Cornucopia of Gratitude

My Sister, My Brother & Me, Thanksgiving 09

My sister asked me yesterday if I would be with her in the delivery room for the birth of her baby in February.  I got all lightheaded, nauseous and faint.  I told my dear, darling, precious sister that I couldn't even be in the barn when the mares foaled and instructed that my job began when the afterbirth was removed.  "Oh," she laughed. "I forgot about that. Never mind."  But I was more than pleased to be invited to witness this blessed, event, even though my tolerance for other people's pain is expressed with my head between my knees.

This Thanksgiving, my sister will not be allowed to handle any of my kitchen knives: she once cut her finger badly with my rapier paring knife and I nearly fainted.  Someone asked, "Should we take her to the ER?" And my sister replied, "No, she'll stop hyperventilating once the blood is cleaned up."

Wit is ever plentiful when my family gathers in/crams into my house for holidays.  My brother will announce that he is really not going to take anyone to the emergency room that day.  Clumsiness resulting in medical attention also runs in the family.  The food will be divine and our faces will be tired from smiling and laughing.  Even discussing religion and politics seldom can mar the conviviality of our feast.

My little house will be full to the eaves with my nephews laughing, screaming, beating on each other, the smell of roasting turkey and all the homemade fixins, my aunt's Corn Thang [the only thing the grown children might fight over], her woes about the impending apocalypse of economy, weather or society in general, the entire contents of my sister in laws's 2 fridges transported from Chicago: just in case, you never know, we might, run out of food, Lucy playing with the boys and then somewhere about six pm on Saturday becoming nephew over-saturated, seeking refuge under everyone's feet, add to that some horse riding for the boys, maybe a carriage drive, too and I simply can not wait.  I love it all.

I'm not sure how we concocted to not be stressed, or fall fowl of the typical family holiday traumas.  Somehow, we've got the recipe just right.  Next year, we'll add a little more whipped cream on top with the addition of a baby.  That my sister will produce without any help from me.  Thank God.

Wishing you bountiful gratitude and kind regards,
Michelle Blackler
Serendipity
www.hossbiz.com
Serendipity is an Accidental Sagacity Corporation company.

Whitmorr Topaz

Villa Louis Carriage Classic Novice Driver Champion, 1999

Trail Ride

With Jennifer Steensen

Whitmorr Topaz became a part of the family when she was a 2 year old.  It took my mother that long to find her.  Bob Riley and my mother spent two years looking for a horse to suit my mother's idea of a show horse and broodmare.  They looked at lots of horses in lots of states.  It was a good thing Bob was patient and loved to travel.  My mother was picky.

My mother came close to buying several times, but Bob always vetoed her for some reason.  Usually it was for some conformation reason, after all, that was why he was there: to help my mother find the best possible horse.  If I remember correctly, mother was going to buy a mare that they both agreed on, but...Bob wanted to go one last place, so they headed off to Whitmorr Farm and came back with Topaz.  Bob was tickled.  Mother was happy with the filly, even if she wasn't as showy as the other mare.  She trusted Bob.

Well, as with most things, Bob was right.  Topaz performed admirably in the show ring.  She never misbehaved or gave my mother one iota of trouble and I know that was Bob's first priority in helping find Topaz.  But it was as a broodmare that Topaz performed at the highest capacity.  She produced six wonderful foals including my own beloved Major, Don Pecos and Ace.

Then, of course, there are the dreams, many of which were born on her back.  She gave Jennifer Steensen her first ride.  She taught many little girls to ride with poise.  She inspired a therapeutic horseback riding program.  She gave me my first carriage driving championship, wowing the crowd with her ability to defy gravity and float around the arena.

Topaz had a big, forward way of going which disguised her 14.2 hands.  Her stature disguised the largess of her heart.  Not a day of her life was spent outside her aura of loveliness.  She gave us her service with sentience, grace, nary a demand nor protest.

This morning, she walked through the last gate of this world, leaving the paddock of my life emptier because she's gone, but richer because she was here.

"Warm summer sun shine kindly here.  Warm summer wind blow softly here.  "Green sod above lie light, lie light.  Good night, dear heart, good night, good night." Mark Twain

Kind Regards,

Michelle Blackler

Serendipity

www.hossbiz.com

Serendipity is an Accidental Sagacity Corporation company.

Winter Closes In: Hibernating With Carriage Driving Fodder

With colder weather on its way and Christmas coming up, I thought I'd alert you to some reading material.  Any carriage driving enthusiast should read the following historical books: A Manual of Coaching by Fairman Rogers, Driving For Pleasure by Francis T. Underhill, Driving by the Duke of Beaufort, The Private Stable by James Albert Garland and Driving As I Found It by Frank Swales.  All are still as relevant as Shakespeare.  Santa might have to dig a little to find them, but Amazon and ebay are enterprising elves.  Original copies will set you back one to several hundred dollars, but they are all worth holding in your hand.  Reprints are he next best thing, but try not to buy the photocopied paperbacks.  The quality is awful and disrespectful to these grand books.  You can find several of them available for download, which is nice but there is nothing like leafing through the pages of these historical tomes.

For the grandkids, Sue Greenall's Animal Lovers' Bed Time Reader or her latest, Animal Lovers' Bedtime Stories.  These are lovely books to encourage and inspire children to have animals as important elements of their lives.

If it is audio visual material that you need to inspire 2011 carriage driving plans, check out anything by Tim Maloy available for purchase online at: http://www.cavewoodproductions.co.uk/store.html If you aren't familiar with Tim's name, do a search on this blog and view some of his excellent video shorts.  World Four In Hand Championships 2002 from Jarez is available on VHS from Driving Essentials and is excellent.  I have not see the Aachen 2006 Championships yet [ehem, Santa], but I'm sure it is equally as thrilling.  You can order that online through: http://www.aachen2006.de/HighlightDVD_e.htm

Search Amazon.com for carriage driving

Kind Regards,
Michelle Blackler
Serendipity
www.hossbiz.com
Serendipity is an Accidental Sagacity Corporation company.

Precursor to Modern CDEs

CARRIAGE AND HORSES DERBY IN HAMBURG

Things have certainly changed in the last 40 years. This is archival footage from Germany, circa 1965. There are lots of things to spot: How many VWs can you count? Name the vehicles. How many current ADS violations? [Click on the photo to load video.]

It is wonderful footage and my kind of sport. Higherst rregards to British Pathe for preserving it for our viewing pleasure.

Kind Regards,

Michelle Blackler

Serendipity

www.hossbiz.com

Serendipity is an Accidental Sagacity Corporation company.

Archival Footage from British Pathe

HACKNEY HORSES

A sweet little film about Hackneys...got to love them. [Click the photo to load film.]

An apology about blog fodder: I've been having computer and internet problems recently, so apologize for all the substitute blog entries. I hope to have this corrected soon. thanks for sticking with me.

Kind Regards,

Michelle Blackler

Serendipity

www.hossbiz.com

Serendipity is an Accidental Sagacity Corporation company.

A Blog About A Blog

Here is a link to my good friend Todd Frey's blog. Todd inspired me to start this one and I still enjoy all his posts. This particular one is about an outstanding restoration of an important piece of carriage driving history that will be of interest to anyone who likes to see pretty antiques restored to their glory.

Thanks, Todd.

http://americancarriagebuilder.blogspot.com/2010/11/every-time-i-post-new-blog-i-seem-to.html

Kind Regards,

Michelle Blackler

Serendipty

www.hossbiz.com

Serendipity is an Accidental Sagacity Corporation company.

Sex, Clothes and Montana

The addition of the Popular Posts gadget brought me interesting information about my blog and its readers. According to the top 2 posts, you lot like blogs involving any level of sexiness best.

In order to feed your need for sexiness, go visit J.L. Powell's website. They now have a short video that shows the clothing in motion-Mr. Just Luscious [you wondered what the J and the L stood for, yes?] Powell flying, fly fishing, riding a horse, hunting and camping with Montana starring as the view. It is one minute and twenty one seconds of the sexiest, most heavenly, most breathtaking, sighing...

Go:

http://www.jlpowellusa.com/index.html

Enjoy a swig of the Sporting Life from that double hip flask , strap on some English bridle leather, mount your horse and feel the warmth of the cashmere lined J.L. Powell style.

Oh, yes. Oh, yes, indeed.

Kind Regards,

Michelle Blackler

Serendipity

www.hossbiz.com

Serendipity is an Accidental Sagacity Corporation company.

That Poem in Tim Maloy's Film

In Praise Of The Horse by Ronald Duncan

Where in this wide world can man find nobility without pride, friendship without envy, or beauty without vanity? Here where grace is laced with muscle and strength by gentleness confined. He serves without servility; he has fought without enmity. There is nothing so powerful, nothing less violent; there is nothing so quick, nothing more patient. England's past has been borne on his back. All our history is in his industry. We are his heirs; He is our inheritance. Ladies and Gentlemen - I give you the Horse! Kind Regards,Michelle BlacklerSerendipitywww.hossbiz.comSerendipity is an Accidental Sagacity Corporation company.

Rocking Civilization with Tim Maloy and Carriage Driving

A new film by Serendipity's favorite filmmaker...

Driving Trials - A Time For Change from Tim Maloy on Vimeo.

Thanks, Tim!

Kind Regards,

Michelle Blackler

Serendipity

www.hossbiz.com

Serendipity is an Accidental Sagacity Corporation company.