Renoir gets Region X Reserve Champion Stallion AOTH

Yesterday morning, Ian and Legacys Renoir took a Regional Top Five ribbon and the Reserve Champion (2nd place) in the Amateur Owner To Handle stallion halter class! Yippee! There were three horses in the class and the horse that won was a Magnum Psyche son trained by Mike Neal.

So, Renoir and Ian are now qualified to show at both Canadian Nationals (Regina, Saskatchewan in August) and US Nationals (Tulsa, Oklahoma in October) in the amateur and open stallion classes.

Our friends Steve and Terri came to cheer and take photos and I’ll share some highlights when I get copies. As you can imagine, we’re very happy!

It was nice to have our former trainer, Jerry Schall, to come up and say how wonderfully Renoir showed and how great he looks. We brought Renoir home from Shada in May and are handling all his care and training ourselves.

We opted for two days rest away from the show and came home just after noon yesterday. We will return Saturday afternoon to show in the evening stallion class that closes the Region 10 Championship Show.

E-I-E-I-O

Renoir's Region X Pre Show Results

This morning we showed our stallion, Legacys Renoir, at the Region X Pre Show in St. Paul, MN on our own. Ian showed in two classes; number 108 Arabian Stallion Breeding 2 Years Old & Over and number 110 Arabian Colt & Stallion Breeding Amateur To Handle.

In the first class, Ian was entry number 307 and took third following professional handlers Andy Sellman and Jeff Schall. There were four horses in that class. Then, two classes later, Ian and Renoir got a second place ribbon. There were three horses in that class. I didn't have time to find out who we were competing against - no use to psyche ourselves out beforehand. I'll look up online results after the show!

Now Renoir and Ian are qualified to show in the amateur owner to handle (AOTH) class number 301 at the Region 10 Championship Show that begins here tomorrow morning. We’re also going to show Renoir Saturday evening in class 416 Arabian Stallion Breeding 2 & Over class. Ian and Renoir will be entry number 901 for the Regional show.

I’m very proud of how Ian handled Renoir. They made a good team and looked good together. It's the third time Ian's ever shown and the first time he's shown in MN, the other times were in Scottsdale, AZ.

After tomorrow morning’s class we’re going to take Renoir home and we’ll return Saturday afternoon.

It was fun to bathe, groom and prep Renoir ourselves. We like being hands-on owners.

Right now we're with our dog Lady snuggled cozy in our trailer parked on site with rain coming down pretty steady. Thankfully, our classes were done before it began pouring. Renoir's bathed and happily munching hay in his stall.

E-I-E-I-O

Region 10 and a new foal!

Tomorrow, Wednesday, is the 2008 Arabian Horse Association Region 10 Championship Pre-Show. The pre-show is a qualifying show to compete at the regional level. There are other ways to qualify – going to other shows earlier in the season and placing 1st or 2nd in your class – but the pre-show is the last opportunity before the championship classes, which run Thursday through Sunday.

This is the first time we are showing Legacys Renoir ourselves, without a professional trainer/handler being involved. We believe that God wants us to do this horse stuff ourselves and not spend money on outside boarding and training. We have learned a lot since we began showing two years ago and now, with Renoir living on the farm with us, we’re going to put what we’ve learned into practice. We show twice tomorrow morning and once Thursday morning, then we’ll go home and return Saturday afternoon to show that evening.

Renoir is already qualified from his win here last year with a professional handler, but Ian wants to show Renoir in an Amateur Owner To Handle (AOTH) class at the regional level and they’re not qualified together for that. Our goal is to continue from regional level to show at the national level. We need 10 points from class A show placements or a Top 5 placement at a regional championship. Renoir and Ian showed AOTH in Scottsdale and have accumulated five of the 10 needed.

This season’s only colt was born in the wee hours of June 3. I came to the barn to feed breakfast and his little white nose poked through the stall door to greet me. Windy had handled everything herself and all went well. His registered name will be AMF Famous Latte Kiss and his barn name is “Latte.” He is a chestnut tobiano Half Arabian pinto, with lots of white, hence his name. His sire is the homozygous tobiano pinto Saddlebred stallion, Famous Echo SCA. I can see the characteristics he’s passed on, in addition to the pinto coloring, as Latte has long legs, a strong build and a beautifully arched neck.

Princess and her dam Elly are also at the Auld Macdonald Farm. All four foals that we bred last year have arrived and are growing very nicely! We’ve already begun breeding for 2009! All of our mares are being bred to Renoir.

Send us good wishes as we strike out on our own in the horse show business.

E-I-E-I-O