The Horse Diving Sisters - February 10, 2012
Inspiration Board - February 1, 2012
Likes of the Week - January 27, 2012
Oscar Nominated - January 24, 2012
Marketing Mondays: Strategies for Breeders - January 23, 2012

The Horse Diving Sisters

Did you know that Atlantic City, New Jersey, may see the return of the “Diving Horse Show” popularized there in the 1940s through late ’60s? It may seem odd, but the owners of the Steel Pier, which was once an iconic family entertainment destination, are bringing the act back, as part of their revitalization plan for the Pier.

If you’ve watched the movie, “Wild Hearts Can’t Be Broken,” you’ll know the most famous of the divers was Sonora Webster Carver, who rode the diving horses for nearly a full 20 years, from 1923 to 1942.

While the show travelled around North America in the early years, it became a permanent fixture at the Steel Pier from 1929 on. At the age of 27, in 1931, Sonora was blinded with a retinal detachment, attributed to hitting the water with her eyes open, perhaps just once, or perhaps, one too many times. While she herself may have lost her sight she always insisted that the horses loved the dives as much as she did, and were in no way ever harmed, or for that matter, forced to jump.

She came into this incredible line of work by replying to a newspaper ad looking for girls who were “not afraid of heights and willing to travel.” Here’s a film clip of her.

The Diving Horse Show was invented by Dr. (Doc) W. F. Carver, who also had ties with Buffalo Bill’s Wild West Show. Many different stories circulate on how Dr. Carver came up with the idea, but the most popular is that one day he was riding across a bridge, which collapsed and sent him and his horse into the river below. The horse “dove” into the water and they swam safely to shore. This made him wonder if horses could be taught to dive, and the act was conceived.

Sonora signed on at the age of 20, and her sister, Arnette followed in her footsteps a few years later at the age of 15. The act was a great sensation of the times.

Sonora’s 1961 autobiography, “A Girl and Five Horses”, was the inspiration for the 1991 film. The diving horses were the iconic attraction at the Pier until being dicontinued in the ’60s following complaints from animal-rights activists.

A little known fact is Sonora was disappointed in the movie. Her sister, Arnette, remarked in a 1997 New York Times article by Bill Kent:

“They weren’t so truthful about the facts in that movie, either. My sister was so disappointed in it. I remember her turning to me in the theater after we saw it, and her saying, ‘the only thing true in it was that I rode diving horses, I went blind and I continued to ride for another 11 years.’’

She felt the Disney movie was over-romanticized. As her sister explained, “The movie made a big deal about having the courage to go on riding after she lost her sight,” she said. “But, the truth was, riding the horse was the most fun you could have and we just loved it so. We didn’t want to give it up. Once you were on the horse, there really wasn’t much to do but hold on. The horse was in charge.”

She also commented on the welfare of the horses in the same article.

“What impressed me was how Dr. Carver [manager of the horse diving act, and later, husband of Sonora] cared for the horses,” Arnette said. “Wherever we went, the S.P.C.A. was always snooping around, trying to find if we were doing anything that was cruel to animals. They never found anything because those horses lived the life of Riley. In all the years of the act, there was never a horse that was injured.”

The challenge for the riders, Arnette explained, was to remember “to keep your head tucked down to one side, so that when the horse raised his head as he jumped up at the bottom of the pool, you wouldn’t get smacked in the face.”

Apparently, the sisters lived the life of Riley as well. Arnette was 84 when she gave this interview in 1997, and her famous sister Sonora, died just a few months short of 100.

While Sonora may have downplayed her own courage, I’ve always seen these adventurous diving horse sisters from our history as spirited and inspirational.

Inspiration Board

In my office it’s known as a bulletin board, but I like the idea of inspiration board which is a concept popularized by fashion and design bloggers of late. It’s a board of photos, quotes and items designed to inspire me when I’m faced with writer’s block, or simply calm me, when I need it. Which is often.

This is the latest version, recently renovated on a chilly Saturday a few weekends ago, when the weather was just too vicious to bear much outside time, and reorganizing the kitchen shelves somehow didn’t hold the same appeal.

Some pieces were removed, some re-pined to the board, some found the recycling bin, others the shoe box of things I can’t yet leave behind.

The left side is a collection of old photos, newspaper clippings, drawings and a few favorite firsts, including my very first press pass – issued to interview Pat Parelli. I remember walking out of Pat and Linda’s motorhome that long ago afternoon at the Claresholm Agriplex, breath taken somewhat away by the energy and passion of this incredibly driven couple. It was clear to me they were going to reach a great many people throughout their careers.

There’s a photo of myself cutting to remind me how much I love this sport, and inspire a return to it. Below it is tacked a poem Teenager wrote about my cutting mare, Iggy. Have I ever told you my Teenager is an amazing poet? She would probably prefer I let you know that the poem pictured above was written many years ago, not in her current senior high school year.

There’s the roots corner – an old drawing, the farm, my beloved barn, the chicken house. My mom, over a very many years nurtured hundreds of chickens, ducks, geese and turkeys whose lives began in that tiny outbuilding. That long twig-like object is a vintage piece of tinsel, derived of foil and an incredibly fragile and thin glass. It once graced our Christmas tree.

Wee composes the odd poem as well, and this one is adorned with a couple of shots of my Dad. Those two were a pair – Wee and my father.

There’s a few photos, artwork and other items to remind me of what I’d like to write about sometime.

My favorite photo of Joan Didion. There’s something hauntingly familiar about this snapshot, it always grabs me. I’m into a book of Didion’s this week – Slouching Towards Bethlehem – not her latest – Blue Nights, but you can find that on literary lists and bookstores. She rocked the world of journalism in the ’60′s and 70′s, and followed up with an amazing life collection of non-fiction in later decades. Equally, her poise and prose I intensely admire. Ready for any interview, any time, I love her “To Pack and Wear” list, which she kept taped to the inside of her closet door. Oh, to have the freedom of spirit to travel this lightly to any horse show, exchanging naturally, the stockings and skirt, for denim and boots.

Near to it, this. The backlight, the absence of the typical female encumbrances such as a purse – nothing but sunglasses, a casual pair of jeans and sweater, and the incredible sense of playfulness in her eyes. Jackie Kennedy would have been in her 40′s when this was snapped by paparazzi photographer, Ronald Galella. Of the entire collection of her posed and pretty photographs, this, her most beautiful, in my view.

I wasn’t conscious of the parallel of these two women’s lives when I tacked these shots up on the board, but recognize now that both endured great tragedies in their prime. Strong females definitely a recurrent theme in my personal reportaire of icons.

Inspiration boards, the barn chalkboard, pinboards, bulletin boards, the fridge door for that matter; the point is surround yourself with a slice of the incredibleness of your world, your history, and that of which drives you. It will spur you to remember to stop and enjoy it once in a while.

So, hey, share – what’s on your board?

It just so happens I was recently scrounging through the Western Horse Review storage locker and discovered a box of goodies we really should think about dispersing, including a stack of Corb Lund’s vintage Hair on my Eyes Like a Highland Steer, which we’ve apparently been hoarding since 2005(?).  Come to think of it, the photo on this CD cover illustrates an inspiration wall. As incentive to get you thinking about your inspiration board, and what is, or might be on it, we’ll do a random draw amongst the comments below and give away one of Corb’s CD’s.

So share . . . it’s a mandatory activity.

P.S. – I nearly forgot to announce last week’s winner of the On the Trail daytimer. Andrea, claim your prize by contacting editorial@westernhorsereview.com. Congrats!

 

Likes of the Week

This is how this time last year looked at the log house. This view of Blue with his head stuck out of a shelter was a similar sight for days.

The view today is quite dissimilar, and I can’t even bore you with a photo, it being just too uninteresting, wherein lies the downfall of good weather in this land. A winter landscape without the snow, the hoar frost, the pure white of it all can be dreary and lifeless. Loving the mildness, not so much the brown.

On the subject of unusual weather, Nasa scientists recently declared 2011 as the ninth warmest since 1880. In fact, nine of the warmest 10 years in modern times have occurred since the year 2000. This film really clarifies it.

The documentary Buck may not have made the short list of the Oscars, but remains the popular favourite of so many horse people. I caught this interview with Buck a few nights ago, which you might also find interesting. If you are a follower or fan, don’t miss our feature with Buck Brannaman, coming up in the March issue of Western Horse Review. 

This story, which dominated equine media this week, was both disturbing and oh so sad.

Along came Rosie, at the ready to aid the restoration of my shaky faith in humanity. Rosie made National Geographic’s Woof of the Week list and how could she not with those eyes. Rosie was rescued when she was nine weeks old and now lives happily in Long Beach, California with her caring owners. Every so often, my soul craves Woof of the Week and this was such a week.

At the magazine we’re closing sales on the March issue, and just beginning to lay out the issue. We have several features I’m thrilled about, and I hope to preview them for you over the next few weeks.

In the meantime, because it’s Friday, and gorgeous out, we’re giving away our very last On The Trail daytimer.

If you weren’t one of the fortunate ones to receive one of these beauties for Christmas, you still have a chance to provide a home for the very last one we have in the office.

Just let us know in the comment section below, what your weekend plans include. We’ll draw randomly from the responses and divulge the winner next week. Good luck everyone!

Oscar Nominated

While the horse-crowd favourite – Buck, the film about Buck Branaman’s life – did not make the short list of Oscar-nominated documentaries, a pair of Calgarian film-makers, Amanda Forbis and Wendy Tilby, were nominated for their whimsical, short animated film about a young Englishman who emigrates to Canada to become a rancher in Alberta.

The Englishman in fact, is a “remittance man.” These were men who were considered somewhat useless, perhaps over-educated, non-achievers back home – often the second sons – and were shipped off by their families (a favorite destination being the Canadian prairie), and paid a “remittance” to stay here. Predictably, they were as unable to succeed, prosper, or fit in to the community as they had been in their homeland.

It’s a rather forgotten part of our Alberta history – the remittance men who were sent here. A colorful aspect of our Canadian West.

The film is sweetly animated, and cleverly entitled Wild Life. I won’t spoil the ending by telling the story, but you can watch it right here.

Marketing Mondays: Strategies for Breeders

It’s sales closing week for the March issue of Western Horse Review, and because this issue is smack-dab in the middle of breeding season, many of us are either contemplating breeding strategies, or engrossed in the promotion of a stallion.

Photo by Jenn Webster

I had the opportunity to interview Katie Tims, editor of Quarter Horse News just prior to Christmas, and asked her about marketing strategies for breeders in this changing world. Here’s a snippet of that interview. You can catch the entire piece in the Jan/Feb issue of Western Horse Review. We’ve nearly sold out of print editions of that issue, but if you’re missing it, you can order a digital copy here.

Katie, what are a few of your key tips on marketing strategies for breeders/ranches in this changing world?

 No. 1: Breed for beachfront property.

“By this I mean breed the best horse possible. It’s where marketing begins. In the real estate market, the average house in the average place is selling below average – at least compared to prices realized a few years ago. However, the special real estate – the beachfront property is just as much in demand now as it was in 2006. Buyers are willing to pay high prices for the best real estate, and the same goes for horses. Whether you’re a big breeder with several foals born per year, or a person with just one mare – breed the best that your budget can accommodate. Do your homework and be clear about what the market is demanding. Don’t breed for sake of creating the average horse that will bring a below average price. You’re better to breed one great horse than four mediocre ones. In this tough market, it’s all about quality, not quantity.”

No. 2: Market, market, market.

“In the horse business, marketing means much more than placing an ad or paying an entry fee. Stallion owners must promote their horse and get him paired with the best mares possible, even if that means giving away breedings. Likewise, mare owners need to book to the best stallions in the business – ones that are part of aggressively marketed programs. Once the foals arrive, stallion and mare owners must get them into solid programs and into the hands of trainers who will give those young horses the best possible chances. Black type means everything in this performance horse market, and the only thing to bold that ink is to start with pedigree and follow up with performance. Yes, there’s a surprise every now and then. But it’s far safer to stick with proven breeding and a sound training program.”

 No. 3:  Think worldwide.

“The cowboy and Western horse used to be a North American phenomenon. Not anymore. The Quarter Horse and Western way of riding has spread across the globe, and it’s gaining traction with larger purses, more opportunity and better breeding. For instance, Brazilians purchased a number of the highest sellers at last year’s reining and cutting sales, and you can bet they’re going to show and market those same horses inside the United States and Brazil. The Level 3 Open Reserve Champion at the 2011 NRHA Futurity was a horse born, raised and first shown in Brazil. Don’t limit yourself by thinking domestically – look to Europe, Australia, South America and beyond. Realize there’s a worldwide market for performance horses.”

 No. 4:  Take the multi-platform approach.

“Yes, advertising in print publications works and is still the best way to communicate your message to a target audience. But your marketing program must also reach out to potential customers through multiple sources. The Internet, social media and smart phones – they’re all important. As the next generation rotates into our horse market, they’re expecting information at the tip of a few keystrokes. Get a website for your ranch. List your horses. Make a fan page on Facebook. Sponsor online postings of stories/articles/updates published by magazines and newspapers within your industry. Make sure search engines, such as Google, know you’re online. If you are not comfortable with any or all of the above, see what you can do to learn. A mix of print and digital – that’s where the media business is going, and your program needs to be on board.”

Thanks to Katie Tims for these insightful and articulate ideas on the subject of marketing for those of us in the breeding business. A couple of other links to pieces we’ve done in the same genre include:

• Stallion Promotional Ideas

• Breeding Truths and Folklore

• Breeding Truths and Folklore, Part Two

4 Great Breeding Products

Breeding Older Mares, Part One

• Breeding Older Mares, Part Two

We also have this classic available in our bookstore:

• Blessed are the Broodmares

and these other great books and videos on breeding and foal raising. 

Finally, be sure to peruse the Stallion section of this site.

Best of luck with your breeding hopes for the season!

Marketing Mondays: Kickstarting 2012

This photo has nothing to do with marketing. It’s just soothing me right at the moment.

I snapped it several years ago at one of my favorite locations in the world – Key West, Florida. For 10 days that beach was mine. I owned that hammock. Life was calm. Warm. And, simple. Man, I miss that beach right now.

For here, in my neck of the woods, its -30°C out this morning. I suppose it is a variant sort of simple. A different kind of calm. A tougher form of cozy.

It might be an excellent day to stay inside and work on marketing.

In March of 2011, I kicked off a Marketing Mondays  series on this blog. Before we delve into the 2012 year, here’s highlights of 2011:

• We began with a look at Social Media. I shared some of my favorite social media sites and a video which really explains why any marketing program should eventual plan to include a social media aspect. Here’s the slideshow again:

• We talked about the great marketer, Patti Colbert and her visionary Extreme Mustang Makeover and Road to the Horse. Her latest,  Project Cowboy, a television reality show, focusing on a search for “The Great American Horseman,”shows signs of the same genius as its predecessors.

• I spelled out Seven Tried and True All Time Basics of a Good Print Advertisement.  

• For those of you maintaining a website (and who isn’t these days?), I let you in on a great tool to analyze your website – the Website Grader, and walked you through my favorite Google Map locator tool, Pin In The Map. 

• We shared Four Signs That Your Marketing Program is Working. 

• We delved into the world of Twitter, sharing some basics such as how to sign up, garnering the all-important followers and links for Great Tweeting Tips.  In a second post, I explained the Meaning of Four Twitter Symbols and When to Use Them, and shared the Bitly.com links tool.

• For Facebook, I shared 10 Ways Western Horse Review Utilizes it’s Facebook Page, as well as insider information on the changes Facebook instigated last autumn, and finally, offered up 10  10 Simple Tips and Tricks to Get Your Timeline Groove On.

• Finally, we discussed the Difference Between Print and Online Media, and why it’s all important that you don’t leave the former out of your marketing program.

There you have it. Some of the highlights of the 2011 Marketing Mondays series. Please let me know what you’d like to have covered for the 2012 year. Comment in the section below, or e-mail me directly at ingrids@efirehose.net.

Here’s to a successful 2012 marketing year!

 

Likes of the Week

We’re currently on deadline with the Jan/Feb issue of Western Horse Review, so before I get into anything else I want to let you know what we’re finalizing in this issue.

World champion bucking horse Airwolf's clone, "Wolfie." Photo by Deanna Buschert.

• A fantastic and may I say, cutting-edge piece on cloning by our own Deanna Buschert. I have to say, this was an article which challenged my stand on the issue of equine cloning. Don’t miss it, much has transpired in the past two years.

Sneak peek at one of our profile western weddings. Photo by Krista Kay Photography.

• Western Wedding Style. Wow, I’m in awe of the new generation of cowgirls and guys who embrace their unique western tradition, with a twist of modernist. Fourteen pages of amazing photography, and three gorgeous western weddings.

• Nearly two years ago, we ran one of our very first contests on The Barrel Patch blog. The swag was Petrol jeans and the question was: If you could pick your all time favourite barrel racer to go out to dinner with, who would it be and why? One of the most mentioned competitors was Deb Renger. Hence, the article idea. Hey, it ain’t dinner with, but it’s a fabulous profile of arguably, Canada’s top longstanding barrel racing competitor.

• Results, pictures and interviews from both the Team Roping Futurity and the Canadian Snaffle Bit Futurity, both held during Northland’s recent Farmfair.

• Profiles of competitive riders and horses remain a core mandate in Western Horse Review. This issue we also interview an up-and-coming cow horse trainer from Saskatchewan, and an Ohio Congress champion.

• Winter chores the old-fashioned way is the theme of the photographic essay in this issue’s Out West. 

• Dainya Sapergia’s sweet interview with the modest Blake Schlosser – on his final days as pick-up man, and his heartfelt reasons for giving up the rodeo trail. I love the photo. So much, I’m not about to reveal it before the issue.

• Our health feature follow up on EHV – what top equine health professionals are advising as move-forward strategies. And leading Thoroughbred breeder and therapeutic equine care center – the impressive Bar None Ranches is featured in Horse Farm. 

• My interview with Katie Tims, who is scheduled to appear this mid-January at the annual Horse Owners and Breeders Conference in Red Deer, Alberta. Fantastic insights from Katie on the trends we in the horse industry can expect over the coming years.

By the way, if Red Deer is too far for you to travel in the dead of a Canadian winter, there are two equally inspiring educational seminars on our radar in the New Year: the Horse Council of British Columbia’s Equine Education Conference, and Saskatchewan’s first annual Equine Expo.

• Speaking of equine education, we host a section of equine schools in Canada in this issue as well.

• Don’t let me forget – Deanna Beckley also profiles six amazingly talented spur makers in Product Showdown, and one barrel racer determined to meld her passion with her business in Storefront. 

And . . . more, so much more. If you’d like to make sure you receive this issue by subscribing, you can do so here.

 

This week, I admired these photographs by Montreal photographer, Irene Suchocki. Currently the top-selling photographer on Etsy, I’m in love with her series capturing the gentle nature and graceful power of the wild horses of Camargue, a region in the south of France. Visit her Etsy store here. 

I’m impressed by the new Equine Lameness Online Lab, brought to us by Pfizer Animal Health and the Equine Guelph, particularly the Video Challenge, which shows a video of four different horses, allowing viewers to identify which horse is lame, and which leg is lame. Make your assessment, and then view the incredibly insightful audio commentary version from equine veterinarian, Dr. Nicola Cribb. Resourceful idea!

In case you missed it Bobby Kerr and Poncho were clearly the fan favorite of the 2011 Extreme Mustang Challenge.

And finally, it’s a bit of a lengthy view, but Emma Massingale’s Synchronicity with Horses is all about peace, understanding and love. We can always use a little more of that.

Thanks for tuning in to today’s post, I hope to be back with one final post prior to Christmas Day, with some last minute Christmas ideas and links.

A Trip to Texas

We just returned from the NCHA 50th anniversary edition of the Futurity.

It was a whirlwind trip, we had a lot to fit into three days, including. . .

. . . attending the Western Bloodstock Futurity Sales, including the yearling sales. . .

. . . and the seasoned cutting horse sale on Saturday.

 You might remember this horse. The six-year-old Pepto Taz gelding, ridden by Randy Holman, which won the Classic Challenge at last year’s Canadian Supreme with an amazing 150 run, and returned this year to capture the championship again on the Saturday night with a 146.5. He sold at this sale for $54,000.

Everyone seemed to agree prices were up from last year. We have an interview with Katie Tims, editor of the Quarter Horse News, planned for the Jan/Feb issue of Western Horse Review. I know she’ll have some interesting insights into the trends of the new year.

Saturday morning was also the Stallion Avenue, always a barn aisle-packed event and a great way to start off the final day of the week. I apologize for the photo . .  but I just couldn’t help including it. I’d love to meet the creative brain behind this artwork, hilarious!

Earlier in the trip, we headed out to Weatherford, Cutting Capital of the World. . .

. . . and visited with Ian Chisholm at his place. Ian and Peggy have a beautiful ranch, just up on a rise a bit, incredibly functional, with gorgeous views of the Texas hills. The horses at Ian’s always seem content and quiet to me.

On our way back to Fort Worth, we stopped at Oswood Stallion Station, and I visited with Blue’s dad, one of the highlights of the trip for me. There were some other stallions around – Dual Rey, One Time Pepto, One Time Royalty – but my adoration was reserved for this guy. I’m sure one day those others will sire a beautiful boy like Blue too.

Just to change it up, we rented a house on VBRO for this trip, which we shared with some friends. It was a different experience from staying in a hotel and allowed us to get together every evening to watch the National Finals Rodeo highlights on television.

We headed to the historic Fort Worth Stockyards for some shopping.

And dinner at Lonesome Dove, arguably the most amazing meal I’ve ever had in FW, and definitely worth the splurge. While Uncle Julio’s is the favorite Mexican feed for many cutters, we found Benito’s, an authentic Mexican restaurant just a few blocks from the Colliseum. Delicious queso flameado, and salsa!

And then, there was the cutting.

Incredible cutting.

I have to thank my friend, Karyn for taking these photos. I was being lazy about hauling my camera around so she stepped in and snapped some fine shots of the action.

What a finals.

Ten of the 25 Open finalist horses were sired by High Brow Cat. I’m not sure if that’s a record for number of horses by one sire in the finals, but it sure was impressive.

Other sires represented by offspring in the finals included:

Chula Dual

Dual Rey

Dual Smart Rey

Hes A Peptospoonful

Oh Cay Quixote

One Time Pepto (2 entries)

Peptoboonsmal

Smart Lil Scoot

Smart Little Lena

Smooth As A Cat (2 entries)

Sophisticated Catt

Spots Hot

TR Dual Rey

As it transpired, the top two high-scoring runs of the evening were High Brow Cat offspring. Ronnie Rice set a high bar with a score of 225 as the very first entry. He rode a High Brow Cat by named Jewels Bars Cat, out of a Lenas Jewel Bars mare named Sprats Dualin Jewel.

That score held until the very last run of the day. I’m sure I wasn’t the only one who thought Ronnie Rice had the day. But, then Craig Thompson rode Oh Miss Caroline (High Brow Cat out of Oh Cay Shorty, by Shorty Lena) into the herd and changed everything.

Not that I’ve had the opportunity to witness that many NCHA Futurity finals, but this was a thrilling show. The competitiveness of this finals was palatable. Everyone has stepped up their game here in Texas.

And, that was the 2011 50th Anniversary NCHA Futurity, it’s all she wrote. And time to prepare for 2012. Many Canadians brought back horses, can’t wait to see them in the show pen next year.

I nearly forgot to mention, we also met Trigger.

When RFD-TV bought Roy Roger’s original stuffed Trigger for $266,000, back in the spring at the Roy Rogers and Dale Evans Museum auction, I didn’t expect I’d run into him here. It was a cool display, fun photo op, and I’m glad Trigger is still getting out and thrilling modern day crowds.

3 Weeks ’till Christmas: Great Gift Ideas

It’s exactly three weeks until Christmas as I write this post, meaning the countdown has begun in earnest. If you want to catch up with all of my prior 12 Weeks ’till Christmas gift ideas, the stream begins here.

This week, some apps you might find useful enough for stocking stuffers.

I begin with my all-time favourite.

I might have purchased my iphone just for the Hipstamatic camera, I’ve had so much fun with it.

The Hipstamtic, with it’s old-fashioned analog feel will remind you of your old Polaroid. Sort of. It’s much more, actually. With it’s wide range of film and options, be prepared to transform your shot into whatever mood or vintage flavor you’d like to impart it with.

I took both of these Arizona shots within a minute of each other while riding.
A year or so ago, I shot our annual fashion photo shoot in Hip, which allowed me to bring a much different perspective to the day than the professional photographers on site.

I’ve taken a ton of horse show shots with it.

. . .  and, I’ve tortured countless teenagers with it . . . including my own.

If you know someone with an iphone, it makes a great stocking stuffer at $1.99.

Another toy camera app I’ve just gotten into is the Tilt Shift Generator. I purchased it to explore tilt-shift miniature faking, which allows for a diorama effect to your photographs, giving the illusion of a miniature scale model.

I love this effect, but I haven’t quite mastered it, this being my best try at it thus far. Here’s 50 beautiful examples of what can be accomplished with tilt-shift photography. Again, a great app for anyone who is into photography.

If you know a horse person with nomadic tendencies, always planning the next leg of travel or horse show to attend, either or both of these travel apps would be welcomed.

Kayak: This is Apple’s most popular travel app, and much like the website, is a cost- and time-efficient way to search for flights, hotels and car rentals all in one place. It even features a function for a Packing List.  With Kayak you can track your flight, convert currency and check out tours and attractions around your destination.

Trip It: For those with multiple trip bookings on the go, this handy app links to your e-mail account and picks up any confirmation number that comes into your Inbox – from dinner reservations, to flights, hotel and car rentals. Install Trip It and lose the messy and inconvenient paper trail typically storing this information.

Of course, there are numerous equine apps to be downloaded as well. My confession at this point is I haven’t tried any of them! Rather than me wading through all of the choices and reviewing them, I’m calling out to you to let us all know what equine apps the most useful, and of course, entertaining.

In the comment section below, let us know what your favorite equine-related app is (If you don’t currently use an equine app, just name any app you find useful), and we’ll enter you in draw to win a Kim Taylor daytimer. I gushed over these daytimers back at week 11 of the countdown. They are a gorgeous and useful timepiece of western ranch photography, and I still have one or two at the office to give away.

Looking forward to hearing your suggestions for best apps.