New Game: "The Pony Cousin Stampede"

The Play at Home Version

You get to ride along with the Pony Cousins!

Try out this new "Pony Cousin Stampede Game"!

All of my dear readers have been adopted into the Pony Cousin Clan.
Hypothetically speaking.
-You know, in pretending.

In order for you to join in on the activities of the Pony Cousin Stampede,
you must select one of the Equicousins to ride on the trails;
and you must select a different Equicousin to ride in the arena games.

I want you to tell me about your selection:
tell me which of the ponies you choose
and why for each of the 2 parts
of the Stampede:
trails and arena.

But, remember, the Pony Cousins ride with flair!

This is what you must do:
Picture yourself, dressed for the themed Trail Ride.
What theme do you choose? Go ahead, make one up!
Super heroes? Vintage? Clowns? Rodeo Queen?

Describe it for me: boots, belts, colors and all.

Then, tell me how you will outfit the Equicousin for the ride,
because our Equicousins enjoy this as much as we do.
Polo wraps, tail ribbons, mane enhancers, hip drop, fancy bridles and breastcollars -
what will you use to make your pony feel as elegant as you feel?

Then we move to the arena for the Pony Cousin Rodeo Queen Competition.
What will you and your pony wear that will be flashy,
yet practical for Rootin' and Tootin', Shootin' and Scootin'?

It was hard to see in my photos of our rodeo,
but some of the Pony Cousins wore matching red tank tops with bling on the front.

And some wore pink tanks and t-shirts with Pony Cousin on the front and the words, "Untamed and Unashamed" on the back.

It was 104 degrees so that is about as much flair as we could stand that day,
but it was practical for the conditions.


Now, here is the list of Equicousins for your choices:

We'll start with the veterans and work our way down to the youngest.

Atticus
This Black Beauty is a veteran of the show ring, trails, and, obviously, gaming.
He is 14.2 hands, gentle to be around and black as night.
He is a registered Arabian gelding.
The Divine Ms C likes to dress him in silver tack and accesories,
and, boy, oh, boy, does he sparkle!
He was one of 2 great lead horses for the Pony Cousins on the trail,
as he worked together with Dusty and Cowgirl 2 in taking turns in the front.
When faced with a herd of elk moving along in front of us, he held his ground.
Definitely not one of those "flighty Arabs"; he is a solid mount.

Stardust
Dusty is a honey of a horse. Note his powerful chest and leg.
His color is rich and he has the glossiest coat.
He rides well on the trails, and, with his Morgan/Quarterhorse breeding,
he has the right attitude.
Dusty and Atticus shared duties as lead horse on the trail and they never got us into trouble.
His cowgirl looked right at home on him in the arena and he did all of the events in great style.
We also think he is a loverboy, who loves the attention he gets from his favorite Cowgirl (2).

My Boy
One of the most famous spotted butts on the blogs is loved by Pony Girl.
He is a trail veteran with lots of go, yet gentle to ride.
He looks like a big guy with Pony Girl on him, but he is just around 15.1 hands.
And we all know how well he photographs.
My Boy and Pony Girl wowed the Pony Cousins with their "routine to music",
in which they demonstrated the Parelli games.
He is flashy and fun to watch - imagine how much fun to ride!

Brandy
Our Rodeo Queen rode Brandy to the Finals.
What a great looking pair!
Paint Girl has really been working with her on all kinds of riding
and it shows!
Brandy is an Arabian mare who stands around 14.3.
Her pinto markings are unusual because the patches are faint marks of roan.
She is special because she tries her best for the Paint Girl.
She was quiet on the trails and had a lot of zip in the arena.
She's not afraid of goats, tarps, or of getting too full on treats.
Brandy has a lot of heart.

Fritzy
This quarterhorse mare stands a good 15.1 hands and is flashy.
She never missed a step on the trails with a new rider on board.
She has a good walk and knows her way down the trail.
She was a steady performer for her new rider.
We think she is a real beauty.

Zoe
She is a grey quarterhorse mare, about 15 hands.
Her best friend is Jesse and they ride a lot of trails together.
Zoe taught a new rider how to cue and rein, even did some sidepassing in her routine to music.
She dresses up nicely and seems to enjoy the antics of the Pony Cousins and their ponies.
I guess you'd call her a sweetheart.
Cousin Betsy sure does.

Jesse
The fabulous Jesse is a quarterhorse gelding who travels between
the northwest and southwest for the seasons.
His job is to get the Desert Rose down the trail and back, safely.
He is the best at his job and he is paid well for it.
Jesse also has some zip and he showed the Pony Cousins that he wasnt afraid to use it when there were ribbons at stake in the various races.
He has been on the roughest trails that any of us has seen;
he has dealt with trainwrecks of all kinds.
He has a rein-swinging walk and lots of savvy.
But what you need to know is that
he has a heart as big as the West.

Skyler
The Golden Boy also has a heart of gold.
He is a 15 hand, registered quarterhorse, just 5 years old,
who was on his way to being a rope horse until we "stole" him from The Cowboy.
We didnt know he was a kid's horse (neither did he), but he loves them.
He likes to smell the top of a kid's head and then,
his head goes down, his ears go out to the side, and he is a babysitter.
He is all "try" and very patient.
He has stolen the heart of Palomino Girl.

Okie
This 5 year old quarterhorse is a product of the Oklahoma State University breeding program.
He was The Cowboy's next rope horse after we stole the Golden Boy.
Okie craves attention from people.
He is very inquisitive and likes to "mouth" objects, such as brushes, spray bottles, and other objects in Sissie's grooming tote.
He was perfect in the
Extreme Obstacle Course at the Pony Cousin Rodeo
and we know that he will take the tarp in his mouth and move it to another location for you.
Okie has learned to walk slowly and patiently when being lead by SMR and he steadies her walk.
Okie loves to do his Parelli games with his new friend, Uncle Rick.
With his cute personality, Okie is everybody's little brother.



So, that's the list of choices!

Which Equicousin will you saddle up and ride?

Here's all you do:
1. Select the theme of your Pony Cousin Trail Ride.
2. Describe your colors, clothes, and tack.
3. Tell me the name of the pony for your trail ride.
4. Tell me why you selected that particular Equicousin.
5. Select a different Equicousin for the Rodeo Competition.
6. Tell me why you chose that pony.
7. Describe the outfit for you and your pony.

If you want to post some pictures of your costumes and outfits on your own blog, say so in your comment here, so that we can all saddle up to go pay you a visit at your place.
If you know of some of your other blogger friends who would like to play the Stampede Game, invite them over for a visit.
The Pony Cousin Chuckwagon is open all night.


Yee Haw!

Come ride with the Pony Cousins!

Unless, you just cant stand to have fun!

Pony Cousin Stampede

The Pony Cousins Saddle Up

At last the Pony Cousins were ready to saddle up for the first trail ride
of their "Stampede Weekend".
After months of anxious planning, after hours of planning meetings,
after hundreds of emails, the time was here!

The trailers were unloaded and appeared to be waiting for the action to begin.

It was easy to get the Cousins out of the teepees that morning.
There was dust flying behind the vehicles as the Cousins drove down the hill to the ranch.

The ponies were eager to be fed after a night of that fresh mountain air.
The Cousins pitched in to help one another with the hay, the water, and the mucking of the pens.

All was quickly accomplished and the Cousins, all in a bright mood, traveled up to the chuckwagon for some good strong coffee and fresh made scones.

It did not take long for the Pony Cousins to polish off the fresh fruit, scones and coffee,

because each of them had visions of their saddles and ponies and were eager to get started with the saddling.

There was no lingering in the cook shack with the last of the coffee.

At last! Music to our ears: "Saddle Up!"
The Pony Cousins quickly groomed each pony and feet were checked and picked.
For all of the hustle and bustle, the ponies were pretty quiet and laid back

Some Cousins had saddles that were much heavier than they were 20 years ago,
but, assistance was given as needed by all of the Pony Cousins.

Supervisors stood by to offer advice and wisecracks, keeping the mood light.

The bold and the beautiful took no time at all to get saddled.

In fact, they had time for a little warm-up.

The Cousins were reminded to check cinches before mounting.

And last minute bridle adjustments were made.

One of the first to be mounted was Cowgirl 2 on Dusty.

At last, all of the Pony Cousins were mounted
and the Trail Bosses reminded us of our travel order:

Leading out was Atticus with the Divine Ms. C.
Second was Dusty and Cowgirl 2.
Next in trail order was Zoe with Cousin Missi on board.

Then the Yellow with Palomino Girl;
Okie with Saddle Mtn Rider;

My Boy was next on the trail,
Followed by Brandy and Paint Girl
Then came Fritzy carrying the Queen of Hearts.

Then came the 3 Guest Ranch horses:
Cousin Betsy
Cousin Jamie
And Cowgirl 1.
The Guest Ranch Horses had seen a lot of trails in their lifetimes and
were happy enough to follow along with the equicousins.
Cousin AJ, the Head Trail Boss, was the outrider.

At long Last, the trail head was in front of the Pony Cousins.

And, in case you are wondering, the Cousins are meeting next month
to begin the plans for next summer's
Pony Cousin Stampede!

What does it take to get the Pony Cousins on the trail?

What to pack for the Pony Cousin Stampede Weekend?After the Saddle Up Weekend with Cousin AJ, the Pony Cousins went to work on planning what to take for horse and rider for the 4 day weekend that we like to call "the stampede".

Some of the Pony Cousins had never been on a trip of any length with their ponies and, so, a list was developed by the Trail Bosses (AJ, Pony Girl, and Paint Girl) of items that should be considered as necessary.
Cousins K and Jac assisted by providing a list that they had drawn up for Jac's former 4H club members for staying at the fairgrounds.
It was a long and overwhelming list of many items that may or may not be needed by individual riders and their ponies.
But it was a place to start the planning.

The list of necessaries was increased by the kinds of activities our trail bosses planned for us. Besides our normal riding wear, we had special dress up events.
These events would require racks and racks of clothes and costumes for the riders.

And then, there were the ponies to outfit.

Some of the ponies sported different saddle pads for each event.
Tails and manes were wrapped with ribbons.
Special head gear was featured in some of the costume rides.
And an assortment of polo wraps and performance boots were used.

The packing of the gear into our horse trailers required supreme skill.

Take a look:

The first ride was the "Howdy Ride".
Regular riding wear was called for and in this 98 degree heat, tank tops
and short sleeve cotton shirts were chosen.

The next ride was the "Pink Pony Express Memorial Ride", which was in memory of our mothers and aunts who lost their battles with cancer.

Both ponies and riders required pink outfits for this ride.
Some outfits required some sewing construction.

Here, Okie models a hand-constructed hip drop with a flower bouquet behind the saddle.
The reins are covered in the same material as was used in the hipdrop.
His tail is wrapped in colored ribbon and the polo wraps were borrowed from our favorite barrel racer.

This is Zoe, displaying her pink contest ribbons on her hot pink saddle blanket.
Her mane is adorned with pink ribbons braided in,
and the neckerchiefs around her neck are also a dark pink.

The 3rd dress-up event was the "Vintage Cowgirl" Ride.

Cousins could dress like Dale Evans or Kitty, from"Gunsmoke",
or could wear stuff they found in the back of the closet from 20-30 years ago.

That evening the Cousins wore the outfits for "Cowgirls and Indians"

and took pictures by the teepees where we slept at night.

All of the Pony Cousins found unique ways to costume themselves for this event.
But let's just say that the ponies carried around a lot of turquoise jewelry that night.

Then the Cowgirls and Indians raided the village and burned down the cabins.

Early the next morning, the Pony Cousins were to dress in rodeo attire

for the Rootin' Toootin' Pony Cousin Rodeo!

Pony Girl proudly showed off her gorgeous new chinks, which were the envy of all.

Some Pony Cousins could look fabulous in anything on a Black Beauty pony.

The temperature was relatively pleasant until noon when it climbed to 100 degrees.

So the rodeo attire became tank tops and cotton shirts.

The last costumed event was the "Ridin' With Music" Routine.
Each Cousin selected a favorite song or a theme song, if you will, and developed a routine with their pony.
Costumes were selected and some were, again, hand constructed.



The extreme heat kept the Pony Cousins from displaying some of the extravagant costumes that had been planned,
but the riding took place anyway, and the Cousins and their Ponies took great delight in the whole experience.

As one can imagine, the packing list for each cousin was long.
Many hours were spent preparing for the costume events.

The results were measured as a success when Cousins taunted one another by saying such things as,
"Next year, I'm gonna outdress you!"

The "Saddle Up Weekend"

Whatcha Gonna Do With A Cowgirl,
Who Dont Saddle Up and Ride Away?

The Pony Cousins were in the midst of planning an extravaganza weekend with 9 ponies (who we call the "equicousins") and 13 Cousins.

The Pony Cousins had 3 remaining areas of concern:
1. Some of the Cousins were new riders.
2. Some of the horses had little or no trail experience.
3. Some of the Cousins had trail riding experience, but that was 20 years ago.

There were concerns that the riding would be difficult, but, also, there was a need for experienced help to feed, groom, and saddle the (extra) horses.

But then, The Desert Rose hatched a plan.

At the facility where she boards her pony, Jesse, there is an indoor arena, an outdoor arena, and trails to ride.

AJ invited the "Pony Cousins Without Ponies" to come to her barn for some riding lessons as well as lessons in grooming, feeding, and handling.
She also invited those Pony Cousins with inexperienced horses to come for the weekend.

The visiting equicousins would get a stall and would be turned out in a paddock after their breakfast.
The visiting Pony Cousins were invited to stay in AJ's beautiful home, a few miles away.
It sounded like a weekend to remember.

The "Pony Cousins Without Ponies"quickly took up the offer as well as Jac and CuzK, who had the youngest, least experienced ponies.

The riding lessons helped the Cousins gain a comfortable feeling about the ways of the horse.

There was individual help to be given.

With acquired knowledge, confidence began to build for the Cousins.

A promise of future Pony Cousins was established.

The trail riding was a great benefit to ponies and Cousins.

It turned out to be a fabulous time, where each and everyone was able to gain confidence and have fun while getting to know the ponies.
No pressure; just relaxed, easy-going lessons and riding.

The Desert Rose and her "Saddle Up Weekend" made all of the difference as to how successful our weekend extravaganza of riding would be.


Coming up in the next post: "What Does It Take to Get The Pony Cousins On The Trail?"

Pony Cousin Trail Riding --Part 2

The Pony Cousins prepare for "the weekend of a lifetime."

The long winter months gave the Pony Cousins time to think of a lot of questions pertaining to our "Big Ride".
For instance: -how many horses would we have to rent in order for all of us to ride?

We knew which Cousins have horses:
-The Desert Rose has the most experienced trail horse, Jesse.
AJ also has the use of the nice mare, Zoe,
who could be ridden by Cousins Betsy or Missi.

Paint Girl has her Arab mare, Brandy.
And she could bring her paint horse, Fritzy, for someone else.
Cowgirl 2 was really enjoying the bond that she was developingwith her horse, Dusty.

Pony Girl and My Boy were getting more and more trail miles and looked like they would be a solid pair.

Jac and the Golden Boy got some trail practice on a trail ride along the Columbia River.

But Cuz K had a horse with no trail experience and he was young to boot.So CuzK had some more arena miles put on Okie by a gal who cruises at a gallop every day.

The Divine Ms C was hoping to use her young mustang.But when she came across this mature Arabian gelding, she bought him immediately. Atticus had "been there, done that, and bought the t-shirt".

So, at that point, the Pony Cousins had 9 horses to use.
Not bad, except that there were 13 Pony Cousins.

We thought we had a horse for Cowgirl 1, but that didnt work out and she is still looking for a horse.

Horses were needed for
-Cousin Tena
-Cousin Betsy
-Cousin Jamie
-Cousin Missi
-Cousin Eeeeee
Obviously, 2 of these would be able to ride the 2 extra horses that we had and they could take turns, but we would need to rent horses for the others.

Other questions which came up were:

-We knew that we were going to have some new riders and some young, inexperienced horses. So a concern developed: Would the trails be good enough for every Cousin to feel secure and safe?
We also knew that some of our Cousins had no riding experience, but had a great desire to learn.

-The guest ranch had an arena for us to use. What kinds of games and/or events could we have with our ponies in the arena?

-What kind of equipment would be necessary for the games?

-What kinds of tack and equipment would we need to bring?-Would the trail riding require certain safety items to be carried along with us?
-What were we going to eat?
These and many more questions made it imperative for the Pony Cousins to meet in the spring. A festive Pony Cousin Weekend was planned. The Cousins were invited to Cousin Eeeeee's home. There would be cocktails and a welcoming celebration with hors d'oeurves on the first night.

The next day was shopping for horse and rider gear. When the Cousins returned to Cousin Eeeee's that evening, there, waiting for us, was a pot roast with vegetables, a huge green salad, and wine.

There was a brief gift exchange, where mentors and proteges presented one another with appropriate gifts.The Pony Cousins have matched up the "Goodtime Cousins" (the moms) with the Cuzettes (the daughters) according to certain personality types. The "Goodtime Cousins" are the mentors of the younger set, although the Cuzettes surprise us sometimes with their knowledge. We did not match up mothers with daughters.

As soon as the dishes were done and the Pony Cousins were in their jammies, a meeting was called to order by the Round-Up Boss, Cuz K.
All of the questions and issues were brought up and discussed. Each of the bosses gave a presentation and/or report in the area of their responsibility and at the end of 4 hours, the Pony cousins felt that they had a better grasp of what was going to occur.

One thing was certain: the new riders needed to have some lessons in order to feel comfortable and helpful around the horses.
The Desert Rose came up with an idea.

Catch the next Pony Cousin installment!
Next time: The "Saddle Up Weekend" with the Desert Rose.

Pony Cousin Trail Riding

What does it take to get the Pony Cousins on the trail?

Seasoned trail riders are quite aware of all of the preparations that must take place in order to attempt a trek of any distance with our equi-companions.
But, try to imagine the planning and preparation it takes for 13 Pony Cousins and 9 Equicousins to attempt a "super event" trail ride.

In this blog, i will attempt to describe just what it took for our big trail riding weekend to come to fruition.

The idea for the "Pony Cousins" came about at our annual family camp out, where our parents and grandparents have managed to gather us together each summer for over 20 years. It all started with the 12 siblings who thought it would be fun to bring together the families at an annual event so that we could keep up with everyone's families. From those 12 siblings, at this point, there are: 21 1st cousins; 29 2nd cousins; and 18 3rd cousins (and counting).

At this gathering each summer, we pitch tents, sleep in trailers and coaches, play cards, eat like royalty, and put on a huge family talent show.

I just cant tell you how much talent is in this one big family! (Just can't)
At our Saturday dinner there are usually 80 - 100 family members present.

And the food is so good that we check ID to verify the people in question to be family.

So, last year as a few of us were sitting around, talking about riding our horses, and we started thinking about how much fun it would be to ride together. Word spread across the campground and some more cousins gravitated toward the horse discussion. Before we knew it, we had 13 cousins of legal age who thought it would be grand to have a cousin camp out with our horses.

Cousins volunteered to do some checking on the ways and means of putting together a weekend.
We knew that we would have to email, make phone calls, and meet together to iron out the details. We soon found that the task was a large one when we considered the size of our operation.

One of the cousins found, online, a guest ranch that would rent horses, let us bring our own horses, and had cabins, tents, and teepees in which we could stay.

A flurry of phone calls and emails ensued and we laid out plans for a fall meeting at the home of our dear Cousin Eeeeee.

It was the first gathering of the Pony Cousins and the name was officially adopted.

An appropriate christening of the new group took place at a local watering hole
and many margaritas were consumed in observance.

The Fall Pony Cousin Round-up was a weekend success and we had so much fun together. Our ages run from 24 - 50-something, but we have our love of horses in common, and our own kind of family fun and humor to boot. Young and (not all that) old were really getting to know one another and were lovin' every minute of it! We left with plans for email contact until we could meet again in the spring.
Over the long winter months, we sent hundreds of emails of news, encouragement, impatience, questions, and plans. Assigned titles and duties became necessary because of the myriad of details to be addressed.

Each cousin was assigned a job and a title and a vision of the project grew larger and larger.

Arguably, the toughest and most important job was to be the Trail Boss. The Trail Boss was going to need to have a lot of experience, not only riding trails, but riding trails with large groups. The Pony Cousins turned to the Desert Rose because of her extensive experience with her trail riding groups in Palm Springs.
Trail Boss AJ would find the best trails and would outline the trail protocol we would need for a large group, with new riders, and some young and/or inexperienced trail horses. Trail safety was an issue on each cousin's agenda. AJ would put together a list of necessary information for the cousins to peruse and we would gather other information from sources such as the Back Country Horsemen.



Up next time:

How much booze is needed to fulfill the needs of thirsty Pony Cousins at a horse-less meeting?

Or, more importantly, how much shopping is required in preparation
of a Pony Cousin Trail Ride?

Did i write that shopping is "more important" than booze?
That's just crazy talk.

Name That Pony Cousin!

Between Rides With The Pony Cousins

Here's a little Blog Reader Contest!

I'll ask the questions and You, the Readers, will guess the name of the Pony Cousin to which the question pertains.

To look for the choices for your answers, either look at the list of the Pony Cousins on the right column of this blog, or check back through the older posts of this blog.
There are 13 Pony Cousins!

Question #1:

During the Portland "Saddle Up Weekend," which Pony Cousin disciplined the horse she was riding by tickling him?

Question #2:

Which Pony Cousin is now addressed as "Your Majesty"?

Question # 3:

Which Pony Cousin is the youngest and most feisty of the cousins?


Question #4:

Which Pony Cousin is the one "most likely to save a horse"?

Question #5:

Which Pony Cousin is the best at blowing up a cactus?

Question #6:

Which Pony Cousin is the one who "re-lit the fires of passion "about being "horse crazy"?Question #7:

Which Pony Cousin rides herd over 2 of the wildest desperadoes in the West?

Question #8:

Which Pony Cousin was the best Chuckwagon Boss ever?

Question # 9:

Which Pony Cousin loped her horse for the first time during the Pony Cousin Rodeo?

Question # 10:

Which Pony Cousin has the newest chinks?

Question #11:

Which Pony Cousin would be voted "Best Auntie Ever"?

Question # 12:

Which Pony Cousin would never turn down a margarita?


Question # 13:

Which Pony Cousin rode a horse (she had never seen before) like a pro in the PC Rodeo?

Now, dear Readers, if you can name the most Pony Cousins correctly,
you will win a fabulous prize!
(In all honesty, it is not really a fabulous prize, per se, ...
it's more of an adequate prize...)
(Okay, it's not really much of a prize at all.)

Go ahead - Try to impress Rory with your intelligence.

I would like to thank Browneyed Cowgirls for this award. It was awarded to me, i think, for my journalistic efforts in reporting on the Pony Cousin Weekend. So, i would also like to thank the Pony Cousins for doing such a great job of playing with the horses. And, then, no matter what i say about them in this blog, they still have not disowned me. Thanks, Cousins!

Now, i will attempt to complete the requirements of this award.
Here are the details:

1. The winner can put the logo on her blog. check
2. Link the person from whom you received your award. check
3. Nominate at least 7 other blogs. check
4. Put links of those blogs on your blog. check
5. Leave a message on the blogs of those you have nominated. check


I nominate for this award:

1. Palomino Girl: just starting out on her blogging, like i am, but she can put a funny spin on a story.
2. Barndoor Tagz: a new horse owner and lots of fun!
3. Knutson Family: a family and horses and a real labor of love.
4. Cowgirl Up: a spunky gal with lots to share.
5. Trailboss: a good soul who shares her experience.
6. A Glowing Ember: a "city girl with a country soul" God Bless Her. I get entranced by her photos.
7. All Things Horses: trail rider with beautiful photos.

My assistant, Rory, and i
(and Rory is quite discerning)
enjoy these blogs very much and hope that you do too.

Pony Cousin Rodeo Queen and her Court

The Pony Cousins Weekend Fun Continues

As the Pony Cousin Weekend came to a close,
all were waiting in anticipation of the Award Ceremony.

It had been a long, wonderful weekend of fun, games, trail riding, and good food.
We were all so proud of our ponies and were thankful that we were able to enjoy our weekend together without serious incident.

So, as we gathered for our final campfire, we were able to reflect on many accomplishments; one of them being, our ability to survive the heat.

All of the points had been counted and the award for Couture Cowgirl
(costumes for each of the themed trail rides and events)
was presented to:

Saddle Mtn Rider (She Who Rides With Jack)
Equicousin: Okie


The points of all of the events of the weekend were tallied to determine the title of 2nd Princess:

Palomino Girl (She Who Rides With Cell Phone)
with Equicousin The Golden Boy


The title of 1st Princess went to:AJ, the Desert Rose (She Who Rides In Style)
with Equicousin Jesse


The crown of Pony Cousin Rodeo Queen went to:


TAA - DAAAHH!!!
Her Majesty, Paint Girl (She Who Rides Crazy Arab)

with Equicousin Brandy (Who is crazy, now?)



And now for the announcement of the
Blog Reader Pony Cousin Award


This is a really big deal!

The readers who most correctly identified the Pony Cousin Royal Court are:

Callie
Latigo Liz
Trail Riding Cowgirl


Now for your prize:

Better Than Gold Award Honorary Pony CousinThe Pony Cousin "Honorary Cousin" notification will be sent to your blog;
then, you come back here to pick up the above logo and words:
Better Than Gold Award Honorary Pony Cousin;
copy and paste the pic and words to your blog;
where you may display it proudly (or not).
The distinction you have won is good for 6 months
and during that time you will receive
absolutely nothing of value.
You will, however, receive, sent to your blog,
the most recent Pony Cousin updates and photos.
But, better than all of that,
you may brag to the world
that you are an
Honorary Pony Cousin!
(Thunderous Applause)

To all of the good readers who offered a guess or a hearty "good luck",
we thank you!


Future Blogs:

What could possibly follow this hilarity, you ask?
-A new game called
"Name That Pony Cousin"!!

Watch future blogs for the actual results from each of the events from the Pony Cousin Weekend. Place winners will be listed in each!

Pony Cousin Rodeo - The Final Events

Meanwhile, Back at the Ranch


While readers ponder their guesses in the quest for the royal court, I will finish my reporting of the last of the rodeo events. I know that everyone is absolutely on edge to see the results!

My assistant, Rory, hasnt been able to relax since the first rodeo report.

Pony Cousin Rodeo

One of the most exciting of the rodeo events was the keyhole race. In this race, a large design of a (door's) keyhole was marked on the ground. From the starting point at the other end of the arena, the Cousin races straight to the opening of the keyhole, where she slides her horse to a stop, makes a 180 degree spin on the haunches, runs back through the opening of the keyhole, all without touching any of the markings, and races back to the starting point.


You dont know how many times that i have kicked myself for not getting some good photos of this event! For one thing, Pony Girl and My Boy had an exceptional run! My Boy flew into the keyhole, spun around on a dime and raced home. It was fabulous! And very impressive. The other Pony Cousins had good runs and good fun, but that one really stood out.

Another thing about missing the photos was that it was disappointing on another level. You see, i thought that i heard that ice cold margaritas were being served on the patio and it was beginning to get steamy in the arena. Boy, was i chagrinned to hear that what was actually said was completely different than that and totally unrelated. What a bummer.

But, i digress.

The last event was the Cactus Relay.

Okay, let's be clear. Blowing up the cactus was not part of the Relay, but,
perhaps, it should have been. The Cousins were placed with a partner and were given concise directions
on the protocol for this race.

Partner number 1 would begin at the starting point.
Horse and Cousin would race to the other end of the arena, where the (above) cactus was waiting.

The Cousin would grab a ring from the arm of the cactus and race back to the starting point where partner number 2 waited.
Upon receiving the ring, partner number 2 would race to the cactus, replace the ring on the arm, and race home.

Although the sun was getting high in the sky and the heat was beginning to bear down on us, the Pony Cousins and the equicousins gave their best efforts to this event.
It was a thrilling race to watch, for one never knew if the cousin was going to be able to swing in to grab the ring from the cactus with ease, or if another pass would have to be made.
Each of the equicousins performed the task without waver and appeared ready to pull out more speed, if necessary.The Pony Cousins also seemed to feel the need for speed and did not discourage the ponies from going faster.

The Pony Cousins were looking for that title of Rodeo Queen
and did some pretty awesome riding.

Most of the equicousins had never done this kind of arena work before
and we think that they got a kick out of it.


With the final event at an end, the Pony Cousins unsaddled and cooled out the world's best equicousins before putting them in their corrals. The points chairman gathered the results and began to calculate the totals to find the top cowgirl.

The Pony Cousins kept their eyes on the prizes while they ate lunch and waited for the results.

In tomorrow's post, there will be a wrap-up of the Pony Cousin Weekend, a Coronation, and the results from the Blog Reader Contest!
Try to get some sleep now.