Visiting Jim Lowe's Barn!

Khatin Around enjoys her bath. She will be 30 in a few months!

After Pony Club we headed out to Mission Pacific in Somis to visit Jim and welcome him home from the long Scottsdale Show.

We decided to take out Khatin Around and Sera and give them baths and take them on a walk around the farm.

Both mares loved the attention and put on quite the show around the track.

Jordan also groomed and walked the gorgeous stallion Mamage - he is such a sweetheart and so beautiful!

We watched Jim longline a few horses, gave kisses to other horses in the barn and had a fantastic time.

We always hate leaving Jim's barn and can't wait to go back for Saddleseat lessons!

Even Dish loves Jim's!

Relay Races Pony Club!

Saturday's Pony Club was so much fun - with so many riders and lots of catching up to do on gymkhana practice, we had Relay Races and had a great time.

Jordan & Catie were team captains - and Julia had to ride two horses, Coco and Dru, to make the teams even.

Jordan's team had Jordan & Snapper, Julia & Coco, Emma & Dessa, Hannah & Jade and Marguerite and Poe.

Catie's team had Catie & Royal, Alexa & Poet, Grace & Persja, Kristin & Gracie and Julia & Dru.

The first run was a tie and the second run was a super close finish to the end. Though I thought the girls would warm up slowly, everyone had their competition hats on and rode to win. It was great to hear everyone cheer for each other and after two runs of obstacles, both girls and horses were exhausted.

Everyone enjoyed the change of pace and even quiet Poe, ran back with Marguerite. I think there will be more relay races in our future.

March Mare of the Month - Gracie

our gracie rose

Gracie Rose is one of my favorite mares. She is beautiful and has lots of attitude! At 24 years young, she is still out best Liberty horse and the one who always puts on a show when we turn her loose.

gorgeous gracie

We almost didn't get Gracie - I wanted to buy her, sight-unseen based on her pedigree and show record. The seller felt uncomfortable with this and decided not to sell her after much pressure from her stable friends. I was so disappointed I sent her a 3 page letter and included references of influential people in the Arabian breed. I also included her purchase price and waited. She called me right away and said, "Come and get your horse - you would give her a better home than me!". That trip introduced me to Carl Mason who we also got Lola and Poet from later on down the road.

xoxo gracie

Gracie is the epitome of the Versatile Arabian. She is wonderful with little Kristin, hot with the big kids and even though she was a show horse for the first 21 years of her life, she easily adapted to trail rides, gymkhanas, and swimming at Malibu Creek.

gracie at liberty

When she was younger she earned her Legion of Honor - without ever going to a Regional or National Show (that's a lot of points!) and earned Championships in Western Pleasure, Sidesaddle, Hunter Pleasure, Show Hack, and Halter. With us she has won nearly every time at Liberty, earned a Gymkhana Year End High Point Award and been the first bareback horse for many of our riders.

Grandaddy Bask++

Gracie was bred by Kit Hall Arabians (Thank you, Kit!) and is by the incomparable First Class and out of a McCoy bred mare (Thank you, Frank & Helen!). First Class was out of the great mare, Khema, one of the first Khemosabi++++ daughters and one of my favorite mares at Ventura Farms.

Khema certainly had an old soul and Gracie reminds me of her sometimes. Gracie resemblance to *Bask++, her paternal grandsire, is remarkable.

Daddy First Class (*Bask++ x Khema)

Her registered name is Khlassy Lass+ and she certainly acts as if she is aware of her royal pedigree. She is the Queen of the Barn and she never lets anyone forget it! When she is turned loose, she is captivating and completely takes our breath away - and isn't that what an Arabian mare is supposed to do?

March - Rider of the Month - Brooke!

New this year we will be honoring the incredible love and commitment our girls show in the barn every day. Not only wll there continue to be a Mare-of-the-Month but we will also now be featuring a "Rider-of-the-Month". Along with the honor, this special rider will have the coveted "shotgun" seat at Pony Club.

The inspiration for this award came from the first child to earn it - Brooke Cohen! Brooke is committed to the barn 100%. She never gossips, shows up in all kinds of weather, offers to help friends and students and shows an amazing bond and responsibility to Lola. She is there to make sure Lola has her supplements even in hail, checks her blankets in all weather and loves her unconditionally.

When there is a sick horse in the barn, you can't drag Brooke away! Last year she was there for Persja and this year she stayed with Poe and Sonnet (and thanks Jordan too!). She watches the horses and notices changes in their behavior consistently. Brooke's love of horses is prevalent in everything she does and I am proud to have her in my barn and lucky to have her for all of the support she provides us all.

Congratulations, BROOKE on being the first RIDER-of-the-MONTH! We all love you! XOXO

"Love is in the commitment."

Water Training Day

It was fun water training Bella and the baby - and surprisingly they both did great.

Poet was the fearless leader and provided confidence for the girls.

Everyone had to go home wrapped in towels with bags on their boots, that water is getting gross!!!

Malibu Creek, here we come!

Jump for Joy!

Jordan & Dru

The kids are enjoying the warm weather and their favorite thing to do, of course is jumping!

Jordan & Coco

Lilian came out to photograph the kids and enjoy the sunshine.

Emma & Dessa

We all had a great time and can't wait for the next horse show with jumps.

Jordan & Dru

We also turned Gracie loose for a little bit of Liberty fun. She looked gorgeous as always, even at 24!

Gracie Rose Grace & Persja

Emma & Dessa

What's a girl to do...with all this rainy weather?!

Cute rainboots!
Is this how all the people in other states live? So sad. I am grateful for the rain as we desperately need it but couldn't it just be spread out a bit? The horses are bored, we are wet, and the Plum Tree is muddy in spots where there was not enough mulch. I haven't seen my hair straight in over a week!
Jordan & Bella
Despite the weather, we are having a great time; spreading mulch, visiting Paradise Valley, touring the parkways, riding "cross-country" and galloping through our custom mud puddle! All in a rainy day's work!
2 loose horses (That weren't ours!)
Personally, I want to thank the girls that have made it to the barn to help out and visit the horses in inclement weather. Pony Club on Saturday was in full force and Jordan, Mandy, Emma, Honni, Kristin, Hannah, and Marguerite were all there to enjoy what proved to be a wild day! Thanks to Hannah's parents, Glen and Debbie who also walked over with Summer and Angel - thanks for getting the girls to us safely.

Emma's release is perfect!
A special thanks to Brooke and Emma who are horse crazy! They were both texting me early on Sunday morning wanting to come help feed the horses. Yes, while it was pouring rain. Me, I was at home, warm in my pajamas. We had a great day - checking all the blankets, feeding the horses, moving the mulch and feeding all the supplements. It turned into an all day affair but it felt great to leave the barn with all the horses happy and dry.

I love Hannah's face! Coco looks cute too.
Hopefully we will be back to riding to practice for our upcoming gymkhana, horse show, IEL, show and cross country ride! Until then, here are some pictures from our day to day barn life.
Horses enjoying Paradise.

Singing in the Rain (again!?)

Before I write about all the fun we had on Sunday, I want to thank Brooke, Catie, and Marguerite for coming to the barn on Wednesday to help get ready for the next rain storm. Every horse needs double blankets, all of the stalls are bedded with extra shavings (and those suckers are heavy), horses are moved around, and we even had to build a shelter!

It took a team effort and two hours but we got everything done and every horse has remained warm, dry, and comfortable since the last storm. Marguerite took the job of gathering all the halters and even organized them by color! Thanks, girls for missing your ride time to help around the barn! The horses and I appreciate it.

On Sunday, the sun broke through the clouds just long enough to get the stalled horses out for a nice walk. Jordan, Emma, and I took Gracie (24), Persjaa (26), and Sonnet (22) out for a trail ride on the parkways. These mares were all hot just from sitting for a few days and we enjoyed an exciting ride home.

Dessa was turned out to run, which she thoroughly enjoyed and Jordan worked on water training with Dru & Sonnet, thanks to the huge puddle in the trail behind our barn. It was a great day and I know the horses were happy to see the girls and get cookies and lots of attention. Looks like we were smart to take advantage of the sunshine since we all woke to rain on Monday morning! We need it though and can't wait to let the horses graze. :)