Happy New Year!

Hello everyone. Just wanted to say Happy New Year. 2007 has been quite a year for us. Thanks for all your support and we are looking forward to seeing you all in 2008!
Ride Fast... Take Chances! karen

YESTERDAY'S TOWNS: IN MEMORY OF MATT ZAMPERLA ZOPPE

YESTERDAY'S TOWNS: IN MEMORY OF MATT ZAMPERLA ZOPPE

Christmas in Maine

Here is Jamie and I. Merry Christmas!
This is what a white New England Christmas looks like.
Here I am refreshed and revived after a nice night at the Wentworth by the Sea.
Here is Jamie overlooking the 8" of snow that fell during our stay.

My husband and I got away for a few days and went to Maine for Christmas with his family and to have a few days away for our anniversary. We stayed at the Wentworth by the Sea and had a beautiful New England Christmas with tons of snow! We drove up to LL Bean in Freeport to get a few presents and have sushi with our niece, Joann. We met one of Jamie's best friends, Webber and his wife in Portland for drinks and hear stories of Jamie and Webber's exploits. Then we had a big Christmas with Jamie's family and all the nieces and nephews on Saturday. Lots of great food and conversation. We went skiing at Sunday River Ski resort. It was awesome. We skied all day, had a great lunch at the Shipyard Ale House and there was hardly anyone there. (With 130 trails it felt like we were alone!) We figured it would be really busy, so we got to the mountain at 7:30am. We were the first in line for tickets and gear. It was cool to go skiing with the family, Mike, Sue, Lynn, Michael, Sheila, Chris, Alex, Andy, Austin, Colleen, Danny and Katie. I just want to say thank you to Jamie's Mom and Dad for putting everything together and making it a wonderful Christmas for us. Love you and Merry Christmas.
We returned home on Christmas eve to spend Christmas with Tommie, the horses, our doggies, and the girls. (Lori and Giddy) Here is Tommie, trying to guess the present before he opens it.
Merry Christmas! karen

In Memory of Matt Zoppe

I just returned from my Christmas vacation with my husbands family and was floored. On December 22, 2007 a talented performer, wonderful person and a good friend's life ended too soon. Matt Zamperla Zoppe was 5th generation circus and a true performer. We watched Matt and his brothers perform marvelously at the Circus, Cheval Theatre, Dixie Stampede and at Arabian Nights Dinner Theater. My brother and I featured the Zoppe family in a pilot we shot called "Extreme Horsemen". We brought together the most talented bareback riders under one roof. Matt and his family showed us why they are the best of the best. We experienced the magic of the Zoppe family as they practiced and performed. This is a sad day to know Matt is gone from this earth. He will be missed by everyone. Our hearts go out to Diana, his daughter Angelica, his family and friends. Below is a few pictures of Matt as we will always remember him. God Bless.


Here is Matt with his brother, Olissio.
Here is the Zoppe family performing at Arabian Nights. Here is Matt and Olissio along with Timi Loyal, Christine Drentwett, Joanne Mintel and other talented bareback riders during our "Extreme Horsemen" shoot.

Here is Matt alongside my brother, Tommie. We will miss you Matt.

Great photos of Tommie Turvey

I found a bunch of photos of Tommie performing this year. I thought I would post some for you to see.


Here is my brother, Tommie jumping his roman riding team of Joker and Ace over fire at a show. He has such confidence in his horses. I'm there standing next to the jump. I'm there for safety to set the jump, light the jump, and extinguish the jump. Tommie, Joker and Ace look awesome as ever!

This is the first shot I've ever seen of Tommie during his comedy act, "the Riding Instructor", where it was taken from behind. Tommie parts the tail and enters from under Pokerjoe and in between his legs. A lot of people are amazed by Pokerjoe's quiet stance. It is just very basic horsemanship of de-sensitizing and trust, NOT of bombproofing where the horse is oblivious of what's going on. We want horses to be horses and coherent to the outside world. We want them to "spook", because when they do we want them to look to us for safety and guidance. The trust is developed when we are consistant with the training and teach them to come to us. They learn to look to us for safety instead of running off or knocking us down. We teach a lot of this in our clinics and demos.

Here's a great shot of the arena during the Western States Horse Expo in Sacramento. The Saturday Night Showcase was the biggest and most attended show they had ever done. Wayne Williams announced and Jamie, my husband ran the technical aspects of our acts. Hope to find more photos for you. Until then, Ride Fast... Take Chances!
karen

Has it Been a Month?

I just noticed it has been a month since my last post. Well, we have been to the AZ Horse Fest and the Ocala Equine Capital Horse Expo. It was a nice 5,200 mile round trip. The AZ Horse Fest wasa great show. Tommie said he was impressed by how well it was run. The facility, Empty Acres was a large facility with nice stalls, arenas, and layout. Tommie said they were nice "mare" stalls with soft dirt and lots of room for his horses, so they can relax. Most shows have their stalls on concrete, so we have to use 8 bags of Guardian Shavings just to make it soft, so it is nice to have a place where you know your horse is very comfortable. It addition to Tommie's 4 acts in the show, they had the Mini Horse Drill Team, David Davis and some reining demos for the night time show. For clincians they had Tommie Turvey, Craig Cameron, Jane Savoie, Kerry Huhn, and Karen Scholl. These are some of the best clinicians you'll find. They are not only knowledgable, they are all approachable. People come to these events to learn something new or gain more insight on how they can create a better relationship with their horse. It is nice to have an expo where you can talk one on one with the clincian and get feedback on your specific problem or question. Tommie loves questions from the audience. It is the reason people support and come to these events. The 80 degree weather was real nice too. The people seemed to come from all over as well. We had people from AZ, CA, NV, NM, TX,CO, MO, and OK, come by and say hi. We were very impressed and are looking forward to next year and putting on a few clinics at Empty Acres in Buckeye as well. There is nothing better than working with promoters and trainers who respect and appreciate each other.

Here is a photo of Tommie and Ace from the Ocala Equine Capitol Horse Expo taken by Steve Priest. Steve has been taking photos of Tommie for about 10 years now.
The Ocala show went very well. We set up our 40x40 tent and had our own "compound" at the Post Time Event Center. Josh and Jana Lyons were there as well. Tommie and Josh did their demos back to back, having lots of fun as well. They remind me of 2 little boys trying to out-do or make the other flub up. They are best friends and had a great time. People say it was the most entertaining demo they had ever seen at an expo. In addition to Tommie and Josh, Matt McLaughlin, Stacey Westfall, Pat and Linda Parelli, and Jimmy Driver were on hand to give really nice educational and entertaining demos. The Dinner in the Dirt was held Friday Night and was exciting as always. Tina puts the audience in the arena and we do the entire show around them. Tommie did his 4 acts, plus Lori skied behind Ceaser and Jon Wearley and I did the Chariot Race. We planned it all down to the wreck at the end. The entire show went off without a hitch. Tina bills it as "extreme" and "dangerous", but don't worry, we know exactly what we are doing. Many many years in the stunt business makes sure that you are prepared. We looked at every position and found the safest way to perform each act. We just make it look dangerous. We would never put our horses lives or other peoples lives in danger for a "show". We are entertainers, not daredevils. Thanks to Tina and Gordon who put on this event for their incredible hospitality. This is our 5th year working with Tina and we love every show we do with her. We are now back in Sterling for much needed rest from the road as we prepare for 2008. Sorry for the being so late in posting. I'll try to add to this more often, now that I'm home.We've got so much going on from the Rocky Mountain Horses, Mustangs, Chariot racing horses, and more! Clinics coming for 2008! Ride Fast... Take Chances! karen

2008 Tour - Ready to Roll

I wanted to thank our newest sponsors. Extend-a-Cool will be along with Tommie in 2008. We got the crew together and posed for this photo in front of Tommie's new rig for the 2008 Tour through out the US and Canada. Tommie also picked up 3 beautiful Rocky Mountain Horses from Van Bert Farms, KY to start working with. Tommie was looking for a friendly, good looking, and simply ridable horses to have for trail riding and pleasure. These Rocky Mountain Horses will be perfect for this endeavor. We'll track their progress as Tommie gets them ready for riding, liberty, and traveling. We've got lots of new and exciting things lined up for next year as well, so get ready to come by and say hi when we come to your area! Ride Fast... Take Chances! karen

A great entertainer, horse trainer, and a dear friend will be missed.

A dear friend of the world has passed. On Oct. 6th, 2007 Gaylord Maynard was taken from this earth where he will forever be remembered in our hearts and laughter. He was truly a man of incredible talents. For those fortunate enough to see him perform, you know how he loved to make people laugh. I was in and saw his comedy act hundreds of times, and I couldn't stop laughing. Even when I was the "vamp", he would try hard to get me to crack up while I was on stage. He never did it to be mean or to make me look bad, he did it because he knew it put me in the right frame of mind to perform. You really had to concentrate, and he would always have me smiling the entire act. It was his way of keeping us on our toes and getting the best he possibly could from us. I learned a lot from this man. He had wonderful ideas and always took the time to share his wisdom. He will always be the man entertainers aspire to be. He was humble and never took his audiences or his animals for granted. He is a legend in the entertainment community and will be missed greatly. Here is a photo of me and Gaylord taken at Arabian Nights. This was my favorite part. I get to hit Gaylord with the blanket! He would whisper to me, "Give it to me baby!" and I would hit him good.

Here is Gaylord with Chief Bear Paw III. Gaylord was an incredible horse trainer. They don't make them like him anymore. Tommie and I learned alot about horses and the business from Gaylord, just being around him and how he kept his eye on his horse, the audience, and could roll with whatever happened. He will certainly be missed but not forgotten. Every time we hit the stage, we will always think of Gaylord Maynard. God Bless. See you on the other side.
Ride Fast... Take Chances. karen

Here's the new 2008 Rig

Here is the Freightliner with the 6 Horse Trailer. Our horses are very happy!
Ride Fast... Take Chances! karen

New Rig for 2008

Tommie just got back from picking up his new rig for 2008. This gives us better accomodations for getting our horses down the road. Tommie prefers Ford and I like Dodge, but nothing will give us more piece of mind than a Freightliner Sport Chassis and a 6 horse 8' wide trailer to give them more room, hay troughs, on-board water, a canopy big enough to shade them from the sun, good ventilation, and plenty of room for extra hay and Guardian Horse Bedding. Tommie wants to make sure that his horses are safe and taken care of and he also wants to add more. Cameras to check on the horses while driving, A GPS system to help minimize getting lost and having to make u-turns or sudden stops, a portable misting/fan system to keep the horses cool, and a portable generator to keep the power on during an overnight stop. Everything Tommie does or wants revolves around his horses. Especially when he finds products that help him take better care of the horses. For example, the Extend-A-Cool wraps are perfect for traveling. You can tuck them away and when you need a cool wrap for your horse it is ready to go and stays cool for hours. Before he found Extend-A-Cool, he would have to have an ice box with wraps or ice packs, or stop and find a place to run cool water on their legs for 15 mins. Extend-a-cool saves time, money, and most importantly, does the job of keeping the leg muscles cool and swelling down. We even use strips on the back of our necks when we are working in the hot sun to keep us cool. We've been approached by many companies to endorse products and put their logos on the truck and trailer, but we really take our time to research the products to make sure that it not only benefits our horses, but also to be able to recommend them to other horse owners. It's a tedious process, but one that Tommie doesn't take lightly. He makes sure he loves the product and uses the product before he will wear the logo. We have been fortunate to have companies support us like Alpharma, Absorbine, Wahl Clipper, Guardian Horse Bedding, and the Natural Horse Vet. We welcome companies to talk with us and are always on the lookout for products we can't do without. I have been trying to add a photo of the new rigg, but Blogger is down for some reason. I'll have one added as soon as it gets fixed.(Sorry....)
We've got lots going on here at the Wahl Equestrian Center with the Haunted Corn Maze, Pumpkin Patch, Barrel Shows, Wahl Winter Series, and with the upcoming tours to Arizona and Florida. Well, gotta run while I can.... Ride Fast... Take Chances!
karen

New Arrival to the Facility

Tommie picked up three new additions to our stables. Tommie picked them up from Van Bert Farms in KY. They are Rocky Mountain Horses and are 1 year old colts and a 2 year old mare. They are going to be some really nice trail horses and riding horses. They will be a nice chocolate color with blonde manes. Tommie will be putting them through their training regimen over the next couple of years. Tommie also video taped a segment on RFD-TV's Natural Horse Vet with Dr. Dan. Tommie is really interested in checking out the Natural Horse products. We'll put them through the paces and see how they stand up to our expectations. This will be a lot of fun working with them and working with Natural Horse Vet products. Ride Fast... Take Chances! karen

Olathe Kansas

We are here in Olathe, Kansas celebrating 150 years of history in the old west. We are set to perform this weekend. It is going to be awesome. This place is like going back 150 years in time. The building, encampments, food, and clothing are like stepping back in time. We'll be performing Sat and Sunday. We got in and set up this afternoon. Tomorrow and Sunday we have an intro, demo, and show, so it'll be a busy weekend.Here Lori and I are setting up the horses in the barn, just like they did 100 years ago.
We are ready to roll. Tommie will be performing 4 acts, a demo, and a special in the "wild west show." Our interns are having fun too. It's a lot different than Las Vegas that's for sure, but the common bond is the horse. They are truly universal. Gotta sleep. See you tomorrow.

Ride Fast... Take Chances! karen

Been a Long Time...

Wow, I just realized how long it has been since I've updated my blog. A lot has happened this summer with the facility and of course, Tommie. My brother just returned from his West Coast rodeo run with Cotton Rosser's Flying U Rodeo and Steve Gilbert's Diamond G Rodeos. Tommie said it was fun, but there were lots of forest fires and it was HOT. He was happy to get to meet so many people on the west coast and Utah. It isn't easy being on the road from June 5th to August 16th and living in a LQ horse trailer with 3 horses and 2 dogs. Some places were nice with indoor stalls covered from the heat while some were just panels under the grand stands where people throw their garbage. It's not luxorious, but that's the entertainment biz. You never know what you'll get from the promoter, but the audience is always makes up for anything with their support. Tommie said he did at least 3 interviews at every stop, so he would have to pack up and move to the next rodeo a day or 2 before the event just to do the media calls. Then, when Tommie got back to the facility here in Sterling, he wasn't here for more than 2 days and he was scheduled to work on a new movie in Chicago. This was for stunts, so he went for the one day. After the shoot they hired him to work the horse scenes the following week. This is a big budget movie that I bet most of you will be going to see next summer. I can't give any details just yet. As this is happening, we are preparing for our own show here at our facility, The Wahl Equestrian Center @ Double G Farms in Sterling, IL. We have been advertising and putting all the details together for quite a few weeks. It was a 2 hour show with equine entertainment featuring some of the best acts in the world. We had a great line-up with Tommie performing his 4 trademark acts, plus with me in the Chariot race, Matt McLaughlin our friend from Texas who is an incredible high school dressage rider and instructor, Cassie Bastien who saw Tommie a few years ago and got inspired to want to perform on horseback, she is 14 years old and she did vaulting and wild west style whips and mounted shooting, plus our very own Lori Miller with her fun skiing act, the Midwest Renegades Drill Team from Woodstock, IL who has two of our former interns on the team, and many surprises and giveaways. My Dad and our friend Rich Brunner played the characters of Poncho and Lefty. They kept the crowd entertained and laughing with their antics. We also had the great Sumo challange where we put two people in these sumo suits and they try and wrestle. It was hilarious!!! My husband did the announcing, the music, and kept the show flowing. The attendance was awesome. We had well over 1000 people and lots of people from Wahl Clipper. There were a lot of new faces too. We really appreciate the support from everyone. This facility takes a lot to keep it going and every time you come and support us here it helps us keep this place alive. Tommie signed hundreds of photos after the show courtesy of Wahl. Even after all of this, Tommie had to leave at 4am on Sunday with our Dad and 2 horses to make it to the movie set in Chicago at Soldier Field. I am so proud of my brother. He is doing exactly what he wants to do. We even had Sugar, our American Cream Mare, Eve the Black Friesan I am training for Aline Wiersema, and Cees my loveable easygoing Quarter Horse in the show. We got a special treat when Matt McLaughlin brought his horse Corral II. Corral is 22 and is retiring this year after 19 years of traveling and performing over 3000 shows around the world. We were lucky enough to see this great horse one last time with Matt. He also brought his new Andalusian, Pecos. He is 11 and is a beautiful strong horse. It was awesome. If you didnt' get to go, we are planning another show hopefully in October when we do our pumkin and haunted hayride here. Now that's gonna be fun. I love Halloween. Well, I gotta run. We leave for a show in Las Vegas at 5:00am with the two trucks and trailers, seven horses, 7 people, 4 dogs, and tons of stuff. We'll be back in a week. Then Tommie goes to PA for 3 days of performing at the Lucerne County Fair. That's over 5,000 miles of traveling with horses in 13 days. So, I'll try to take some time when in Vegas put some pictures up. We'll be at the South Point Casino, Hotel and Spa, but don't count on it!
Ride Fast... Take Chances!
karen

Trail Ride for Confidence

Well, this week is the kids camp, so I am swamped and tired. BUT Kay sent me this photo and I loved it!! This really shows how much confidence these people had after two days of sensory and confidence training. All I can say is "WAY TO GO!" In this photo I'm in the front, leading the pack on a water crossing. We even got near a train as it went by. I saw a lot of improvement in the riders and the horses confidence. Don't try to fix horses overnight, just keep them heading in the right direction and it will come. Keep it up girls!

Ride Fast... Take Chances!

Karen

Weekend Sensory and Confidence Clinic

We had a great turnout for our Sensory and Confidence Clinic. 13 people participated to work with their horses and get their horses to overcome obstacles and spooky objects. There is all kinds of different horses and levels of riders. It is inspiring to see someone improve or reach their goals with their horses. The point where their horse understands them and they overcome is where they gain confidence. Once they get to this point they will be able to enjoy rides and face their obstacles with their horses. Be a rider not a passenger. Your horse needs you to be the leader. For those who said there horse "won't" do something like jump a log, I challanged them. I have never seen a horse that couldn't, just a rider who couldn't or wasn't abling the horse. Be positive and try. Your horse will achieve the task you ask. It's time to go on a trail ride. I'm gonna take them by the train tracks and wait for a train. How many will turn back? This will show who has really gained confidence. Here a few photos of the participants and us working.

Thanks to Kay Fellows for the great photos. I was too busy to take photos. Thanks girls for the help and to all the participants I hope this helped you understand your horse and reach a few more goals. Set your horse up for success. Remember, with horses it is not a race, small steps and small victories is what makes success! Ride Fast.. Take Chances!

karen

Tommie is having fun out West!

It has been pretty busy here at the Wahl Equestrian Center as we gear up for the upcoming shows, our own clinics, shows, and all kinds of fun. It has been pretty hot and very wet. We got the corn maze mapped out and cut. It is a lot of fun. We'll have a pumkin patch for people to come and get their pumpkins for Halloween. It's a lot more fun to take your kids out to a real pumkin patch and pick out a perfect pumkin, then to buy it at a supermarket. They can get lost in the corn maze and take a hay ride. This will be a very fun fall. I have a clinic this weekend on Sat and Sun on Confidence and Sensory Training for horses and riders. Then Mon-Fri we have an all day kids camp. We'll have lots of fun and activities for them all week in addition to learning the proper way to care, work, play, and ride horses. Then we have an Appaloosa Show the following weekend, followed by the Northern Illinois Cutting Horse Assoc. The Texas Kid, Rodney Hayes stopped by last night to lay over for a few days between rodeos. He's a rodeo specialty act and rides a bull to the top of his trailer. He travels with a horse, a bull and 4 minis. We're gonna go see him in a rodeo Saturday Night.



Tommie is in Salt Lake City. He just did a rodeo in Nephi, UT and said the rodeo was great and the commitee was awesome. He said they treated him like one of the family. When your on the road for a long time it is nice to be around friendly and accommodating people. As you might know Tommie loves to skydive. At the Folsom rodeo a guy landed in the middle of the rodeo. His name is Mark Schlatter. Tommie had to meet this guy, so he went over to talk to him. I thought Tommie has a lot of jumps with 125, but this guy has like 6000+ jumps. That is amazing. Tommie sent me some photos. He swooped in with this big american flag as you can see in the photo. Tommie was very impressed.

Tommie heads back to California next week for more rodeos with Flying U, then it's back here to the Wahl Equestrian Center for a show on August 25th. Come see us have fun and welcome Tommie back home. Ride Fast... Take Chances!

karen

New Friends at WEC/Turvey Horsemanship

I just got some great photos of our 2 newest friends here.


The first is our zebra. I call her Popsi. She is less than a year old and is really adorable. She may look like a horse, but has a very different personality and disposition. We are hoping to work with her and make her one of the family. Here is a picture of Jesse and our zebra.

Here is our intern from Australia, Giddy. When she was here she took care of the Sherman, our visiting kangaroo. He was born in the US and has been hand raised. He is less than a year old also. He is a very interesting character who loves carrots. We are learning a lot from him too. I want to thank Kay Fellows for the great photos.

I'm getting ready for our upcoming show tomorrow with the Whiteside County Mounted Patrol. It is a Horse show with all types of classes. Then we have our clinic on July 21 and 22. I'll be working with people to help them gain confidence and learn how to get over spooky obstacles. We'll be working in a safe environment and I'll get to see first hand any problems the horse and rider may have and help fix it. In my experience, it is usually just a few little steps you need to take to get over the "hump" or fear. Once you achieve this, you will be on your way to enjoying the summer riding and having fun with your horse. Ride fast... Take Chances! karen

Sacramento Western States Expo 2007

Western States Horse Expo 2007 - Saturday Night Show

When Tommie got back from Australia, he didn't waste any time. After flying for over 20 hours and getting home at 1am, we were loaded up and headed to Sacramento at 6am. Tommie was booked for the expo to do demos and to show them the excitement which can be created with a night show of top notch entertainment. Tommie and I did a little teaser on Friday night during the Mangificent 7 show, which was a competition with reining horses and cutting cattle. Come Saturday Night it was a full house! The line to get into the show was wrapped around the fairgrounds as people came to see the show. Our show went perfect. Tommie and Pokerjoe was the hit of the show. They even had a Jumbotron TV to show everything up close and personal. It was a madhouse after too. Everyone lined up to get Tommie's autograph and a photo. We had a bunch of videos and shirts for sale and Tommie stayed until he signed and talked to every last person in line. It was a fantastic turn out and show of support. Tommie and I grew up around these parts, so we love to come back here. Thanks again to Miki and the crew for all their help. What a great show. We'll see you next year!Here are photos of Tommis during one of his demonstrations with Joker, the 2006 Breyerfest Breyer Model Horse. Tommie talking with Linda Parelli during the expo. NOTE: People email and ask me "what is the WAHL on Tommie's shirts?" Well, it is non-other than the best grooming clipper company in the world. It is WAHL Clippers. Their corporate headquarters are in Sterling, IL and we reside and manage the WAHL Equestrian Center in Sterling. They are a corporate sponsor of Tommie and our facility. They are the best clippers I have found. The new Switchblades are my favorite. They cut through everything on our horses and stay nice and cool and quiet! I hope that answers a few questions. Though, someone thought it was a Radio Station WAHL fm. Thanks for the emails and comments. karen@equineextremist.net
Ride Fast... Take Chances! karen

Dolly is on her way!

Here is me and Dolly!

My parents and sister are almost at the facility. They are 90 miles away. They are driving up from Orlando for the summer and they are bringing my favorite horse, Dolly. She is retired now, but she was my trick riding horse at Arabian Nights in Orlando. She was born in 1982 and worked at Baseball and Boardwalk before she was bought by Arabian Nights in 1988. She performed every night for 15 years until her retirement from showbiz, which was in 2002. My parents took her in and have been letting her live her life just being a horse. They have taken her to events like the Mardi Gras at Universal Studios and have ridden her in many parades. She loves to work and be with people, but she also has earned her time to sit and eat grass all day in a pasture. What keeps a horse going is having a job and Dolly is a prime example of a horse doing something she loved to do. We don't want her to over do herself now, so we limit her "performing" time, but she just brightens up when ever she gets in front of a crowd. To me she is a star in her own right. She is a true performer. I can't wait to see her. Below is a photo of Dolly and Kim Cincotta, who also an amazing performer at Arabian Nights. Here is me and Dolly after the show. I would do alot of trick riding on her and really get her going, so after the show I made sure I took good care of her. They used our photo during Breyerfest for the card and we are also featured by Brandy Parfum. Fred Pignon (of Cavalia)also did a wonderful drawing of me and her in action that I cherish. I've got lots of carrots for her too when she gets here. Welcome Dolly! Ride Fast... Take Chances! karen

Tommie rocks Downunder!

Well, I finally got a chance to get my head above water. Where should I start? I've got some great photos of Tommie in Australia. Tommie was hired to perform at the Spirit of the Horse Show in Perth by a friend of ours, John McNeil. Tommie had been speaking to a trainer of a horse named Ari. He was told he could lay down, sit up, and would stand still for the most part. Since Tommie only had 2 days to prepare the horse and it was improbable to bring Pokerjoe, he took on the challange of performing the comedy act, roman riding, and a finale liberty act with horses he had never seen or worked with before. The show was a succes with over 12,000 people showing up to see the show. Below is a few photos from the show, of Tommie and Dan with Ari, the Australian Aborigines who also performed in the show, and Tommie signing his photos in the program book. The producer was very happy and is planning a tour for Australia and New Zealand in 2008. The event was held at the beautiful Burswood Entertainment Complex and Casino and contained all types of disciplines and acts. Ari's trainer, Dan was also in the show and performed with Tommie in the finale. We are looking forward to going back to Australia in 2008. Special thanks to Giddy for assisting Tommie while in Perth. Tommie took her sky diving as a special thanks! We can't wait to have her back here in the states.

Ride Fast... Take Chances! karen

More photos of Pokerjoe and Larry the Cable Guy

Here's a few shots of Pokerjoe's scenes from Larry the Cable Guys upcoming movie.

Pokerjoe and me getting the lighting and sound ready. then Larry joins in to set the shot.Pokerjoe and Larry nuzzling each other.
Larry and Joe take direction from the director on how to play the scene.

Larry nuzzles with Pokerjoe (or his movie name: "Buttercup")
Here is a full shot with the sound and lighting crew, while Larry takes the saddle off of Pokerjoe.
It was a lot of fun and lots of time on the set. We shoot more in June. Ride Fast... Take Chances!
karen

Witless Protection with Larry the Cable Guy

Just got back from the movie set in Plano, IL. Lots of fun, I'll tell you right there. We were at a farm house shooting the next movie with "Larry the Cable Guy". Tommie's horse, Pokerjoe got the movie part of "Buttercup" with Larry and Elmer. I had to work Pokerjoe and get quite a few shots. David Moeller (Elmer) got to ride Pokerjoe. Pokerjoe is quite the star too. He hit his cues like a true professional. Larry TCG (Dan Whitney) is awesome. My husband and I have been listening to Larry the Cable Guy on the radio since we were in Florida 10 years ago. He would call in to the local rock station and use his quickwitted humor. He is so quick and funny and his humor doesn't stop when the camera stops either. A very genuine guy. When we were in Shawinigan training for Cavalia in 2003, we would watch Blue Collar Comedy over and over. Thanks Dan and best of success to ya. You deserve everything that comes your way. Thanks for working with the Funniest Horse Under Saddle, Pokerjoe.

I'm back home now getting ready for the Jr. Rodeo this weekend. Lots of kids, parents, and horses! Tommie is rockin' the house in Australia. You can see the preview here. www.stadium.net.au My bro rocks downunder! Ride Fast... Take Chances! karen

Cavalia Highlights

Someone emailed me a bunch of links to videos of me in Cavalia.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7myFh4hTmJE
This is me roman riding during the roman poste. I race the other 2 guys (Eric Martonivich and Ricky Suarez) and then Eric gives me the lines to his team and I race around the stage and jump them over a 3' high jump. Bandit and Hollywood are my team. They were so awesome. Bandit was the bad boy and Holly was the sweatheart. It was a lot of work training them. I'll have to put some video on Youtube of the training it took to open Cavalia.
Here is the trick riding portion. You can tell its me by my call. When you hit the stage it was like a bolt of lighting hitting you.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ReZTtnb34SU

Here is video of me teaching roman riding during Cavalia. It takes a lot of balance, not mention confidence and control to keep the horses going where they are supposed to go. This is lots of fun. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v9-03V1xf-s

To answer a few questions, I was with Cavalia from the start in Shawinigan, Canada. I was the Quarter Horse trainer and helped set up the Roman Poste, Voltige en Round and Trick Riding. I brought Ricky Suarez, a friend and fellow equestrian up to Cavalia with me (at the time the show was tentatively called "Voltige".) to train horses. After a month of starting horses we moved to an ice hockey rink in Shawinigan where we practiced as the built the tent and set up the technical aspects of the show. The cast arrived and we started building the show. It was an incredible experience working with Frederic Pignon and Magali Delgado. I had worked with them at Arabian Nights in Orlando and this project was a massive undertaking. In August we performed our first shows and them hit the road. We opened in Toronto, Montreal, San Francisco, Glendale CA, Seattle, Berkley, San Diego, and Santa Monica. After 300 plus shows I left to pursue what I am doing now. As you can see, things haven't slowed down a bit! Tommie is on his way to Australia for a show, I am working horses in a movie tomorrow with Larry the Cable Guy, we are hosting a Jr. Rodeo at our facility this weekend, and I just started training this beautiful Friesan horse named Eve. Good thing it's a slow week. Well, gotta prepare for the shoot tomorrow. Keep the questions coming. I'd love to hear from you. Email me at karen@equineextremist.net. Ride Fast... Take Chances! karen

Syracuse After the Show

Just wanted to thank everyone for a great turn out for the Syracuse Horse World Expo Show. It was awesome. Thanks for cheering for me during the Chariot Race! Someone sent us this photo of Tommie after the show.

As usual, he signed autographs for an hour after the show. (Thanks to Absorbine for the autograph sheets of Tommie and his horses that we hand out for free after the show. Tommie has personally signed over 10,000 of them!) I know he's tired, hot, dirty, sweaty, and hungry, but he would never disappoint anyone who came to see him. Thanks again to all of you and we'll see you next year. Tell all your friends and come cheer us on again.

Ride Fast... Take Chances! karen

Extend-a-Cool is really cool!

Tommie stops by the Extend-a-Cool booth during the Syracuse Horse World Expo. Tommie travels many miles with his horses and found out how convenient and useful the wraps are. The best part is having a way to cool your horses legs at any time. Keep it in a tack box and when you need it, it's there. Keeps the leg muscles cool to reduce swelling and it is a non chemical product and won't burn or freeze your horses skin. Check it out at www.extendacool.com. Tommie loves finding products that solves problems safely and effectively and Extend-a-Cool does exactly that. Special thanks to Bill Campbell for all the information on their product.

Ride Fast... Take Chances!

karen

More Photos from Syracuse Horse Expo 2007

Tommie gives a demo on training in the coliseum on Friday. A great turn out and response from everyone. Thanks again to Extend-a-Cool for the "cool" product and information.

Here is Tommie with one of our interns, Holly. She helped Tommie lay down Ace in the demo. Our interns were an integral part of the show. They make sure all the props are set and help keep us moving forward. Thanks Holly and Cambria! I'll have more photos of Lynn Palm and Stacey Westfall driving our Chariots during Tommie's demo in a few days too. That was a lot of fun! Lynn rode with me and she did really good.

Tommie takes time to meet and talk to everyone at the expos. He will stay after the shows and sign autographs until everyone is gone. Some nights we are there for hours waiting for Tommie, but he wouldn't do it any other way. "If people are willing to wait just to say hi or shake my hand, I will stay as long as it takes. It is my way of saying thank you to them for their support." He really does appreciate the fans and supporters. That is what being in entertainment is all about. Without the fans you are just an exhibitor. Thanks a millions Syracuse! See you next year. Ride Fast.. Take Chances! karen