Grand Summer Gymkhana gathering

This is a photo heavy post, so a cuppa, biscuit and a comfortable chair might be needed!  You may have seen Lorraine's version of this at http://sewingforsasha.blogspot.co.uk/2015/08/the-grand-summer-gymkhana.html (I'm so glad she blogged first as I am less familiar with horse riding terms than she and Jocelyn are, as they both did horse riding).

The day for the Grand Summer Gymkhana dawned bright and warm.  The riders, horses, judges and spectators gathered eagerly, especially as the previously arranged date was rained off in May.

Bobby on Indiana tested out the fences ahead of the main events ...

... while the riders and horses gathered in the holding area

Miranda and her foal watched Bobby

The spectators and judges chatted ...

... as Bobby and Henry continued to walk their horses around the ring

Jocelyn's fence announced the 'Horse Jumping competition'

The prizes were all on display and the competition began

Bobby the Cowboy approached the first fence on Indiana

Bobby cleared the first jump and approached the second as Henry prepared to start

Unfortunately Henry had a disaster with his first jump as Stratford's hooves knocked down the fence however Henry held on tight so he didn't fall.

Henry and Stratford approached the second fence just as Bobby completed the circuit and went to take his bow.

Fortunately Henry and Straford cleared the second fence without mishap and galloped up to the third fence which they jumped over successfully, much to Henry's relief.

Back in the holding area Henry told Stratford how brilliant he was despite the first fence as he felt he rather than Stratford had mistimed the approach so they would work together to improve their jumping.

Meanwhile Nicholas James and Wren reassembled the broken fence

Wren added the finishing touches to make it ready for the next rider

Peggy Sue received encouragement from Alice as she was a little nervous and was feeling self conscious because she didn't have a hat or smart riding clothes, however Alice reassured her that the competition was open to any rider.

Peggy Sue and Pacific Sunrise (Misty) approached the first fence in fine style

They cleared it with ease and galloped up to the second fence

After jumping the second fence they were not daunted by the third fence

Peggy Sue and Pacific Sunrise saluted the judges when they finished their perfect round

The audience including toddler Edmund, Florence and Wren were thoroughly enjoying the competition, Edmund was longing to have a ride but was content for this time to watch the others with the foal beside him.

But what's this? A puppy from the audience was making his way onto the ring ...

... just as Davy on High Steps was lining up for the first fence

Fortunately Davy and his Appaloosa successfully cleared the jump, skirted around the puppy and Wren rushed out to capture the escapee

"I'll have to keep a close eye on you, naughty pup" said Wren has she carried the puppy back to the spectators

Davy and High Steps had no trouble with the second fence 

and the third fence didn't cause them any problems either

Davy and High Steps bowed to the judges

Next it was Laura's turn with Emily, they had plenty of experience and approached the first fence with self assured poise 

As the others in the holding area watched, Laura and Emily lined up for the second fence while they considered their timing for the third as well

A perfect jump and clean approach to the third and highest fence resulted in a successful final jump too

As the audience applauded Laura and Emily saluted the judges

By contrast Flora and her new young horse Rufus were new to the circuit, however they successfully cleared the first jump mainly down to Flora's enthusiastic and positive encouragement of the rather reluctant Rufus

Unfortunately for Flora at the next fence Rufus refused to jump and walked through it instead, knocking down the bar

Flora was relieved that she had remembered to bandage his forelegs before they started so he wasn't hurt by the bar falling

Rufus was also not keen on the third fence especially as it was higher than the others ...

... Rufus shied away and passed the final fence

With a lump in her throat Flora bravely saluted the judges as she completed the round, she knew she had some work to do with Rufus to increase his confidence for higher jumps

The judges  and audience could sense Flora's disappointment as she gave the salute

Davy and Bobby relaxed on the grass with their horses as they watched the competition

Laura and Henry discussed their rounds

Henry and Laura chatted eagerly about the horses as they waited for the next rider

Ella and Snowfall began their round confidently with a good first jump

However they weren't so lucky when they landed after clearing the second fence as poor Ella tumbled from the saddle

"Stop Snowfall!" cried Ella as she started to pull herself up again

The tumble gave both Snowfall and Ella a fright ...

... which meant that when they approached the third fence Snowfall refused to jump

However they made their way to complete the round with a salute to the judges, feeling rather dishevelled and disorientated

"... did you see that? I hope Ella is okay?" said Henry to Laura.  "So do I, I think Ella needs a hug she looks so upset" said Laura and the two friends went to console their friend as she returned with Snowflake to the holding area when the competition finished

Miranda and her foal were not taking part in the competition, as part of her training Miranda showed the foal around the ring.

Wren sat side saddle on Edmund's foal as she watched Miranda

The foal walked with Miranda to the second fence

Trendon Elliott and Alice were deep in conversation and did not pay any attention to Nicholas James who was trying to get them to help him deliberate over the results

Miranda earnestly encouraged the foal to approach the third fence and explained in a friendly voice about jumping.

Wren had aspirations about being a circus rider as she waited for the judging to finish.  Edmund watched her with some amazement.

"Have you decided the results?" asked Miranda
"Yes, I have" said Nicholas James and quietly explained to Miranda, who fully supported his decisions.

Nicholas James called some of the riders and horses to approach him at the trophy table which was brought out into the ring.  "This competition was about participating and enjoying our horses.  You all did well, even if you don't think you did, the most important part was trying your best, working with and encouraging your horse when things went to plan as well as when they didn't.  You all displayed courage and patience, so well done for a great effort - I think this has been a very successful event."

Peggy Sue was amazed when Nicholas James presented Pacific Sunrise with a blue rosette and her with a trophy for doing so well in their first competition.

"For me?" she exclaimed

Emily was soon wearing a pink rosette and Laura graciously accepted the other trophy from Nicholas James for their perfect round

"Thank you" said Laura as she held her trophy

Henry was awarded a medal for completing his round calmly even after the mishap with the first jump.  He was very surprised and thought about what Nicholas James had said in his speech.  He was convinced that Davy and Bobby would have received a medal instead of him, however the medals were not for winners but for encouraging improvement.

Flora received a medal for sportsmanship and enthusiastically encouraging Rufus around the course.  She was amazed and waved excitedly to the crowd.

Flora and Henry with their medals as the Grand Summer Gymkhana came to a close

*****

I would like to thank Lorraine and Jocelyn for inviting me and my younger daughter to participate in the doll horse gymkhana.  We attempted to do this in May however on the chosen day when we met it was clear that the rain would not stop and a large mop and bucket would be needed to make the lawn dry enough to use.  However we used that wet day to plan more features for the event and were eventually able to reassemble in August on a glorious day (though it got breezy which made standing the dolls and horses a challenge for any length of time on the lawn).  I had made the wooden fence in time for the first date, Jocelyn had acquired the highest fence earlier (which I think is what gave them the idea) and on the day we dreamed up the first fence by using Weetabix (later fed to Lorraine's guinea pigs)!

This event was not exclusive to Sasha dolls.  Peggy Sue (Schoenhut), Bobby (Kids 'n Kats) and Wren (Makie) were very welcome and we would have brought some of our modern Gotz dolls and Jakob (Kids 'n Kats) downstairs to join in too (though their riding outfits were borrowed for the Sasha dolls, so they would have been spectators instead) if we had enough seats for them.

The four of us had a lot of fun setting up this scene, taking photos and discussing the next moves before the breeze decided them for us (dry weetabix is lightweight)!  We finished the day with tea and cake.

A small wish - part 2

At Lorraine's house when we visited to collect the toddler, Henry gave Laura a very lovely denim handbag which he brought from the Sasha Festival.

Henry's gift for Laura from the 2015 Sasha Festival

In addition to helping the toddler from SusanLK make his way to England for my daughter, Norvell enclosed a gift for him which she bought at the festival.  It is a delightful outfit made by Sheila Foery - Superman shorts, t-shirt and socks.  After he had tried on his shorts made by his new mum, it didn't take Edmund long to decide he wanted to be Superman and do brave things so on went the new outfit from Norvell.

Edmund as Superman

Edmund strikes a Superman pose

Edmund was sitting on the sofa when he started to slide off it to go exploring

Peggy Sue spotted him and thought he was falling, so she helped Edmund back up onto the sofa again

Edmund managed to climb back up again with Peggy Sue's help

"I hope you're sitting comfortably away from the edge now" said Peggy Sue.  Edmund just smiled at her.

Peggy Sue sat down feeling pleased that she had arrived in time to help Edmund back up to his seat

As Peggy Sue wandered away, Edmund watched her go

Edmund slid down from the sofa again and stood behind Peggy Sue but she didn't notice.

He climbed off the stool and toddled off towards an interesting looking box

He discovered his swimming shorts in the box (made by his new mum) and some pretty fabric which came with him on his journey to England

Feeling bold, Edmund climbed into the box

and settled on the fabric for a rest 

Soon it was time to go home, my girl wrapped Edmund in his towel as it had been raining outside and she didn't want him to get wet.

Cuddling Edmund in his travelling towel

However in the end Edmund travelled on the final part of the journey to his new home in the doll bag made by Lorraine

SusanLK very kindly send the Mary Engelbreit fabric to me as a gift - maybe it will become a quilt, I'm still considering ideas.

Thank you Norvell for hosting Edmund on his journey to England and for his lovely new clothes.

We had a lovely time visiting Lorraine (and her glorious collection of dolls) and are so grateful that she offered to transport this little red head from the USA to England for us.

A small wish - part 1

I saw a Sasha toddler for the first time at the 2012 Sasha Festival. Later, the antics of Lonely, Lucas and Connor on Ronnie, Dee and Jen's blogs kept my younger daughter laughing and drew her attention to toddlers.  More recently in 2014 there was a big gathering of toddlers at the 2014 festival in the US and then at the Chat 'n Snap in the UK.  My daughter kept asking if she could save up for one, so we started her toddler fund (mainly any sales I made at the Chat 'n Snap, kind donations and she has been doing helpful chores around the house which she keeps track of in an account book).  I wanted her to understand that you can't just have everything you want straight away - it often means saving up and working hard.

Earlier this year I posted a request on Sasha Mart for anyone who might be selling a toddler to contact me.  Lorraine had suggested that if a toddler was for sale in the USA she could bring it back after the 2015 festival as these days the additional cost of UK customs and international shipping can really make buying a doll from overseas expensive.  After a few days I was contacted by SusanLK in Massachusetts who had a Claudius for sale.  A lot of emails flew back and forth, arrangements were made and in due course the toddler was posted within the USA to Norvell who was going to the festival (Susan couldn't attend and we didn't want the doll to be sent direct to the hotel).

Norvell kindly took photos which she emailed to my daughter when he arrived at her home.  This certainly helped increase the excitement about him as the waiting for his arrival continued.

Gotz toddler Claudius (photo by Norvell)

Close up of the toddler Claudius (photo by Norvell)

My daughter reading the email from Norvell with the picture of the toddler doll

The next stage of his journey was with Norvell to the festival in Texas where she gave him to Lorraine.  He is in such lovely minty condition that Lorraine decided not to take him out at the festival to photograph him attending it (we had given her permission to do so if she wanted to).  Norvell added a gift from the festival to his tube and he travelled to the UK in Lorraine's hand luggage with Henry (his tube went in her suitcase).

Lorraine arrived back in the UK just as my daughter went off to the first of 2 summer camps, so it was only today that we were able to arrange to meet up (at Lorraine's house) for my girl to finally get her longed for toddler boy.

Laura and Florence help open the toddler's tube

He was carefully wrapped in a towel and in tissue paper

Oh he is beautiful

One very happy girl with Laura, toddler and Florence

My daughter asked me to photograph her toddler's introduction to his new big sisters.  As he is a sailor boy, to make him feel at home Florence had dressed in her original Marina outfit and Laura wore the union flag with sailor collar dress which I made a couple of years ago.

"Hello, welcome to England little brother, I'm Florence and this is Laura"

"We have a gift - our girl made these swimming shorts for you" said Laura

"We think he likes the yachts on his swimming shorts"

"Thank you big sister Laura"

it is good to have a welcome cuddle

"Look, my new swimming shorts fit"

My daughter decided to name her new toddler 'Edmund' (Ed for short) an old English name which means 'fortunate protector'.  She was also considering 'Kelvin', a Scottish name which means 'friend of ships'.

giving Edmund a cuddle

I would like to thank SusanLK, Norvell and Lorraine for enabling my daughter's wish to come true in such a lovely way and helping to nurture her doll hobby.

There is a part two of meeting Edmund which follows in the next post.

Laura in London again

On a glorious sunny Sunday afternoon Laura set off with her family to London again for another outing.  We had a date with the BBC Proms again (Beethoven's Fifth Symphony and Berlioz Symphony Fantastique played on period instruments) but as it was such a gorgeous day we decided that instead of a museum we would do some walking instead.

On the tube from Stanmore Laura had her hair tidied up

Tidying into a neat ponytail 

There, all ready for the outing in London

Laura studied the London Underground map to find the destination of Westminster

Houses of Parliament clock tower containing the bell 'Big Ben'

Laura stared through the gates at the Houses of Parliament

Next we visited St Margaret's Westminster alongside Westminster Abbey.  Unfortunately they have a policy of no photos in the church, so we couldn't photograph Laura with any of the fascinating carved memorials or the beautiful stained glass.  We did leave a donation in their box.

Laura peered up in amazement at the sheer splendour of the entrance to Westminster Abbey.  She did not go in because although it was free for her, it was very expensive tickets for the family unless we were attending a church service.

The amazing stone masonry above the West Door at Westminster Abbey

We walked through back streets (which were quiet on a Sunday afternoon) to Vincent Square then on to Westminster Cathedral - the Catholic Cathedral in London.  This was built in 1895-1903 and the internal decoration (mosaics) are still gradually being added (Byzantine style).  This was also free entry with plenty of donations boxes.  Once again, no photos were allowed in the Cathedral, however Laura was given a Peace badge by some anti nuclear campaigners who were standing outside the entrance reminding people of the terrible events in Japan 70 years ago.

Westminster Catholic Cathedral tower

We walked to Victoria where we found another branch of Giraffe (we like their food) and had an early evening meal.

Laura enjoyed some strawberries and ice cream (wearing her Peace badge)

An orange giraffe with the sugar packet on its head

Instead of catching the tube to South Kensington, as it was such a beautiful day, we decided to walk via Buckingham Palace to see the Queen.

Laura sees the Guard at Buckingham Palace

My younger girl and Laura outside Buckingham Palace

It was a warm walk from Buckingham Palace to the Royal Albert Hall with the evening sun on our faces.

Two tired girls resting outside the Royal Albert Hall waiting to go in

The Royal Albert Hall entrance opposite Hyde Park in the evening sun

Laura watched the orchestra (who stood to perform) just before they started playing Beethoven's fifth symphony in the BBC Prom

The Royal Albert Hall at night, opposite the Royal College of Music

It was a lovely day in London, the Proms were wonderful and we all enjoyed the outing.