A few Photos

I don't have much to tell, other than the last event of the season for our booth was a huge success!  We had people who showed up just to come shop with us, and folks who had no clue we were going to be there, but ended up spending a ton of money anyways.  Anytime I can get 3 saddle sales out of one event...I call that a success.  Everything else is just icing on the cake.

On top of that Mary and I have been trying to find the right person to help us with some custom leather work.  I kept telling her of guy I had met once before and have been trying to find his card.  Out of the blue, he rode up on his big paint horse, we got to talking, I introduced him to Mary only to find that they already knew each other from years ago. She just didn't know that he was doing leather work.  This should work out great as he can do things that we cannot, and we can get things that he needs at a discounted rate.


These two pictures are of the saddle line up I had prepared for the display the next day.  I even have a Crown C in there, which did not get near the response I was hoping for, and I'm starting to wonder if purchasing it was a smart move.  However, it won't end up being a money loser.

Here are some pics of our booth

Here are a couple of the pics from the NFR

I took a day off on Sunday and got some riding done.  I think Trax is wishing I would hurry up and get another lesson so we can work on our communication skills.  I was pretty proud of myself though for recognizing that he was not doing proper roll backs (turning the hip instead of the shoulder) and remembered what to do to fix it.  First I fixed my riding position and clarified my cues.  Then I reached down and popped him on the shoulder with a rein.  Not hard of course but just enough to make him say "YOU HIT ME!!"  However, it sure got his feet moving like they were supposed to, and MAN can I feel the difference!

After that we did pretty well.  I've started trying to work on our counter archs, and at first we really struggled, till BEC suggested that perhaps I was asking for too much arch. So the next time I tried it, it asked for a little less and a few less steps to start with, just to be able to reward the try. After that things started falling into place.

I rode Princess Melly that night too.  I guess I need to just make the time to get her back to the desert.  There isn't much to teach her, and we are getting our lead changes down, so the best thing for her would be just trail riding and going back to getting her a little less reactive.  It isn't going to happen in the arena I don't think.

In the last 4 days I have taken in so many new saddles.  I bought an old Heiser for next to nothing, which is my next before and after project.  I'm pretty excited about that one.  Then on Saturday, I took in 3 more consignments.  Sunday brought 4 more and another Heiser which I will recondition for a gal.  Monday, I went and picked up another at the post office which I bought on line.  That does not include the 3 I picked up the week before.   So I have plenty to keep me busy for the next couple of weeks.  I can whip out a conditioning job pretty quickly these days, depending on how bad the saddle is.  I've got a good system down and have figured out which products work best for different situations.

Yesterday it seemed like I was running crazy and as the sun was sinking low, I stood in the doorway of the shop trying to figure out which saddle I should start on.  Then I heard a noise behind me and the geldings were over in their pasture tearing things up.  They do this often at the end of the day, when they are impatient to come in and have their supper. I took the two spotted walker and put them away, and then grabbed Killian.

I put a rope halter with an extra long lead on him, tied it into a rein, and led him up to a car trailer so I could climb up on him.  We took a little walk around the block and it was nice to just enjoy the ride, without having to "work" on anything.

Killian is the only horse I would try that on, as he is the only one I know beyond of a shadow of doubt isn't going to spook or try to make a run for home.  These are the times when he redeems himself.  I just wish I had someone to ride with me more often so that he didn't sit for so long between rides.  But how can you not love a horse who can sit for as long as you need him too and still be as safe as if he was being ridden every day.

I feel a little melancholy these days, perhaps it is because for the first time in years, I'm ignoring the holiday.  Simon is leaving for WY, TC and I don't really do the gift thing to each other, and all my other kids are off doing their own thing with their in-laws.   Maybe Christmas day I will get TC to go for a ride with me.

For now I want to wish all my blogger friends a safe and Merry Christmas.  May you get to spend your time with family and friends .