’t so close in the horse world. But there’s something else that’s unusual about Scandalous Surprise and Scandalous Trouble.

They are twins, and they are alive.

“This just doesn’t happen,” said Jack Gillette, a Graham veterinarian who helped deliver them on May 8.

In his 20-plus years in the business, Gillette said he had never personally come across twin foals.

The only other time he saw it was at Colorado State University, 10 or 15 years ago.Gillette said the chance of twin horses being born and surviving is anywhere from 1 in 100,000 to 1 in 500,000.

The foals were born at Rising Rainbow Arabians, a five-acre farm Caillier and her husband, David, opened about 17 years ago. They have 26 horses, all Arabians.

This past May 8 the twins celebrated their first birthday with a frolicking romp in the pasture.

The story of this wonderful event can be read on the links below. It gives details complete with all the ups and downs  of raising twins and keeping them alive and healthy.

Link:  The Birth of the Twins

Link:  The Twins ~ A Year Later

Link:  MaKael’s Mania ~ Arabian Horses

Link:  The News Tribune

Power Of Draft Horses Captured By Artist, Adeline Halvorson

 Adeline Halvorson knew at an early age that she wanted to be an artist. In her rural upbringing, animals, especially horses, played a very important role. Her entire working life has been dedicated to her career through experimentation, endless reading and hours of practice. She has developed techniques entirely her own, first in pastel, then in acrylic.

She spends most of her time researching and creating the paintings she markets to a growing group of collectors. She enjoys the variety of diverse subjects – floral, still life, dogs, or a childhood scene, and most often, her favorite equine subject matter.

 

Years of riding and grooming horses has given Halvorson a knowledge of anatomy and muscle movement that her painting skills bring to life on the canvas. The shapes and movement of muscle, variety and texture of harness and trappings, as well as the horse and its interaction with its human counterparts provide endless artistic inspiration for one who grew up with a love for one of the world’s most beautiful animals.

“My growth as an artist is of prime importance to me. I am continually researching new and better ways to approach my painting, all the while keeping in mind that “brush mileage” is my greatest teacher. I paint the subjects that are true to my heart, and definitely believe the words of Sir Winston Churchill:  “There is something about the outside of a horse that is good for the inside of a man”.

Among Halvorson’s many Showings, Publications and Awards was her selection to design and paint the Official Canadian Olympic Equestrian Poster for Los Angeles ’84. She also designed the 1998 Silver Dollar for the Royal Canadian Mint, commemorating the 125th anniversary of the founding of the North West Mounted Police.

View the Adeline Halvorson website to see additional stunning works by this artist and to read about her current showings and achievements.

Link:   Adeline Halvorson Website

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All Halvorson artwork is displayed with the permission of the artist and each holds a copywrite.