The 12.5hh Ad Anomaly – 2012

I am currently fully invested in a pony shopping endeavor. I am looking for a pony that fits my very specific criteria. The pony needs to be 13.1-13.3hh, with a solid build, a gelding, level headed ,etc. And to make the search just that much more challenging, I am searching in the oh so exclusive $500 range.

Fun.

Not.

Luckily the market is in my favor being a bad economy and going into fall and hay feeding season.

Most people buy ponies for kids, and want them already finished and ready to safely pack their kid around. But I prefer a pony that is green broke, and that has either ‘needs miles’ or the tag line ‘finish your own way’ in its ad. This means the pony won’t come with issues that need to be retrained (hopefully) and I can finish its training to my own preferences.

So with all these advantages on my side, I am fully submerged in the adventures of pony shopping.

One of the ad quirks I see frequently when shopping in the next to free price range is the pony listed as 12.5hh. Say what?

Does the seller think that a hand is 6 inches? So does that mean the pony is really closer to 19hh? nah, not possible. Did someone else tell the person that their pony is 12.5hh? Was the seller told the pony was 12.3hh and they forgot and knew it was 12 something so they figure 12.5 sounds good?

errrrrrrrrr, thats the sound of my mental breaks screeching to a complete halt.

I am searching for a very specific size that only gives me a 3 inch range in height. If the seller doesn’t see a problem with listing a pony for sale that is 12.5hh, then clearly, there is no way they are going to be able to properly measure a pony and accurately tell me if said pony fits into my 3 inch height range.

No pony is 12.5hh.

Image clipped from a craigslist ad

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by riderofchaos on September 10, 2012 • Permalink

Posted in Pony Stuff

Tagged measuring a pony, pony shopping

Posted by riderofchaos on September 10, 2012

https://blueridgepony.com/2012/09/10/the-12-5hh-ad-anomaly/

2012 Shendoah Fair Demo

Tina on her excited pony
Photo: Genevieve of EquiStar Photography

This past Saturday, September the 1st, Blue Ridge Games hosted a demo competition as part of the Shenandoah County Fair. We had 12 riders take part as the equestrian entertainment on the last day of the fair.

We ran two lengthy heats, of three lanes, in pairs format, in a fun demo scrimmage competition. We did not keep score and allowed each pair to get in a good practice while riding in a competition format. It was a lot of fun and we were privileged to have some spectators that showed interest and cheered riders on.

They were doing an auction, just out of sight at the far end of the ring, which was quite scary to some of the ponies, and Simon was no exception. I think he was particularly itchy that day, and was shedding his short summer coat pretty heavily. He leaped along, rather than canter or gallop, and acted rather irritated in the same fashion he did when I clipped his hair off last winter. A bit of a challenge between his irritation and all the things to look at, we still had a good time and a good practice.

Simon and I in Two Flag Race
Photo: Genevieve of EquiStar Photography

Simon and I were paired with our usual teammate, Kim and her pony Gwen, and as always, Kim and I had a great time riding together. Kim is laid back and very go with the flow. She is excessively supportive, and is full of positive encouraging enthusiasm for everyone. She is a joy to ride with and I am always happy to be her partner. Kim rides with a smile on her face which is usually contagious.

Carol Ann on her pony Finn in Bottle Shuttle Race
Photo: Genevieve of EquiStar Photography

Kim and I rode in the same heat as some of our new games friends, Tina, Tory and Mason, who are still solidifying all the rules and races, and this was their first competition. They were fun to ride with and I think we all had a great time. Linda Refereed the heat and I really liked her starts and control of the field.

Simon and I in Litter Race
He is not paying attention at all!
Photo: Genevieve of EquiStar Photography

The other heat consisted of our usual teammates, Linda and Carol Ann, along with a former teammate of mine from years ago when I rode on team Fast Forward, Izzy, and friends Nina, Gen (who is the photographer of a lot of the amazing photos on this website) and Tommy. Their heat was much faster paced and really fun for me to referee.

Kim smiling as usual, on Gwen
Photo: Genevieve of EquiStar Photography

After the riding was complete, everyone helped pack up the equipment and selected a fun prize. A few of us took a hike through the fairgrounds, taking a moment to watch some of the rodeo, checked out some of the exhibits and share a cinnamon funnel cake. Which consequently, is way better than a regular funnel cake. Totally recommended.

Mason, showing some hoof on his pony!
Photo: Genevieve of EquiStar Photography

A good afternoon, with games, friends and funnel cake! What more could you ask for?

Tori dunking her Litter with Izzy in the background
Photo: Genevieve of EquiStar Photography

Photo: Genevieve of EquiStar Photography

I love the mountains in the background
Photo: Genevieve of EquiStar Photography

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by riderofchaos on September 5, 2012 • Permalink

Posted in Mounted Games

Tagged blue ridge games, mgaa, mounted games, shenandoah county, shenandoah fair, va, woodstock

Posted by riderofchaos on September 5, 2012

https://blueridgepony.com/2012/09/05/2012-shendoah-fair-demo/

Games Equipment – Barrels

Blue Ridge Games blew some of our hard earned money and purchased 8 barrels! Well, to be accurate, they arrived in the form of blue Brute trashcans. But with a little magic, they can be transformed into games barrels.

Eight barrels is enough to run 4 lanes and makes it possible for us to play games such as Bottle Shuttle, Litter, Hug-a-Mug, Toolbox, Tackshop, Rubber Ducky, and Association.

The transformation from trashcan to games barrel is a pretty simple one.

The first step is to purchase a trashcan, preferably a sturdier plastic one, and it should fall between 2 feet – 2 feet 5 inches tall and no wider than 21 1/2 inches wide. We picked ours up from Zoro Tools. They have a variety of them but to meet the standards we selected 27 1/2 inches tall, 22 inches diameter, 32 gal, blue ones. They came to $19.99/each with FREE shipping. I ordered them on Friday morning and they were in my driveway waiting for me when I got home from work Monday afternoon. Super fast!

Next you want to pick up a sheet of wood and some paint. Cut out the barrel tops from the sheet of wood, sand the edges and paint.

To finish the project, all that needs to be done is to attach the wooden top to the trashcan.

And boom, you have successfully transformed a trashcan, into a games barrel.

Rich and I discussed marking the Blue Ridge Games barrels with BRG or the BRG logo to fancy them up a little. I told him I had seen that Tami Anderson had stenciled the games pony logo on the top of her barrels. He liked that idea and said he could do our BRG logo which is the games pony with a mountain over it.

Rich said he needs to touch the ponies up a little so the legs are not as lumped together, but we didn’t have time for that since we had a competition in two days.