Image courtesy of KateMonkey

You got it folks!  April’s Carnival of the Horse is going to be held right here at From The Horse’s Back!  This is my first time hosting, so everyone please submit a post.  Let’s make this a great carnival (especially so Kim lets me host again!) 

Click on this link to submit your post.  You can even send in more than one, if you like!  And remember to check back on April 1st to see all the great posts that are submitted.  You just might find your next favorite blog!

A long time ago I lived in Pittsburgh.  There were a lot of great benefits to living in this area, but one of my favorites was the proximity to Columbus Ohio.  Columbus was (and is) a mecca for horse lovers.  Each year, October brings fall leaves, crisp temperatures, and the Quarter Horse Congress.  For anyone who has never been, Congress for horse lovers is sort of like Rodeo Drive for wealthy shopaholics.  Interventions are often necessary.  Each fall, my family would close out our show season by attending one weekend of the Congress for shopping and horse fun.

If the Congress fun wasn’t enough, seventeen years ago another horse expo came to Columbus:  the Equine Affaire.  This event is a horse lover’s dream.  A bustling trade show, demonstrations by world class trainers, clinics, breed demonstrations, Stallion Row….you name it, Equine Affaire has it.  This year, I decided it was time for me to check out the happenings and booked a plane ticket.  My dad and I will be attending and I’ll give you all a full report when I get back.  For now, here are the facts:

• *  There are three different expos in California, Massachusetts, and Columbus.  Columbus is going to be held at the Ohio State Fairgrounds from April 8-11, 2010.
• *  Training clinics encompass many aspects of horsemanship, including various styles of riding, health, and nutrition topics.  Clinicians often accept riders to participate.  Just a couple of the wide variety of presenters:  Chris Cox, John Lyons, Sharon Camarillo, and Darley Newman.  Rescue groups, veterinarians, nutritionists, photographers, and business owners will also be presenting.  This is a packed schedule!  The hardest part is going to be choosing which demos to attend, as they are being run concurrently in several locations.
• *  A Trail Riding Pavilion contains everything you need to prepare you and your horse to hit the trails, from campers to supplies to trail/park information.  Looks like it will be a great resource!
• *  Special events  like Craig Cameron’s Extreme Cowboy race and Pfizer’s Fantasia, both of which look like they’ll be exciting and fun to watch. 
• *  Trade show!! Need I say more?  Just a few of the myriad vendors:  Big Dee’s, Bitless Bridle, dac Horse Vitamins, Gray Horse Trading, Nutrena, SmartPak and many many more!  There are vendors for just about anything you can imagine.  See here for a full listing.  Vendors will be located in five exhibit halls as well as some outdoor areas – there is some hard core shopping to be had!
• *  The Breed Pavilion will highlight many different breeds of horses.  Here you can find breed association representatives as well as live exhibits.  I love wandering through to study all the different breeds I’m unfamiliar with.
• *  The Youth Pavilion is where the kids can hang out.  There will be lots of horsey fun, demonstrations, and activities geared toward kids here.  A few celebrity horses will be attending, including a couple of horses who have Breyer models in their likeness!

The Affaire is open each day at 9 and runs til 7:30 Thursday through Saturday (til 5 on Sunday).  Tickets are available for $14/day or 4 day pass for $48.  Tickets can be purchased online or at the gate (cash only).  The tickets include all clinics and demonstrations and entry to the trade show; the Fantasia show is a separate ticket purchase.

I can’t wait for this exciting event and am looking forward to reporting back on all the fun!  Are any of you going to be attending the Affaire?  If so, please let me know and maybe we can meet up!

Once again, it’s time for Thankful Thursday! I hope this post inspires you to consider the things in your life that you are grateful for. If you have a blog, consider posting about it there and link back here. If you don’t have a blog, please feel welcome to comment here on what you are grateful for in your own life. If you don’t feel comfortable sharing, then just take a few moments to reflect on all that you have. If you’d like to tag other bloggers that participate, feel free to do that.

When I was in the 5th grade (yes, I know I’m dating myself here…) my school created a slideshow of photos for an event they were having.  The music they chose to accompany the slides was a song that touched me deeply at the time and still occasionally pops back into my consciousness even now.  I can remember the melody and the words like it was yesterday, and there are times in my life that it feels particularly poignant.  This is one of them.  Enjoy….

Friends by Kenny Marks

Friends will go anywhere with you
Friends share the good and the bad
The times that I share with my Best Friends
Are the best times that I’ve ever had

Whenever it’s cold, dark and lonely
Whenever my heart breaks in two
And I’m needing somebody to hold me
The love of my best friends comes through
When I’m facing a mountain of worry
That some people don’t understand
A friend will stay there right beside me
Willing to give me a hand

Friends will go anywhere with you
Friends who really do care
The times that I’ve really needed a friend
My Best Friends have always been there

Whenever I’m down and discouraged
Yeah, the love of my friends never ends
My life’s so much better for having
A life of good loving, good friends
And wherever my life seems to take me
God, He knows how to answer my prayers
‘Cause when I’m needing somebody to talk to
A new friend somehow is there
Oh Yeah they’ll be there

Happy Thursday to all and please visit these other sites that frequently participate in Thankful Thursday:

Akal Ranch, Enlightened Horsemanship Through Touch, The Pony Expression, and Tired Dog Ranch.

Have you been wondering why Grady hasn’t been making any appearances around here lately?   Well, aside from the fact that I’ve been a bit distracted with the launch of Pets Blogroll there is another surprise in the works for you!  Maybe I’m biased, but I think Grady is a superstar – and well worth his very own website!  So without further delay, I would like to announce the launch of The Slobber Dog!  This website will be a fun way to chronicle my adventures with Grady as he terrorizes, slimes, and generally wreaks havoc on central Florida!  Hope you enjoy it!

And remember, if you haven’t signed up for the Pets Blogroll yet, please check it out!  It’s very easy to sign up and we have a great support team (that’s me!) to help you if you get stuck along the way.  There are going to be lots of great benefits to joining, but we need more of you to sign up.  Tell all your blogger friends about it and give it a shot!  There are no drawbacks to joining - only lots of benefits that will become more exciting the bigger it gets!

Once again, it’s time for Thankful Thursday! I hope this post inspires you to consider the things in your life that you are grateful for. If you have a blog, consider posting about it there and link back here. If you don’t have a blog, please feel welcome to comment here on what you are grateful for in your own life. If you don’t feel comfortable sharing, then just take a few moments to reflect on all that you have. If you’d like to tag other bloggers that participate, feel free to do that.

First and foremost, this week I’d like to thank everyone involved in the successful launch of PetsBlogroll.com!  Jenn and Roberto from BlogSparks have done a phenomenal job of creating, designing, and hosting this new site and I really appreciate all of their guidance and help.  They are doing their best to develop a great network with lots of sponsors and prizes that is very user friendly.  So thank you guys!  And a great big THANK YOU! to all of you that have already joined the network and been such a source of support for me!  I can’t describe how great it feels to see something this personal meet with such positivity.  This network has been in the cards for almost a year now, and is a huge part of why I started From The Horse’s Back in the first place.  I really wanted to create a place for all of us to belong.  So thank you on many levels for helping me take one step closer to that vision.

On a more general level, I am so thankful for this beautiful weather we’re having right now.  I hope you all are enjoying a break from the nasties as well!  The past five days have been perfect for riding, dog park-ing, beach-ing, inline skating, and any other outdoor adventures you might enjoy, and believe me, I’m enjoying them all!

Happy Thursday to all and please visit these other sites that frequently participate in Thankful Thursday:

Akal Ranch, Enlightened Horsemanship Through Touch, The Pony Expression, and Tired Dog Ranch.

Finally, the day I have been waiting for has arrived!  Today is the official launch of the Pets Blogroll network! Woo hoo!  If you missed out on all the details, you can read about it here. 

This site is going to be a great resource for pet bloggers to meet and stay in contact.  I’m really excited about it and hope that you are too.  Check it out, join the fun, and tell all your friends about it! 

Remember, only the first 50 blogs to join will be eligible for our first giveaway, a Pets Blogroll food bowl.  We’ve already had some new members join, so don’t delay.  The more members we get, the more fun prizes we can give away.  Jump in and join the fun!

Once again, it’s time for Thankful Thursday! I hope this post inspires you to consider the things in your life that you are grateful for. If you have a blog, consider posting about it there and link back here. If you don’t have a blog, please feel welcome to comment here on what you are grateful for in your own life. If you don’t feel comfortable sharing, then just take a few moments to reflect on all that you have. If you’d like to tag other bloggers that participate, feel free to do that.

This Thursday, I want to say a special thanks to two awesome bloggers that have both nominated From The Horse’s Back for The Beautiful Blogger award.  This award is the very first that I’ve received since beginning this site last summer.  Upon seeing the other wonderful sites that were nominated as well as mine, I am doubly honored to be held in such fine company.  Thank you so much to Juliette over at Honeysuckle Faire and Jane at The Literary Horse for considering this site worthy of an award.  These sites are two of my all time favorites and ones that I regularly visit, waiting eagerly for a post.  If you haven’t checked out either of the sites before, please do so.  Juliette is a phenomenal artist (and all around wonderful chick) and her site always leaves you feeling warm and fuzzy.  Plus, now she has a new etsy shop where she’s offering some of her fantastic artwork for sale.  Jane has got to be one of the funniest human beings in the world and her blog brings me so much joy.  You just never know what you’re going to find when you head over there for a visit!  I especially recommend the Mr. Chips series of posts – but be warned, coffee spewing is a likely occurrence while reading!

Thanks again ladies, for such an honor and for being loyal readers even in the midst of my erratic posting! 

Happy Thursday to all and please visit these other sites that frequently participate in Thankful Thursday:

Akal Ranch, Enlightened Horsemanship Through Touch, The Pony Expression, and Tired Dog Ranch.

I have some fantastic news I have been waiting to share with all of you and I can finally fill you in on the secret!  Lest any of you think that I have been slacking off during my erratic blogging start to the new year, I have a surprise for you!  Things have been humming behind the scenes at From The Horse’s Back, while I’ve been working with the creators of The Foodie Blogroll to unveil something new and exciting to the pet blogging community.  That something is……..(drumroll please)……. Pets Blogroll, a brand new online community dedicated to bloggers that love their animals. 

You might be wondering, Why a pet network?  I have to tell you that I am really excited about this site and all it has to offer.  It’s a great way for all of us pet bloggers to stay connected and motivated to keep writing.  There are also many other benefits:

• Contests and Giveaways - There will be numerous cool prizes awarded to bloggers that join the network
• Browse for Blogs and Members in our easy to use search fields
• Meet and connect with other bloggers that love pets too
• Favorites allows you to save and follow your favorite blogs in one easy to use location
• Rate blogs and vote for your favorites

Joining the network is easy and fast and only requires the installation of a widget on your sidebar (and meeting a few basic criteria for pet blogs).  I truly hope that you will check the site out and consider joining the network! 

The site will be officially launching on Monday, March 15 so be sure to check back then for updates and links to all the fun!