I hate when this happens…
I only had enough time to go to the 25th Anniversary Draft Horse Classic in Grass Valley (my home town!) for about 2 hours on Friday.
And guess what… nothing was happening for those 2 hours on Friday afternoon. Oy. So frustrating!
I mean, the event is HUGE. Draft horses come from all over to compete here in Northern California. I saw horses from Canada and Missouri. But when I went, ho-hum… all the behind the scenes stuff – farriers, tack cleaning, grooming…
Don’t get me wrong, the Draft Horse events are well attended and incredible! — A real highlight on the calendar up here… They have intense log pulling contests, driving races, shows, costume events, stronghorse competitions – you name it, if a draft horse can do it, it happens at the Draft Horse Classic – except not between 1:45 – 3:30 on Friday the 23rd this year. Waaaaah.
YOU MIGHT RECALL…
You might recall me writing about this incredible bronze statue in my neighborhood. It was created for the Nevada County Fairgrounds here in Grass Valley in honor of the Draft Horse Classic. That is how important this show is to our county…
You can read that post here.
This is the incredible bronze I wrote about a while ago...
WHAT USUALLY HAPPENS at the Classic…
Usually, I attend several of the shows and walk around during the ‘happening’ times. So, in the past, I’ve seen the Budweiser Clydesdales being prepped for their show – AWESOME! You should see their traveling rig. OMG. I should be so lucky! And the tack – WOW! I could have eaten off of it.
Photo of the Bud Clydes taken a previous year by Sharon O'Brien
All of their grooms were dressed up like they were at a golf convention with matching Polo shirts and beige pants. It was a real class act. Loved it.
I’ve seen the strong-horse competition where they have individual horses and then horse teams in PULLING competitions. Amazing.
Last year I saw Clay Maier and his amazing Fresians. I love the way they are turned out. So elegant.
Clay Maier with his Fresian (who kinda look like Morgans here, love it!)
Usually, there will be a show on 4Ups, 6Ups and 8Ups – a lost art (carriages with 4, 6 or 8 horse teams).
This is a 6-up from last year...
And, sadly, I missed meeting the donkey who starred in the Budweiser commercial a few years ago – remember that one? Well, she was in attendance with her team and I couldn’t find her.
I missed her!
WHAT I DID SEE
So, I parked my car right at the front gates (that’s how quiet it was when I went…) and strolled in. Free admission. Yay!
First up I saw some vendors.
To my surprise, I ran into the Porta-Grazer guy who thanked me for my blog post! Yay! I was hoping to maybe get a deal on one. Nope. But he did say that if any of you readers bought a Prota-Grazer because of me, he’d donate to the Bucket Fund. Nice!
So, I told him that I would purchase one, try it out, and if I liked it as much as I thought I would, I’d let my readers know. Gulp, I purchased one. And, to be honest, I was happy to do it. After chatting with him for a while, I understood all the benefits in more depth and am very hopeful that the Porta Grazer is as good as I think it will be. And, if he donates to the Bucket Fund, even better!
I ran into the Porta-Grazer guy and bought one! Testing it now!
Here are more images of my un-experience at the 25th Anniversary Draft Horse Classic.
I also saw a little girl on a pony ride. Too cute!
This couple was out for a stroll
There were barns and barns of Clydes. But, the lighting was difficult to photograph them. Dang!
So I got up close and personal...
I met a woman with a heavy Cockney accent who was cleaning tack - she said it was never ending...
Of course, the emergency farrier was there to help when those shoes fall off...
These guys were hanging out in their barn.
This mare was pawing and pawing...
There were so many beautiful carts - all shiny or being shined...
This guy was such a cutie... he was flirting with me while he was being groomed.
There was a barn full of huge roans! The one on the left looks like he's looking in a mirror but that was his buddy next door.
That mare stopped pawing when her buddies came back!
At every draft show, there are minis - just part of it...
This huge log pulling rig was in front of the trailers. They use it in the competitions. It was nice that the lady walked by just as I was snapping this photo - so you could compare the size to her.
A row of black drafts with blazes. This one was a real sweetie. Earlier I saw him giving little kids rides.
I always fall for the metal artists. I wish I would have bought this.
Inside the art tent there was a life-sized bronze colt.
My good friend Leslie Anne Webb had a lovely and enormous booth.
Here is the other half of her booth with Leslie in it.
Lastly, a poster of one of the many events to happen later, after I had left... The Budweiser team and their faithful dog.
A VIDEO
So, since my excursion wasn’t very impressive, I thought I would link you to a video which is much more amusing. So, here you go!
Click here to watch a quick video about the Classic.
HORSE AND MAN is a blog in growth… if you like this, please pass it around!
Click to help the UNLUCKY 29!
Copyright
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 3.0 Unported License.
@ Linda – shout out from Lake St. Louis! :-)
I absolutely hate it when that happens… I have done that myself, and yes, it’s often with horse-related events! You have a specific time when you can get to an event and then find out it hasn’t started, or it’s the next day, or whatever. Grrrr! At least you got to see the gentle giants standing around looking pretty/handsome.
Regarding the Porta-Grazer, I don’t recall or didn’t see your post with them featured. I think they’re a GREAT idea! Another product that restricts hay consumption is the Nibble-Net, but I like the way this one allows them to eat with their heads down. I think it would be fantastic for my friend’s horses, esp. the giant EMS WB that I ride. I’m sending her the link today! I will look forward to hearing how your animals like theirs.
You should come to St. Louis and visit the home of the Clydesdales. It’s awesome to drive by the pastures and see them at rest and play.
I wondered if you were going to this. I wish I could, it looks like fun. I love drafts, especially the shires. I like how the little girl was wearing a helmet, even on the mini.