December 30, 2009

… and here it is, Wednesday again

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We generally count Wednesday as a day off from posting on the blog. But if you’re a CAA member (and we have your e-mail address on file), today’s the day you’ll receive your copy of The Spokesperson, the CAA’s weekly e-newsletter. Each week, we send news from the CAA office and from around the world of driving and horses.

The contents of this week’s e-newsletter: huge sale on individual copies of the CAA’s Turnout and Appointments Series of booklets; a link to the American Horse Publication’s Equine Industry Survey; and a preview of CAA trips, events, and projects for the upcoming year.

Not receiving the newsletter? Would you like to?

If you’re a CAA member, just send us your e-mail address, and we’ll add it to our mailing list.

If you’re not a CAA member yet and would like more information about the association, click here: http://www.caaonline.com/caa_content.asp?PageType=Dept&Key=2

Also … are you a fan of the CAA on Facebook? We post updates there as well, as often as we can. As of this morning, there’s a new CAA FB photo album with a few photos from the Kentucky Horse Park’s bright and colorful holiday tradition: Southern Lights. If you haven’t already, join us there as well as here!

 

December 29, 2009

really big wagons

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Teri sent us this link to an old video, and we offer it here to you as well: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D_CXgmmOUtA

She says the video was shot by her father, back around 1980-ish. It features portions of the Wagon Days parade in Ketchum, Idaho. Teri’s 4-H club was invited to ride in the parade that year and all she really remembers of the day is her horse having a “meltdown” (she’s the one whose horse is jigging and trotting instead of calmly walking) over the llamas in the parade (yes, you’ll see some of the llamas as well!).

And you’ll see a number of carriages, wagons, commercial vehicles, and … the grand finale: a twelve-horse hitch pulling a line of six enormous wagons.

To read more about these wagons (which are still featured in the annual Wagon Days parade) and the traditional 20-mule-team “jerkline” that pulled them all, see http://www.visitsunvalley.com/static/index.cfm?action=group&contentID=535

 

December 23, 2009

getting to know … Gerry Glazier

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This semi-regular feature of the blog usually appears on Fridays. But with tomorrow and Friday being holidays, we’ll count today (Wednesday) as “Friday” for this week and introduce you to this week’s participant in our “getting to know you” series … Gerry Glazier.

Where do you live?  Canada

How did you become interested in this sport/world?  My brother was the coachman for James Coson, of Beechdale Farm in Bird-in-Hand, PA

Do you come from a driving/horsy family?  My family had Clydesdales

If you have children, do they ride or drive?  My granddaughter rides

Are you a CAA member?  I’ve been a member for 20 years

If you drive: What was your first equine? What do you drive now?  My first horse was a Clydesdale and now I drive a Haflinger

Have you attempted a carriage restoration by yourself or do you leave that to others?  I leave that to others

What is the most interesting/far-flung place that your interest in driving has taken you?  The Royal Mews at Buckingham Palace

Do you have a favorite horse-drawn vehicle (past or present)?  The Old Times coach owned by Harvey and Mary Waller of Massachusetts

What is your favorite carriage type, builder, era, etc.?  Brewster

Is there a particular era/time period/type of vehicle in history that you would enjoy traveling back to … and driving in?  The turn of the century

Do or did you ride or participate in other horse sports?  Haflinger classes at the fall fairs

What do you like best about driving/collecting as a hobby?  I enjoy meeting other CAA members

What spectator sports do you enjoy watching? Hockey

Who is your favorite team?  Columbus Blue Jackets

What kind of car do you drive?  I drive a Ford 150 pickup; my first car was 1957 Ford

What is your favorite food/cuisine?  Roast beef and mashed potatoes

What was the last movie you saw? What did you think of it?  White Christmas. I enjoyed it; the movie brought back memories

What is your favorite holiday?  Christmas is my favorite holiday because I enjoy the family time

 

December 22, 2009

celebration

Posted by Jennifer under Lexington & KHP
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Monday, December 21 is a date that will, I imagine, live on in Kentucky (basketball) history for quite a long time. That was the night that the Univ. of Kentucky Wildcats became the first NCAA basketball team to reach 2,000 wins. Ever. The team’s first win was in 1903, so this has been a long time coming. Both UK and the Univ. of North Carolina were close to the milestone, but it was every True Blue UK fan’s wish, of course, that the Cats get there first.

My husband and a friend were lucky enough to be at the milestone game, which was a blowout win against Drexel … 88 to 44. Usually, even the ever-faithful UK fans start heading for the doors a few minutes before the end of home games … to beat the traffic home, I guess. But last night, everyone (more than 24,000) stayed for the after-party.

There was confetti and streamers, and music, and jubilant fans. And there were short but heartfelt speeches from the current coach (John Calipari), a former coach (Joe B. Hall), the son of the legendary coach (Mr. Rupp), and even, at the prompting of his teammates, the junior leader of the team, Patrick Patterson.

after the milestone win, all the fans stayed; the cheerleaders, team, coaches, and media gathered on the floor; and the confetti started flying ...

... and it flew and flew and flew ... confetti and streamers covered the floor, the stands, and the players and fans

Now that this amazing team has reached (and celebrated) this particular milestone, I think everyone’s attentions and hopes are focused on the NCAA tournament in March.

 

December 18, 2009

Merry (almost) Christmas! … part 2

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Christmas is a week from today. This past Saturday, as part of the countdown to the big day, my husband and I took a “shopping tour of the Bluegrass” …

we started the day with breakfast at little Wallace Station, which is on the scenic route between Lexington and Kentucky’s capital, Frankfort … I’ve read somewhere that, years ago, the building was a stagecoach stop; then it was a gas station, and now it’s a breakfast/lunch place with delicious food

our next stop was tiny, adorable Midway, which is (as you might guess from the name) half-way between Lex. and Frankfort on the railroad line that runs between the two cities; Midway’s downtown is a block long, with quaint buildings, shops, antique stores, and restaurants on either side of the tracks, which run down the center of the street

on this particular Saturday, Santa Claus was due to arrive around 11 in the morning; a small crowd of about 50 (young children and their parents) waited to watch Santa and some of his elves arrive on a special R.J. Corman railroad car …

… Santa then alighted from the train and visited with the crowd, while some of the others in the crowd greeted the furry mare who would be pulling Santa’s carriage …

… more love for the horsy star of the day …

… and, as the outdoor finale to the festivities, Santa rode “around the block” (up and down the street, on either side of the railroad tracks) in the horse-drawn carriage provided by the Lexington Livery Co., before heading into the community theater building to hear what all the children want for Christmas … the green awning they’re walking past here is Freedman’s Midway Boutique

after the Santa festivities and some Christmas shopping in Midway, we headed on to quaint downtown Frankfort …

across the street from the row of shops above is … Frankfort’s Old Capitol Building

and after some Christmas shopping in Frankfort and another scenic drive through the Bluegrass, we ended up at the beautiful old Woodford Reserve distillery; the stone building shown here is one of the barrel storage facilities, where the bourbon is aged

and, finally, a view of the porch on Woodford Reserve’s visitor center (whose gift shop also has some nice Christmas shopping possibilities); this would be a lovely place to sit on a warmer day than the gray windy one we ended up with

 

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