Malibu Creek - Home Away From Home

How did we get to lucky to have Malibu Creek State Park in our own backyard?! For years I have gone with friends to enjoy the ancient oak trees, fields and valleys, and of course the running water cascading through it all.

Malibu Creek is now one of the favorite destinations of the girls - if not, the top choice. Just about everyone has a MC story and most of the horses have been there at least once. After all, it is only 10 minutes away. We always have a great time and a great adventure.

This Sunday was no different and we even brought some new friends and horses along. Veteran swimmers, Angel and Gracie were there to show the ropes to Royal, who ironically went in first without hesitation! Sandee and her niece Addie came along and of course Lilian was there to capture all the excitement and beauty.

This early in the season, the water was exceptionally clear and cool. The algae was also in abundance and everytime the girls left the water they had algae on their feet and tack.

The day was perfect. The horses were happy and beautiful, as were the children. Heck, I think the grown-ups even had fun.

(MORE PICTURES WILL COME FROM LILIAN & SANDEE)

Field of Dreams

One great thing about all the recent rain is the adundance of grass all over our property! Not only do our horses love grazing time on the "Back 40" but they also love "Grass Surfing" in the hill by our farm.

Just a quick gallop over the sandbag-Lasher trail and we are on acres of beautiful fields of grass, lupin, and mustard flowers.

Oak trees surround this secluded area and the horses LOVE going being there, too!

The grass is almost as tall as the horses and since it won't be here for long, we are enjoying it every chance we get!

HAPPY 2ND BIRTHDAY, CALLAIA!

Today is Callaia's 2nd birthday. Miracle after miracle, this is God's filly and we are lucky to have her though she can be quite spoiled. She spent her birthday running around the field with the boys and grazing with Boo.

Thank you to everyone that helped save her and to the girls in the barn that love her today (of course that is you, Jordan!)

CVAHA Spring Kick-Off Arabian/Open Horse Show

Our first horse show of the year came upon us quickly with lots of planning and grooming to catch up on. The previous rain had kept us from the barn but we were all up for the task.

Brooke and Julia even offered to bodyclip Royal the day before the show.

The girls spent Saturday afternoon clipping, washing and cleaning tack. We ended the long day with a trip to Yogurt Zone. Jordan came out to help get ready for the show even though a knee injury prevented her from competing.

Sunday morning came quickly and Ashley had to ride BLight over in the dark! Still, we have a full crew of support. Sharyn, Kathy, and Courtney were there with trailers and Glen, Lilian, and Sandee were at the show before the morning classes. Thank heavens for horse shows that start a little late. We sure appreciated the extra time. :) Kathy & Sharyn were great and helped me and Hannah with the braiding.

There were lots of horse changes, jacket changes, mutliple class participations but the day was well run and went smoothly. The schedule was rough - from Halter to Jumping with no flat in between - which meant for some very hot horses. We all survived the morning classes anyway and Julez loved racing around on Coco - and why did we leave Dru at home?!

Hannah represented the ponies with Jade and they were perfect and won a huge class as well.

Some of our girls were busy showing multiple horses. Emma showed Persja under saddle and showed Dessa in the Liberty class. Ashley showed BLight in the Hunter Division and then Sonnet in the Western classes.

Brooke did a wonderful job showing Royal for the first time too. I think she missed Lola for the jumping but was happy to be on Royal for the other classes.

Alexa did a nice job moving up to the walk/trot/canter classes with Poet and we all enjoyed the birthday presenation!

Kristin charmed everyone in the Walk/Trot Division and won the High Point Championship.

Also winning High Points were Brooke & Royal in the Hunter, Ashley & Sonnet in the Western, and Julia won the Overall Youth of the Day!

It was a fun day but also a reminder about the hard work of showing. We are all really looking forward to the next show in Hidden Hills - I think we will come out shining!

Khatin Around & Visiting the Lowe's Ranch

Some of our favorite days are spent with the Lowe family on their beautiful ranch in Somis. We love visiting all of the horses, especially Khatin Around++//! We have been riding her and she loves all the extra attention.

On this day, we also played with Slayde's miniature horses, some random TB (that got away from Brooke twice!), and Chromer - he is cool!

The girls LOVE their saddleseat lessons with Jim and this time we rode some of the best horses in the barn.

After riding, the girls play with Slayde, Diesel, and Arista - though Slayde and Diesel are way more into the girls! Dakota gets into the fun, too!

We are always exhausted but sad to leave. I personally can't wait to go back and see our sweet, hot Khatin Around and Jim & Shawn and the Lil Stinkers!

Hidden Hills St. Patrick's Day Gymkhana

We had a great time at our first event of the year - the 3rd Annual St. Patrick's Day Gymkhana in Hidden Hills.

All of the girls wore green shamrock sequin shirts - though they had to remind me they are all growing up and no longer wear junior clothes! Even though the shirts were snug and some resembled belly shirts, the girls all looked great in green!

The horses joined the festivities and wore garlands and shamrock stickers. The glitter shamrock "body" stickers that Bliss and Jordan found worked great on all the horses - what could be cuter than shamrocks on the rump? They worked so well and Poet still had his a few days later. They are my newest favorite discovery. Thanks, Bliss!

Since the ring was still a little wet, we took things slow. The day got off to an exciting start when Brooke and Lola slid around the first barrel. Brooke is a rock star and got back on Lola to finish 3rd in her division.

Julia and Coco still raced around a little, but come on, It's COCO! She ended winning the High Point Championship of the day in Division A (the fastest group).

Catie and Royal are quite the team. His toughness proved to be short lived and ever since she got him around the figure 8, they have been a great pair. Even in Ahmanson, they are a wonderful match. Catie earned 3 yellows - all sunshine!

Jordan shared Cutter with her mom and they both earned blue ribbons that day and had a great time - Cutter looked great in his bow tie, too. Even Mona came out from UCLA to show off with her old partner in crime, Picasso. They were so fast, it was really ridiculous!

Mandy came up from Orange County and a cheer competition in Universal City to show Snapper. Jordan schooled Snapper for Mandy and she must have done a great job since Snapper also won a High Point Championship in Division C. She might not be as fast as the other divisions but her head set looked amazing!

Kristin & Sonata had their debut show together and did so well - we were all so proud of them both and they even earned first place. Kristin might have a future as a horse trainer and she did all her patterns in her English saddle, just like the big girls.

Alexa and Poet raced around and after all of her practice all week, she did fantastic and you could see her times are getting faster. It was nice to see Poet's tail after being wrapped for so long too.

Can you believe our Division B High Point Champions were Grace and Gracie? Yes, our 24 year old was racing around faster than the horses half her age. Grace did everything with a smile on her face.

Hannah and Jade rocked the arena and in the morning Hannah serenaded us to the National Anthem - it was beautiful! Big Girls Don't Cry.

Emily and Patrina had to leave early to go look a horse for her mom but that did not stop her from a clean sweep - 3 blues in 3 classes and it earned her the High Point Championship for Division D! This was their first gymkhana together also!

What would a Hidden Hills Gymkhana be without Ashley and Buck Light?! Ashley looked hot in her buckle from last year - earned with Buck Light and is exciting to watch race around. BLight sure does love to race around. They too had a really good show!

Ashley BP came out to help cheer on the girls and pass out ribbons. Emma joined us to ride home after performing in her play (She was AWESOME!). Lilian was there in full force as our official photographer and president of our fan club! She followed us home and photographed the girls in the hills above the Plum Tree.

Overall it was a really incredible, positive day that we all enjoyed! Thank you, Bliss and the HHHA for another perfect day!