Lesson from Pat Fitzgerald

I brought Rainy to Pat's barn, and she helped me to feel what "pushing the horse up into your hands" feels like, and then she worked with Rainy while I watched. Rainy and I have both been building our abdominal muscles since this lesson! See the video clips below of Pat teaching me about this.

Previously I had been struggling with asking Rainy to carry her head in a prettier position using my hands (that's a common mistake but a no-no nonetheless) and in this lesson something finally clicked and I learned it happens from my LEGS, not my hands. I believe Pat had helped me with this a couple of years ago on another horse, but I had obviously forgotten it along the way.

A month or so later my dad, Wes Licht, and I shared a lesson with Pat as she helped us with our horses in driving. I am so grateful to have such a resource as Pat in our area. Plus she is lots of fun!
Pat travels giving clinics and lessons for people of all levels. She can be reached at(608)444-4486

Harper and Dylan ride Rainy

Here we are on a very hot morning riding with Rainy. Harper has been riding for some time now, and on this day she invited brother Dylan to share her lesson. Dylan did a great job, and this was his first time riding! Their nanny, RachelAnn, took videos and photos, and both kids were very patient as they waited their turn to ride.

My Formula for these paintings

1. Make sketches of composition and painting ideas on scratch paper.
2. Prime the canvas or board with black (or nearly black) acrylic paint.
3. Draw in the painting idea with a pencil. The pencil line shows up nicely on the dark surface.
4.Get an idea for color schemes. (Or begin without a plan and wing it.)
5. Paint in the shapes beginning with the darkest colors, going almost to the edges of the pencil drawing. This gap between shapes will leave a rough black line around everything. I use acrylic paint.
6. Add some white to the color on the palette and paint over the first color, but not quite as far to give the illusion of depth with shading.
7. Keep adding lighter layers in smaller areas until satisfied.
8. Sometimes add a lighter shade in dots or dashes over the existing color for interesting texture. I do this often in the rivers or grass of a painting.

That's pretty much it! If you are desiring to paint, just begin. Remember when we were in the early grades and everyone painted with bravo? I am most inspired by children's paintings, and by artists who reach pure expression without concern of a critic.
Click the "play" arrow to see the video clip of this painting in progress.
































The mural I painted at Absolutely Art (below) was done in the same method. Click here to see the blog entry about this mural.

Villa Louis Carraige Classic, 2008

My friend Lauraine Smith and I competed in the Villa Louis Carriage Classic in Prairie Du Chein, Wisconsin this past weekend. We trailered our mares together and had a great time. Lauraine's horse, Reba, was very good and got some nice ribbons in each event and class. She drove in the Novice Horse division which was a very competitive group.
These are photos of Rainy and I in the reinsmanship class. We won second place in our division for this class (Novice Large Pony) and I was very pleased with her steady, sensible nature in all the classes.

This 3-day show is very well hosted and the grounds are beautiful. Apparently it is one of the largest driving shows in the U.S., second only to Walnut Hill. If you'd like to see more photos of our friends and their turnouts, you can view my mom's album by clicking here. She did a wonderful job of photographing many of the entries in the cones, cross country, gambler's choice, and performance classes, all while grooming for my dad!

Villa Drive and Ride - surprise!

Lauraine Smith driving her 6 year old Morgan mare, "Reba" in her Villa Louis debut. Gretchen Grzelak riding as groom.
These ladies were my fantastic help during the drive and ride.

In the Drive and Ride, I wore the same sensible clothes for the driving part as I had in all the other classes. Lauraine and Gretchen came in to help me unhitch and change tack.

Then to an unsuspecting audience, I stripped off my plain clothes to reveal a wild flamenco dress underneath! I could have driven and ridden in my Huntseat clothes, but decided to have a little fun with this class.






To those who have made a regular attendance to the show, they might suspect that I was influenced by Lauraine and her accomplice, who in years previous made an appearance at the Villa Louis as "Ladies of the Night!"


Everyone in the class made a beautiful transition from driving to riding. We didn't place, but Rainy had a very nice performance, and I had fun wearing the costume for the enjoyment of the crowd.