12/28/2014 The Top Ten List

12/28/14  Hard to believe The American Saddlebred Blog is two years old.  What started as a whim to just post pictures has evolved into a weekly missive that hopefully entertains and informs.  In case anyone stumbles across this blog and wonders what I'm rambling on about, here are some acronyms that frequently appear in posts. 


BHF  Broodmare Hall of Fame
CH    Champion
F        foal date
KSF   Kentucky State Fair, where the World's Championship Horse Show is held each year in   
          Louisville, Kentucky
WC    World's Champion (a class winner at the Kentucky State Fair)
WCC  World's Champion of Champions  (overall winner if there are several class winners in the           same division)
RWC    Reserve World's Champion
WGC    World's Grand Champion (Winners of the 5-gaited, 3-gaited and Fine Harness stakes)
RWGC  Reserve World's Grand Champion (2nd in the above 3 classes)

Please note that you can search for a particular horse in the search field on the blog.  Also, you can look at any of the posts by clicking on the list on the right side of the blog.  There are 118 posts as of today, so this is a recap of my Top 10 list and the reason why I chose each post as a favorite.

10.  Sometimes I come up with a theme, like gray horses, or holidays, or horses with a particular word in their name.  This is about flowers.  http://theamericansaddlebred.blogspot.com/2014/05/51114-may-flowers.html

 
9.  Old magazines are a frequent source of material, and occasionally I highlight a particular issue.
I chose this one because it had an Ottawa Creek Farm horse on the cover.  http://theamericansaddlebred.blogspot.com/2014/06/6714-june-1954-saddle-bridle-plus-60.html


8.  Horse shows are another interesting topic, and my favorite show is Lexington.  This post looks at the 1953 Lexington Jr. League show that was judged by Dr. Robert Elrod Sr.  It was a 3-part series, but this is the Saturday night installment.
http://theamericansaddlebred.blogspot.com/2013/08/saturday-lexington-jr-league-horse-show.html



7.  The blog features horse pictures, and when all else fails, I use the alphabet to group horses.  In the last two years, we've made it from the A's through the U's.  This group began with the letter "T".  http://theamericansaddlebred.blogspot.com/2014/06/62814-truly-time-for-ts.html


6.  Breeding stock is always a topic of interest, and the all-time most read post is about a stallion I feel has made more contributions to the breed than any other in terms of showing and breeding.  Yes, it's CH Wing Commander.  http://theamericansaddlebred.blogspot.com/2013/04/42313-happy-birthday-ch-wing-commander.html


5.  Mares don't always get enough press coverage, but they do on my blog.  The problem was figuring out which BHF mare to feature.  Dixie Duchess?  Golden Firefly?  Kate Haines?  Judy O'Lee?  Nope.  I chose Buddy's 5th dam, Kalarama Rex' dam, and subject of the 100th post.  http://theamericansaddlebred.blogspot.com/2014/08/82214-nancy-thurman-bhf-hits-100.html


4.  I have gotten feedback from a number of blog posts, but the one that surprised me the most was when a picture I posted prompted a response from the owner of a horse that hadn't even been born yet when the picture was taken.  Read on.  http://theamericansaddlebred.blogspot.com/2013/04/41813-blogspot-allows-me-to-see-which.html


3.  Of all 118 posts, only one has been about a person.  Jack Thompson was an inspiration, and he has left a lasting legacy to the American Saddlebred.  I hope no one ever forgets what he accomplished.  http://theamericansaddlebred.blogspot.com/2014/04/41214-s-j-jack-thompson-jr-and-knob.html


2.  Most of my posts contain info I gathered out of magazines, books and catalogs.  This post had information that had never been shared before.  http://theamericansaddlebred.blogspot.com/2014/07/72614-whyworry-who.html


1.  Buddy, Best Ever Saddlebred.  I bought my first Saddlebred when I was still a teenager and in college.  He was my "Buddy" for 18 years.  Not a show horse by any stretch of the imagination, but perfect for me.  This was my second blog post, and it was posted exactly two years ago today.  http://theamericansaddlebred.blogspot.com/2012/12/so-after-leasing-my-sweet-little-mare.html


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