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

GeoTagged, [N44.94474, E93.10084]

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

Chincoteague Pony Swim 2009

OK. I finally have time to write about the Chincoteague Pony Swim. First off, I would like to say a big thank you to Billy Beebe and his wife, Bonnie for having us at their ranch for the week. They are incredible people who are trying to keep the legend of Misty and Stormy alive, so future generations can truly see what inspired Margarite Henry to write her wonderful books. Tommie presented Nightmist's Legend to the crowds each day at Beebe ranch. He is a direct descendent of Misty. There is a lot more to the story, but that's for another day. In a nutshell, the ponies run wild on the island of Assateague. They got there back in the days of explorers from the wrecked ships or the first settlers. They roam around the national park just like any other wild animal. During Pony Penning week, the local Fire Dept crew, dubbed the Saltwater cowboys or as we called them "mud-riding cowboys" (They rode more in the mud than in the saltwater.) would pen two herds of ponies in a corral on the beach. Then, at low tide, they drive them to the lowest point to cross through the water and onto Chincoteague Island, then about a mile to the fairgrounds. As the tide drops, it leaves a big swath of mud and muck. Boat Capt. Jimmy took us to the Assateague Island side for a great view of the round up and the ponies getting in the water. You have to be up and in place by 8am and the swim started at 9:30am. Once the ponies reach the fairgrounds they are rested until the auction the next day.

At the auction, Tommie brought out Nightmist's Legend and had him do a few tricks and finish with standing on the pedestal. The place was packed with people as they got ready to bid on the foals. Most of the foals went for $1,000 to $2,000 with the proceeds going to the fire dept. It was a pretty cool event to see. Time to work our horses... Ride Fast... Take Chances! karen

Great Article about Lizzy Traband

Tommie has been working with Lizzy Traband for 4 years now and she is an incredible student. She is a favorite at our shows here in Sterling and everywhere we perform. During Breyerfest, she did a media call with Tommie and got this wonderful article about her in USA TODAY
They even made her pony, Toby into a limited edition Breyer model. She is a really cool kid and a solid horse trainer and rider. She has this wonderful sense about horses and she loves every minute she's with them. She is very inspiring and I don't think I've ever seen her without a smile on her face. Keep on the lookout for Lizzy on Youtube and at future shows.
Ride Fast... Take Chances! karen

NIGHT OF AMAZING HORSES!

Happy Independence Day everyone! It's raining and gloomy here, but we have a full house for the weekend. The show on Friday went very well with lots of people attending and watching our show. We try to do this every year to help raise money for HALO. We also did a 50/50 raffle to help benefit a local girl who was just diagnosed with cancer. Our raffle raised $125 for her to help with the expenses. There also are having a benefit in Rock Falls on July 12th for her to raise money as well. We understand the need to help out the community and do what we can. Times are tough all over, but if we all do what we can and weather the storm, it will get better. Shows are down here at the facility mainly because of people and associations cutting back on travel and training for their horses. We understand and are doing what we can, but we need to stick together. Thanks to Norinne at Primp Your Pet for providing a bunch of cool giveaways from Wahl Clipper. The people loved the hats, clippers, and frisbees. They are proud of WAHL and what it means to this community. Tommie also gave away a Pokerjoe Breyer model to a lucky child. The show featured a good friend of Tommie and I, Brad "Wild" Hair. He travelled 400 miles and brought his clown car to perform. Lizzy Traband travelled 700 miles to be here and performed 3 acts in the show. She is 11 years old and is such an inspiration to everyone. I also need to thank Kathie Oberman for letting us use her quarterhorses Eli and Jr. for the show. They are such wonderful horses and got a chance to be in the shows finale. It took quite a bit to put together this show with all of the acts and such, but it was well worth it. Tommie brought in 2 of his fellow stunt guys to put on a quick demo with a human fireburn and then a fireburn on a horse. We also brought out "Odd Job Bob" a Gypsy Vanner horse from El Brio Vanners and talked about his childrens book and upcoming movie. Thanks to everyone who helped out (Seth, Jesse, Kayla and her friends, Mom, Kay and Liz.) plus all of you who attended the show. Thank you!!!!!!
Ride Fast... Take Chances! karen

July 3 Night of Amazing Horses!

Tonight we put on a show here at our facility in Sterling, IL. We've been rehearsing and putting together a great show for tonight. We try to have a show around the 4th every year here. Lizzy and her family have been here practicing and hanging out. They came from PA (700 miles away...) just to perform tonight. Tommie also has two of the stuntmen he has worked with on movies here to put on a "fireburn" for the show. They will also be hosting a stunt clinic where they will teach the basics of stunts like fights, falls, burns, and the general industry. Brad Hair and his wife are here too. They do PRCA Rodeos around the country and will be performing in the show tonight. We also put together a square dance drill with 8 riders. It will be a great show and a fun start to the 4th of July weekend. There is sooooooooo much to do today. Gotta run. Calls are coming in.
Have a wonderful 4th! Ride Fast... Take Chances! karen

Blaineville Classic FEI Event

Tommie made a special appearance in Blainville, Quebec on June 27, 2009 during their FEI dressage event. He just finished up at Cook Forest and had to trek 640 miles outside of Montreal for this event. It was a bit wet, but the crowd was incredible. There were over a thousand people at the event and everything went really well. Tommie got covered in mud during his performances, but after a quick washing he was ready to go for the next act.Here is Tommie riding Blade and with Maverick (his red heeler dog) at the opening of the show. You can see it's a bit wet.

This is a shot of the arena while Tommie was performing with Pokerjoe. All of the announcing was done in French for the locals. The announcer, Nicho is great to work with. We have worked with him at shows in Las Vegas, Jacksonville, and Ocala. The crowd really enjoyed Tommie and are looking to have him back again next year for this event and the hunter/jumper show the following week. We would like to thank http://www.equivents.com/ for having us and giving us great accomodations. Thanks Cara!

On the 1200 mile trip home, Tommie, Jamie, and the interns took a moment to check out the 1000 islands observatory. You can see the US and Canada. Here is shot of the parking lot from the tower (400' high!) Tommie's rig is in the middle.

Here is a cool shot of Tommie's rig from 400' up! They drove to PA for an overnight stop at Carousel Farms and then continued home the next day. Tommie also picked up 2 Gypsy Vanner horses from El Brio Vanner Horses in PA. They will be doubling the main horse on an upcoming movie Tommie is working on. They are such beautiful horses. They are a lot of work with the training and care, but well worth it. I would love to have a matched pair to perfrom with.
Well, time to get back to work. I'll keep you posted on what's going on here.
Ride Fast... Take Chances! karen