A little about Hampton's pedigree

I know quite a bit about Hampton's sire (he lives at the farm where I used to work, and where Hampers was born), but I didn't know much about his dam, Proud Warning. I know Proud as a horse, obviously, as I was there the summer Hampton was born. She is in her late 20s, and no longer having babies (Hampton was her last). I wanted to know more about her lines, so I looked her up online and found that she was foaled Feb. 20, 1985 in Kentucky. She had 41 starts and it says she was a winner. Her sire is Proudest Roman and her dam is Always Alert, by Red Alert. 


According to allbreedpedigree.com, Proudest Roman was born in 1968 and died in 1989. His record was 5-4-0-0. Proudest Roman is by a stallion named Never Bend. He was Foaled at Claiborne Farm. He was 2nd in the 1963 Kentucky Derby.

Never Bend is by a stallion named Nasrullah ...

... and on Proud's dam side, Red Alert is by Red God (best known as the sire of Blushing Groom), who is also by Nasrullah.  

Now I just need to find out more about Hampton's Clydesdale lines - as little Clyde as he has in him, I'd still like to know.

Happy You Know What

No matter what holiday you celebrate, or even if you don't celebrate anything - have a good weekend. :-)

Back in the Day ... Part 3 "Queen"

Sultan's Snow Queen

Queen was a Saddlebred mare I was lucky enough to lease when I was 14. I have ridden many many horses throughout my life, and Queen still stands out as a horse that truly never put one foot wrong. The mare never spooked, never bucked, never even refused to do anything. Never offered resistance. We trotted smartly through every warm-up and show ring nightmare imaginable, as well as "alternative" training strategies at home (such as fireworks and fire extinguishers). Never a bobble. She kind and friendly in her stall, sound and about as sane of a horse as I'll ever encounter. She was a major confidence booster for me because I never had to worry about her overreacting to anything. Like Star, however, showing Queen resulted in some hard lessons. Mainly, I could have a picture-perfect ride, while other exhibitors battled horses breaking into other gaits, spooking, rearing, sometimes even falling off - and Queen and I will still not place.

But the season with Queen did result in two blue ribbons. The first one I swore they called the wrong number and I actually had to ask someone what my number was to confirm I did indeed win. The second win, I stood shocked in the lineup for about 60 seconds before finally coming over to the winner's circle. I have videos of both those occasions - but they are on VHS. Not sure how to transfer those but maybe someday I will because they are quite hilarious.

When my family switched trainers, Queen moved with us and she went from a rather lax training routine at the old barn, to now a very intense training requirements of her from a much more demanding (and skilled) trainer. She looks so fabulous for a while ... almost a different horse. But then our lease was up. Within months, Queen became a lesson horse and was quite good at it (of course). I still rode her some, until she developed what I now believe was headshaking syndrome. At the time, no one knew what was wrong - they tried chiro out, the vet, etc. etc. But she would violently jerk her head while riding her almost constantly. Even for stronger riders, it was damn near yank the reins out of your hands. It appeared like she couldn't help it, and I knew that it had to be something physical because the mare was never naughty. Ever. It was never figured out, and she was retired as a broodmare. I'm not sure if she's even still alive or what, or if she had any babies. Wish I knew.

Here's a photo of Queen's sire - Supreme Sultan. I BELIEVE she was one of the last daughter's from Sultan - and she looked very much like him.

Hampton's Holiday Humiliation

Hampton was a good sport about his holiday photo shoot today. I went out to feed him and took off his blanket to brush and curry him since he must get itchy wearing that blanket for several days in a row without getting brushed. He seemed to really enjoy his pamper time. Although he is going through another oral stage where he needs to nibble and mouth everything ... including my scarf, coat, gloves, brush, lead rope, etc. He picked up all four feet like an old veteran today. He is basically waiting with the next foot in the air by the time I let go of the previous one. My time and patience with that issue has really paid off. Before I purchased him, he could not be trimmed without drugs. Now he's a total peach.

He wasn't thrilled with his Santa hat, but after about 60 seconds he basically forgot it was on there and didn't look so annoyed anymore. Especially after I got the bright idea to take photos right by the donkeys' pen. Hampton is fearful of the donkeys ... and the minis. He turns into a snorting, fire-breathing dragon and arches his neck - wondering why I remain so calm when horse-eating donkeys were just yards away. Anyway, it made it really easy to keep his ears up. Didn't have to worry about that at all.

Here's an edited conformation shot. I think this shot really shows his slight case of sickle hocks. Doesn't bother me any, but it bothers some people. Anyhow, he's eyeing those donkeys very closely ....

And a normal shot ... he is standing a little bit uphill, he's still butt-high (please let him grow out of this stage at some point!)

... and our holiday portrait. Pretty cute.

The best of 2009 Phish

So I've already ran the numbers. Boring. zzzzzz. And since it's too cold right now to really give much of an update on the horses (will have one soon, though) I've compiled the best moments of 2009 (Phish related, obviously). Each concert is different for everyone. Your personal experience may vary widely from the next person's. That's the great thing about it. Each show certainly had its finer parts. But here are my favorite moments of the year ...

• 3/6/09   'Bouncin' Round the Room' ... Hampton, VA
It was during this song that the giant balloons hanging from the ceiling of the Hampton "mothership" began to drop one by one. It almost seemed like they wrote the song just for that venue ... for that moment. Even though it was difficult to sometimes see, I was really grateful to have had floor tickets when I looked up and saw giant balloons falling at my head. Eventually I think all the balloons popped. doh.









• 6/19/09   'Tweezer Reprise' ... Noblesville, IN
Before it starting pouring rain, the lighting was beyond stunning to watch. I've been to numerous shows at Deer Creek where it has stormed, tornadoes even ... but nothing came close to this. After first set, we all had to trudge back to our cars since there was "lighting and high winds" predicted. So we did. Sopping wet, I was grateful to have a dry shirt in the car. Ahhhh. Soon it was time to head back up to the lawn for the second set. And Phish did not disappoint. During the encore, Tweeze Reprise, it started to pour. And I mean POUR. I kept looking around, amazed that people just kept right on dancing. Not one soul left. The music seemed louder in the rain ... 

• 6/19/09   'Ghost' ... Indio, CA
This song alone made the 30+ hour drive to Cali worth it, nevermind the rest of the sets which were pure awesomeness. It was so funky and I couldn't have stopped dancing if the earth had stopped on its axis right there. Oh yeah, and Fishman played a vacuum solo on the first night. Score!

• 11/21/09   'Squirming Coil' ... Cincinatti, OH
I don't think it wasn't until this song, at this venue that I truly started to appreciate the talent that is Page. His solo after Squirming Coil in Chicago started to open my eyes, but in Cinci it moved me to tears. Ok I wasn't bawling or anything, but I had to really stop myself from visably crying. After he was done with one of the most beautiful examples of piano playing I have ever witnessed, that arena was so loud it gave me goosebumps. Louder than Hampton when the lights went out, I think.

2009 totals

I know I did this once before, but a few more shows have been added since ... so here's the final tally for my Phish run of 2009. :-)

34 songs have been played (18% of songs Phish have played).
The average number of songs per show is 23.3.
The average amount of times each song was played is 2.08.
There were 66 onetimers
280 total songs have been played in the selected shows.

Most played songs:

Backwards Down the Number Line - 6 (50%)
Ghost - 5 (41%)  *
NICU - 5 (41%)
Ocelot - 5 (41%)
Prince Caspian - 5 (41%)
Sample in a Jar - 5 (41%)
Suzy Greenberg - 5 (41%)
The Squirming Coil - 5 (41%)
Wolfman's Brother - 5 (41%)
Also Sprach Zarathustra (2001) - 4 (33%)
Chalk Dust Torture - 4 (33%)
Character Zero - 4 (33%)
Fluffhead - 4 (33%)
Kill Devil Falls - 4 (33%)
Lawn Boy - 4 (33%)
Limb By Limb - 4 (33%)
Loving Cup - 4 (33%)
Piper - 4 (33%)
Possum - 4 (33%)
Run Like an Antelope - 4 (33%)

* To my delight as this is one of my very very favorites!

Shows by city:

• Morrison, CO - 3 (25%)
• Hampton, VA - 2 (17%)
• East Troy, WI - 2 (17%)
• Indio, CA - 2 (17%)
• Noblesville, IN - 1 (8%)
• Cincinnati, OH - 1 (8%)
• Bridgeview, IL - 1 (8%)

Video from 2009

My first attempt at making a video. Something I need to learn, obviously, but enjoy the photos and footage of my Phish adventures this year.