All posts tagged mounted games

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
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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.

I think the logo looks just fine the way it is though.

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by riderofchaos on September 4, 2012  •  Permalink
Posted in Mounted Games
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Posted by riderofchaos on September 4, 2012

https://blueridgepony.com/2012/09/04/games-equipment-barrels/

My Old Pony Club Bulletin Board – 2012

Pony Club rallies require teams to set up a tack room. The tack rooms have to be set to very specific parameters and include specific items, all impeccably clean and labeled. The tack room is inspected by horse management judges and points are given for any infractions found.

When I was in Pony Club one of the items required, and possibly still required, was a bulletin board to pin the schedule to. Most clubs had plain brown bulletin boards, and my club was no exception. Most clubs at the time did not have anything fancy in their tack rooms. A few had bridle or saddle racks painted in club colors, and towards the end of my Pony Club tenure some teams had moved up to matching wooden brush boxes also painted and decorated. But for the most part, decoration was not something many clubs delved into.

One year, my friend and fellow Pony Clubber, Margie, was over at my house to play for the day and we decided to paint our bulletin board. It started out simple with us painting the cork part yellow and the frame part royal blue, in our clubs colors. But it moved on from there and we painted our clubs name across the middle, “Frederick Pony Club” and then our team’s ponies along the bottom. I can’t remember for sure, but I think I had a pony shaped sponge or something to work with.  Or it’s also possible my dad made a stencil for that part.  We also added in some equipment to spice the board up and dun dun dun, we had a custom board.

Recently when I was at my parents house my mom pulled the board out of her basement to show me and I decided to take it home. I think it will be fun to hang up in my sewing room for now and possibly my tack room one day.

Ponies: My pony Berry, Jenny’s pony Jack, Mollie’s pony Tess, Christine’s pony Tease, Margie’s pony Blaze

My pony, Berry, was a strawberry roan with some white spots. Notice my signature to the left of her.

Margie’s pony Blaze, was a perfect chestnut

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by riderofchaos on August 28, 2012  •  Permalink
Posted in Throw Backs
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Posted by riderofchaos on August 28, 2012

https://blueridgepony.com/2012/08/28/my-old-pony-club-bulletin-board/

MGAA Mid-Atlantic #3

This past weekend was the MGAA Mid-Atlantic #3 Mounted Games Competition held in Mullica Hill, New Jersey.  And team Old School was in attendance. 

All weekend, Kick Kick Kick, Yell Yell Yell!
photo: Genevieve of EquiStar Photography

 My teammate, Carol Ann and I drove up together and arrived Friday afternoon.  We got the ponies settled in and then set ourselves up in the camp with the rest of our team and friends.  We had some evening entertainment in the form of silly songs and ruckus laughter.  And Tommy lent his new skill at performing ART physical therapy.  Which led to more ruckus laughter. 

Linda and Blue in Bottle Shuttle Race
photo: Genevieve of EquiStar Photography

Saturday morning we started the day with an 8am session.  We hit the ring and got in the game, well all of us got in the game, except Simon.  He seemed to think he was out for a leisurely morning stroll.  I am not joking when I say he killed the team with slowness.  He just would not go. It was all I could do to get him into a easy lope and get him to hold that pace down the lane.  At the end of the lane he would break down to a plodding walk to slowly turn around the end. 

AHHH!

Litter Race
photo: Genevieve of EquiStar Photography

I have never had a pony that required encouragement to get it to go.  I have never had a pony that needed to be kicked, or even squeezed.  And I am not a yeller or a growler either.  But Simon is not the typical games pony.  I gave it my all and I kicked and I yelled and I growled at him for all I was worth.  My legs felt like jelly after the session.  But Simon really did not seem to notice.  I felt like he was out there plodding along with a grin on his pony face just enjoying the morning and all the spectators watching him and I was just some gnat on his back making a pointless fuss.  

Carol Ann and Zeke in Sword Race
photo: Genevieve of EquiStar Photography

Needless to say, I left the ring extremely discouraged and really frustrated.  I love that bugger, but my goodness, he was just ridiculous.  Even at his normal top speed he is well on the slow side, but he was just unreasonable during that session. 

photo: Genevieve of EquiStar Photography

Before the afternoon session I gave him a pep talk and brought a ‘pony motivational device’ to the warm up ring.  I didn’t even need to use the crop, just carrying it was enough to wake him up. 

Luckily that message stuck with him when we went into the competition ring and he was moving out at his normal dawdling speed instead of his pervious, near nonexistent pace.  My team did pretty well, but Simon just killed us that morning and it was too much to make up.  We finished the session 2 points behind the Red Solo Cup team, which was holding second behind the Time Flies team.   

Kim always smiles!
photo: Genevieve of EquiStar Photography

Sunday morning we headed into the final at 8am and Simon kept his pace up and as a pair, we rode clean.  I did bunch the flags on my flag fliers pull, which killed me!  I usually have a pretty clean pull and I was a bit more than disappointed in myself.  I suppose I will be doing some extra flag work at home!  Otherwise there were a few minor mistakes, and one teammate was rather off, but all around, it was not a bad session for our team.  But as is typical for our division, it was not a bad session for any team, and even a circle around a barrel or cone by one rider cost a race completely.  So just the few minor errors were too much and we finished in 3rd behind Red Solo Cup who was behind Time Flies. 

I was a bit disappointed in our finish, and in Simon’s lack of enthusiasm.  But you can’t win them all, and we did try our best.  I am even more determined to get a new pony to train as my main games pony, and have Simon as my backup pony.  He just does not have that edge to put him at the level I want to play at.  He is still well suited at a slower pace, and certainly enjoys the game, but speed is not on his side, and he really does not seem to understand that he is in a race.  One thing I do quite enjoy about him is that, unlike nearly every other games pony out there, Simon does not speed up when I lean over or perform a skill, he continues at the pace I have set him at until asked to change it.  This is not typical of a games pony. 

“Go Pony GO!”
photo: Genevieve of EquiStar Photography

I love my pony, I just wish he has a bit more fire in the hooves. 

Team Old School
photo: Genevieve of EquiStar Photography

Bottle Shuttle Race
photo: Genevieve of EquiStar Photography

Mug Shuffle Race
photo: Genevieve of EquiStar Photography

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by riderofchaos on August 15, 2012  •  Permalink
Posted in Mounted Games
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Posted by riderofchaos on August 15, 2012

https://blueridgepony.com/2012/08/15/mgaa-mid-atlantic-3/

Sizzlin Summer Pairs Competition

Last weekend Simon and I took part in the Sizzlin Summer International Pairs competition.   Since it was pairs and not a team competition, team Old School broke down into pairs.  Hooking the two fast ponies together, Linda and Carol Ann represented as Old School and Kim and I, making up the slower end of our team, geared up in Green as pairs team Shenanigans. 

Simon and I teamed with Gwen and Kim
Photo: Genevieve of EquiStar Photography

The competition started Friday evening with the first session, and Simon was hot.  During warm up he was hoping around and getting a little light in his front loafers.  He plowed through a bending pole and when I hoped off to fix it, he popped his tail up in the air like an arab, and puffed his nose, blowing out it in ticks, and pranced in circles around me.  Totally out of character.  Kim hoped on him and took him for a few laps around the ring, and that took the fire out of him. 

Photo: Genevieve of EquiStar Photography

Kim and I had a great time riding together, and we tried to push some of our skills a little faster than usual (like placing the orb in Windsor Castle race at a canter).  Unfortunately we were not as accurate as usual, and our ponies really were the slowest out there.  In the Speed Weavers race, I went first and Kim went second.  On the Old School pair, Carol Ann rocked up and back and Linda was on her final pole home as their second rider, as Kim was hitting our first pole as our second rider.  No faults, just no speed.  Our lack of speed was collective between Kim’s mount Gwen, and Simon, but sadly, it really radiated from Simon.  Carol Ann commented during the final session that he “looks like he is out on a nice hack”. 

Carol Ann and Linda representing Old School
Photo: Genevieve of EquiStar Photography

We rode two more sessions on Saturday, and a final one Sunday morning.  Linda and Carol Ann cleaned up with Old School taking the win in our division ahead of the wicked fast Canadian duo, team Rehab.  Kim and I ended forth, and left the ring with big smiles and a new bottle of fly spray as our prize. Carol Ann was riding her second pony, Finn, in the intermediate division and her partner had to bail for the final.  So Simon and I stuck around to fill in as a HC pairs team, School Bullies, and get in some extra practice.  Simon had already done his fair share of work and taken part in 4 sessions, but he is fit enough to handle a 5th with no problem.  So we enjoyed the extra time on the equipment. 

Photo: Genevieve of EquiStar Photography

It also became apparent that Simon fit right in place in the intermediate division.  Granted we were in the B final, he still kept pace quite fine with the majority of the ponies, and his good breaks and my agile skills proved to be perfectly adequate.  Teamed with Carol Ann and Finn we would have had a very respectable finish if we had been scored. 

In conclusion I left the intermediate B final, with a bag of pony treats Simon was indulging in, and in thought that maybe Simon should be my intermediate pony.

Photo: Genevieve of EquiStar Photography

Photo: Genevieve of EquiStar Photography

Photo: Genevieve of EquiStar Photography

Photo: Genevieve of EquiStar Photography

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by riderofchaos on August 2, 2012  •  Permalink
Posted in Mounted Games
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Posted by riderofchaos on August 2, 2012

https://blueridgepony.com/2012/08/02/sizzlin-summer-pairs-competition/

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