Strong Horse Iron Pull

When we went on our Newcomer's Tour, we learned of a great source for local events.  About a week ago, they shared that there was a horse event going on in a town 30-40 minutes away.  They called it a "Strong Horse Iron Pull" event; I'm assuming that was the translation.  This picture was the only information I had to go by as far as what it was:

I had assumed it would be a draft horse pull, something I haven't actually seen in person.  I haven't even seen a horse in a little while now, and I've been eager to check out some Japanese horse events, so, off we went!  (To Jeff's credit, there was also a hike up a volcano the same day, which he was dying to do, but he said we could go to the "horse thing" instead - gotta love him!)

We hit the road on our very first little road trip here.  There were a lot of trees along the way.  Much of this area has forest on it, a lot of that is replanted forest.

The other thing you see a lot of in our area is farmland.

There are also several little village areas scattered around.

In the distance at one point, we saw some mountains with snow still on them.

More trees...

... and farmland.... and trees.

At one point we were suddenly driving through a dense forest, crowding in on either side of the road.  It was very cool!

Then we arrived at the event, after a bit of a snag in the directions that we'd been given.  Thankfully we'd also looked it up ourselves and got GPS coordinates.  The GPS saved the day - even if it is highly confused about road names here.  It tells us we are "driving on ???????"  ha!

This was the first horse I saw.  Wow! 

I knew it was going to be a good day.

We made our way to the viewing area and I quickly took this picture of another horse walking by.  The horses were all gorgeous.

We started off watching from quite a ways down the track, near the end.  It quickly became apparent that this wasn't just a draft horse pull... They were racing!

"And they're off!"  Two big draft horses came charging out of the starting area, pulling weighted sleds.  One man running alongside the horse's head, another man running alongside the sled.

Partway up the track is a small hill, almost like a speed bump.  Then there's a flat area and then...  the big hill.  The horses had to power up and over a short, steep hill.

Once over the hill and back on the flat, they run for the finish!

That was the first race that we saw, with many more to come throughout the morning and early afternoon. 

I took about 900 pictures, and video clips, and as I go through them, I'll be doing more blog posts!  I probably have enough pictures to blog about this for a week or two...  It was an interesting event and a lot of neat stuff happened.  There were also many different types of horses that ended up competing - from massive draft horses to tiny ponies.  Much more to come in future posts!

Triple Crown

I'm taking a break from posting about crafty things to talk about horse racing today...  Warning: It's quite a ramble... it took me a while to write and I'm sure it'll take a bit to read. 

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I saw my first horse race when I was 5 years old.  I still remember the bright colors the jockeys wore.  It was just at the fairgrounds, in small town Colorado, but I was hooked.  I decided then that I wanted to be a jockey.  I carried that dream until my early 20s, when I finally gave up.  It's hard to fight for a dream all by yourself.  My entire childhood and young adult life, whenever I told someone I wanted to be a jockey, they'd reply - without fail, "you'll be too tall/too heavy/you won't be strong enough."  Not one person encouraged me to go for it.  (As an aside, it is for that reason that I will NEVER crap on someone else's dreams.  I do my best to encourage anyone - especially children - to follow their dreams.)  I did work on a breeding farm and on a track when I was a kid.  Then life took some twists and turns and I made the decision to give up on what I'd wanted to be when I grew up, but I still think about it - a lot. 

It hurt to give up and I actually turned away from following horse racing like I used to when I was younger.  I used to watch every race that was on TV, I knew all of the back stories of the horses and connections in the big races.  Then I stopped watching, it hurt too much.  I remember crying in the car after watching Seabiscuit in the movie theatre, because I had wanted to ride racehorses so badly for so long.  Throughout the years though, I've still made it a point to watch the Triple Crown races every year and usually the Breeder's Cup too.

Not since 1978 has there been a winner of the Triple Crown.  A few months later, I was born.  I grew up on stories of the Great horses and the Triple Crown winners of the past, but I had never seen one.  I had started watching races on TV in the late 80's and I saw almost every time a horse came close - winning the first two, but losing the Belmont.  Certain of those close calls were heartbreaking to me, for my own reasons.  Charismatic in 1999 - I wanted Chris Antley to win the Triple Crown so badly, he was a jockey that I had liked...  Smarty Jones in 2004 - by that time I had stopping following the horses and at the time I knew nothing about him, but... the last Triple Crown winner had been in 1978, the year I was born.  My daughter was born in 2004 and I thought it would be so cool if the next one was "for her".  It was not to be. 

No others really stuck out for me, until last year.  I started hearing about California Chrome and his back story.  I watched the Derby, the Preakness...  By the time the Belmont came, I was a huge fan of his, I got caught up in the hype, he HAD to do it.  Jeff even got swept up in on the whole thing and we watched the Belmont live, together.  "Chrome" didn't make it into Triple Crown history.  I felt crushed, again.

This year, our life was going to bring major upheaval: Jeff had orders for us to move to Japan.  Before we left, we made several trips around the U.S., visiting family and friends.  I watched the Kentucky Derby on my phone, at a rest stop somewhere in Ohio, shortly after it ran.  I watched the Preakness on my laptop, in a hotel in South Dakota, shortly after it ran.  I'd heard murmurings of American Pharoah beginning last year, but didn't (and admittedly, still don't) really know much of anything about him.  All I knew was that, once again, a horse had a shot at the Triple Crown. 

I started watching his workout videos, leading up to the Belmont - from my phone and laptop all over the U.S. and, once we made the flight over in late May, from Japan.  I thought, "wow, he's a nice horse."  I even told Jeff that I thought, just based on watching his workouts, that he might actually do it.  But truthfully, I didn't dare to hope and part of me wondered if another Triple Crown would ever happen again.  It might sound selfish, but I didn't want to cheer for him, because I didn't want to be disappointed again.

When the Belmont ran on Saturday evening, which was actually Sunday morning here, we were going to hit the road for our first ever little road trip here in Japan.  I knew I wouldn't be able to watch the Belmont.  (part of me wondered if I even wanted to)  I tried to find a way to stream the race live on my phone, but couldn't get anything to work.  We set out to our destination - a draft horse pull/race - and once we were there and I saw real, live, beautiful horses for the first time in a while (due to the move), I forgot about trying to watch the Belmont.

People sometimes ask about notable things, "where were you when X happened?"  In my case, where was I when I watched the 37-year Triple Crown drought come to an end?  Sitting in the market area of a draft horse event in  Shichinohe, Japan, watching a replay of the race on my Japanese cell phone.

It was during a lunch break/intermission that I finally remembered the Belmont.  I went to YouTube on my phone and searched for the race.  Unfortunately the outcome of the race was spoiled by the names of the videos, all declaring that he'd won.  Before even watching, I looked up at Jeff and said, "He did it." I was equal parts frustrated, sad, and awed.  We watched the video together, right there at a folding table, on folding chairs, surrounded by Japanese people, and draft horses and ponies.  When it was over, I had tears in my eyes.  Jeff didn't really understand.  He has gotten into some of the races with me - he loved Zenyatta and was as disappointed and heartbroken as I was after her last race.  But he didn't understand the whirlwind of emotions that I was swept up in immediately after watching American Pharoah's victory. 

I struggle myself to explain the emotions I was feeling.  When (IF!) it happened again, I wanted to be watching.  That's why, though I have become an absentee fan of racing, I've made sure to watch the Triple Crown races every year.  I felt hurt that when it finally happened, I hadn't been watching.  I wanted to be a part of it, even if that was just watching it live, like I had done for so many Belmonts before.  I felt tears because, a horse finally did it.  The horse who I hadn't "followed" until starting to watch his workouts just a couple of weeks ago and feeling, in spite of myself, that he actually had a real chance.  I felt stunned and awed, this hadn't happened in my lifetime, how do you react to something like this?

Unfortunately, or perhaps fortunately, I didn't have much time to analyze things.  I didn't exactly want to break down crying where we were, so I pulled myself together and we went back to watching races of a different sort.

I'm thrilled for American Pharoah and his connections.  I'm thrilled for everyone who was there to see it and for those who cheered him on through their televisions.  I wish I could have been there or done that, right now it really does hurt that I missed it.  But I know that Jeff and I are having a once in a lifetime experience right here, right now.  So instead of feeling sad for all of the "what might have been", I'm going to pick myself up and start the arduous task of going through the 897 pictures and videos that I took yesterday!  (and recovering from a sunburn)

Prettiest Ever?

I finished another saddle pad tonight.

Jeff commented that he thinks it is the prettiest one I've ever done.  I'm not sure about that, but I do love this color combination.  It is hard to "capture" though, as I've noticed it often looks just "orange and red" in pictures.  It's actually a golden yellow and deep red.  It is the same pattern I've done a few of lately, but I added a tiny bit more detail on this one by putting a single dot of color in the center of each diamond.

Yesterday, I received a bundle of cross-stitch fabric I'd sent to myself, but I'm running way low on embroidery floss.  Oh I own a TON of it, but it is all still in transit.  I only carried enough with me to pretty much finish this pad and the one before it.  Embroidery floss is not readily available where we are - at least not that I've found so far.  I'm still hopeful that I will find a place that sells it in our area, but we just haven't had the chance to do much exploring beyond our immediate area yet.

In the perfect timing department, today we went and checked out the thrift shop on base for the first time.  Of course I went straight for where the craft supplies seemed to be.  The only cross-stitch stuff they had was this kit, for $4.00.

While the design itself is pretty, I bought it for the materials inside.

It came with a large piece of yellow 14 count Aida cloth...

... and, most importantly, a TON of embroidery floss!

There are a lot of pretty colors in this bundle.

Tealight says, "So much string.  Must murder it."  Ah, cats...

It looks like I'm back in business while I wait for more of our things to arrive! 

State of the Studio - Empty (mostly)

There's not much to talk about as far as my studio room. 

It's just an empty room at the moment...

Totally empty....

Nothing to see- wait, what's that?

Yesterday one of the boxes we'd mailed ourselves (over a month ago) finally arrived here.  It had some odds and ends, including some last minute craft goodies I had stuffed in that still needed to be moved.

Whoohoo, fabric for saddle pads! 

Also, a few pieces of random fabric I'd set aside for potential model horse uses, such as blankets or something else.

An interesting thing in the room is the huge closet (with a cameo by Max in the hallway).

There is quite a bit of room in the closet and I've already got some ideas to maximize the storage/organizational possibilities in there.  I'm hoping they won't just end up crammed full of stuff and become a black hole full of supplies that I won't see until we move again...  ha!

Maybe it's silly, but I'm excited to have a (tiny) bit of craft supplies in my empty studio now.  (I also thought it'd be interesting to document the pristine, empty state of the room..  before it is crammed with desks, shelves, horses, and all manner of fun crafty stuff!)

Shake, Rattle, and Roll

So there is a "piling" challenge going on right now in the model horse community.  There are lots of pictures of it on Facebook, and it's also showing up in blogs, including here and here.  I think it's pretty funny, though some other people think it's horrifying.  My take on it is that I'm all for people having FUN with their horses and *gasp* not taking them too seriously.  ;)

Alas, I have nothing to pile, since ALL of my models and model related goodies are still en route from the U.S.  They are...  somewhere in the world right now.  However, it has gotten me thinking about a pile I'd REALLY rather not see once they do arrive.

The area where we are now living and where we will be making our home for the next 4 (or more) years is prone to... earthquakes.  Some people have told us that they happen on a weekly basis - though, so far, we haven't felt one yet.  From around the time we first found out we would be living here, I've been wondering what that means for my model horse herd. 

I've heard of a product called "Quake Hold" - and I did actually buy a little pack of it before we left home.  (I think I'd heard that is what collectors in California use?) 

http://www.quakehold.com

I will probably end up using at least some of that.  One of my ideas though - because I think it would be fun to do - would be to build a set of "stalls" to put my horses in to protect them from a tumble.  I've seen the ones that people have at the shows; I think the nicest ones I've seen are these: Stable Stalls on Etsy.  They are really neat, but I'm thinking of designing my own.  (after all...  we have a LASER to design with - haha)  I've thought about trying to come up with some sort of neat storage/travel/display setup for model horses ever since we first got the laser and those are still some product ideas that are rattling around in my head.  (along with SO many others)

One idea I've seen that I like is something alone these lines:

https://www.pinterest.com/pin/425238389793168202/

I like how each "stall" has sides, a back, and some sort of a front.  I would make the fencing on mine higher to avoid anyone being able to fall over the sides and I would probably make the stalls narrower/snugger (probably not a word), as well as adding some sort of padding for the (inevitable?) tipping.  I do like the chain front, but maybe some sort of solid "gate" would be better.  (Oooo, or like a miniature stall guard webbing??  Hmmm...)

Since I already have - several - bookshelves coming with everything else, I don't think I would end up building new shelves.  Instead my plan would be to modify the shelves I already have and/or fashion some sort of inserts for them if I didn't want to permanently alter the shelves I've got.  It's a lot to think about. 

I'm really eager for all of our things to arrive and I've very anxious to see how my herd fared on the journey.  I'd love to put them all up on display as soon as they arrive, but I think it's going to take bit of planning first.

Cross-Stitching Books (and a horse book too)

I apologize for the pictures in this post, they seem a little washed out.  I'm not sure if it's just my monitor or not.  I'm running off of my laptop, which I don't normally do, but my desktop machine still isn't set up yet.  It could be my choice of location too.  I haven't quite found a good photo shoot spot here yet - and anything that would help me with that (lights, backdrop etc.) is not here yet. 

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One of the first places I checked out on base was the library.  Even with the whole world at my fingertips via a keyboard and the Internet, I still love holding a book.  The first section I went to was the craft books.  I was happy to see a ton of books on Japanese arts and crafts; I'm certainly planning to check some of them out in the future.  However, for my first trip, I ended up getting two books on cross-stitch. 

I thought it might be fun to do a bit of an initial book review, since I just finished flipping through both of them.  (and marking many pages to come back to)

The first is Mary Engelbreit Cross-Stitch.

I really like her work, I have several rubber stamps that are her designs, along with some greeting cards and notepads I'd bought.  This book adapts some of her designs for use in cross-stitch. 

Although I love to cross-stitch my saddle pads, I'm not actually a huge fan of a lot of cross-stitched motifs and pictures.  I'm just not into the pixelated, blocky look that a lot of the designs have.  I was happy to see the designs in this book.  Most of them don't have that obvious chunky cross-stitched look, and a few in particular are ones I would really like to make.

This was the first section I saw that caught my eye.  I love the saying: "Most folks are about as happy as they make up their minds to be."  - Abraham Lincoln.  I agree!

Another design/saying I like is this one: "Sow good services: Sweet remembrances will grow from them." - Mde. de Stael.

I love things inspired by nature and this acorn and fall leaves design caught my eye right away.

I really like this idea for a notebook/journal/idea book cover.

None of the designs from that book are anything that I would sell, I envision them as fun little projects to possibly decorate my new Studio with.  Maybe I would give them as gifts too.


The next book is: Around The World in Cross Stitch, by Jan Eaton.
 

 This book is really neat.  It is divided into several sections, different parts of the world.  For example, of interest to me because of where we live now:

There is an introductory write up for each section.

Then a few patterns, most with more information as to the specific inspiration or area they are from.

 There are many, many border and motif ideas throughout the book, from simple to complex.

This in particular is something I HAVE to stitch...  It doesn't hurt that I love blues and greens - so this caught my eye immediately.

I can see a ton of inspiration coming from this book, for saddle pads and other ideas as well.


On a totally unrelated note, here is the third book I got at the library:

Their selection of horse books is very small and I'd say I've already read half of them and own a few.  However, they do have a few books that have long been on my reading list, including this one.  I'm already halfway through it and it is a fascinating, if a little sad, read.  Sad, because it deals with the decline of the wild horses, the buffalo, and the "Indians".  The book was written before the Wild Horse and Burro Protection Act had come about; so at its writing, wild horses had no protection and anyone could capture or kill them.

One of the coolest things about the book, being that I'm a bit of a Spanish Mustang enthusiast, are the repeated references to Bob Brislawn and the Cayuse Ranch.  There are also several pictures of Spanish Mustangs from the Cayuse, including... San Domingo!

I hope you enjoyed a peek at what I'm reading right now!

Horses, Of Course

First off, we made it!  We are in Japan and after a first week that was beyond busy, we are trying to get settled in now.  We have a house, a car, our dog and cat, a tiny bit of our belongings, and a bunch of borrowed furniture.  Hopefully the rest of our things will be here soon, then will come a marathon of unpacking and - what I'm looking forward to most - setting up my new Studio room!

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Many years ago, in school, I first learned about the 12 zodiac animals.  I had learned then that I was born in the Year of the Horse and my first thought was "Well, yeah, of course!".  I always thought it was neat that not only do I love horses, I just happen to have been born in one of the horse years.

When we heard we were coming to Japan, one of my first thoughts was , "I wonder if there will be any horses near us?"  I had done a few quick searches right away and learned of some sort of "horse park" in the nearby area, that was about it.  I knew that horse racing is popular in Japan, and I figured if nothing else hopefully we'd get to go see some of the racehorses somewhere.

Photo from: http://japanracing.jp/en/news-photos/photo-gallery/index.html

One of our first days here, we came across a newsletter that talks about local attractions and events.  The cover story just happened to be about the horse park I'd found in my early searches.  Jeff commented how it was interesting that they featured the horse park on the cover of the issue that was out right when we got here.

Our first trip through the shopping options on base, we saw a few gift shops that offered these blocky, stylized horse-shaped objects for sale.  Some were brightly painted, others were plain - for you to paint yourself, we imagined.  We thought they were interesting, then we moved on with our browsing...  (more on them down below)

Last Friday, we went on a tour the base does for newcomers.  We were all given a "Welcome to Misawa" packet.  In it, I was excited to read this, under the heading of history: 

"Misawa was renowned nationwide for 'Kizakino Pasture,' which produced quality horses."

Cool!

One of the stops on the tour was a beautiful Shinto Shrine in Hachinohe, a city not far from Misawa.

I noticed many horse related items here, including the picture at the top of this post.  There was a painting on display for each of the 12 zodiac animals.  The paintings had been done by local artists.  I was most excited to see the horse...

(but the dragon was really cool too)

There was a long section covered in hanging wooden signs and several of them featured horse paintings.

I thought the archery one was really neat.  (no surprise there, since I do horseback archery)

Another interesting one.

Hmmm, there's another of the "blocky" horses we keep seeing around.

We later learned that these signs are all hopes and wishes that people had written (on the backsides) and hung at the shrine.

(from a printout we were shown):

"Please take a look at these small wooden tablets.  They are called Ema, votive pictures of horses.  When people have a wish, they write up their wishes on the tablets and hang them up here.  Typical wish is success in an entrance examination.  Ema means literally a picture of a horse.  This name originates from the fact that real horses were once offered by the wealthy in exchange for blessing at shrines.  However, nowadays, many have different pictures of zodiac signs or other Shinto imagery."


The blocky horses were also in several places around the shrine, in different sizes and colors.

Black and white, one on each front corner of the main building. 

These two were off to the side and were much larger than the first two.

I believe all the ones we'd seen so far were made of wood, but this one was carved stone.

We finally asked one of the volunteers at the shine about the horses.  She showed us a printout, this is what it said:

"The horses on both sides are called Yawata uma, which means the horse of the Yawata Shrine.  Yawata Shrine is another name of this shrine.  I think you have seen the similar carved wooden horses at shops around here.  It is called Hachinohe horse by American people.  They are popular souvenirs.  Some of you may wonder why a horse-shaped craft is a souvenir in this area.  One reason is that northern Japan has been known for breeding good horses.  Farmers began to make horse-shaped toys as a side job during agricultural off season and sold them at festivals about 700 years ago.  That is said to be the beginning of the Hachinohe horse." 

Once I processed all I'd read and seen about horses in this area, I had the same feeling I'd felt when I discovered I'd been born in the "Year of the Horse"...  "Of course!"  I think it's super exciting that we happen to be in an area that was renowned for its horses and with, as it turns out, horses all around us!

Now... to find real horses...