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