This message is from: sandra <minih...@hotmail.com>
Just have to share what my almost 25 yr. old Liten Loki did at our county's first annual Festival of the Horse. I took him to be in the Parade of Breeds since he is so unique and we also took our half Belgian PMU rescue who now 11 yrs. old. The crowd loved Loki...as always. I didn't enter him in any classes since he's retired and not in condition to compete but I kept eyeing the trail class which didn't seem to require any stamina...just a willing attitude...& decided to enter him even though it had been years since we'd practiced any obstacles. The other trail class entries were throwing huge fits at some of the obstacles but I decided that Loki & I were just going to have fun! First, Loki did shutter a tiny bit when I opened the umbrella. Well, it's probably the first umbrella he's seen! He did the gate obstacle perfectly, backed through poles perfectly, side passed a pole perfectly but side passed back in the other direction without me asking him so I guess he remembered practicing it that way years ago. (That wasn't part of the pattern, oh well). Walking over the tarp was simple, turning 360 degrees in a small square was simple, walking through litter was easy, crossing the bridge was simple then there was the teeter totter that other horses had refused to do. Loki had never done one...he stepped up & walked over it like a pro...I was laughing & praising him at the same time! Next we dragged a small tire...no problem. Then there was the tractor tire where the horse had to put their front feet in it...that was the biggest challenge to all the other horses who were scared to death of that tire. Loki walks up to it...I decided to let him sniff the tire & he started grazing in the middle of it! Then he calmly stepped in & over it & we were on our way to the mailbox to open & get his treat. That's where I had a problem...he wouldn't leave the mailbox!!! Loki must have figured that as long as he stood at the mailbox there was a chance he'd get another treat! I was laughing so hard I barely got us out of the ring without falling off...the crowd loved him! And out of 17 entries, he won the class!!! I was so proud of that fjord which embodied every good characteristic of his breed. Meanwhile, Honey was a basket case but managed to win reserve champion (with a friend riding her) in the pleasure horse division. She had separation anxiety (from Loki) so he had to babysit her for most of the morning rather than napping at the trailer. Loki's memory astounded me...we'd practiced obstacles at the Fjord Fests at Blowing Rock through the years and that's also where we learned side passing but I'd never competed with him in an obstacle class. He absolutely enjoyed the class and all the attention he got...especially enjoyed the bag of treats that accompanied his blue ribbon! We're looking forward to next year's trail class! Enjoy your Fjords! Sandra & Loki in VA Important FjordHorse List Links: Subscription Management: http://tinyurl.com/5msa7e FH-L Archives: http://tinyurl.com/rcepw FH_L Shirts: http://tinyurl.com/8yky94l
