Tobys Lynx (Toby)

Kaboom Eventing Supporters

Kaboom Eventing Supporters
Thank you all!

Swank Dezign

Swank Dezign
Kaboom Eventing's 1st home bred!

Swain Song (Swainy)

Swain Song (Swainy)
Swain is currently in foal to Tzigane *Pb* due: April 2012

Three weeks of snow, sleet and rain--mixed in with a little Freds and a Novice run.

Sunday, February 21, 2010







"The rain, rain, rain came down, down, down and piglet started sailing..."
This is the first line from one of my favorite Winnie-the-Pooh songs. Global warming is really hitting Texas hard this year--2009 was no cake walk either but the latest 2010 weather causes me to break into song and dance on occasion.









This picture was taken 3 days after the clinic!

We barely made it through the Fredericks clinic. A week of torrential down pour leading up to the Team Fredericks Eventing Clinic threatened the integrity of the footing at Denton Creek Farm located in Decatur Texas. Thanks to the great planning of Lori and Stacey the weekend went on without a glitch. For three days the Fredericks tag teamed 15 riders. Scary and I had a private lesson with Clayton on Friday. Saturday we started over poles with Lucinda and finished over fences with Clayton. Saturday night we went out for a fancy dinner and the weekend closed with a XC day on Sunday. The increased rain fall in north Texas has done Scary ‘good’. He’s been forced into puddle after puddle at home and come Sunday at Denton Creek he jumped right into the water complex without the slightest hesitation. We even jumped a small log in the water. Harry leaped and cracked his back so hard that he had all of the auditors giggling and I even caught a glimpse of his white bell boots INFRONT of his nose. I was looking ahead [not down]--that is how high he jacked up his legs! Lucinda worked deliberately with me on XC skinnys which will play a big part in all of my jumping technique, XC and SJ.
The Freds were definitely no walk in the park. I was surprised no one cried. Lucinda was really mean with her pole work and started yelling quite a bit during the Saturday lessons.






The Freds said that Scary was a lovely type, had great scope, a powerful jump, great movement and is a superb 4 star prospect.





Saturday night party with the Freds!

The best quote of the weekend:"Dressage is all about confidence and bullshit."~Clayton Fredericks~

The rain picked up at the end of my session on Sunday and was then followed by 12 inches of snow in Azle that Thurs-Fri (2/11)! We had a CT planned for the weekend but it was [obviously] snowed out (2/14). Scary has his first Novice recognized HT coming up (2/27) and I needed to get him out to jump around a novice sized SJ course (something that he had not yet done).

Quick thinking by “yours truly” landed us a spot in the Novice division CT at Quail Run this past weekend (2/21). But the rain did not stop! A major thunder storm swept through north Texas Sunday AM leaving the dressage arena a wee tad, well, gross. We had slop and sun for our dressage test and SJ warm up. Just before entering the arena to jump around the temperature dropped dramatically and the rain started coming down again. Not warm Texas rain but cold, windy, skin stinging rain. I felt like I was in England! My arms turned red due to the wind and cold but I LOVED jumping around in the inclement weather and it did not bother the Scare Master in the slightest. He jumped around clean and true to form staying well within my hand and leg. The best SJ we have had to date. He placed 2nd out of a 17 horse division and was out sported only by a veteran horse who is the former Area V Training Level HOY and T3D Champ.





We are due to receive some more rain and snow tomorrow but should be fine for the weekend to come at the Texas Rose Horse Park located in Tyler, TX. Harry’s 2nd Novice trip will take place at Pine Hill in Bellville, TX the first weekend in April.

Check back April 5th for Harry’s Novice HT results.

~I say "good-bye" to an old friend and "welcome" to a new beginning~

Wednesday, February 17, 2010


Enjoy Rainbow Bridge, Nandi (1997-2/8/2010)

Nandi was my introduction to the cat world. I adopted her from a vet that I had been working for at Animal Care Clinic in Plano. The other cats in [Dr. Triplet’s] home objected to the new feline so the little 8 week old kitty hopped a sweet spot with me instead. Dr. Triplet named her "Nandi". Nandi was the mother of Shaka Zulu; she was known as the leopard queen. I loved the name. : )

Nandi was a great cat--she did not meow but chirped and whistled. She was always starving and even if she had food in her bowl she would "Lassie" me to her dinner plate and whistle until I put some food in it...even one extra kibble meant that she had succeded in her task.



She watched me muck stalls and followed me when I would turn horses out. When I was living in Plano I would take her with me when I went to my parent's house. She would ride loose in the truck and watch out the window. She slept with me at night and watched movies with me. She could stare a mouse down all day long, but would never try to catch one. (yes, I had a cat but still needed to set mouse traps in my pantry)

She was a great cat and I miss her terribly. The day I made her vet apt. I came home early from work and curled up with her on the couch. We watched the latest and greatest Star Trek. I shared string cheese and crackers with her (she loved to eat people food--cheetoes were her favorite) and then I took her to Lakeside Vet Hospital. Nothing is worse than knowing that you are leaving with your friend and returning alone.

So the kitten search was on! Looking for: large breed, male, long hair, kitten. I found 5 and at the end of the weekend still had none. The first two were gone when I called. The 2nd was a really cute kitten at the Carrollton location [Operation Kindness], I arrived 20 minutes after the doors opened and he was already adopted. The next two I called about had been taken within 1 hr of the add posting! I was 1 hr late on those. The next was a Siamese long hair located at the Siamese rescue center in Coppell, he died Monday PM. I was going to see him on Tuesday. And last, my application was denied with a Maine Coon breeder because I told her that I would be taking my cat with me to my parent's house. (they forbid that cats ever breathe real air).

So that is that--all the while I had a little thing stirring in the back of my mind. I was fed up with the above situations and went for what I really wanted.
I found a Selkirk Rex.

Selkirk Rex: The Selkirk Rex has a lot of the laid-back, reserved qualities of the British Shorthair, the cuddly nature of the Persian, and the playfulness of the Exotic Shorthair. They are very patient, tolerant, and loving. This was exactly what I was looking for! A dog in a cat body. : )
And I want my cat to be chubby/stocky and large.
It is a large and solidly built breed; the coat is soft and has a woolly look and feel with loose, unstructured curls. The head is round, with large rounded eyes, medium sized ears, and a distinct muzzle.
All characteristics that I was looking for! Except for the curls, the curly coat is just an added bonus!


So here is my kitten's picture at 1-2 weeks. He was born 1/24/10. The breed comes in long and short hair, curly and straight hair. My kitten is a curly long hair boy.


Here he is pictured with his sister.


Here he is at 4 weeks of age. Pic taken 2/21/10.



3/8/10 UPDATE: JT had his 6 week vet apt this weekend and he weighed in at 1 pound!




JT: 3/11/10














My first visit with JT. Here he is hanging out in Micheal's hoodie. 3/12/10 He was a little grumpy after the 2 hour car ride.


and when he's grown he'll look like his Granddad Merlin, though, as you can see, he will be a lighter blue/silver like his mom.



And this is my kitty's Mom, Magic, as a kitten and grown. : )













I've decided to name him JT. Short for James Tiberius Kirk. My last two hours with Nandi were spent watching Jim Kirk become captain of the U.S.S. Enterprise and after all, the kitty's last name is already, Sel"Kirk".
Jimmy's pick up date is mid April. I can't wait to welcome him into his new home.


JT is home now and he's the most awesome cat. He's very facial and every morning I wake up with his paws on my face and his nose stuck in one of my eyeballs. He loves to be carried around and just hangs on my arm like a ragdoll when touring the property. He does enjoy rides in the golf cart and he sits quietly in my lap when we go for drives to Sonic or Blockbuster. He is still too small for his kitty harness but we practice with it anyway. He goes totally limp and plays dead when I put it on him. Guess he'll have to get used to the feeling! Avatar is his favorite movie and Mac'n'Cheese is his favorite dish. He pounces me, trips me and plays hide and seek with me and follows me everywhere. What a great little guy! He has been introduced to Maxxi (Corgi) and Lacey (Mini Lop pictured below).
updated pics below. : )










JT's favorite spot on the golf cart. He'll sit there for hours.

http://www.lyricurlsselkirks.com/

~A life of Christmas Trees and bounces~

Monday, February 1, 2010


The Kaboom Eventing boyz are kickin up the dirt and preparing for some recognized shows!
Though, 1st on the list is the Frederick's Eventing Clinic this weekend at Denton Creek Farms with “small but fierce” Mr. Scary. Thankfully I pulled out the ol' Christmas Tree for The Scare Master to practice over last weekend so he has had a recent jump school. The weather was so frightful in North Texas this week (freezing conditions and 4 inches of rain) that the boys enjoyed 7 days off snuggled up in blankies and jammies--but their break is over and show preparation continues on at Fortnight!

I'm also proud to announce that Boomer conquered his first real jump school and a bit of galloping with no soundness issues following. Boomer is a bounce specialist and he celebrated his return to jumping by, as usual, engaging in a 15 foot canter step and leaving a stride out on the way in to the gymnastic. The boy hasn’t missed a beat! Good ol’ Boom is back.

I hopped on the kids yesterday afternoon to see if there were any rusty edges after the week off. Boomer was super, though he is still very spooky. I started out with a cooler over his back, after a bit of warm up I walked him over to the jumps, pulled the cooler off while mounted and hung it on a standard. 10 minutes later he noticed that there was something odd on a jump standard! Ya don’t say Boomer!? He was so petrified that even when I tried to trot away from the jumps he would spin around to face the hanging cooler and snort like a dragon. I had to dismount and move the silly drape to relieve his anxiety.

Scary was wonderful, as usual, but rather annoyed that Boomer was chosen to be ridden 1st. The little man is such an enthusiastic worker. Riding him after a week off was like trying to have a conversation with a genius toddler suffering from ADD. I’ll be sure to ride him every day this week so that when we arrive at the Frederick’s Clinic on Friday his mind is at peace and he can engage his brain in work rather than bubbling excitement.













Over and out from Wertz. See you all on Monday morning for some Team Fredericks pictures!
All photos taken by Tommy Weekes 1/24/10.