News from Around the Farm

The past two weeks here at the farm have been exceptionally busy! We are finally winding down from our busy summer... just in time to prepare for the Deerfield Fair. More on that to follow!

Last week, I somehow landed a job working as a service writer for my family's automotive repair shop. So now, on top of my daily farm chores, I put in an additional 35+ hours a week there. Thankfully it's located just a few hundred yards behind the farm, so the commute is short! Someday I will post my "new" daily routine on here so everyone can sympathize and/or laugh at me...

After the unfortunate passing of our pig Charlotte, we ventured to Vermont and adopted one to help fill the void at our farm, as well as to give our little orphans some company. The pig we brought home was built and looks just like Charlotte, except that she has black patches all over her red body. She is sweet, very people-oriented, and has a pretty entertaining personality. Here is "Sophie", enjoying the 50-gallon water tank in her paddock. (Props to Rubbermaid for making exceptionally sturdy stock tanks!)



Sophie was the newest addition to our farm up until last week... Last Sunday evening, she gave birth to an adorable litter of piglets! (We were told she may be pregnant when we took her home, so it wasn't a huge surprise.) Mom is doing well and the delivery was complication-free! Here are a few of the babies happily enjoying breakfast. (Look - no bottles! It's so much easier when mom does the job!)


OK now onto the important news - the Deerfield Fair!

Faith has been preparing diligently for the upcoming event! She has been practicing her form over 5-foot fences, her piaffes, her rack and her sliding stops. OK, maybe that's a little bit of an exaggeration... but she has been practicing! We have been schooling her for about 20-30 minutes a day, 4-5 days per week. Most of her "schooling" consists of walking with a few short trots in between. She is ever so slowly gaining muscle, but she's an old lady and I certainly do not expect her "vigorous" routine to make her look like a body builder overnight.

Faith also underwent an "Extreme Mare Makeover" yesterday. She was clipped, her mane was pulled, and she was, well... beautified! She tolerated the majority of the process, but was not pleased with having her ears clipped. We argued silently with each other, her ears back and those soft brown eyes burning a hole through me. I held out longer though and she looks spectacular! (She was so mad at me that she actually considered refusing a horse cookie from me - what a grouch!)


Here is the plan for the show:

Today we loaded up our trailer and hauled all of our equipment and feed up to Deerfield. It took about fifteen of us a little less than three hours to set up our stalls and decorations.
Tomorrow morning I will be bringing our first load of horses up to the fairgrounds: Jinks, Nicholas, Robbie, and Cori. Then around 1:00pm, I will head up with the second group: Kenny, Cash, William and Faith. We will school most of them in the show arena tomorrow, depending on the weather. I will do my best to take pictures of the events, but normally I am busy coaching children and schooling horses.
Wednesday is our final practice and preparation day for the show. After everyone goes out for their workout, we begin the fun process of bathing. (The horses, not us. Although I will be the first to admit that normally we need it more than they do.) After baths, hooves are prepared and polished, manes and tails are picked through, and our equipment is cleaned.
Thursday morning the competition begins! I will post a show schedule on here tomorrow night of when our horses and riders will be competing for anyone who would like to watch! (I will be competing in the Arabian Hunter Pleasure Class with Cori, just after 1:00pm!)
Friday is Faith's big show ring "re-debut"! We will start preparing her around 8:30am and she will hit the show arena around 11:00am. Her class is #58 - Walk & Trot Hunter Seat Equitation.
Saturday our horses will be competing throughout the day.
Sunday is Faith's show ring "retirement"! She will compete in Class #135, Walk & Trot Hunter Seat Equitation Championship. Preparation will begin around 7:30am in the barn and so far it looks like she will be going in around 10:00am.

We look forward to introducing Faith to all of her wonderful supporters! Please stop in and see us in Barn G and say "Hi!". We love visitors and hope to see you there!