We (meaning Barb Anderson, the trainer ...) brought Callum and Niamh as part of the contingent for the American Warmblood Society. In addition to getting cooed over by passersby at the stalls, it meant that twice a day, they got ridden in the colisseum during the parade of breeds and the breed demonstrations. What quickly became clear is that Callum loves to show off -- he decided soon on that all these people were there to see him. He wasn't perfect, not by a long shot!, but once he got in the ring, he was magnificent:
Rolling, uphill canter, canter half-passes, extended and medium trots that were breath-taking, even an unauthorized lead change ;-] That's Niamh, his older sister, with him in the second and fourth photos. They were buddies for the weekend -- more like a two-headed horse, actually.
For future reference, things that Callum does not like:
Carriages with teams of horses that jingle, jangle, jingle
Fast-stepping gaited horses, Paso Finos in particular
Miniature horses
Horses wearing costumes with tassels
Horses wearing costumes with bells
Horses/riders wearing furry horns (no, I have no idea -- they might have been with the Norwegian Fjords or maybe the Icelandics)
The stallion in the stall behind him
For future reference, things that Callum does like:
His stall
His hay
His water
Little girls with sugar cubes
Meredith
Thanks to big Meredith for riding him on Friday, when a certain mean mom wouldn't let little Meredith skip school. A huge, huge piece of gratitude to Barb for making it all happen.
For the record? Little Meredith is brave and terrific and her mean mom loves her and couldn't be more proud.
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