Weekend off!

Well, we have this weekend off. We have been busy getting ready for PA expo. Tommie has been busy shoeing 14 horses with our farrier, Rich Brunner. There's a ropin' here at Double G this weekend too. We did all our fall orders for the western store in the past 3 days too. (So much for the weekend off) but tonight we are on our way to see Rascal Flatts and Darius Rucker. We just saw Jake Owen and Randy Houser after the rodeos, but this show should be pretty good. We love Hootie. Hope he sings a few classics not just new stuff. I'll let ya know! Ride fast... Take chances! karen

Heading in to Nationwide Arena

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We drove to Columbus, Ohio Friday and did an overnight at Stoney rise farm. We are getting ready to head to the Nationwide Arena. We have to warm up and ready the horses here before we get to the show. Lots of snow and ice here too. I'll send photos when we get to the show. Thanks to Jessica at Stoney Rise and Kenny for all the help. See you at the Rodeo! Ride fast... Take chances! karen

Josh and Janna's new house

We went to visit Tommie's best friend, josh Lyons, (son of John Lyons)and his family at their new home and facility in Tennessee. All I can say is WOW! As you can see by the photo that it snowed in TN the day we got there. Jana just had a new baby named Ryder. He is so adorable. Austin and Johnny are gettin bigger and having fun. Tommie, Josh and the boys jumped and a 4 wheeler and pulled a tube around the outdoor arena while they tried to hang on. The was a lot of snow, so the had a great time. School was cancelled for the boys, but Josh still had his Certification classes. It was awesome hanging out with them. Now they are 529 miles away from us instead of 1200!
Ride fast... Take chances! karen

Tommie and Pokerjoe in Chicago

Here is Tommie and Pokerjoe performing "the riding instructor". pretty cool.... sorry about the camera being a bit out of focus. Ride Fast .... Take Chances! karen

Sears Centre Chicago, IL

We're getting ready for Tommie to perform. As you can see here it's a full house tonite. Looks like 12,000. Last night Jake Owens was in concert after the PCB Rodeo finals. This is a photo of Ace, Joker, and Pokerjoe in back behind the chutes right next to the bulls.

Ready for the show

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Looks like a packed house tonight, about 15,000 people. Gonna be a good night...
The boys are ready, including Tommie with his Under Armour gear. Ride Fast... Take Chances! karen

Preshow warm up

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Tommie warms up Joker and Ace while Randy Houser does a sound check. Production meeting at 4pm, showtime 7:30p. All is good. The music is really loud! I can't even hear myself think at times. Plus we had to put up with the fire alarm going off, the below zero temps in the parking garage, and stalling the horse in an arena for 2 days. The crew here with Bulls and Broncs treats us well. Thanks to Tommy Joe, Bob, Randy, Amber and all the crew. We'll see them again when the tour hits Columbus, Ohio!
Ride fast... Take chances! karen

Tommie in St Paul, MN

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We just did a show last night I'n St Paul at the Xcel Energy Center. What a great show! Tommie really loves the people of MN. We have another show tonite plus we get to see Randy Houser concert. See ya tonite. Ride fast... Take chances! karen

Bulls and Broncs Rodeo

We are on our way to St Paul, MN for Tommie to perform with Pokerjoe, Joker and Ace. It was nice to in warm weather in Alabama last week. Now we're headed to single digit and below zero weather in MN. The weather is clear but cold. We have to add anti gel fluid to the fuel and keep everything from freezing. The horses travel good but you have blanket them and make sure they don't get too cold or hot.
We have a show tonite and Sat night at the Xcel energy center in St. Paul. Country star Randy Houser will be in concert Sat night as well. Should be a fun weekend!
I'll get photos and post them after the show. Ride Fast... Take Chances! Karen

Back in the cold north!

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The longest part of our trip is getting into the southern part of Illinois. Not only is it 7 more hours of driving, but here comes the snow and cold. Brrrrrrrr. The horses are doing good. But we starting to see many cars in the ditch. We're up to 15 cars and trucks and 3 bad accidents. There isn't much snow, but lots of black ice. Oops one more in the ditch.... Only 3 more hours and we'll be home. Ride fast... Take chances! karen

Alabama horse fair

We are on our way back home. We had a fun weekend in Alabama. Just wanted thank everyone who came out to see Tommie this weekend. Also, thanks to the Alabama Horse Council, Charlotte, Leah, kc, and all the helpers and inmates at the coliseum who made it all happen. We hope you all learned a little more to add to your training arsenal. Thank you for the incredible turn out to see Tommie perform with Pokerjoe , joker and ace. Thanks again Alabama! Ride fast... Take chances! karen

Heading for Alabama Show

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We are on our way to Mongomery, Alabama for the horse fair this weekend. It's a 1700 mile round trip, but we'll be happy to be in warm weather. It's raining now as we cross into Kentucky, but should stop soon. We did this show about 6 years ago and it was freezing. We are really excited about coming back.I'll keep you posted on our trip. Ride fast... Take Chances! karen

Tommie rehearsing

Tommie gets Joker and Ace in the Denver Coliseum to warm up for the rodeo. This a nice arena with a top notch ground crew, sound, lighting and production staff. We had a great show and are looking forward to next year. It was awesome to see Stacey and Jerry Diaz. Tommie performed with Pokerjoe during the Mexican Rodeo. Thanks again Denver! Ride fast... Take chances! karen

2 Shows Today

It's pretty nice today should get to 48 degrees. We've got 2 performances today with the rodeos. It has been great working with Boyd Polhamus and the crew here at the NWSS. I'll post new photos are today's perfs. Ride Fast... Take Chances! karen

National Western Stock Show in Denver

We are at the National Western Stock Show and Rodeo in Denver. It has been very cold and snowy. We got here just ahead of a bad storm. When traveling 1000 miles you have to make sure you stay ahead of the weather in the winter. It should be better this weekend up around 40's. Today Tommie performed at the Boots and Business lunch sponsored by USBank. It was a long walk from the coliseum to the event center. The set us was really cool. The audience was at tables right in the middle of the arena. Tommie performed with Pokerjoe and then liberty with Joker and Ace. Here is Tommie and I right before the Liberty Act with Joker and Ace. Tommie did his entire liberty act, which is with his horses bridle-less and no tack or saddle. He only uses his body language and voice to direct them. Imagine letting a horse free in an arena with 1000 people in it! Ace and Joker were perfect and the crowd loved it.
Here is Tommie performing with Ace at Liberty.
Here is Tommie performing "the Riding Instructor" with Pokerjoe. Pokerjoe is upside down with Tommie on him. We'll be performing again on Saturday and Sunday during the rodeo and the Mexican Extravaganza. Thanks to Patricia, Boyd and all the crew who help make it happen.

Here is Ace back at the stalls after the show. It's a bit cool in the stalls and we're cooling him down and making sure he has a clean stall with plenty of Callaway Farm Bedding. Tommie makes sure they have all the hay and clean water they need. We also use tons of cleaning supplies to keep them clean. Thanks Absorbine! Oh, to be a RockStar. Ride Fast... Take Chances! karen

Tommie, Odd Job Bob, Brooke Shields, and Kris Kristopherson

Tommie gets set for the shots of the farm house with Whitney's mom, played by the wonderful Brooke Shields. I wish I could have been there. I love the movies and Brooke is one of those people whom I grew up with and appeared in many of many favorite movies. Tommie said she was awesome and perfect for the part.

Here is Tommie, Bob, and the legendary Kris Kristopherson. Tommie had him work one of the Rocky Mountain horses we have. His name is Doctor Feelgood which we got from Van Bert Farms in Kentucky. Tommie picked Doc for the role since he is such a beautiful horse, but very easy and calm to use for the part. Tommie said Kris and Doc did great. That's all for now.
Ride Fast... Take Chances! karen

Tommie and Bob on the Set of "Greening of Whitney Brown"

It was a beautiful day. Tommie and Bob wait patiently for the crew to get set up for a series of shots. Bob is such a cool horse. It's been a pretty hectic shooting schedule. Tommie has to coordinate the stunts for each shot, figure out how to get Bob to do his part safely, work with the cast so it looks like they've known Bob their entire lives, keep each horse (Yes, there is Bob and 2 other stand ins, along with Doc, a Rocky Mountain which Kris Kristopherson works with.) healthy, happy and trained for each particular shot. Tommie had a lot of work getting stunt players for shots. Lori Miller, who has been working for us for the past 3 years was a perfect double for Sammy the little girl. Lori did all the riding and stunt shots. It was her first movie, but she did a great job. They should be wrapping soon. We'll have to go down and work a few days soon. I'll post more when we get there. Ride Fast... Take Chances! karen

More photos from the Set of Greening of Whitney Brown

Tommie has been doing a lot of cool shots with Bob, the Gypsy Vanner. After all the training Tommie now has to get Bob in different situations. Here are a few photos of some of the shots they needed to get. Tommie gets Bob into the shot with Brooke Shields and Kris Kristopherson. (Below) Tommie gets into the shot with Bob. They had a lot of really cute and fun shots. I think kids are gonna love this movie and want a horse like Bob of their own! Bob poked his head into many situations. He had the run of the house and made himself at home.

Stay tuned for more!!!

Training Sammi Hanratty to ride with Odd Job Bob.

Tommie has been in Conyers, GA which is Southeast of Atlanta to begin working on a movie with Gypsy Vanner horse, "Odd Job Bob". Tommie has been training him for this movie since March and now has to get the star of the movie, 14 year old Sammi Hanratty, ready to ride and play with Bob. Sammi has never ridden a horse before, let-a-lone bareback and bridless! Here is a photo of Sammi on Bob. This is on her first day of riding! Tommie said she did an awesome job of listening and taking direction. Sometimes it is better to train someone who knows nothing, than to try and train someone with experience. You can tell she is just a delight to work with. She is a directors dream and lights up when she talks. She is perfect for this movie. I had to bring supplies down to Tommie, so I got to meet Sammi and see them ride. We made the 1100 mile trip to get hay and other training stuff to Tommie. Atlanta is flooding really bad, so hay is pretty scarce. Tommie starts scouting locations and prepping scenes in a few days as well. He is the Stunt Coordinator and Horse trainer on the movie, plus he will be doing stunts as well. Lori Miller our assistant trainer will be doubling Sammi for the serious horse riding and stunts. This will be her first movie too, but she has been working with Bob for 4 months and really knows him well. Here is Sammi with Odd Job Bob. She was incredible with Bob. Tommie did a great job getting both of them to understand what they need to do.
Here is another cute photo of Sammi and Odd Job Bob. Check out www.sammihanratty.com and see what she has been up to. more to come! Ride Fast... Take Chances! karen

Minnesota State Fair

Tommie just returned from 12 days at the Minnesota State Fair. Tommie performed with Pokerjoe, Joker and Ace 2 to 3 times per day in the Warner Coliseum to packed houses. The fair does over 1,000,000 people over the 12 days. It is incredible. They have everything you could ever want to see at a fair. It takes 3 days just to walk to the entire fair, which is held at the same place they hold the MN Horse Expo. Tommie said the crowds were awesome, especially during the rodeos. The response he got from the crowd was outstanding. We are hoping to back in the area pretty soon for more performing and clinics. The weather was perfect too. No rain and little or no pesky flies or heat. All in all a great show to be at. He wanted to thank everyone who stopped by or seen his acts. Hope to see you all down the road. I'll get photos on here as soon as I can. I'm trying to figure out my Iphone as well.
Ride Fast... Take Chances! karen