Flash is a Butterfly!

Flash has been transformed from a tubby trail pony larva into a muscled, eager dressage horse butterfly.

Tubby Flash

He was adorable, sweet, kind and willing when he was tubby. But he just didn't have much training or muscle. His main talents were walking down a trail.....

Trail horse Flash

or being led around with a small child rider.

Flash's trainer, Shelley Kaczmarczyk @Everyday Dressage said that Flash has great big, warmblood movement! His DNA test revealed that he is Tennessee Walking Horse, Mountain Pleasure Horse and Turkoman. I guess that big movement comes from his TWH heritage...

Or maybe from his Turkoman ancestor ...

But probably not from his Mountain Pleasure Horse ancestor ...

By MountainPleasure, Dan Compton - Own work, CC BY-SA 4.0

Flash continues to love dressage training.  He has competed twice. He has been a ribbon winner each time.

Flash is such a happy boy! He turned 27 this year and plans to compete again in October, 2019. 

He laughs and laughs every time he sees his before and after picture! His laugh sounds like this, "HAY HAY HAY HAY HAY!"

FLASH TELLS A STORY

A hot sunny day in June was perfect for a visit to Stone Creek Ranch to ride the obstacle course and the wooded trail.  Jan, Keri, Kathy, Rio and Mary Ann decided to let Flash tell the story.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 



THE END

 

 

 

Visit Stone Creek Ranch here: https://www.facebook.com/stonecreekranchindiana 

 

 

Horse Angels, ACTHA and Red Hats Purple Chaps

Red Hats Purple Chaps sponsored an ACTHA ride the first weekend in June at Midwest Trail Ride.  The proceeds will be donated to Horse Angels horse rescue in Spencer, IN.

American Competitive Trail Horse Association riders compete for accumulative points throughout the year.



Dr. Sue Whitman, DVM operates Horse Angels, a rescue operation that heals the bodies and minds of rescued horses.  Dr. Sue has the horses trained and works hard to find them 'forever homes'.

 

Maggie Whitlow was in charge of the ACTHA event, Karen Humphries was in charge of the obstacles and Kathy Ellington Swango got together all the prizes.  Kathy was also a judge and Mary Ann was her a judge's helper, a timekeeper. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

We stayed in one of the sweet cedar cabins with a beautiful back yard.



Yikes!  Where are Flash and Rio?

They were back at home in Bloomington.  On again-off again storms Thursday and Friday helped them decide to stay dry and eat hay.  Friday night the storms were in full gear and Saturday morning the rain was still coming down.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Judges met early Saturday morning and the majority of riders agreed that doing the obstacle ride around camp was the safe option.

 

 

 

The Saturday ride was a great example of COWGIRL UP!  Riders, judges and helpers did their jobs in the pouring rain with no whining.

We were stationed at the final obstacle, the Wildlife Box, full of scary wild flora and noisy, big-eyed fauna.  Some horse and rider pairs negotiated the path in the box calmly and gracefully.  Others … not so well.  Either way, it was a good learning and sacking-out experience for both horse and rider. 

 

 

 

 

After the outside shower, a shower inside seemed like a good idea.

 

 

The weather cleared up the in the afternoon and a bunch of us drove up 446 to the Scenic View Restaurant for supper.  Yum!!!

 

 

Then a little further up the road to Brewsters.  Can you say Red Raspberry Chocolate Truffle?

 

Sunday morning was dry, but the sky was giving mixed messages.  Nestled in the fluffy, sunny clouds were ominous storm buds. 

The rain stayed away and the ACTHA ride went up into the woods.  Hooray!

 

 

Look carefully and you can find Allison and her black and white pony going up the trail.

 

 

We were stationed at the first obstacle, the Mailbox.  Most of the horses had dealt with mailboxes before, but a few seemed to have forgotten that they had ever seen one.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Judge Kathy waits for a horse and rider.

 

 

Mary Ann times an imaginary horse and rider.

 

Winners of Open, Pleasure and Junior were awarded ribbons, ACTHA bucks and their choice of prizes from a large selection of horse-related and personal items.

 

Saturday Junior Winners

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Saturday Pleasure Winners

 

 Sunday Junior Winner

 

                                                                                  Overall Winner 

We all had a great time!  Rain can get a lot of things wet, but can never dampen the fun!

Learn more about Horse Angels:  http://www.horse-angels.org

Learn more about ACTHA:  https://www.actha.us

Learn more about RHPC:  http://www.redhatsandpurplechaps.com

 

 



 

 

 

 



 

 

 

Horse Adoption Day at Ellington Stables

Hidden in the hills of southern Indiana is a sanctuary dedicated to the care and rehabilitation of over 30 unwanted horses that are recovering from abuse, starvation, disease, and injuries. It is named Horse-Angels, Inc. Horse Rescue and was founded by Sue A. Whitman, DVM.  Horse-Angels is a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization and all donations are tax deductible.  The address is 8262 Switchboard Road, Spencer, Indiana 47460.  Visit http://www.horse-angels.org.

In October of 2012 Dr. Sue brought over a group of healthy, rehabilitated and trained horses for an Adoption Day at Ellington Stables.  Attendees got the opportunity to learn about the Horse Angels program and to get to know the horses.  "Shoppers" had the chance to ride and spend time with potential adoptees.

It was very difficult to make a choice!



 

 

 

On June 1, 2013 The Red Hats Purple Chaps is sponsoring an ACTHA Ride at Midwest Trail Ride, Norman, IN with proceeds going to Horse Angels. www.redhatsandpurplechaps.com   

ACTHA, the American Competitive Trail Horse Association draws participants from all over the United States.  https://www.actha.us

 

Happy Trails to You!