Schooling at a show

On Saturday Smarty was trailed to a horse show. He isn’t ready to compete yet, but I wanted him to have the experience of schooling with other horses and being trailed/ridden somewhere new. As usual, Smarty was a rock star through the whole experience. He loaded/unloaded beautifully, had no problem with being tied to the trailed and kept calm with the hustle and bustle of the show. He was perfect schooling in the arena and didn’t think it was “off to the races” with the other horses flying around him.

My goal with him has been to show him on the flat before leaving for college. There are two potential shows I’m looking at taking him to – one in San Antonio July 14 and 15 and another in Austin on August 3-5. We still have some work to do before he’s ready to go, but Smarty should be ready to go on one of these dates.

A visitor and an interview

At the end of May, Mad for Smarty had a very special visitor! Patricia Chapman, owner of Smarty Jones, came to Austin. While she was here, we went to Bel Canto to see Mad for Smarty. Mrs. Chapman was happy to see Smarty doing well. I rode him so that she (and some family members) could see the progress that has been made with him.

This past week, I was a guest on the Horses in the Morning radio show. The two hosts talked to me about the story of how I came to own Mad for Smarty. The interview begins 37 minutes into the show which can be listened to either from their website or by downloading the podcast from iTunes. It lasts approximately 15 minutes.

http://www.horsesinthemorning.com/hitm-for-06-08-2012-by-kentucky-performance-products-frankie-co-hosts-mad-for-smarty-and-our-adopted-bug/