At Dawn, The Ladies Ride

Kristian Beverly4 Comments

One of my favorite things last night was watching the jousting by Round Table Productions. But before the jousting started, the ladies took the stage (err–arena).
The Queen entered first.

Then her ladies followed. At the end of the jousting they rode around again.

They all rode side saddle, so that was a cool effect.
The Queen said something along the line that side saddles don’t hinder the ability for them to ride any less than an astride person. She was right and wasn’t messing around in showing so. 
One lady did not ride, but instead led her horse around so everyone could see the saddle, which was an English Side Saddle.

Farm Show 2015

Kristian Beverly4 Comments
I went to the Farm Show today. 
This year my schedule didn’t match up as perfectly as it did last year, so I was worried that I would miss this.
I didn’t! 
I went later and watched the Equine Showcase.
I saw the tail end of the Draft horses.
Then I watched a drill team,
jousting, 
mounted shooting,
and saw miniature donkeys and horses.

Now I’m off to finish off a tween book and write the questions for the book club tomorrow!

A Spin On Working Equitation

Kristian BeverlyLeave a comment

Today was my last day of winter break. It went by very fast.
There’s an event called Working Equitation, whose goal is to “enhance the equestrian techniques developed in countries whose riders use horses in different aspects of ranch and fieldwork.”
There are many parts to it, which makes the event a dream. There are so many parts that one could use for performance, that to me, the possibilities seem endless. :)
There are four tests that make up Working Equitation and one of them is called Ease of Handling. There are different obstacles to it, but the one I zeroed in on is the Skewer Ring. The United States Working Equitation summed up what was supposed to happen with it, along with other obstacles seen.

  Skewer Ring
a.   Description.  The obstacle consists of a pole and a ring.  (If using multiple rings, the rings can be set at varying heights.)  The rings can be made out of wood, metal, or plastic and should be approximately 13-15 cm (5-6 in.) in diameter.
b.   Execution.  With the tip of the pole the competitor must skewer the ring(s).  The horse must maintain gait.
c.   Assessment Criteria (EOH).  The judge will evaluate the manner in which the horse approaches the obstacle, maintaining a good posture and not slowing down, and the fluidity with which the rider completes the exercise.  Any break in the horse’s movement with loss of fluidity will be penalized.  Striking any part of the obstacle will result in a lower score.  Skewering the ring is not nearly as important as the style/approach to the obstacle and the continuity of the horse and rider.  Dropping the ring after picking it up will result in a negative score.

Today I wanted to make my own version of it.
I made a zombie one. It’ll belong in some sort of fun class.


The discipline was made to enhance equestrian techniques in countries where the riders use horses for different reasons, so I thought why not zombie world too?
One day I’ll make a realistic one like the one below, but making a zombie one sounded like more fun today!
Photo Credit: Lisa Marie Photography,

I grabbed some wood, found a template on google, modified it so it was easier to cut, and bam. Here’s the zombie.


It needs painted black, along with a ring connected to the top but it’s a start. Just like how the next semester of college starts tomorrow (The weather channels around here have been calling for extreme weather, so I’m crossing my fingers about that. Maybe a cancellation?)