Raleigh, NC Turkey Circuit Nov. 28-30

I will be available this week in Raleigh for the EQHNC's Turkey Circuit! E-mail me to get on my list -- it's filling up fast!

Herndon, VA Pre-Turkey Circuit Nov. 20-21

In an attempt to make up for lost manes at Congress, and for an excuse to head up to the DC area for some pre-Thanksgiving shopping (IKEA here I come), I have decided to head up to Herndon, VA for the Pre-Turkey circuit in two weeks. I will be available to braid Thursday and Friday, November 20th-21st and available to shop on Saturday and Sunday, November 22nd-23rd. ;) E-mail me to get on my list!

Congress Dreams Dashed!

Oh, I was so excited for Congress! I had my hotel room in order, a golf cart on the line, and my list of clients was growing. I braided up a few for a Raleigh show to get some last-minute practice and was ready to hit the road to Columbus. Then, on October 4th, my left ovary had other plans. I went to the ER Friday night with severe pain (pain I had been expeirencing for several months) where it was thought I had kidney stones. Much to the Doctor's surprise, there were no stones, but instead, a grapefruit-sized cyst on my left ovary. I had the fruitlike growth and the left ovary, around which it was twisted 3 times, removed the next morning and went home with stern instructions not to do anything strenuous for 6 weeks. I suppose hauling a stepstool and supplies through the Ohio Expo Center at all hours probably fell into that category. So alas, my Congress plans were scrapped and instead of some nice extra spending money I'm now saddled with a great big hospital bill. Lovely.

QUARTER HORSE CONGRESS!!!!

I have decided to head up to the All-American Quarter Horse Congress to get my braids and bands on! I will tentatively be there October 16th - October 22nd. E-mail me to get on my list!

Short Mane Syndrome

I got a call last week from a woman in Virginia asking me if I was going to be at a show in Clemson, SC. I wasn't planning on it, but figured since I worked the entire weekend before, I might as well take Friday off, grab my mom, and head down to the show. Who knows, maybe I'd pick up a few more manes. So I decided to go and ended up with three manes to do. When I looked in at the horse about which I was originally called, I knew this would be a challenge. His short short mane was sticking straight up. I was hoping that maybe, just maybe, it would be longer than it looked. It was the perfect length - for banding -- about an two inches, nearly two inches too short. I braided it up, started pulling it up, trying to pull the ends into the crest, and realized it was JUST TOO SHORT. The second half that I tied differently, with the ends folded under the braid against the crest, was much better. Thankfully, I had my wonderful mother with me and she pulled the first half of the braids while I worked on two other manes. I re-braided the first half and it came out as good as it could. It wasn't perfect, but certainly would "do." I have decided, though, that I don' t want no short short mane.

Pony Practice

July 25th - Clemson!

I will be braiding this Friday at the AQHA show in Clemson. E-mail me or leave a comment to get on my list!

Early July - Raleigh H/J show

These were the only photos I got, unfortunately, of some of my best braids yet. I did a bay horse that turned out even better, but forgot to take photos. Here are a couple photos of a sorrel I did:

Starstruck

At the end of June I awoke one lazy Sunday morning to two missed calls, a voicemail, and a text message. It was Beth. She was out at the Tarheel Triple Classic Quarter Horse Show and needed four horses done -- three braided, one banded. I called her back and got the necessary details. She was stalled in Barn A, on the side facing the road, "High Point Performance Horses." THE High Point Performance Horses? Charlie and Jason's High Point Performance Horses? I was pretty giddy to be braiding for such a high-caliber barn. I did two horses the first day -- a bay named Must Be A Detail and gray mare, Exotic Investment. They were wonderful -- both stood calm and quietly, their manes were pulled and shortened perfectly and they both braided up really well. When I got home, just for kicks, I looked them up online and realized that the bay horse I had done had, oh, you know, WON THE WORLD and was, you know, HIGH POINT HUS HORSE IN THE NATION!!!! And the Beth who called was Beth Case, who has won the World and Congress numerous times and who rides one of my all-time favorite HUS horses, Zee Yellow Jacket. She was nice and all, but it was the big bay gelding who truly had me starstruck!

Welcome!

Hello all my equestrian friends! I've started this blog to chronicle my Mane Adventures. You can come here to find photos of the manes I've done and tales from the road. Check back soon for updates!