Tuesday-Spring Show

June 5, 2012Posted inMissouri Fox Trotter, NOVA, Velvet
No problem drive from home to Ava. That's what happens when you don't have a horse in the trailer. No breakdown guarantee! I stopped at Gordon's Feed Store off 60 Hwy east of Springfield. Bob is the new owner of the store. He apologized for not getting the big sign to say Welcome Fox Trotters. Store is very nice and well managed inside. When he was loading Nova's feed into the trailer he said, Country Frank, and then apologized for being too presumptive. Country Frank!, I said. I'm riding the…

Houston, We Have Communication

May 31, 2012Posted inCountry Frank's Lucky Star, Missouri Fox Trotter
The space craft has come around from behind the moon and checked back in with Houston. Lucky Star has checked in with Susan Houston and we have a communication about the flat foot walk and the fox trot. Lucky will give me both gaits sometime after my request. Lucky's favorite gait is the "not move immediately upon receiving the signal" and the fox trot. Now he is giving me that signature "walk" and keep it going. The canter to the right is there and the canter to the left is…

Memorial Day Ride

May 28, 2012Posted inCountry Frank's Lucky Star, Missouri Fox Trotter
Lucky Star and I went on a trail ride today with Hope and Jazz. We got to the park at 9:00 and there were several riding groups that had the same idea. We had a great ride. After staying a week at For The Horse Ranch with Tony and Jenny Vaught, Lucky Star was in best gait form ever. Lucky gave me the longest, nicest flat foot walk ever. Ah, sigh. How nice is that 4 best rhythmic beat. He gave me some long stretches of fox trot too. I…

Tilt-A-Wheel

May 23, 2012Posted inCountry Frank's Lucky Star, Missouri Fox Trotter
Have you ever seen a Tilt-A-Wheel at a carnival.  You know how the platform turns and the thing that is attached to the platform turns and spins. That's sort of like what Lucky Star's brain is like.  He has a very active brain that is always working, whirling, tilting and zipping around the track.  His brain is looking for fun and play. In the arena, I'm trying to keep him on the rail and work on exciting things like straightness, gait, haunches in.  Lucky Star is not thinking those are…

Sue How Do You DO?

May 20, 2012Posted inMissouri Fox Trotter, Sue - How Do You Do!
Our first trail ride in over three years was today.  Sue was fabulous, just fabulous.  She has the nicest flat foot walk and goes anywhere.  She went everywhere, except when I told the crowd she would go anywhere. Then she refused.  It's up to the horse to humiliate the rider whenever possible.  No matter, it was down a steep hill into a ravine.  I wouldn't have wanted to go down that hill either, but this was a trail ride. This was an official Fox Trotter Club ride and Hope and…