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 week I’m so very thankful that I’m heading off to Columbus, Ohio today for the Equine Affaire.  I haven’t attended an event like this in years and I’m so excited to see all the vendors, demonstrations, and horses that will be at the Expo Center!  I will be sure to take careful notes and report back on all the fun for everyone who won’t be making it.  

In a twist of fate, I found out about another exciting event taking place in Columbus during the same weekend!  Just by accident, I came across a blog advertising the BlogPaws convention, held in Columbus at the Westin hotel on Saturday (and Friday evening).  This convention is built around networking and educating pet bloggers – sounds like a dream come true, right?  There are seminars on topics like building traffic, SEO optimization, doing product reviews, and raising money for pet rescues and charities.  I am so excited that I found out about this, and that I have the chance to attend.  I hope to make lots of new friends and learn all about making my blog even better!

I really want to thank my dad, Ron, who has offered to take some time off work to come up to Columbus with me and keep me company.  My dad has always been a source of support in all things horse related – especially impressive when you consider that he was never an “animal person” (at least not til Mom got ahold of him!)  I am so excited that he’ll be coming along.  We’ll have a great time together and he can keep my repressed shopaholic in check for me.   Finally, I want to thank my friend Luke who will be babysitting the SlobberDog while I’m gone.  Not just anyone would take the Drool Monster (or the Snore Monster, depending on who you ask) into their home, so it’s very much appreciated.  Especially since he just cleaned his carpets!  =)  Hmm…might have to buy him dinner for this one!

I hope you all have a wonderful, happy Thursday 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.

Image courtesy of D Sharon Pruitt

It’s hard to believe that this post unofficially marks the 100th post for From The Horse’s Back!  Unofficially, because the 100th post was technically the April Carnival of Horses, but hey, nothing wrong with a little creative license right?  I’d love for you all to celebrate with Tiny and I as we pass this blogging milestone!  We are going to have a contest to give away a special horsey surprise to one lucky reader.  All you have to do is comment on this post BEFORE April 12 when the winner will be randomly selected.  If you can think of a favorite post, put it in your comment.  We hope you celebrate with us!

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!

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.

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.