THE SPANISH MUSTANG

It is a cold snowy day in Colorado. Fortunately I was able to ride Jazz this morning (in 10 inches of snow) before more snow started falling from the light gray clouds. So, I decided that it was a perfect day to send out a new blog post.

THE SPANISH MUSTANG
I live just north of Parker, Colorado. The entire area from Parker to Elizabeth and Kiowa is horse country. If you love horses, this is the place to live!!! We have horses of every kind and every discipline here. If you don't live here, you should be jealous of me because I get to!

I have just finished writing a Young Adult novel about a wild mustang that bonds with a troubled teen and they end up saving each other's lives. So, in honor of the story, "In the Heart of a Mustang", I want to tell you about the Spanish Mustang.

Elizabeth, Colorado is the home of the Sunflower Ranch which breeds gaited Spanish Mustangs. (See, I told you, you could find any thing horse-related here!)
On their website: http://sunflowerranch.com/ranch.html, is a cute story about one of their mares, Sorpresita.

It so happens that this flatbed trailer was left out in the pasture. One day, out of curiosity, the little mare decided to climb aboard. In so doing, she discovered that her hooves could make a great drumming sound. She proceeded to "make music" for a couple of hours a day for several days, until the trailer was removed! Isn't that a great story!

The Spanish Mustang is a direct descendant of the horses brought to the new world by the Spanish. These are different than the feral horses managed by the BLM and about which I wrote "In the Heart of a Mustang". Columbus started bringing breed stock, horses, cattle and sheep to the new world on his second voyage. Breeding farms were set up on the Caribbean islands and, eventually, Mexico. 

Catholic priests bred the horses and gave them to natives who converted to Christianity. The Apache Indians never converted to Christianity so they acquired the much desired horses by raiding the breed farms and stealing the stock. It appears that they traveled as far south as Mexico City to acquire the much desired horses. They are responsible for bringing the Spanish horses northward. Eventually, these horses numbered in the thousands. Some were lost or escaped and became wild throughout the west. They managed to both adapt to the demands of nature and mix with the native american's horses.

Today's Spanish Mustangs are being bred and controlled by the Spanish Mustang registry. They are being used for endurance, rodeo and ranch work as well as pleasure riding. 

If you are coming to Denver for the National Western Stock Show Jan. 10th to Jan. 25th, I will be signing books at the Colorado Horse Council's Booth each day until 2:30 except Sundays. Stop by and say "Hi". 

THE MIST TRILOGY HONORED WITH NATIONAL AWARD

 I received fabulous news! The Mist Trilogy: Behind the Mist, Mists of Darkness and The Rising Mist were selected to receive the Mom's Choice Gold Medal Award.

I am especially honored to receive this award because of the stringent evaluation that the books had to go through to be chosen. The Mom's Choice Award judges follow a strict evaluation process. Entries are scored on a number of elements including production quality, design, educational value, entertainment value, originality, appeal and cost. The judges look for books that help families grow emotionally, physically or spiritually: are morally sound and promote good will; and are inspirational and uplifting. (according to their website: www.momschoiceawards.com.

The gold medal is awarded to the books or products that receive the highest scores. I am so grateful that the panel of judges felt that my work adds something good to the world.

WHAT'S YOUR FAVORITE HORSE MOVIE?

The first ever film festival held just to honor movies that feature horses in our lives, both animated and with live actors and horses, was held last weekend, Nov. 21st and 22nd. It was called the Equus Film Festival and was held in New York City using three different screens. I sure wish I could  have been there!

Three of the films, "The Fork in the Road", "The Equestrian", and "Valiant" focus on Dressage. The first, "The Fork in the Road" was made to promote Para Dressage and the determination of injured eventer Gigi McIntosh as she strives to return to riding and competing now in dressage.

"The Equestrian" examines how the bond of trust between a horse and rider can be destroyed and rebuilt. See the trailer here:

http://youtu.be/JFsKtz3b54I

The third, "Valiant" is about a completely blind dressage horse. That is especially poignant for me as my wonderful Kit that I have written about in previous posts was just determined to have developed total blindness in his left eye.

The Horsechannel.com made a listing of their 30 favorite horse movies. It is kind of fun to look at the list and see which ones you have seen. Click here for the list:

http://www.horsechannel.com/horse-fun/30-best-horse-movies.aspx

Now, pretend I am a movie critic! Here goes!

My comparison of National Velvet and International Velvet!

These two films were made thirty-four years apart and they are a classic example of how Hollywood has changed in that time. National Velvet was released in 1944. It starred young Elizabeth Taylor, Mickey Rooney and Angela Lansbury, to name a few. All three went on to have illustrious film carriers, as you know. The story is wholesome and touching. The filming in the English country side was beautiful. But I was impressed with the depiction of Velvet's family. The mother had given up fame as a swimmer to raise her children. Both she and her husband, though not wealthy, worked hard to take care of their family. Mom was at home for her kids. I loved that prayers were said at every meal. 

Now, move forward (or perhaps backward) thirty-four years! Velvet is now a grown woman shacked up with her boyfriend who is, for some undisclosed reason, afraid of marriage and she puts up with it. Their niece, played poorly by Tatum O'Neil, comes to stay with them when her parents are killed. No prayers, no strong family. The only sacrifice made is when the author live-in (played by Christoper Plummer) starts writing trashy novels to supplement their income to pay for Sarah Brown's riding lessons. It is fun to note that the eventing competition in the U.S. was filmed with Pony Club Riders! See my post about Pony Club from August 2, 2014. 

That being said, for an old eventer like myself, the horse scenes were great! (Except on the airplane when one of the competition horses being flown over the pond has to be shot! That made me cry!)) And the value of horses as the healing mechanism for a grieving girl is not only true to life but very touching.  

So, what was your favorite horse movie? 

And don't you think Behind the Mist, Mists of Darkness and The Rising Mist would make great movies???

HAPPY BIRTHDAY ROY ROGERS

Today is Roy Rogers' birthday! He was truly the "King of Cowboys". Did you know that he is the only person to be elected twice to the Country Music Hall of Fame? He was first elected in 1980 as one of the original members of "sons of the Pioneers" and second in 1988 as a solo artist. As a person, performer and equestrian, they don't get any better than Roy Rogers. Have fun riding your Unicorn, Roy!

You can read more about his wonderful horse, Trigger, in a post I wrote in 2010. Just click here:

 https://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=2018440477024256751#editor/target=post;postID=8936750939955106209;onPublishedMenu=allposts;onClosedMenu=allposts;postNum=1;src=postname

Do you now or have you ever owned a noble and great horse that deserves to become a unicorn? Write to me and tell me about him/her: mjevansbtm@gmail.com

HAPPY HALLOWEEN HORSE STYLE!

Last summer I was invited to sign books (specifically Behind the Mist) at a horse camp because the theme was fantasy and the director was giving each camper a copy of Behind the Mist. So, for fun, I decided to dress Jazz (the star of Behind the Mist) up as a unicorn and sign books from his back. It was really fun and he looked gorgeous!

So, in honor of Halloween, I decided to search out photos of creative costumes for horses. Here are some of my favorites!

Aren't people creative and aren't horses patient with us?  Since standard poodles are my favorite dogs (they really aren't dogs, they are in a class by themselves!) I had to put in two pictures of poodles. I adored those 3 little kings! And Harry Potter is great! 

 I also discovered that there is a company that makes horse costumes so you don't even have to be creative. Here is their website: http://www.thehorsetailor.com/costumes-catalog.html

HAPPY HALLOWEEN! 

And remember: Don't work your horse...dance with your horse...play with your horse...have fun with your horse!

Read The Mist Trilogy: Autographed copies available here:  www.behindthemist.com

HERE I AM IN THE LAND OF THE HANOVERIANS!

Here I am, actually, really, honestly, in the Land of the Hanoverians. Yes, I am in Germany, visiting my son and his family. Chris is assigned to Grafenwoehr Army Post in Bavaria, the southern end of Germany. He is a dentist for the post here in this beautiful place!

Anyone who has been reading my blog knows that I love my hanoverian, Jazz (show name: Love That Jazz.) I love him so much I made him the star of The Mist Trilogy!  It so happens that Germany is the home of the hanoverian breed! Hanoverians are a warmblood breed that originated in Germany. They were developed under the direction of George II, King of England and Elector of Hanover. By the end of the 18th century, the hanoverian had become a high-class coach horse. 

Adjustments in the breed were made after WWI to make the horse better for riding yet still strong enough for farm work. After WWII, when the demand for sport horses boomed, the breed was adapted again. Thoroughbreds were used to refine the breed, with an occasional Anglo-Arabrian or Trekehner Stallion thrown into the mix. 

Today, Hanoverians are popular in the Olympic Games and other English Riding Style events and competitions.

 In the 2008 Olympics in Beijing, three hanoverian geldings, Elvis VA, Bonaparte and Satchmo, made up the gold winning team!

The Hanoverian Breeder's Association has worked hard to keep up the quality of the breed with rigorous grading of breeding stock and careful record keeping. I have a more complete pedigree of my horse than I do of myself! Jazz is registered with the American Hanoverian Society. This is the brand that is on his left hind quarter:

The hanoverian is strong and robust but also known for its willing and trainable nature. Chestnut, Bay (Jazz is a very dark bay,) black and gray are the approved colors. No buckskin, palomino or cremello nor those with too much white are allowed to be registered. They range in height from 15.3 to 17.2 hands (Jazz is 17 hands.)

Of course, Jazz is my favorite Hanoverian, but more famous than my sweet boy is Brentina. I wrote a blog post about her when she was retired. You can read it here:
http://themisttrilogy.blogspot.de/2010/11/dressage-great-brentina.html
I had the privilege of meeting Debbie McDonald. She is my height. That's why she looks so tiny on her 16.2 hand Brentina!

Throughout the year, people come to Germany to search for their DREAM HORSE! (I was lucky to find my dream horse on dreamhorse.com ) One of the most famous sales of Hanoverians is at Verden in the northwest corner of Germany, close to Hanover. October is the time for this sale. This year's Elite Sport Horse auction is Oct. 10 and 11th! I will be so close! I will be in Berlin at that time. I don't think I'll be able to talk my husband and son into taking me over there, however!!!

YEAH FOR JAZZ-THE STAR OF THE MIST TRILOGY!

Saturday, Sept. 20th, Jazz and I competed in the Rocky Mountain Dressage Society Championships in the Level III class. Jazz was wonderful and we were excited to place third. Now it is back to work to get even better and work toward next year's show season!

Here is a picture of my wonderful husband of 42 years who always supports my horse addiction. He is the ultimate "Horse Husband!"

With show season over, it's time to read. If you need a good book, read Behind the Mist, Mists of Darkness or The Rising Mist from The Mist Trilogy, or North Mystic. They are all 
available on Amazon, Barnes & Noble, and everywhere else. But the Best place is on the website where you can get the books autographed!
Click here: www.mjevansbooks.com