Meet our new friend, Springstar!

She is a connemara mare, and she moved in on Monday. She has two horse neighbors who already like her a lot: Annie and Rio. Welcome Springstar!

Look at Me!

Emily snapped this photo of me and Ava this afternoon in our lesson. I think I blinked, but I don't take pictures of myself very often, and I thought I should show you how well my youngest rider is doing! We walked and trotted, and practiced steering all around the arena and between the dressage letters. Then we played a game where she collected fir cones and we walked them over to a barrel and put them on top. Fun! What did you do today? I had a great ride!

Don't forget to watch the Rolex Kentucky Three Day Event on NBC at 12:30 PDT tomorrow - Saturday!

Walkin' Down the Trail

I like to go on trail rides, do you? I sometimes get skitterish when there are deer hiding in the woods, and sometimes the crunching of sticks and dry leaves scares me (I'm kind of silly), but I do love to get out of the arena. Before I moved to Fish Bowl Farm I lived in Ellensburg, and there aren't so many dense woods there, it's more sage brushy, so when I moved to Western Washington the Doug Fir and Madrona woods were something to get used to! Here is a really cool website where you can download and read a document about sharing the trails with others on foot, on horseback, bicycle or atv (where they're allowed). (Look on the bottom right of that website for ELCR News Flashes and the Trail Guide. The photo above is of one of the trails at Fish Bowl with the flowering apple tree.

Feed Bag to Tote Bag

Feed bags used to be made of cotton fabric. Then they morphed into paper or woven synthetic stuff. Then two paper layers sandwiched around clear plastic. Now they are also made out of tightly woven plastic a'la plastic tarp material. They are indestructible and amazing for many uses. They are also recyclable -- there is a smart human who has figured out how to recycle plastic feed bags and synthetic baling twine into plastic. I think that's smart. I don't know if we should have all this plastic around - I see tiny pieces of baling twine on the ground sometimes and it doesn't look like it will ever go away! Anyway... this feed sack stuff cuts and sews very nicely as you can see by the photo above! Emily tinkered with the sack and voila - a new tote bag for hay, farmers market produce, groceries, taking recycling to the center, donations to the thrift store, items to and from the library, and maybe even your boots and helmet to the farm for your weekly lesson or daily ride! If you need a sack to do some creative sewing on, let us know, we have lots of these beet pulp sacks just waiting for a new purpose.

Rainbows and Horsemanship

We had a wild weekend of rain and sun and clouds and wind, but not very many of those things at the same time. It was constantly changing, that's for sure! Sunday when Emily was driving her little electric golf car/truck around feeding us there was a complete rainbow in the sky and it was lovely! There was even a little vertical piece of rainbow right by our riding arena!

Horsemanship for kids ages 5-15 is starting up on Wednesday, May 6th, from 3:30-5:00. $10/participant, please wear your boots and helmet, and we'll have some fun! Learning, playing, handling me and the other horses, and talking about caring for us. It's a drop in program for any kids interested in horses and ponies - Fish Bowl students are encouraged to come, and also to bring a friend. Open to all, parents can drop their kids off at 3:30 and pick them up at 5:00. Rain or shine, see you Wednesday!

Rolex TV Coverage Postponed....

...to Saturday May 16th on NBC. It's right before the Preakness (those horses are FAST!), so check your local listings.

It was sadly pre-empted by Hockey Playoffs. But hockey does look fun!

A Student's New Pony, Show Saturday and Rolex!

We are so happy for our young friend, Presley, who has a new pony! His name is Bobby, and as you can see, he is a very cute fellow! He lives at his owner's grandpa's stable, where Emily visits each week for their lesson. They're coming along well together, and Bobby has settled in nicely at his new home!

The Annual Shaggy Horse Show is tomorrow, Saturday at Paradise Ridge Park, here on Vashon Island. Just as she did at the show last weekend, Emily will collect non-perishable food items for the Vashon-Maury Food Bank. Come out to watch the horses and riders, and bring something canned or boxed for our neighbors.

Rolex Kentucky Three Day Event was last weekend, and it will be televised this Sunday on NBC at 5:00 pm EDT (2:00 on the West coast). Be sure to watch the great excitement of Lucinda Fredericks and her 15.2 mare, Headley Brittanica, Bettina Hoy and Ringwood Cockatoo, and Buck Davidson and My Boy Bobby!