This past weekend we were invited to join Ali’s riding instructor, Angie, at the state horse riding competition in Tampa. Ali wasn’t able to compete because of her age (two more years to go), but we were all eager to get to see a competition of this size. It surely didn’t disappoint! There were over 400 horses of all shapes, sizes and colors, with equally varied riders and a plethora of unique personalities and visuals to accompany them.
I’ve never been around horses much, not because I didn’t want to, but it just never worked out that way. So it was wonderful to see the incredible variety of horses! There were some incredibly beautiful animals and I definitely found my favorites! Ali’s in love with a particular breed called the Hanoverian. Angie tells us it’s not the ideal breed for young riders, but there’s no telling Ali different! For her birthday, we bought her a sort of Trivial Pursuit of horses for her age. She LOVES it and can now recognize horses by breed, knows different riding styles and all the technical names that go with the supplies and on and on. She’s 5 and is in total LOVE with horses.
My favorite has to be the American Paint horse, which seems to be developed from spotted lines of Quarterhorses and thoroughbreds. Some of the paints I saw at the competition had the most incredible eyes! Crystal clear ice blue with streaks of brown or black running through them or one eye ice blue and the other black. I found out that these patterns are called the Toveros. Incredible animals. I’m not really sure why I seem to dig this kind of horse so much, but I love them. I also love pure black horses like Black Beauty and horses with weird colors like dark bodies and blonde manes and tails. Maybe it’s a color thang for me!
Helena’s favorite for sure is any horse that is white! She would happily toddle around the competition grounds pointing to any and all white horses, proclaiming they were hers and in a very serious voice, state loud and clear that she would be riding them as soon as she was finished with whatever she was doing at the moment. I swear. Living with a toddler is so totally unpredictable and probably the best thing I’ve ever experienced (yeah, MUCH better than birth)!
So let’s get on with the pictures already! This time around I left all the heavy digital gear to Rene and I experienced freedom of pretty much everything by only shooting with my Holga! Oh man. I’ve been needing to do this for a LONG time now. It was so incredibly liberating to not have to lug around heavy digital cameras and chimping to see if the exposure was right or if there were blocked highlights or if the composition looked good or worrying about histograms and on and on and on. I would see something I responded to, I would bring the plastic up to my eyes, I would click and then I would wind that rough little knob, watching for the little number in the red window. I was totally STOKED and in heaven. And the anticipation between the time I put the film in my mailbox and the time it landed on my doorstep was like waiting for Christmas when I was 5 years old. I. LOVED. EVERY. MINUTE. OF. IT!
So here’s my first image…Ali on Mr. Buzz at the competition. She didn’t get to compete but she did ride around showing off her stuff!! And yes. Those boots are pink!
And here is the infamous Mr. Buzz. Why do you ask is he called Mr. Buzz? Because he is super lazy and LOVES to sleep. That’s great in a horse training little kids…but he’s relatively a totally laid back kind of horse….
I couldn’t help snapping this image. This is a paint and I just love how the his colors contrast against the greens. And yes, that is a fake tail! It’s totally allowed….
The same greens as above but in black and white.
And here are the loves of my life. Yes, Rene loves slipping into varied personas and impersonations….I’d rather leave it at that!
We were so close to Ocala that of course, we had to make the less than one hour drive up to visit our favorite new Florida gem! Ali’s heard so much about it that when we even briefly mentioned it she absolutely insisted we visit! We stayed at the lovely Hilton Ocala (if you Twitter, follow them at @hiltonocala). What a great hotel! Not only were the rooms super-clean (and I am fickle about that) but everyone was so incredibly nice! Once you leave Naples, you can see how much nicer everyone is. Sorry Naples! I love ya and have been here forever but it’s nice to be nice! 
Ok, quick plug. It’s free and I’m all about that! I want to just let any prospective brides know about the FREE WEDDING that Hilton Ocala is giving away. Read all about it HERE!
So low and behold we met Buddy, the Clydesdale at the Hilton. That was really Ali and Eli’s highlight of the trip. Buddy has got to be one of the largest horses we’ve ever seen. But he’s probably the gentlest animal I have ever had the pleasure of being around. He TOWERED above the girls but they were completely enamored with him. Helena loved his velvety snout and Ali was just smitten, period! Look at this magnificent animal!
So on Sunday, we decided to visit Silver Springs, right in Ocala. If you’ve read my post on the Miami Zoo, you’ll remember that I wrote about not being a fan at all of area attractions that house animals. Well, Silver Springs is no exception. Yes, the springs themselves are absolutely gorgeous! The beautiful grande old Oaks, with their swaying Spanish moss-dripping limbs are magical, but the animals there didn’t really have good room to roam. The petting zoo was pitiful. A beautiful donkey, goats, deers etc. in small enclosures with no attention. Really, anyone could have done anything to these animals and no one would have even noticed. Suffice it to say that the animals here are not happy….
The springs themselves are lovely and taking the glass-bottom boats to view straight down to the floor of the springs is fantastic. The water is crystalline and it really makes you wan to jump in!
This image is from a bridge that shows another bridge that leads to the big cat enclosures. I love how mythical this scene looks…
More of those Oak trees that we have fallen in love with.
And one of my favorite portraits of the loves of my life…..standing on one of those bridges. Look at that vegetation behind them…and yep. Those are trees growing right up through the slats of the bridge. Another perfect day!
Tags: ramblings... by Astrid
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