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In Loving Memory...
~ Gogo Fatale ~


6/2/01 - 10/11/11
~ Forever the Marest of Them All ~
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Sunday, January 30, 2011

Shaken Not Stirred!

Introducing... MARTINI!




Firstly PLEASE yell at me for having forgotten my helmet. You know I never ever go without one but I was a total idiot and did it for this one ride. I don't care that he's a total sweetie and a simple cakewalk under saddle, ANYTHING can still happen. PLEASE scold me and tell me how totally ashamed of me you are and what a completely hypocritial moron I am!


But yes! My idiocy aside, I have finally found my perfect second horse situation! If you've been following my eternal what-do-I-ride-now saga, you'll remember I've been back and forth about breeding, leasing, or buying. When it came down to it, I didn't really think Gogo was worthy of being a breeding animal just yet, so I shelved that idea for this year and figured I'd revisit it at a later date. On the same note, I realized that I actually have no interest in owning another competition horse unless it was Gogo or Gogo's baby. Since I already own Gogo (duh) despite her inability to be ridden at the moment, and since I decided not to pursue breeding, I also put that idea away. Really, horses are damn expensive. To buy a second horse at this moment in my life would just be dumb. What if it didn't end up being suitable for what I want to do? And what if it breaks? You know my bleeding heart won't give up an animal I'm in love with. Should something happen to my hypothetical second horse, owning two large hayburners would just be ridiculous.

But I still wanted something to ride. I still wanted something to compete and play with. And I still wanted something that wasn't like every boring generic plain bay on the planet. I wanted something I could take on as a project while Gogo was healing and doing her horsey thing, but that I wouldn't have to commit to buy in case it didn't turn out to be suitable for me for some reason. But where was I going to find that?

Enter the magical good karma horse gods. Apparently I dealt well enough with all of last month's bad karma to be thrown a serious bone. (Also have totally found the total love of my life right here in the Fort Worth area... enormously huge story obviously but not relevant to this blog so you'll have to ask elsewhere. Clearly I was meant to come to Texas!) Marti's owner had an ad on Equine.com advertising him for free lease provided she could find the right situation for him. She was not looking to sell and doesn't have any intention of ever doing so; I am not looking to buy. She only wanted to send him somewhere within a three hour drive of her; I am an hour away. He is a strangely roan colored Belgian/App cross who turned out surprisingly well; I wanted something funky looking but still well put together. She wanted someone to give him some training and experience; I wanted something to give training and experience. When I contacted her about the ad, it was on a whim, just to see if she was still interested in leasing him out. Her first reply was that she was surprised that I somehow found the ad, she was sure she had taken it down because of all of the stupid responses she had gotten! She got asked if she'd have him shipped to Mexico.... ummm don't think so!

It's a perfect match. He is 5 with a good base on him, about where he should be for being such a young big guy. He walk/trot/canters and steers but doesn't know anything beyond leg-means-go yet. He is forward but enjoyably so, not too speedy and definitely not one you need to keep your leg on all the time. He was a PMU baby pulled off a lot as a weanling - nobody wanted him because he was an ugly duckling! (And I have seen pictures, he really WAS an ugly duckling!!) Somehow he turned out totally lovely... who knew!
He is totally eye-catching AND a cute mover. I've been out to ride him a few times and I LOVE him. Not sure if he shows talent over fences or not yet as I've only plopped him over a tiny crossrail a few times, but he was totally 100% willing to try, so maybe he could be a lower level be-bopper! He could absolutely do some lower level dressage and totally clean up. On my end of the lease all I am required to do is provide day-to-day care (expenses for feed and the like), and she will be covering vet and farrier expenses. He's exactly perfect for me, as is the situation, and according to the owner I am exactly the person she had in mind for a lease, so we have a contract drafted and ready to be signed and he is scheduled to arrive here on the 11th!

WHO'S EXCITED? I'M EXCITED!






Boy is my equitation rusty or what! Oye!

25 comments:

Hurricanes12 said...

he is absolutely gorgeous, & geldings ftw! i am so excited to be reading your riding posts again! i wonder what gogo will think of him :)

Alighieri said...

Super ridiculously cute!

Brooke (FBX Adventures - In Parenting) said...

How tall is he? Wait until Gogo smells him on you she's going to be PISSED!! At least Denali throws hissy fits when I smell like another horse. Forget about her catching me in the act. Ugh!

Anyway, you look teny tiny on him!! perfect situation! Kind of like my Pete!

Lisa said...

He is a massive cutie pops!! How exciting!! Where will he be kept? With Gogo? At work?

Abby said...

So cute! Martini is also the cutest name ever! I am a sucker as well for those funky colors. Can't wait to hear all about your riding adventures with him!

manymisadventures said...

He is CUUUUUUUUTE. Got some reach in that canter, too.

BAD you for not wearing a helmet! I've found that these days I'm even more adamant about always wearing one, mostly because I've become my barn's resident helmet nazi so if I don't wear one then all my nagging goes to waste! Just don't do it again :)

Anonymous said...

Verrrrrrrry good solution! Congratulations. (Now go get your hat!)

Dom said...

He is adorable!!!! My goodness. I can see why you picked him. Glad you've found something to ride and a situation that works for you :)

Barbara said...

He is super cute, what a fun project.

SmartAlex said...

Very cute! Love me some funky App.

I'm glad Texas is working out so well for you on so many fronts. You deserved a Karma break.

Chris said...

He's so cute! Congradulations, that's really exciting! =)

Checkmark115 said...

I was just about to say damn what nice equitation you have when I read what you wrote about being rusty. You look pretty solid to me!

*Sharon* said...

And I thought, well that's not Andrea riding, cos she wouldn't without a helmet!
Grrrrrrr!!!!

Sorry, but I think he's not that cute. Not my type, obviously. BUT what a great situation. See, karma does go around and you deserve some good stuff.

http://theotherhorse.blogspot.com

Kristen Eleni Shellenbarger said...

Oh, is he cute and unique! BIG..did I mention BIG and solid? Luv him! So..I want to hear a love story!!! U mentioned it..now finish with details! ;)

Rebecca White said...

I HEART him!!! Can't wait to see video!

Allyssa said...

Cool! I am leasing a horse as well.... =)
FYI: That horse is pretty darn cute.

Kate said...

*Tsk* riding with out a helmet! You could have been killed. Happy? Okay, now that that's over with, OMG! Talk about adorable! How tall is he? I'm a sucker for any of those odd colours, and he's got quite the colouring! Can I steal it and pop it on my bay? He looks like a riot, keep us updated!

Muddy K said...

Really adorable guy!

Kathryn said...

Awww! I love Belgian crosses (we have 5 here). I'm so glad you found a good horse to ride with such a great situation! Now if I can just get down there to see him...

Val said...

He suits your style, but he would make my hips hurt. He is one wide boy!

kippen64 said...

Why have you retired from Eventing? I realise that Go Go's unsoundness is devastating but to say that you only want to compete on Go Go or her offspring when she has had a career ending injury and you have have conceded that she is not breeding quality has me feeling bewildered. I felt tempted to ask (jokingly of course) who you were and what had you done with Andrea.

Your leased horse looks very sweet. May it all go as well as you are hoping.

Andrea said...

I haven't retired from eventing.... I just have had nothing to ride! I only want to OWN Gogo or Gogo's offspring as competition horses at this point in my life. That isn't to say I won't want to own other horses later on, and that isn't to say I'm not going to be competing when I have the chance. I'll be competing Marti for sure! Just because I feel like buying a second horse is a dumb idea right now doesn't mean I won't eventually buy another horse or breed her someday.

Kate said...

Andrea he is AWESOME! He looks like a ton of fun to ride and very solid. I can't wait to hear more about him!

Dressager said...

WHAT A CUTIE!! Congrats!!

davsgirl said...

Always a fan of an App!! Love him, he looks super fun.

Good luck with him!