Tuesday, July 29, 2008

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.

Monday, July 21, 2008

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:

Thursday, July 17, 2008

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!

Wednesday, July 16, 2008

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!