More Villa Louis Photos by Laurie Renda

Gambler's Choice with the Ferrari

First Place

Reinsmanship

Open Horse

Working Pleasure

Fifth Place Picnic Class with Lucy Fur

The Menu:

Bread, Cheese, Fruit, Cookies, Tea

Lucy had a bone, but preferred to help herself to the cheese.

She also sampled the picnic to our right and ran over to

Theresa Burns' picnic site to see if there was also better food there.

First Place

Working Pleasure

The Sublime

Martha Stover

and Tyngwndwn

Lovespoon

a.k.a. Lisa

Theresa Burns & Four In Hand:

Fancy, Moonbeam, Gus and Jay

Pat Hartell driving

Powerpoint

Open Horse Line Up With Villa Louis Mansion Peeking Through Trees

Thank you to Laurie for these fine photo memories!

Kind Regards,

Michelle Blackler

Serendipity

www.hossbiz.com

Serendipity is an Accidental Sagacity Corporation company.

Where Is My Caballo Bonito?

Accidental sagacity has paid me another recent visit and none too soon. Don Pecos and I have been working all summer to correct some issues. He wants to counter bend to the left all the time. He has been having trouble with consistency in both stride and cadence. This horse is in supreme condition, is an awesome athlete.

The problem, I knew, must be with me.

I work extremely diligently to allow the horse to be brilliant. I do everything in my power to ensure that I drive with my whole body. Still, I was doing something wrong and engaged the wonderful Theresa Burns for help. "Please watch us and see if you can see what I'm doing wrong," I told her. She watched and watched and watched.

"I can't see anything, Michelle," she said. "There are moments of perfection, but I do see the inconsistency you are talking about more often." Confirmed in my theory that it must be me, I asked her to drive Don Pecos.

Theresa is the softest, gentlest, sweetest whip I've ever known. Don Pecos loves her and responds well to her hands. He relaxes and becomes more consistent, but not the gravity defying masterpiece of equine idol that he can be. She drove, I studied.

"There is such a fine line between holding him too tightly and throwing him away," she said. "I don't know what else to tell you."

I got back on the box seat. "Where is my caballo bonito?" I asked him. "I know you are in there." I took up the reins, asked him to collect and then asked him to stay collected by using a firmer hold on the lines and added more strength throughout my entire body.

"OOOOO, yes, like that!" Theresa exclaimed. There was my horse. Burnished copper gold coat covered sinew and grace, dancing in the sunlight. There was Don Pecos.

The morale of the story: I wanted to be soft, gentle and sweet like Theresa, but what Don Pecos interpreted was a passive partner. When I took more responsibility by increasing my participation, we became in sync.

"I was wondering where you were, bella senora." Don Pecos said. "I knew you were in there. Somewhere."

Kind Regards,

Michelle Blackler

Serendipity

www.hossbiz.com

Serendipity is an Accidental Sagacity Corporation company.

Tandem Driving Fools

"I always look upon a man who drives tandem as a fool; he makes two horses do the work of one and most likely breaks his silly neck." ~Major General Sir C. Teesdale, R.A., V.C., K.C.M.G. remembering the birth of the Tandem Club

But when two women drive tandem...

Theresa Burns came to the barn to play today and we hitched Don Pecos and Ace as a tandem. I might add that it took three attempts to actually get to the barn as a torrential downpour was working its way towards washing out all roads leading there. Which meant we were stuck in the small indoor arena with a tandem, not enjoying the open air. Still, driving tandem at all is an impossible, intoxicating treat, and after the first harrowing few minutes, things were going rather well.

I was driving with one hand and as Ace tends to get a bit too heavy on the bit when I drive in this manner and I was tiring, I passed the ribbons over to Theresa, who adopts a two handed method that I absolutely must learn, because Ace settled right into her hands softly. We ventured out into the sloppy, saturated driveway when the rain subsided and both horses made great strides through the naturally occurring water hazards [enormous puddles] and stepped out like a seasoned tandem.

"Oh. Gosh!" Theresa pronounced. "They have power steering!" Quite unlike their performance in the pair configuration, where they are way too strong and way too forward. "This is Great!' Said the beaming Theresa. "This is just Great!"

"There is no reason, however, why a tandem should be a particularly dangerous or useless mode of conveyance...Nothing could well be more pleasant than for two great friends who do not quarrel more than three times a day to make a tour through a hilly district...and all the elements of open air enjoyment." ~Major General Sir C. Teesdale, R.A., V.C., K.C.M.G.

I should like it said that Theresa and I are great friends in the making and on no account would either of us see fit to argue more than three times a day, if at all.

"If there be a small degree of danger connected with the pastime, and a man must needs be a fool for liking it, long may there be many such fools in England to keep up all its sports and exercises as well as tandem-driving." ~Major General Sir C. Teesdale, R.A., V.C., K.C.M.G.

Suffice it to say we spent a damp, humid morning smiling like fools, driving darling Morgan horses tandem in a cornfield that is Iowa: a long, long way from England and a long time since the Major General's words first gave credence to the sport. If you have the nerve and a good instructor, you should try it sometime.

Kind Regards,

Michelle Blackler

Serendipity

www.hossbiz.com

Serendipity is an Accidental Sagacity Corporation company.

New Moon Carriage Classic Prize List Online

It's done! At last! Now I can move on to something else! Thank all the Gods I've been praying to!

http://www.hossbiz.com/New%20Moon/NMCC10.html

Go see for yourselves! Fill in the entry form! Send it to me! We are going to have a super spectacular show!

Also a big shout out to Theresa Burns for all her assistance on publishing the PL, converting it multiple times into a PDF for me because my antiquated software wouldn't.

And WELCOME to Theresa and Harley Weyer to the show committee! Hurray! And WELCOME to Howard Kietzke as NMCC Announcer!

I am so excited!

Michelle Blackler

Serendipity

www.hossbiz.com

Serendipity is an Accidental Sagacity Corporation company.

The Road To Columbus

Lucy Fur at 2009 Columbus Carriage Classic

Wisconsin. To the Columbus Carriage Classic, which is this weekend. Don Pecos and I have been working very diligently to get ready for the highly competitive Open Horse Division. When I started showing in carriage driving, I always had time to get the horse supremely ready for the show. Nowadays, it seems not. I constantly say to myself, "I wish I had two more weeks."

Don Pecos is buff as he's ever been. His coat is like copper glass. Inside his little body, the big engine purrs. My one concern: he is stiff as a board in harness. I cannot get this boy to bend. And I know he can, because he is like a corkscrew when I ride him. And in the pair, he was, at times beautifully bending. I've gone over and over this in my mind to discover what is the problem and or the solution. I'm getting nowhere on this puzzle.

I call in the big gun, my dear Theresa Burns who tells me it is nowhere hear as bad as I make it seem and all will be well. I feel so sorry for people who don't have Theresa Burns in their lives. So, Lucy, Don Pecos, and I are off on Wednesday to Laurie Renda's to teach some lessons, meet Harold Ault and break up the long haul to Columbus. Then on Thursday in Columbus we will join my other dear friend Martha Stover, her glorious Welsh pony: Lisa, along with Vicki and Jim Bodoh, Micheal Scott and a host of other carriage friends.

Added bonus this year: my brother and his family along with my Dad [who is traveling up to Chicago from Kentucky-yeah, that is strange; but related to the Nut Farm business] are going to join the group and camp with us for the weekend. For the first time in many years, we will spend Father's Day with Dad. At a horse show. I'm sure Dad is thrilled. But I certainly am.

Columbus, Ho!

Michelle Blackler

Serendipity

www.hossbiz.com

Serendipity is an Accidental Sagacity Corporation company.

Promoting the Sport of Carriage Driving

When I tell someone I do carriage driving, the first thing that comes to their mind is a white Victoria parked outside a church waiting for the bride and groom. The second thing is an old Vis a vis parked outside the state capital or in Central Park. I've started saying that I do competition carriage driving and that seems to spark their imagination. But it seems that those of us who participate and are passionate about this sport need to get together and develop a marketing strategy to build awareness for carriage driving.

I was discussing this last night with Harold Ault, Theresa Burns and Harley Weyer over dinner and wine. [Always the best way to get an idea blooming!] It was a fascinating conversation, not simply because of the quality of the company, but also because of the diversity of driving experience around the table. Harold, of course is the carriage collector and has been parked out in front of the church and the capital on many occasions, in the typical person's knowledge of carriage driving. Theresa has been involved in carriage driving pleasure shows and combined driving events and has considerable experience driving multiples. Harley came to horses after a lifetime of wanting them and now has a team of draft horses that he uses to farm his land. [Which is probably about the coolest thing. Ever.]

We agreed that educating the public about the history, and the subsequent evolution of the sport was the key to bringing more people to it. Did we solve the problem of how to do it? Well, we have a start and that is the New Moon Carriage Classic to be held in Perry, IA on September 18 &19, 2010. Because the city of Perry has been so enthusiastic about hosting the show, we must take this opportunity to draw in the crowds and wow them. As organizers of a carriage driving event, there are so many details to attend to, that often the promotion to a wider audience is an after thought. Not in this case. We are dedicated to a bigger picture while putting on the finest show possible for exhibitors, for spectators, for Perry.

If you have special skills or talents that might help us achieve this end, please let us know. Come be a part of carriage driving history that is thriving today and striving for tomorrow.

Kind Regards,

Michelle Blackler

Serendipity

www.hossbiz.com

Serendipity is an Accidental Sagacity Corporation company.

Tulips, Driving Pairs, Iowa Horse Fair

When I got home from spending the weekend in Des Moines for the Iowa Horse Fair, I found my flower beds awash with tulips. What a welcome home. I am gazing at a vase of them on the sideboard; I can't help but feel happy.

Happiness is also driving a pair of beloved horses on a gorgeous spring day with a wonderful new friend. That was yesterday with Don Pecos, Ace and Theresa Burns. The boys were still a little too forward at the trot, but they came down and gave me a stupendous walk. Theresa and I were delighted with them. So delighted, we spent the better part of an hour just walking around the outdoor arena enjoying the pair, the weather and the company.

We also had a good chin wag about the horse fair. Everything went well: the booth looked lovely, Don Pecos and Bob were movie stars and the Body Awareness Demonstrations were well received. I got to reunite with a friend and former Jennifer Steensen Field of Dreams volunteer which was a treat. The Serendipity family was out in force, we saw old friends and made some new ones. A big thank you to everyone who helped out, I couldn't have done it [or anything for that matter] without you.

Today is another sublime day. I hope you get out to enjoy the tulips.

Kind Regards,

Michelle Blackler

Serendipity

www.hossbiz.com

Serendipity is an Accidental Sagacity Corporation company.