She just loved Gymkhana.    We even did Arabian costume.  Shan was a long-suffering sort and put up with me teasing her hence the costume over her ears :)

Amira Nyri Sha'lan 1981 3/4 Arabian, 1/4 Welsh Mare 14.2 hands Sha'lan, also known as Shanny, Monster Pony, and Shanmonster was "my" first horse.  I started taking lessons on her and eventually I leased her.  I took her to the county 4-H fair for four years.  I absolutely adore this horse.  Although I moved on to another horse, Shan will always be my favorite.  She is absolutely a doll and made a perfect first horse.  I showed her in almost every event possible; our class roster included:  Showmanship, English and Western Pleasure, Equitation, Gymkhana, Trail Class, Arabian Costume, Creative Costume, Bareback, Dressage, Jumping, and Western and English Riding Patterns.  I even rode her sidesaddle, started her under harness, and did team penning with her.  She is the ultimate Versatility horse!

 

BJH Cymbo Bey 3/4 Arabian, 1/4 Saddlebred  Born late 1980s 15.1 hands Bo, also known as Bosephine, and several expletives, was "my" next horse.  I was ready to move on to a more advanced (and taller!) horse, so another boarder was kind enough to loan me Bo for a show season.  This horse is excessively good at pushing my buttons, but we did manage to have a reasonable working relationship.  He has lovely gaits (when he's not hollowing out his back!) and looks more like an Anglo-Arab.  I showed him Huntseat in some local open shows and also took him to the county 4-H fair and the MI State Horse show.  At fair, he managed to let himself out his stall when I turned my back on him for a second.  Bo's like that; he'll be a total pain, but deep down he really does enjoy all the attention.  I made my debut in Saddleseat with him.  That was interesting; I don't know if I enjoy handling double reins.

Bosephine and I wait for the English Pleasure class.

 

Sparky being worked in side reins.  This horse was such a nice, round and low mover.  I would have loved to progress with him through the lower levels of Dressage.

Spark E Britestar 1992 Purebred Arabian Gelding 14.3 hands Sparky was actually my horse.  I bought him as an untrained seven year old for a mere $400 in February 1999. He was registered and a Khemosabi great-grandson, and I thought that I couldn't find a better deal.  I trained him out myself; he was the first horse that I trained and he turned out great! Of course, he was a very sweet, hardworking and smart horse so it wasn't hard to train him.  Also, I got tons of good advice from other boarders.  My friend Jan helped out too.  I only owned Sparky for a year and several months because I had to sell him before I studied in England in 2000.  I hated to sell him, but I didn't want all of his training to go down the tubes while I was gone.  A nice little girl bought him for a 4-H horse and showed him that summer.  I was quite happy about his new home, although I miss him.

 

Super De Dude 1982 Quarter Horse Gelding 15.1 hands Chewy, also known as Chewbacca the Grouch (I actually showed him and placed in a class under this name!), was a horse I borrowed in 2000 after I had sold Sparky.  I brought him out of retirement and took him to a few shows. He obviously had showed quite a bit in his career because he changed gaits after the announcer called them (without my cueing)!  I also trail rode him on the state trails with my good friend, Jan.  It was nice to show a pushbutton horse for a while, but I half hoped he would spook or do something interesting once in a while :)

Tyler (Jan's son), Chewy, and I celebrate after leadline.

 

Ima Rowdy Rascal 1997 Appaloosa Gelding 15.0 hands Ras is my friend Jan's horse.  She took me with her to evaluate him before she bought him.  Although he had bad manners and had bucked off his previous owner, Jan decided to take the chance so she bought him August 2001.  She and I have put a lot of time on ground manners and "baby basics" on him: lighter steering, leading from the shoulder, etc.  I missed having a training project, so I'm glad that I can work with Jan and Ras.  She plans to use him as a show and trail horse.