On Friday, April 3rd, I participated in the two saddle seat clinics presented by Chris Cassenti of Chrislar Stables www.chrislar.com at the Equine Affaire in Columbus.  And although there was no competition and no trophies or ribbons, this was definitely a horse SHOW.  Some of you may remember that I had reported on the Morgan breed demo at the Equine Affaire in Springfield, MA last November.  (My picture was even in The Connection with Barbara Irvine’s report on the Springfield Equine Affaire.)  Chris was such a hit with her clinics there (that I missed) that she was asked to make a repeat performance in Columbus.  She asked for volunteers and I begged my trainer, Tim O’Gorman, to take me and my new park saddle horse just for the ring experience.  I think he decided to reward me for returning week after week, all winter, to have lessons on White Christmas in order to become a good enough rider for my new horse.

Having missed Chris’ presentation at the Springfield Equine Affaire, I didn’t really know what to expect, but I figured I could benefit from a lesson or two with Chris.  I also thought that this might be a good way for me to give back to the breed a little by doing what I could to promote the Morgan horse.  I’m hoping that by promoting Morgans to the general horse-loving public, I’ll help to create a market for the horses I breed that don’t meet my standard for remaining in my barn.

So I ordered some trinkets from AMHA, had my horse body-clipped (thank you Tim), I washed, dried, and picked out his tail, packed up the stall curtains, loaded one horse, one saddle, and one bridle on the trailer, and hit the road on Thursday afternoon.  Because we had been invited by Chris, we were given free stalls and tickets for parking and entering the grounds on the days that we were there.  Unfortunately those stalls were in a part of the horse barn that was partitioned off with curtains and signs saying that the public was not allowed into that area.  Being away from the crowds was good for the horses participating in the clinics, but it was not so good for promotional purposes.  As you might expect, there were plenty of people who were curious to see what was hiding behind the curtains, so most of the Morgan trinkets that I had on display were picked up.  Because I didn’t expect many people to visit our stalls that were not supposed to be open to the public, I didn’t put up stall curtains, but I would if I had it to do over again (and another warm body to help.)  I also took a TV and DVD/VCR player with video tapes and the DVD slide show of Morgans that was mentioned on Above Level several months ago.  I didn’t think that, given our location, it would be worth the effort of setting it up.  Again, I wish I had.

Chris’ first clinic was about showing a Morgan English Pleasure horse.  There were four Morgan owners and their horses who participated.  In addition to me and my horse, Watch Me Dance, accompanied by Tim, there was mother and daughter Kim and Elizabeth Thomas with their family and their horses HB Midnight Rhapsody and Wild Blue Locomotion, and Steve and Annette Smith with Ultra’s Special Agent and his entourage.  www.UltraMorgans.com  Okay, so my horse is a park horse, and Kim’s horse is a hunter pleasure horse, but that allowed Chris to educate the people attending the clinic about the versatility of the Morgan horse and to point out the differences in the various disciplines.  We worked hard for 40 of the 45 minute session and my horse showed me just how big his heart is.  He never quit trying to be the best horse there.  I was so proud of him, even though I didn’t get to practice how to handle him being bad.

The afternoon session was about saddle seat equitation.  Thank goodness that Liz is still competing nationally in equitation.  She had to demonstrate the patterns and how to ride saddle seat correctly.  Her mother Kim (on the hunter), used to compete in equitation and is a beautiful rider.  She got to demonstrate how hunt seat differs from saddle seat.  Steve Smith and I got to show how you do it when you’re old and more interested in how your horse looks than in how you look.

In between our demonstrations I spent some time shopping (big smile.)  It was not my intention to shop for horse stuff, but there was also a Canine Affaire going on and I needed some things for my dogs (miniature daschunds – the new Jack Russell, only better.)  I didn’t find what I needed for my dogs, but I discovered a wonderful equine artist and bought a framed print that captured how it feels to ride Watch Me Dance in public.  Her name is Sarah Lynn Richards, www.SarahLynnRichards.com.  I came across Hartmeyer Saddlery www.Hartmeyer.com and found what I thought was a pale yellow shirt to wear with my new saddle suit.  It turns out that in daylight the shirt is apricot.  Oops.  It must have been the lighting in the Bricker Bldg.  At least it was 50% off.  I also met a vendor selling polar fleece socks who promised me that they would keep my feet warm in the winter and cool in the summer.  www.boothuggers.com  He saw my “I Love Morgans” button and told me he was thinking about becoming a vendor at the GN this year.  So look for him there.  He was very nice and kept me from spending more money than I really wanted to by suggesting that I buy one pair to try, instead of saving $5 by buying three pairs.  If the socks work the way he said they do, I’ll buy stock in the company! 

We packed up and went home after our second demo (after taking care of our horse – he always comes first.)  Our goal was to be home, in bed, by 9pm.  We almost made it, but we had to miss supper to do it.  All in all, it was an excellent experience and I’m still smiling. 

Diane

The next Equine Affaire will be April 2-5, 2009 in Columbus, OH.  So far, the only Morgan event that I know of is that Chris Cassenti will be a clinician.  Chris was so well recieved at the Massachusetts event that the coordinators have asked her to participate in the Columbus Equine Affaire.  (I can’t believe I missed her in Springfield.  I won’t miss her this time!  I’m marking my calendar now.)  Chris is looking for horses and riders to participate in her clinics.  She will need at least 3 saddle seat riders who can do equitation patterns, and 3 up headed and fancy horses that can show a good demonstration of natural motion and the conformation needed to show English Pleasure.  Anyone who is interested should contact her by following the “Contact Us” link on her website, www.chrislar.com.  Who knows?  This could be the start of an annual Morgan presence at the Columbus event.

If there appears to be significant interest in having a larger Morgan presence at the Columbus Equine Affaire, I might be talked into trying to organize something similar to what was done in Springfield by Morgan owners in the New England area.  You can comment here if you are willing to spend some time and money to promote Morgans to the masses.

While on the subject of the Equine Affaire, I want to apologize for the lack of video that I had promised.  The technical difficulties just could not be overcome.  I also want to acknowledge that Nancy Caisse of Townshend Farm was the director of the Morgan breed demonstartion that was on the video.  She is the one who organized the participants and wrote the script.  She made sure that everyone got into and out of the ring in the correct order.  It really was impressive and I’m sorry that you can’t see it. 

One last note.  Marge “Shortie” Cutler of Townshend, MA (“sidekick” of Randy Jane Crosier) passed away in September.  Shortie has been a well-known face and supporter of the Morgan World for many years.  My condolences to Randy Jane and to Shortie’s family and friends.

Diane 

I attended the Equine Affaire at the “Big E” in Springfield, MA over the weekend.  I admit that one of the reasons I chose to attend was so I could see what the Arabian Association’s display looked like.  (See the post Morgan Promotion/Equine Affaire.)  I have to say that while the Arabian Association obviously spent a TON of money, the Morgan people did a lot more outreach and education while promoting the Morgan breed.  The Arabian Association was a co-sponsor of one of the many buildings that housed the Affaire.  That can’t be cheap!  But I never saw an Arabian horse or owner.  With diligent searching, I did find the Arabian Association booth with the sofas in the Breed Pavilion.  Again, they must have spent a TON of money, because they had the equivalent of 4 or 5 booth spaces at $750 per booth.  There were lots of handouts and pretty pictures on the wall space, but no one to ask questions of, or to buy a souvenir from.  If you found this space after spending the day shopping, I can understand that the couches were a welcome respite, because I promise you, you could literally shop until you drop!

There were three large buildings full of vendors selling everything equine-related that you could think of, from horse trailers to handmade soap.  There were tack shops and gift shops, manufacturers’ reps, and crafters.  I spent about 4 hours on Saturday exploring just one of the three buildings and felt like my feet were ready to fall off.  I really didn’t intend to spend any money, but of course I found books that I couldn’t live without, new technology that I thought could be beneficial to my horses, and Christmas presents. :-)  My friend Annette got the autograph of 2008 Equestrian Olympian Courtney King at the Purina Feeds booth display.

Read the rest of this entry

Our own Chris Cassenti, a frequent contributer to Above Level, has been confirmed as clinician for the 11th annual New England Equine Affaire for 2008. Chris will be teaching Saddleseat English Pleasure using MORGAN horses, of course.

The Equine Affaire is an annual event held three times a year in various cities. The New England event will be November 13-16, 2008 at the Eastern States grounds in W. Springfield, Mass.  For more information or to purchase tickets go to www.equineaffaire.com.

The Equine Affaire, “The Nation’s Premier Equine Exposition & Equestrian Gathering”, will be held in Columbus, Ohio on April 10-13, 2008. As described on the Equine Affair website:

The 15th annual Equine Affaire in the Midwest will be held at the Ohio Expo Center and will have something to offer to horse enthusiasts of all ages, all breed persuasions, all levels of expertise, and all equine disciplines.

Many activities are schedule for this fun filled event such as training clinics on a variety of equestrian disciplines and training techniques; hands-on demonstrations and seminars on the topics of management, health care and training tips; an educational Young Rider Youth Pavilion; and a Trade Show with numerous vendors.

Also included is the Cashman Breed Pavilion, a favorite of many Equine Affaire attendees. Horse associations will have exhibition booths and stalls where visitors can experience hand-on activities and learn about various horse breeds. Representing the Morgan breed this year will be Steve and Annette Smith of Ultra Morgans in Delta, OH. When I asked Annette why they had decided to attend the Equine Affaire she said:
Read the rest of this entry

April 10-13 2008

Ohio Expo Center,Columbus ,Ohio

Information:

Equine Affaire,Inc.

2720 State Route 56 SW,London,Oh 43140

740-845-0085     * Mon-Fri 9 am-5 pm et

www.equineaffaire.com

Just passing on some info, thought some might like to know about.