If you are a long-time reader and are confused by that statement because you know that my love Ace is a gelding and not a mare …

… by mare I mean ME!

My hubby and I are expecting a new member of our family – the first one with less than four legs – at the end of April. We hit the second trimester tomorrow, and will find out sometime mid-December if we’re having a little cowboy or cowgirl.

Ace is preparing to be a good big brother by getting lots of brushing, hand-grazing, ground work, and gaining a few extra pounds with me as I am no longer riding him. But that’s another story for another day.

In fact, the next six months is going to be full of stories of what it’s like to be expanding the human family while trying to maintain the equine one. I already have stories of tell of my decision on whether or not to keep riding, how I cried the last week that I rode Ace, and then how I finally felt peace with keeping my feet on the ground, of the 12-year-old girl who now hauls all the hay bales for me, the Western, pony-themed bedding I love but is discontinued, and most importantly my plans to half-lease Ace for the duration of my pregnancy and as I enter motherhood.

Hopefully the training Ace has me given in caring for a fragile creature and training a willful four-legged child will be useful somewhere in the not-too-distant future.

I’ve been waiting anxiously to be able to tell you where Regarding Horses is headed for the next year. I hope you will join me on this journey! Be sure to subscribe via RSS or email in the sidebar to join in the fun.

I’m inclined to think that the magic of Totilas is due to two things: the horse’s inherent natural talent AND Edward Gal’s ride. As one blogger said when news of Totilas’ sale first hit the web, equestrian competition is a sport of couples. It takes more than just a talented horse with a talented rider. They need to have a special connection. It’s more than knowing the right aids. It’s being inside each other’s heads … and hearts. Edward and Totilas had it. Will Matthias and Totilas? I think it’s certainly possible, but not necessarily guaranteed.

Here’s some of the first video that has been released of Matthias riding Totilas:

Compared to Edward Gal and Totilas at WEG:

The handsome horse does the moves for Matthias, but he doesn’t quite have the same flash and presence under him … yet. But it’s very early in the partnership.

What do you think? Is is possible for Totilas to shine under any rider but Edward?

So the fact that there’s about to be an amazing morning show broadcasting live online that’s all about horses and horse people gets me more than a little excited.

And it really helps that it starts at 9am, which is exactly one half hour after I intend to get to work, and 15 minutes after I actually do. Just enough time to boot up the computer, make a cup of coffee, pull up my RSS feeds, and get settled in for the day.

Horses In The Morning is the latest creation of the infamous Horse Radio Network, purveyors of all things hilarious and horsey in weekly (and now daily) podcasts.

Fun fact of the day? I was the very first guest ever on the Horse Radio Network when Glenn interviewed me on episode 1 of The Stable Scoop during the 2008 Olympics. That also makes my mom and I the very first listeners ever.

Bragging rights aside, I’m more excited about Horses In the Morning than anything HRN has launched yet.

Jennifer, Glenn, and Jamie

Here’s how HRN describes the new show:

A light, lively, entertaining daily look at the horse world and the people in it.  Hosted by Jamie Jennings and Glenn the Geek and produced by Jennifer H. The show will include entertaining conversation, out of the ordinary guests, numerous regular horse related segments, listener call in, contests, giveaways and so much more.

You can listen to Horses In The Morning live right here on Regarding Horses. The button in the sidebar will open up the live show in a new window that can play in the background as you read RH, play on Facebook, or actually do some work. Or, if you can’t listen live, the shows will be available on demand on the HITM website as well as on iTunes and Zune. Fun fact number two of the day? I will be on HITM twice a month to talk about what’s hot in the equine blogosphere!

The Inside Scoop On Guests & Prizes

One of the benefits of being the first HRN guest ever is that I quickly became very good friends with Glenn. Which means that when, half way through writing this post, I decided I wanted the inside scoop on some of the guests and prizes for next week, I called Glenn up and got it! (Thanks Glenn!)

Week One Guests

Glenn, Jennifer, and Jamie have some really fun guests and segments planned for the kick-off week of Horses In The Morning. Tune in (again, that little button in the sidebar will launch the player) next week for:

Jessica Phoenix and Gina Miles on Monday. Jessica Phoenix was the eventing spotlight rider for the 2010 Radio Show and had one of the most memorable moments at WEG. I hope Glenn doesn’t razz you about it too much, Jessica. Way to stick a difficult landing.

Secretariat Day Tuesday. Tom Foley who played jockey Jimmy Gaffney will be on the show, HRN friend Michelle will be doing a movie review, and callers-in are welcome to ring up the show to share their thoughts on the movie and the Big Red horse.

Equitrekking’s Darley Newman and Clinician Richard Shrake on Wednesday.

Reese Koeffler-Stanfield and Fran Jurga on Thursday. I am most excited about Thursday, because as any long-time reader might remember, I love Reese! She’s bubbly, fun, and a great horsewoman. She’ll be doing a regular cooking segment on the show. Equine journalist Fran Jurga’s will be doing a regular horse almanac segment, sharing “this week in horse history” information.

Win Cool Prizes

I figured as an HRN affiliate and very-good-friend I may not be eligible to win any of the super cool prizes. But Glenn informed me that since I’m not in any way on the HITM payroll, I most certainly am!

Daily/Weekly Prizes For Kick-Off Week

I don’t know how the daily and weekly prizes will be determined, but I do know they have some cool stuff on the docket for this first week:

• various gift certificates
• etched wine glasses (donated by Kentucky Performance Products)
• Uncle Jimmy’s Hangin’ Balls (they’re horse treats)
• Custom stall signs
• and more!

Big November Prizes

Horses In The Morning has two amazing grand prize giveaways for the month of November: a $500 Equestrian Collections shopping spree and any Vespuci Bridle worth up to $500! All you have to do is call in to the show during the month of November to be entered into the grand prize drawing at the end of the month. My question for Glenn is, if I call in every day do I get extra entries?

So, that’s the inside scoop on kick-off week of the Horses In the Morning daily online radio show. Do you like getting the heads up on guests and prizes? If so, I can call and badger Glenn every Friday morning for the inside scoop on the coming week …

Kathleen has always wanted to ride her horse across the United States of America.

And at 45 years old, that’s what she and her two mares Mystic and Delightful are doing.

They left Oregon back in the middle of May and as of this week are in Ohio, pretty much riding through my backyard in a few days, actually. They’ve been on the road for just about five months with one left to go before they reach some final destination on the East Coast.

Kathleen has wanted to do this truly cross-country ride her whole life. After struggling with some health and financial issues in the last few years, she decided there was no point in putting off her dreams. She stored her belongings worth keeping, sold the ones that weren’t, recruited friends to take care of her clients and horses in her absence, and garnered the support of her father who has been mapping out her entire route.

She started the journey with one horse, a dog, a tent, and no funds. Along the way she lost the dog, but gained a second horse. Some nights have been spent in tents, some in homes, others in hotels. She’s had people trailer her horses to a farrier and then back to her route. She’s had police escorts. She’s taken time off to allow the girls some rest and recovery time. She’s been kidnapped by Lion’s (the men of the Lion’s Club, that is, who fed her and got her to speak and drove her around town).

And most importantly has found friends and support across the whole of America.

I am very excited that I’m going to get to meet Kathleen this weekend. Glenn and Helena have been interviewing her regularly on the Stable Scoop, and Glenn is going to make the trek up from Lexington to Ohio to hang with me and interview Kathleen face to face. Her horses are going to camp out overnight in my friend’s pasture while Glenn puts Kathleen up in a hotel with her very own warm bed and hot shower. It’s going to be a great time!

I should have some pictures, stories, and a more personal take next week after Kathleen comes through my town. If you’d like to support her on the final leg of her trip, stop by the Kathleen’s Wild Ride Facebook Page as well as Kathleen’s blog to follow the journey and learn more about sending care packages, supplies, and financial assistance – and most importantly – encouragement!

It’s been wonderful to see the whole horse world coming together to elicit change in helmet-wearing practices (or lack thereof) and in fundraising to help Courtney and her family defray the costs of increasing medical bills. The world seems to get a little smaller in a good way when things like this happen.

From t-shirts on Etsy to ebay stores, there’s a current outpouring of support across the online equestrian industry.

One that I’m super excited about is an ebay store created by SUCCEED. They’re getting people to donate all kinds of great items, auctioning them off on ebay, and giving all the proceeds to Courtney.

There are several tubs of the SUCCEED digestive conditioning supplement, Jane Savoie DVDs, a SmartPak grooming kit, a Breyer figurine of Courtney’s horse Idocus, t-shirts, totes, and more. I desperately want to go shopping!

So, please, go check it out and do a little fun horsey shopping for a good cause. Or if you have an item you’d like to donate, leave a comment on SUCCEED’s Facebook page or email Lyndsey at lwhite@freedomhealthllc.com.

And for regular updates on Courtney’s progress, subscribe to my friend On The Bit’s blog. She’s one of Courtney’s biggest fans and is doing a great job keeping us all abreast of her progress.

Dressage legend Jessica Ransehousen speaks about winning the 2009 USEF Lifetime Achievement Award, and her daughter, Missy, talks about training in Florida and being in business with her mother. Plus, we bring you the latest news of the 2010 WEG…

2010 Radio Show Episode 72 – Jessica and Missy Ransehousen:

• Hosts: Samantha Clark and Glenn the Geek
• Guests: Jessica and Missy Ransehousen. You can visit their website at Blue Hill Farm.
• News: Lexington Mayor Jim Newberry made a big announcement this week about the Spotlight Lexington Festival that will take place downtown during the 2010 World Equestrian Games, and he made sure he was surrounded by star power. Read more…
• News: The USEF Eventing Department has announced the dates, locations and details for the 2010 Eventing High Performance Training Sessions, and A and B listed riders. Auditors are welcome and encouraged, but also please note that the USEF reserves the right to change the dates and locations.
• News: Japanese rider Eiken Sato sprung a massive surprise win in the seventh leg of the Rolex FEI World Cup Series in Mechelen, Belgium.
• Please support our sponsors because we would not be here without them:

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David O’Connor, President of the United States Equestrian Federation, joins us on the last show of 2009 to speak about the Alltech 2010 World Equestrian Games. Plus, we bring you the latest news of the 2010 WEG, listen in…

2010 Radio Show Episode 71 – David O’Connor on the 2010 WEG:

• Hosts: Samantha Clark, Glenn the Geek and a special appearance by Chris Stafford
• Guest: Thank you to David O’Connor of the USEF for joining us from the USEA Convention. You can visit David’s website at www.oconnoreventteam.com.
• News: The Kentucky State Veterinarian’s Office has regulatory responsibility to contain, manage, and resolve outbreaks of communicable equine diseases occurring at public venues, including large international competitions. Our office has spent the past three years working with the USDA Veterinary Services (USDA), the Fédération Equestre Internationale (FEI) Veterinary Committee, and the WEG Veterinary Services Coordinator to develop specific procedures for importation, disease mitigation, and infectious disease control. These procedures will be in addition to standard disease surveillance procedures practiced throughout the year at the Kentucky Horse Park. Read more at TheHorse.com.
• News: The United States Equestrian Federation (USEF) announced today that Eva Salomon has accepted a position as the Managing Director and Chef D’Equipe for Dressage for the United States. More on The Jurga Report…
• News: The Art Museum at the University of Kentucky will present a groundbreaking exhibition to coincide with the Alltech FEI World Equestrian Games in 2010. Hoofbeats and Heartbeats will be the first significant exhibition to critically examine the role of the horse in American art, history, and culture.
• A new video about the games from the 2010 World Equestrian Games Foundation:

• Please support our sponsors because we would not be here without them:

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We continue our Chatting with the Champions series this week with WEG multiple gold medalist in dressage, Anky van Grunsven. Anky speaks to us about her favorite moment in past World Equestrian Games and what she is looking forward to in Lexington in 2010. Listen in….

2010 Radio Show Episode 69 – Chatting with the Champions: Anky van Grunsven:

• Hosts: Samantha Clark and Glenn the Geek
• Guest: Champion Dressage Rider Any van Grunsven. A big thanks to Anky for joining us, you can visit her website here.
• News: Six hundred people and two hundred horses will prance, dance and perform in the opening ceremonies of the Alltech FEI World Equestrian Games next year. The acts will include well-known equine and artistic performers including opera star Denyce Graves and the Culver Academy’s Black Horse Troupe, which has marched in the past 15 presidential elections. “We are very excited about this,” said Everett McCorvey, the director of the University of Kentucky’s opera program who took over the directorial reins of the opening and closing ceremonies in August. Read more…
• News: Featuring the fourth leg of the FEI Rolex Driving World Cup, the third running of the Budapest Show lacked nothing in excitement in that contest and also the supporting jumping programme. As usual the Hungarians had made every effort and their organisation and perfect arena surface puts a lot of supposedly more prestigious shows to shame. More…
• News: Fédération Equestre Internationale officials named Linda Zang as the new president of the dressage ground jury at the Alltech FEI World Equestrian Games after Anne Gribbons accepted the position of U.S. Technical Advisor. Gribbons was scheduled to judge at the WEG, but her new job would create a conflict of interest. More…
• News: German Olympic gold medallist Isabell Werth is back in the saddle after a long baby break, giving birth to her first son Frederik on 30th October 2009. Werth had been walking a few horses the last couple of weeks, but she’s now actively training her top horses again. “The baby-riding-break was not easy for me,” Werth admitted. “Satchie, Hannes and Don Johnson , these three are my after-pregnacy-fitnessprogram. I might not be as slender as Super-Mom Heidi Klum, well, I guess I never was, but the excess kilos are gradually going away and my breeches fit again.” More…
• Please support our sponsors because we would not be here without them:

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2010 Radio Show by SUCCEED Episode 47 – On Site: Opening of the New Indoor Arena:

• Thank you to Ginny Grulke, Executive Director of the Kentucky Horse Council, and Chrissy Joy, our WEG Office correspondent, for joining me as co-hosts for this on location episode. You are both welcome back any time, what a pleasure. here is a picture of us recording:

Angel Karolyi of Venezuela was chosen to be the 2010 Radio Show Spotlight Jumper. Angel joins us for a lively chat about his family, career and his plans to qualify for the Alltech FEI 2010 World Equestrian Games. Also, Akaash Maharaj, CEO of Equine Canada gives us an update on how the preparations are going in Canada for the 2010 WEG. Listen in…

2010 Radio Show Episode 43 – Spotlight Jumper, Angel Karolyi and a Look at Canada:

• Don’t forget to register to win a $300 supply of SUCCEED Digestive Conditioning Program or a 2010 World Equestrian Games T-Shirt.

• Last weekend was a busy one for anyone trying to get a head start on picking the three day event teams for next year’s WEG. The US sent 26 year old Will Coleman from Virginia over to Luhmuhlen in Germany to contest the four star there with Twizzel, after a minor injury in the spring prevented him from running at Rolex, and he did us proud.
• At three star level, Canadian Hawley Bennet won the Bromont CCI in Canada riding Gin n Juice.
• In England at the Bramham three star CCI, Andrew Nicholson rose to the top with a clear show jumping round on the final day, snatching victory from local girl Nicola Wilson.

• All the horses competing at next year’s World Games will have their feet well taken care of by the American Farrier’s Association, or AFA, and this has now been extended to all the test events as well.
• Collecting Gaits Farm has once again signed on to sponsor the United States Equestrian Federation Dressage Festival of Champions at Gladstone, New Jersey.
• Thank you to Akaash Maharaj, CEO of Equine Canada, for joining us with the Canadian update. We are looking forward to having you back!

• Congratulations to Angel Karolyi from Venezuela for being chosen as the 2010 Radio Show Spotlight Jumper. See Angel’s website. We will follow Angel and his progress to getting to the 2010 WEG. Here is Angel riding at Washington in 2008:

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