Snowiest January Ever!

Well, the open show was yet again canceled. We are in the middle of a 1600 mile snow storm that is presently dumping 15" of snow on us. I am in good company, because this storm goes all the way to Texas.

All this bad weather is making it really hard to promote the ASB , which is my winter time activity. I hope the weather is better this weekend because I am meeting with the Girl Scouts to help them with their horse rider badge and I really do not want to cancel that. I also have the Tri-State Banquet.

I went to the Inter-County Horsemen's Association (ICHA) banquet and collected 2 third place high point awards for Hunt and Western last Saturday. I don't think I will be going to the barn today, too much snow!

2008 Saddle & Bridle's Best of Breed List

Edited: 02/01/09 - The Certificate has arrived and it came in a beautiful book like binder with the S&B logo on it. So I photographed the outside cover and then the certificate itself. Very professional and classy presentation of the award.

Happy news today! We made Saddle & Bridle's best of breed list! I am humbly honored and can't wait until our certificate comes in the mail.
Look for this photo, in the March 2009 issue of Saddle & Bridle, where all the results will be published.

COUNTRY PLEASURE DIVISION

Overall Performance – High Point

1. Royal Crest’s Dancing On Stones, 5290, Susan Hoskins, Speedwell, Tennessee.

2. CH Kansas City, 5,140, Beth Oliver, S. Lyon, Michigan.

3. My Genius Private Secretary, 4930, Parma, Ohio.

HUNTER CHAMPIONSHIP

1. (tie) My Genius Private Secretary, 2,000.

1. (tie) Symbol’s Supreme Eclipse, 2000, Holly Henson, Greenville, North Carolina.

2. Sir York’s Night Flight, 1,880, Chelsea Ferguson, Castle Rock, Colorado.

3. (tie) Mountainview’s Manhattan Viscount, 1,760,

3. (tie) Winsdown Forbes’ Field, 1,760, Bailey Knapp, Johnston, Iowa.

4. Cosmic Sunfire, 1,680.

5. Callaway’s For Always, 1,640, Kathleen Skaggs, Waynesville, Ohio.

HUNTER MARE

1. Cha-Ching Cha-Ching, 730, Alexandra Walker, Ball Ground, Georgia.

2. Manhattan’s Review, 660, Rebecca Babcock, Murrayville, Georgia.

3. Portrait of A Lady, 570, Bethany Shirkey, Deposit, New York.

4. My Genius Private Secretary, 530.

5. Rose Of Windhaven, 500, Katherine Krahenbuhl, Lee’s Summit, Missouri.

Don't pinch me, I'm loving this dream!

The ASHAO Banquet was a Grand Event!!

The ASHAO banquet was a lot of fun and very well attended. Good food, great company. There had to have been between 175-200 people there. The photos from left to right are of my friends...Mike & Dawn, Gail and Gary, Linda and Me, Me and my Son Bryan. My son Bryan who is Chief Meteorologist of WOAY TV 4 in Beckley, WV took time out of his busy schedule to come home to attend the banquet with me.

Our table was lucky in the chinese auction and the 50/50 raffle, Anne from SBR sat with us too and won the 50/50 raffle and promised to donate half to SBR. She got a big round of applause for that!!



The next two are of me accepting my awards, which my son took.



Gail received ribbons in Adult Equitation and Trail Riding (first photo) I received ribbons in Hunt, Western, ECP Jr. Ex. with Jasmine Reyes and ECP AOTR.

The Champion and Reserve Champion awards were glass vases with horse shoes and ribbons on them. The horse shoes have 2008 etched on them, and the ribbons have ASHAO etched on them. The Champion vases have blue ribbons and gold horse shoes, and the Reserve Champion vases have red ribbons and silver horse shoes on them. Very nice and well thought out. I heard nothing but compliments about the banquet this year.

Lonnie Lavery (Don't mean to name drop...but what the heck!) Said: "Congratulations Lynn!" as I was walking up to recieve my awards. I really mentioned it, because it meant a lot to me and I thought it was very nice of him. He was sitting at the table next to us. Thanks, Lonnie!!

Flowers were given to Leslie the ASHAO President, for all her hard work thoughout the year and she got a well deserved standing ovation! All the members of the board did a great job on the banquet, it was clearly a group effort and great end to a great 2008 show season!

Open Show Postponed - Too COLD!!

We have had incredibly cold weather. 10 below zero and only going up to 2 degrees during the day for the past 48 hours. Blue Lakes Farms has already postponed their open show that was to occur this Sunday Jan 18 until Sunday January 25. As much as I enjoy promoting the breed by attending these open shows, it would absolutely be no fun in this type of weather for anyone! So I have to say, I was pleased as punch, they changed the date and happy we will not miss out on the opportunity to attend.

The American Saddlebred Horse Association of Ohio's (ASHAO) annual awards banquet is tomorrow night. January 17. I will proudly accept for beloved Santana, Reserve Champion in both Hunt Seat and Western, 3rd place in English Country Pleasure Jr. Exhibitor and 4th place in English Country Pleasure AOTR.

http://www.ohiosaddlebred.com/results/ASHAOPointsFINAL.pdf

Here is the link to the final results for this club. It will be nice to have dinner with my friends, whom I have not see since October. Also, My hansome son has driven all the way up from Beckley, WV to come to the banquet with me. I will take lots of photos and be sure to share them here.

Chat Later!

Saddle Horse Report Top 10!

Something exciting horsie wise did happen today! In spite of all the snow (12") the mail man still made his deliveries and Santana's top 10 award from Saddle Horse Report came in the mail today.

She earned this award in the Hunter Country Pleasure Division. There are some mighty fine Saddlebreds in this division and I am humbly honored that my mare was able to stay in the Top 10 for the second year in a row.

These results are compiled from 231 shows in 32 states and Canada. There is also a lapel pin keepsake, that I will proudly wear all year long.

Thank you Saddle Horse Report and Congratulations to my fellow Top 10 winners from every division!

Let it Snow...Let it Snow...Let it Snow!!

We are stuck in the house today, because we have about 10 inches of snow on the ground right now and this storm is not expected to let up until 1 am tomorrow. It is a good day to do household work, but unfortunately I will not get to see/ride my beloved Santana. I hate when that happens, but living in Cleveland, it is part of life.

I got a new video camera for Christmas from my son's and husband. It is a great gift and one that I asked for, so that I can continue to make video's of our show season and our horsie promotional activities. My other video camera was of poor quality. This one is better.

I added more links to my blog, the ASHAO website, ASHA, Saddlebred rescue and a link to all of my youtube video's, so be sure to check them out!

So...off to cleaning the house and doing laundry. ugh!! boring!!

There's a Winter Storm Coming

Well, we are under a winter storm watch here in the Cleveland area, 6-8 inches of snow are expected by Saturday Morning. It makes it tough for me to get to Santana, (barn name) when it snows. We miss each other something awful.

We are planning to go to a winter open show on January 18th. (weather permitting) I take Santana to opens shows as part of our promotional agenda. We participate in these shows in the winter time, because we go to so many ASB shows in the summer. As you all know promoting the Saddlebred is important to me, so this is one small way to continue my self imposed mission.

I am a member of the Ohio American Saddlebred Pleasure Horse Association (OASPHA) and they offer a Pleasure Horse Promotional Award as a "special" year end award. They have offered this award for as long as I have been a member and we have be the Promotional Award Champions for the past 5 years. I have been blessed with a Saddlebred that is condusive to this type of award. Her mellow disposition and the fact that we ride primarily hunt and western, it fits right in with the QH's. When I take her to open shows we are generally the only Saddlebred showing. Many people come to me and ask what breed she is and of course, I never shut up after that! LOL!

I believe this is a very important way to show people who are not familiar with the Saddlebred, that they can be very nice pleasure mounts and do well in an open show environment. I am taking a new friend from the barn with me. She has a new QH that she wants to put in front a judge for the first time. We are looking forward to a day together, so lets pray there is NO snow!

I also have 3 year end award banquets coming up in January! The 17th, the 24th and the 31st. So you can see my January is very busy with horsie things to do. Who says we rest in the winter? NOT!! The Girl Scout promotional event, the open horse show and 3 2008 year end banquets. I'm tired just thinking about it. Ahh who am I kidding? I love every minute of it!!

My Newest Saddlebred Promotional Video

Visit http://www.youtube.com/user/lynnshaw1 to see all my videos.

Working on Promoting the Breed

Well, It is 2009 and my never ending quest to promote the breed will continue with the Girl Scouts. I am working with the same group of girls the Northeast Ohio Girl Scouts; Troop #1613, but this time we will be working on the "Horse Rider" badge! Below is a list of when and what will be worked on. These events will be featuring my mare "My Genius' Private Secretary" Our theme is "Saddlebreds are good for kids!"

Janurary 29, 2009 will be the pre-barn meeting. Items discussed will be... Horse Safty and You - Explaination to the troop, friends or family the safety regulations for riding and equestrian etiquette around horses, barns and horse events. Show how to give proper hand signals when riding on public roads. Answer any questions. Horse Anatomy – Name the principal parts of a horse. What can be done to prevent common ailments or diseases of horses.

January 31, 2009 Get Ready to Ride – Saddle and bridle a horse by yourself. Explain care and use of each part of the tack and explain the importance of correct fitting. Hitch a horse at the correct height when bridled, using a halter, suitable knot and correct length of lead rope or cross ties. In Good Form – Show you can do the following: Mount and dismount correctly. Turn and stop a horse at both a walk and a trot on command. Clips, Combs and More – Examine the tools used to groom a horse. Discover the purpose of each. Learn how to use the brush and currycomb. Learn how to brush a horse before and after saddling. Practice safe stall and barn behavior.

February 22, 2009 See for Yourself – See a horse show. The troop will be attending the NE Ohio Winter Series Academy Horse show, Which I have been doing the announcing at as well. (4 show series) They will see children of thier own age competeing in a horse show environment and being Judged

I will be taking photos and video's of these events and will make a movie of the events as I did last year and will post it once it is complete.

If anyone as any other suggestions that can be added to these activities to give the Girls a fun filled and worth while experiance it will be greatly appreciated. Once all three dates are completed the Horse Rider badge will be awarded!

Hope to hear from you!!!

Welcome!

Hello...This is my horse "My Genius' Private Secretary. She is a registered American Saddlebred and she and I have had many great years together and we hope for many more. We had a great show season in 2008. I am proud to say that she earned 103 ribbons in the 2008 show season. I ride her English Country Pleasure, Hunt Seat and Western. She is so sweet and very versatile.