Tales of the Brookside Gang

Tales of the Brookside Gang http://www.susanmiles.com/brookside/index.php Harvest Show pix http://www.susanmiles.com/brookside/index.php?entry=entry071007-101547

]]> St. Patrick's Day and Good-bye http://www.susanmiles.com/brookside/index.php?entry=entry070325-182439

Our own Seth Clayton came prepared to celebrate, having found matching shamrock garb at the local Goodwill back home. Gets Best in Show!

The girls wound things down for us on Sunday, with Kate winning Champion in Childrens Hunter and Ann and Odin giving everyone a run for the money. Here they are with their favorite ribbon boy:

Alas, all good things must come to an end, and it comes time to pack up all the ribbons and go home. Just in time, too, since we ran out of room to hang them all!

So I hope that you have enjoyed my tales of the Arizona escapades of our little band of Minnesota merry men and women and hope that on our next road trip, more of you come along to enjoy the real deal!]]> The Day After http://www.susanmiles.com/brookside/index.php?entry=entry070317-154406 Duke and I continue to work on our issues, but did manage to get Res. Champ. in the adult eqs and got a couple of nice ribbons in the Adult Hunters yesterday. Kate was the first to make my prediction about winning a Champion come true -- she did it today in the Mod. Jr/AO Hunters. With two blues in the Children's today, she's got a leg up on that champion too.

Time to go get ready for the circuit grand finale party which starts in an hour. Here are some pictures to keep you happy.

Kate and Ann ringside today

The rest of the Stonegate crew trying to work up some energy in the mid-day heat

Nancy and Ann enjoying each other's company

Sara modeling some of Seth's duds -- I think we will see the green stuff again tonight, but I wouldn't bet on the cowboy pajamas making another appearance.

Tony picks up some more loot]]> 95 in the shade http://www.susanmiles.com/brookside/index.php?entry=entry070316-132719

Our banner continues to fill up with Reserve Champs. I sense that we are a whisker’s breadth away from one of our group breaking the barrier and getting a Champion this weekend. Tenor was reserve champ in the pre-greens yesterday and Duke was reserve champ in the Tucson High. Both were feeling a little fresh and frisky despite the 90+ temps but managed to rally.

The circuit is winding down and the classes are much smaller than when we first arrived. Hunter ring 3 has been canceled for Friday, and I believe all those classes are being moved over into the other 2 hunter rings. But there are still a number of people here who have been present throughout the circuit, like Brandie Holloway, Paul Rohrbach, and Leslie Nielsen. We’ve been finished with our classes by 2:00 for each of the last two days, which leaves time for regrouping and planning the evening’s activities.

The Sassy Wench Pub in downtown Tucson (near the University, where else) was our main course for Wednesday night. We left before the burlesque show started (we thought Rob E. wouldn’t be able to handle it), but not before Nancy bought about every T-shirt in the place. The décor was very dark and very female in an off-beat sort of way and the people watching was over the top. Continuing on the theme of girls’ night out, Thursday night was spa night, during which Nancy instructed us on the proper micro-dermabrasion techniques and provided us with masques and moisturizers to counter the effects of this bright Arizona sun. Then we grilled burgers and ate salad and called it a night.

We’ll be heading down to the cantina tonight (Friday) for Pizza and Karaoke Night, with Seth and Corey leading the way. I wonder if they have Seth’s favorite song in the karaoke repertoire?

Nancy and Tracy examine the menu at Sassy Wench Pub

Kate wears a souvenir from Nancy

Spa Night begins with a lecture from Nancy

Susan says this hurts

Tracy really knows how to get into this pampering thing

At Kim's request, here is a picture of the Grand Prix ring -- Simon (Rob's rider) on Brook Adams' Theo.

]]> Week 3 begins http://www.susanmiles.com/brookside/index.php?entry=entry070314-163647

The sun continues to shine on Tucson, with absolutely perfect weather every day for the last 10 days. Kate, Anne, Nancy and Rob (the Roaches) joined us last Thursday, as did my friend Margo from Boulder. Kate and Anne took the show by storm, winning blues in their respective Children’s Hunter classes and pinning 3rd and 4th in the Children’s Hunter Classic. Tony (Broadway Nights) and Tenor (Pavarotti) also turned in outstanding performances in the Pre-Green Division, each winning some seconds. Duke was stellar up until Sunday, winning seconds in Tucson Low, Tucson High, and a combined A/O division against formidable competition, plus carried me to a blue in the Ariat Adult Medal. Then on Sunday we had a bit of a melt down, the cause of which remains somewhat of a mystery. So, rather than make the situation worse, I’ve decided to show in the Adult Amateurs this coming week.

In the mean time, we are doing the tourist thing while enjoying this lovely weather. Margo and I went hiking in Sabino Canyon, which is a very rugged area with lots of lovely streams running through. Last summer they experienced a 10,000 year storm which washed out much of the road and re-shaped much of the canyon. Sunday night was laundry and margarita night. At Tracy’s suggestion, we stopped for margaritas and chips before going to the laudromat so that we could get greater enjoyment out of doing our wash. Yesterday (Monday), Tracy, Rob Ebel, and I went to Nogales, Mexico for some serious purse shopping and lunch. Ask Tracy how she managed to convince the Customs Official that she only had one purse in that great big shopping bag. . . Then we grilled steaks in camperland, with everyone from Summit Oak, Stonegate, and Brookside chowing down on great beef, beans, potatoes, salad, and Nancy’s most excellent Cowboy Caviar.

I wrote the last couple of paragraphs yesterday morning and this is the first time I could get on the internet since then. All the horses did exceptionally well today, including Duke, whom Tracy has put back together with a few bandaids and her magic touch. He went in 2 Tucson low classes today and won both, which was good enough for Res. Champ. without going in the others. I wasn't here when Tony and Tenor's classes were pinned, but there sure was a heap of ribbons on the table when I got back. I hope you all know that you can check the results at www.hitsshows.com.

So, win, lose, or draw, we are having a great time down here and wish that more of you snowbound Minnesotans could be sharing in the fun. Here are a few pictures of some of our last few days’ adventures.

Anne Roach and Odin

Kate Roach and Tony (Broadway Nights)

The girls in their Classic victory gallop

Rob Ebel and I inspect the goods in Nogales

A good old-fashioned Minnesota get-together

Tracy finally gets to enjoy a day off

Rob Ebel, our resident philosopher, and Dory[

img=images/t2sabino.JPG popup=true]
Sabino Canyon]]> Redemption http://www.susanmiles.com/brookside/index.php?entry=entry070308-082715
New week, new ring, new bit, and perfect weather. That about sums it up so far. Yesterday Duke made his debut in the World Championship Tucson Low Hunters. Showed in 2 classes and took 2 seconds behind a professional who won all 3 over fences classes. After consultation with Mary A and Tracy, we decided that last weeks stops could be related to the fact that the metal pelham was too much bit and that he simply was responding to too many tugs coming out of the corner. So back we went to the snaffle with the port which we used to show him in up until last year. Guess it worked!

On the Stonegate side of things, Tenor (Pavarotti) has been winning some good ribbons in the humongous pre-green classes, and so has Tony (Broadway Nights). Odin has been waiting his turn, just doing some high-lows here and there and is behaving himself nicely. All of them are happy and healthy. Rob and Simon spend all their time over at the jumper ring with their young horses, who are being good and learning a lot.

Not to gloat or anything, the weather has turned into perfection itself. Yesterday's high was 87, and of course it was sunny. The rest of the week is expected to be the same. Too bad you are all missing this!

So Jeremy also changed rings this week and continues to be our paddock master. He's doing an awesome job, especially since we were finished before 2:00 yesterday.

Downtime for Jeremy Raleigh

And for those of you who are wondering what our camper set-up is like this year, here you go:

Tracy on the left, Miles on the right, all of which is sheltered by the First Aid Building further to the right. Even when the wind is howling, we are not feeling a thing.

Wish you all were here!]]> Gearing up for week 2 http://www.susanmiles.com/brookside/index.php?entry=entry070306-080234

To sum up week one, folks, let’s just call it our warm-up week. When you haven’t been in the show ring in 6 months (since Fall Mason City), you can expect a few surprises, no matter how much preparation you’ve done. So we delivered on that score and today, schooling day, we’ll go to work on the new issues. On the whole, Duke did a fabulous job of holding himself together under deplorable weather conditions. At the same time, he’s telling me I’ve got to ride him differently when approaching lines out of the corner, especially on the left lead, because he’s not going to give away the biffs anymore. So in the end, once I deal with this, I will be a better rider, right?

Now we have a new week, a new ring (the less spooky one), and picture postcard weather. Bob will be heading home today (Tuesday) after I school, and my friend Margo will be arriving from Boulder on Thursday, and I think the Roach girls arrive on the same day. In the meanwhile, let me entertain you with pictures which show how we spend our down time here. Before you race off to look at the pictures, though, please let me know if there are any pictures or information that you want to see or have. Other than Brenda, I’m not sure who is following the blog this year!

The Sunday night tradition here is to go to Sakura for sushi and teppan yaki, followed by open mike opportunities with a talented eclectic band. Our group included all four of us from Stonegate (Bob counts as one), plus an uninhibited group of horse show personnel including Jeff Gilbert, Tom the farrier, Danny and Lois from the office, and Ashley Dennehy.

Dave and Jeff waiting for the volcano to blow

Dave is auditioning for American Idol next week and is getting warmed up during the Sunday open mike at Sakura

Some people (Tracy) take this sake bomb business very seriously

Feeling very full after sushi and teppan yaki

The winds continued to howl throughout Sunday night and Monday morning. Bob and I headed east into Apache country and visited the Chiricahua National Monument and Cochise’s Stronghold. This is very rugged countryside, with miles of canyons and rocky fissures created by volcanic eruptions 25 million years ago. Cochise and members of his clan hid out from the cavalry here for some 11 years during the Apache wars of the 1860’s. The army simply was no match for the natives’ ability to use the rugged terrain to their advantage, especially since they could be seen approaching from miles away. The story began when Cochise befriended members of the army until he was wrongly accused of raiding a camp and kidnapping a Mexican boy. He was arrested but escaped into the mountains, where the army pursued him relentlessly for the next decade. Eventually they made peace, the Apaches were moved to a reservation, and that begins a whole new story. So here are some pictures from this adventure.

These amazing rocks cover a wide territory in Chiricahua National Monument, which is just an hour east of the fairgrounds.
]]> Blowin' Away http://www.susanmiles.com/brookside/index.php?entry=entry070304-160117 Here are the pictures to feed your appetite today. I'll write more details in the next couple of days. This year's hardship with outside communications is that although we finally have wireless connectivity at the show office, it's as slow as dial-up. So I have to go back to my old coffee shop to upload pictures to the blog. Once I accomplish this task today, it's time to go off and meet the gang at Sakura for sake bombs. More later!

Duke says Hi and I'm being as good as I know how to be.

Our set-up. We have the best stalls (12x12 cinder block construction and tack room has a real cement floor) but no outdoor exposure. Today that's probably an asset.

Bob's in town! Home Sweet Home.

This is what I see in the morning when I walk to the barn.

Waiting our turn to go in the ring and get blown to smithereens. Jeremy is our paddock master.

Tracy and I against the world.

Let's just say that getting back to the barn is pretty easy with a good strong tailwind.

Bob and I had time to go into Old Town Tucson yesterday. This is a scene from the Tucson Museum of Art. These living history re-enactors are demonstrating domestic life in the old Presidio in the late 18th century. There's really a lot to see in Tucson if you're interested in Southwest American history. Lydia, you would go nuts!