← Katie Van Slyke - Katching Up With Katie
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- [00:00]
A
Welcome back to catching up with Katie.
- [00:04]
B
Are we been hitting.
- [00:07]
A
I've been. Oh, did I just do a knit stitch? Dang it.
- [00:11]
B
I gotta start over.
- [00:12]
C
No, no, not a kp.
- [00:13]
A
I don't know what to do.
- [00:14]
B
I know, but I gotta unroll at all.
- [00:18]
A
I'm just gonna. I'm just gonna commit. We'll have three knit stitches in a row. It's fine. I told you I was bringing the whimsy back into my life. And so I'm here to prove it by knitting on camera. I haven't. I will say, like, knitting is not something that's new to me. I don't know how to do anything other than a scarf. My nana taught me when I was growing up. And so knitting. I feel like every five years I knit a scarf.
- [00:42]
B
Comes back.
- [00:42]
A
Yeah, comes back. So. Right.
- [00:44]
B
Just do a really, really big scarf. Would be a blanket.
- [00:49]
A
So I don't know how, like, I feel like crocheting is for blankets.
- [00:52]
D
What if you kept going, like, you picked a color and you worked on one for like, however long of each year, and then you have like a decade worth of scarf.
- [01:01]
B
Wow.
- [01:04]
A
Just one scarf.
- [01:05]
B
She's just sitting.
- [01:06]
A
Fold it back and forth.
- [01:07]
B
She just has a scarf. And it's going into a dark room and you turn the light on, it's just to the ceiling.
- [01:13]
A
Well, okay. One thing is, we have the opportunity to do this because the new year's coming up. People do a temperature blanket. I was going to say that when you crochet, you, like, make a chart for each color. So you go off of the average temperature of each day. And then if it's within like a certain range, it's a certain color. And so you do a row every day. Or you like, say, I just. I wanted it on Sundays. And then you do like, you know, seven rows.
- [01:44]
B
Yeah.
- [01:45]
A
In a night. And by the end of the year, you have a blanket. You, like, figure out your dimensions and like, all that good stuff. And. And by the end of your year, you have a blanket and it like, it's gradient off of the colors.
- [01:56]
B
That's cool.
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A
That's cool.
- [01:57]
B
Imagine you lived in like, Florida. Los Angeles.
- [02:00]
A
Right.
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B
And it's just like 65 to 80.
- [02:04]
A
Well, Tennessee. It would be like, if you have it for 30 degrees and below you, it's like blue and then purple for 70 degrees, it's just like blue, purple, blue, purple for like two weeks straight. But yeah, so. So we're knitting, we're chilling. Lindsay's here today. We're. We're doing a little Bit of something different. Honestly, not even different. It's going back to kind of like the OG the roots catching with Katie, which is a Q A. You know, the last episode we just kind of played games. Usually we use this opportunity to either just gab, chat, goof around, make videos, like talk about stuff. And that's kind of what we'll do here, but in a more structured way where I put a little prompt on Facebook. If you don't follow my Facebook, that's probably where you get the most bang for your buck. Because I post so much there, photos, statuses, stories, videos, all of it and so on. There I posted a little like prompt saying, hey, what do you all want to know? Q and A wise. So we've. She's got some questions from that that she's going to ask. So if you want to just kick us off. Lindsay.
- [03:14]
C
Okay, we're gonna start with the World show questions.
- [03:17]
A
We just came back from the World.
- [03:18]
C
Show number one, why did Aaron not show Denver in the Western pleasure at the World Show?
- [03:24]
A
So, you know, this entire year we've focused on Western pleasure with Denver. That's been like. And honestly, that's normally if you have like a western horse or an English horse, they're gonna start off usually in the western riding or the hunter under saddle. And then they kind of like use that as the base of their career because it is a really good foundational class. It's good. Like, it teaches them how to hold themselves and they get used to the show pen even if they're not going to be super competitive in it. Like, it's a good class to start off in because they walk, trot and lope or can or whatever. And so with Denver, honestly, when I bought him, I did not think he was going to be like the Western pleasure horse. And Aaron will tell you that, like, he kind of just surprised us. He has a very like, all around movement. Like, we look at him and when you look at him loping around and stuff, you're like, that horse is going to do great in the trail in western riding. He just kind of surprised us at how well he put himself together for the Western Pleasure this year. Because usually that's like they're sat back a little more, they're a little tighter moving. They have to hold themselves for an extremely long time in this, like, really extreme, extremely collected gait. And he just kind of killed it. And everyone like really liked him. Like, the judges really liked him. And I think A, it was very good for the Western pleasure industry to see A horse off the rail, passing, moving more forward and being rewarded for it. But also there. There's multiple things to balance there with having a trainer that has as many horses as Aaron. So, like, I don't. I'm not the only person with a horse in that barn, right? So, like, yes, I want him to, like, focus on Denver, but he has so many other clients that are in the same boat with their horse. And so he had a horse for the Junior this year, which. The Junior, for a horse that's five and under, like, that is the class that is the hardest of the classes. Because there's, like, there's Junior, there's level one, which can be any aged horse, but usually it's a younger horse. And then there were all these, like, little futurities and maturities. So. Sorry.
- [05:38]
B
Hold on.
- [05:40]
A
My husband is sending me a nine years ago of us picture. Oh, nice.
- [05:45]
D
It's that bad, huh?
- [05:47]
A
But he, you know, like, there's. There's all these other, like, fraternities and maternity maturities. So Denver was in, like, we decided the best place for him would be the 10K maturities at the NSBA World at the Congress. So that meant that, like, a horse who had not won in excess of $10,000 in the Western pleasure by a certain point. So there's like all these, like, like different types of Western pleasure classes. A lot of people I've seen in the comments have been little haters being like, it's because he can't go up with the big dogs. I'm like, hold on, hold on, Margot Robbie. Shut up. He's fine. But, like, that's. I don't really care that, like, he probably. Maybe he wouldn't have won the Green the. Or the Junior. I don't care. Yeah, like, he's doing more than we could have ever imagined. And he's amazing. So. So he. He did both of those classes at the NSBA World and the Congress, and it was like, the same class at both of them. And I'm sure there was a variant of horses that he showed against the Congress was twice the size of NSBA World, but it was a lot of the same horses in, like, the top 10 of each of those. Yeah, he's, like, competing against the same horses. And then at the World show, it was kind of the same horses. And now for today's sponsor, which is Flexispot. You might have seen these comfy, comfy chairs that we sit in every single episode. This is the Flexispot Recliner XL6. So it's a Recliner, but it's independent controlled, so you can do the foot rest, you can do the back rest independently from each other to make sure you are optimizing your comfort. It's got massage seats, it's got heated seats, it can lay almost flat while also having the capabilities of basically standing you up, making this chair amazing for those with limited mobility or if you have anyone that's elderly in your home. Obviously, we love a comfy chair, but what we love more is an affordable chair. Other chairs that have this many different features might run you around $2,000 or whereas the Flexispot recliners run around $500. Speaking of a good price, you need to check out Flexispot during their Black Friday sale, up to 80% off. And they don't just have recliners. They have all kinds of different furniture. They have desks. They have desk chairs. They have recliners. There are so many different options and great price points. If you're in the market for a comfy chair or anything from the Flexispot website, you can. This is the time to shop. And I do have a code for you. So if you use the code on the screen, you will get $50 off your order. So go check it out. The link is in my description. And now back to the video. Like, the horse that won it at the World show is the one that was second to him at the Congress. Amazing horse. Like, I'm not saying that Denver would have won at the World Show. Like, he might have had a different, you know, ride. There was different judges.
- [08:42]
B
Not saying you can always have a bad step.
- [08:44]
A
Yeah. Like, and there might just be different opinions that day. It's a judge sport. But our viewpoint of it was there's only two days between the Western pleasure and the Western riding at the World Show. And, like, we had kind of made that step at the Congress to start his Western riding journey. And that was really cool to see. Like, his first time ever showing the Western riding was at the Congress. And. And it was great, but there was, like, a lot of things to work on. And so they had worked really, really hard for that three weeks in between those two shows on the Western riding. And it had come so far, and it just seemed unfair to Denver. This is one thing. I mean, the other thing is Aaron obviously had other horses to show. Like, Denver wasn't his only choice for this class.
- [09:29]
B
Yeah.
- [09:30]
A
But he was a contender in Aaron's lineup. He was like, I might want to show him. And then we got there and he was like, you know, I feel like it would be unfair to, like, have been working so hard on the Western riding because this horse is only four, and then all of a sudden, because there is some kind of, like, contradictory training between those two classes, especially when a horse is young and not super seasoned. So flipping back and forth can be kind of difficult mentally, like, to. To figure out. And he was like, I feel like if I've been practicing Western writing. And then all of a sudden I'm like, nope, we're going slow again. We're. We're going back to Pleasure. And then, oh, nope, we're going right back to Western writing. Like, you know, it was just going to be kind of unfair to him and we don't, like. Like, he's already proven to us that he's, like, really cool in the Western Pleasure. And, like, our next goal for him is the Western riding. So it just seemed, like, unfair and kind of unneeded to go in the Western Pleasure.
- [10:32]
B
Yeah.
- [10:33]
A
Against all the same horses he's been showing against all year, you know, and it's like, yeah, I could be greedy and be like, I want a trophy and possibly have gotten one, but I don't really care about that at this point. I think. I think I. I just care about his, like, success long term. And so I think that absolutely was the right choice because whether he did have a couple bobbles. You'll see that in the video that we post. That'll be this next week of, like, the whole World show video. You'll see he didn't have, like, a perfect run, but, like, the difference between Congress and the World show was exponential. And that is where his talent, I think, is going to shine the most, is the Western writing. And that is what our goal is for this coming year. And so it's like, it just didn't seem needed. Yeah, I know that was a long answer to that question, but I think it was thorough. Yeah, I just. Well, when it comes to, like, having a young stallion and whatnot, there's a lot of people that are, like, obviously cheering him on and, like, want to know the details and, like, watch his journey. But then there's also people that out of just for no reason, want him to fail and want to hate him. Like, I saw this one lady being like. Like, she commented and she was being so sweet. She's like, oh, my gosh, Aaron and Denver are unstoppable. Like, they're amazing. Whatever. Just writing a nice comment.
- [11:56]
B
Yeah.
- [11:56]
A
And this other lady was like, he was stopped. Did you not see that he was 12th and he, like, he was stopped. And I'm like, why are we being so dramatic right now? Yeah, like, it doesn't matter that much. Actually. Actually, he was stopped. Like, it doesn't matter.
- [12:13]
B
He actually lost.
- [12:14]
C
You enjoyed watching him. That's all that mattered, right?
- [12:17]
A
Like, I, I said it in the tick tock, and I'm. I so glad I did it. Like, just, I didn't think about it beforehand, but I was like, he didn't win, but improvement is winning. Like, he, yeah, absolutely won for us.
- [12:28]
B
He did look a lot better.
- [12:30]
A
100. Like, everything that we said, we were like, okay, if he. Well, I said, do the trotlog better. That didn't happen. But he was straighter and he was a lot more even. So. But, yeah, that's why.
- [12:44]
C
All right, next question. In your video riding Denver, you acted like Aaron might be mad at you for doing lead changes. Why can't you just do what you want with your own horse?
- [12:52]
A
And I probably put a little bit more drama on that. Like, on the question. Mad at me. But I think it's also because, like, I do try to be as respectful as possible to him as the trainer. Like, I've, I've entrusted him and his program with my horse. He makes a lot of decisions for Denver because that's where he lives. I'm not with Denver all the time, and he's had Denver since before I owned him. Like, he's the one who started him. And so when you, like, obviously you go into each relationship with a trainer on your own terms, you figure out your relationship, you figure out what kind of those terms are. But Aaron obviously knows what he's doing, and he's got, like, a meth. There's a method to the madness, and I like to be kept in the loop, but it would be contradictory to, like, my goal and, like, the money I spend and the relationship that I want to have with this professional who is taking care of my animal and, and trying to campaign them and train them and all this stuff. If, like, every time I wanted to get on him, I just went and did whatever I wanted and, like, undid a bunch of work.
- [14:01]
B
Yeah.
- [14:01]
A
Or contradicted training that he is in the middle of or, like, it's just not what's best for everybody.
- [14:07]
B
Yeah.
- [14:08]
A
And so while, yeah, like, I threw a little lead change in there. Like, I wouldn't have done that if I didn't lope off and be like, oh, yeah, I could do it. Like, yeah, like, if I'd been like, oh, like, I don't know what's going on here, like, but Western riding is a class that I've had a lot of success in. And, like, I've changed leads on a lot of different horses, and I just felt confident in myself in that moment to just go ahead and throw one in and. And it was good. And then he walked up and I told him myself, and I was like, I changed leads, and he was like, was it good? I was like, yeah. And he was like, show me.
- [14:39]
B
Yeah.
- [14:40]
A
But he was like, okay, but if you're going to show me, let's make it a teaching moment. You know, lope him straight and then break to walk and stop at the thing so that he's not turning either way. And, like, there. There are specific ways you can do it without creating bad habits on a young horse. So, anyway, I just think if you're going to pay someone for sure and trust them, don't contradict what they're doing. What they're doing, you know, for sure.
- [15:05]
B
You definitely. It feels different.
- [15:08]
A
Well, and I haven't ridden since July or not July, probably August. July, August. And so I'm not, like, in my prime of riding, and I am not a person that's used to riding Denver specifically. And a horse that young. I mean, four is still so young. Like, they're still in the baby stages of training to where you have to be so consistent with your cues.
- [15:32]
B
Yeah.
- [15:33]
A
Like, to stay on par and stay on task and, like, it's unfair to the horse to be, like, confusing them and, you know, so.
- [15:42]
B
Yeah.
- [15:42]
A
Anyway, those glasses look really good.
- [15:45]
D
Like, on.
- [15:45]
C
You like them?
- [15:46]
A
Yeah, we kind of glazed over that. We didn't even, like, talk about.
- [15:50]
B
I've honestly been surprised at your ability to knit and talk.
- [15:54]
A
Yeah.
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B
I would be going pause. I either have to pause the knit or pause the talk.
- [16:00]
A
I've paused a couple times.
- [16:02]
B
Yeah, but you've been rolling.
- [16:04]
D
Who's it for?
- [16:05]
A
I don't know. Does someone want it? I'd wear it, but I'd also give it away. Would either of you wear a scarf?
- [16:14]
B
Yeah, I would wear.
- [16:14]
A
Of this color?
- [16:15]
B
Yeah. Yeah.
- [16:16]
A
Would y' all fight over it?
- [16:17]
D
No.
- [16:18]
B
No.
- [16:20]
A
Can we make that a segment? Do you want tassels on the end or no tassels. Do you want it to be an infinity scarf or not?
- [16:28]
B
No, to infinity.
- [16:29]
C
Can you put your.
- [16:30]
A
Your.
- [16:31]
C
Your chain garb on and fight?
- [16:34]
A
They do have chain mail.
- [16:36]
B
Indifferent to tassels.
- [16:37]
A
Indifferent to tassels. I was kind of. I was sitting here thinking, I want to put tassels on it.
- [16:41]
B
I would. Tassels would not deter me from wearing.
- [16:44]
A
But I also might just keep it.
- [16:46]
B
That would deter me from wearing it.
- [16:51]
C
All right, ready for the next question? All right, what is next for Denver and the plan for 2026?
- [16:58]
A
So he just finished at the world show. They haven't left yet because they had a couple more horses to show. But when they leave, they'll go home. He'll have a rest, like. And when. I mean rest. I mean, like a month of doing nothing. Like, he'll go outside just being a horse. He'll just hang out. Where'd my little thing go?
- [17:15]
C
Need a pencil? You got a purple pencil?
- [17:18]
A
My purple pencil. I'm doing two pearl, two knit alternate. Oh, okay.
- [17:24]
B
Okay.
- [17:24]
A
That's the only thing I know how to do.
- [17:26]
B
Wish I knew what that meant.
- [17:27]
A
Yep. But he'll just go home. He'll just go be a horse, he'll go hang out. I mean, these are athletes, like, and he's just gotten off of, like, his biggest season. Like, he had the big show in August, big show in October, big show in November. Like, that's hard. And so every athlete needs rest. Every athlete needs to recuperate. And like, you know, in the off season, sometimes we might. We might have the vet out and be like, hey, what. What are some things we could do in the off season to like, help him, you know, recuperate even more or help, you know, what are. Yeah, you know, little things like that. Have, like, a soundness exam done. He hasn't had any soundness issues, but, like, you know, might just take that time to, like, attempt to utilize it, you know, and so he, like, maybe do some massage, maybe do some lasering, you know, things like that. And so he'll go do that for about a month. In that month, the only thing he might have to do is to take some pictures with me.
- [18:23]
B
Yeah.
- [18:24]
A
Might do a little photo shoot. But other than that, after that, he goes in January and he'll move to High Point, and he will live there through the middle of March. And so they will collect him for frozen semen for all of January because he does have some mayors booked to him for 2026 already. And we're doing fresh semen for six weeks. So February 1st through March 13th, he'll be collected every Monday, Wednesday, Friday. It'll be fresh, meaning, like, he gets collected that day and it gets sent out to marriage to breed. And then after that, because he's going to go show, it'll be frozen only. And so his frozen semen has proven to Be very good, very potent. Almost everybody he bred last year got pregnant. I think only two didn't and one of them was mine. And it was like her own issues. It was Erlene. But yeah, it. It was absolutely like a really killer 2025 bowling season with only fret, only frozen.
- [19:25]
B
Yeah.
- [19:25]
A
And so the fact that we're mixing in some fresh this year, he has more mares that he's breeding in 2026. That's kind of what our focus is. And then after he breeds, I mean, we're pretty much going all in on the western riding. Like, I think we're gonna attempt to find someone that could maybe start him in the trail. I don't know what that'll look like for showing in the trail for 2026, but like starting him in it, the trail's hard. It looks super freaking hard. But I think he's gonna be like a freak at it. He's really good over. I say he's really good over the polls. Don't watch the western riding and list, like, don't use that as your. Like he is. But yeah, he. He's going to be more of like on the all around side of things this year. If he does do the Pleasure, then it'll probably be me in the non pro or honestly, I don't even. I don't even think Pleasure will be something they really look. I mean, he still will be level one, I believe. No, he'll be level one in the western riding, not in the Pleasure.
- [20:29]
B
Gotcha.
- [20:30]
A
He's won too much money in the west in the Pleasure. But yeah. Sweet.
- [20:34]
B
Is there a level two?
- [20:36]
A
There is.
- [20:36]
B
What is level. What's the difference between two and.
- [20:38]
A
Aaron's not level two.
- [20:40]
B
Gotcha.
- [20:40]
A
And so Aaron wouldn't be able to show him in.
- [20:44]
B
So you could do level two.
- [20:45]
A
I could.
- [20:45]
B
Wow.
- [20:46]
A
I could show him the level two amateur. I could show him in the non pro limited. So those are things that we might do. But again, it's like, I don't want to be too greedy with that, with this horse. Oh, I'm like, when, God you love a Yosa. I. I don't want to be too greedy with this horse. Like, I want what's best for him and like the longevity of his career. So I don't want to just be like, oh, the class is all at once. Yeah, do it. You know, he's not a robot. So I did this strand way too tight and now it's hard. We'll see. So we'll see. All right.
- [21:24]
C
All right. On to the mini questions.
- [21:26]
A
Okay.
- [21:27]
C
Why are we sending Jack to training? Oh, not we. Why are you sending Jack to training so early, but you waited to send Gretchen so late?
- [21:34]
A
I had zero plan when I got Gretchen. I got Gretchen because, like, I. So how I got the minis in the first place was when I bought Code Red, I met Chandler Marks, who bought me as Flatline. Well, Chandler's, like, whole thing is the minis, and, well, he does saddle breads and stuff too. But, like, he is a mini person. Like, he has amazing stallions. He has amazing mares. They all go show. They're so successful. Like, he knows all about the bloodlines and confirmation, and he just knows everything. And so I had reached out to him. I was like, hey, at some point, I would love some minis. If you ever have any, like, you know, broodmares or anything like that that you would like to sell, please let me know. He was like, how about this one, this one, and this baby? And I was like, okay, okay, I'll do. I'll do a three for deal for you. And I was like, okay. And both the mares were bred, so it was Karen, who at the time was carrying Squirt, and Regina, who at the time was carrying George and Gretchen. And Gretchen was four months old when she came. And so that was, like, my introduction to many horses. I was like, okay, I guess I have many horses out and didn't have a plan. Didn't know about the showing, didn't know about any of it. And my kind of plan for Gretchen, because I knew she was gonna be a little bigger, was like, oh, she could be, like, a really good kids horse, like, one day. And by the time she's old enough, that's hopefully when I'll have kids. Like, you know, I didn't need one right then. Maybe later. And she's like, so pretty. You know, I'm like, if I had a kids horse, be good, have a pretty one. Well, then I started, like, learning more about the mini horses, about how, like, athletic they can be, about how versatile they're, like, show career can be. They can be halter horses. They can be driving horses. They could do the jumping, they could do the liberty. Like, there's so much stuff. And I'm like, this would be really cool to. To document, to bring more awareness to the Miniature Horse association of, like, the world that's out there for equestrians that either, A, may not want to ride or B, may not have the income to have big horses and go show and do all those things and. And I mean, minis are. They're just smaller. They're. They're cheaper to house, they're cheaper to feed, they're cheaper to train. Like, it's not cheap by any means, but it is more attainable and affordable.
- [23:53]
B
Yeah.
- [23:53]
A
And so, like, bringing this world into the light and doing it in hopefully the correct way. And so that's kind of why with Jack, when he was born, Chandler was like, oh, my gosh. That is, like, so such a nice baby. You should keep it. See what he does. And I was like, well, if I'm going to send him to training, like, I would love to send him with somebody like, you know. Yeah, that. And Gretchen, like, she's coming to. And her sire is known for being a driving horse. Like, I think the cart is so freaking cool.
- [24:25]
B
Yeah.
- [24:26]
D
Yeah, for sure.
- [24:26]
A
And I was like, okay, what if we sent Gretchen cart?
- [24:30]
C
As in, like, she'll pull a cart.
- [24:31]
D
Pull the cart.
- [24:32]
A
Should we drive it?
- [24:33]
D
Oh, yeah.
- [24:34]
A
It's sick. Okay, that's cool. Okay, what if I, like, send her to training because it's the perfect timing for her to start that, and then I send Jack to do the halter and do, like, the weanling and, like, the yearling halter and stuff like that? And so the reason I didn't send Gretchen until later was because I had zero plan. And so I didn't. I probably should have, because her full siblings have been, like, fantastic and have shown and, like, won everything.
- [24:59]
B
Yeah.
- [25:00]
A
But with Jack, I was like, okay. Like, it's very much. If he's gonna be a halter horse by spring, the earlier I could get him to the trainer, the better for not just handling and training that way, but also for, like, fitting him up and feeding him correctly and, like, all these things. And if he's gonna be, like, left intact and be a little mini stallion, he needs to have, like, really good habits and, like, all this stuff. And so, yeah, that's. That's the plan.
- [25:30]
C
All right.
- [25:31]
A
We'll hopefully be following along a little mini horse show journey that'll be fun next year. I know they have shows at Ocala, and so I'm like, if we go to that one in April, we could go, like, see them in training because it's, like, close to there.
- [25:44]
D
Yeah.
- [25:45]
A
And we could, like, I don't know, go take a lesson with, like, she's got so many minis, and he's going in training with Emily Conder. I think it'll be great. She's great.
- [25:57]
B
I need a. I need a driving lesson.
- [25:59]
A
I. I Think that'd be awesome, like, with one that knows what they're doing.
- [26:03]
B
Yeah, yeah. Anyone that. I don't really need to know what I'm doing.
- [26:06]
C
I really just want to go.
- [26:07]
B
Yeah, they'll take you around.
- [26:09]
D
I want a chariot, though.
- [26:10]
C
None of that.
- [26:11]
A
Oh, okay.
- [26:12]
B
They'll take you. They'll take you for a loop.
- [26:15]
A
But I'm like, can they pull two people? I don't know. They're little.
- [26:19]
B
They are little.
- [26:20]
D
Do you have many mules?
- [26:22]
A
They do have many mules. Oh, now, this trainer doesn't train many.
- [26:26]
B
Mules, but how many are mini mules?
- [26:28]
A
They could be as little as.
- [26:30]
B
As same. Like a horse.
- [26:31]
A
Yeah. Because it's a mini donkey and a miniature horse. So think about how little Dolly is.
- [26:36]
B
Yeah.
- [26:36]
A
And then bred to, like, one of those mini stallions.
- [26:39]
B
Yeah.
- [26:39]
A
That. Well, that. That would be a henny.
- [26:41]
B
A henny?
- [26:42]
A
A henny. A mini mule would be like Karen bred to. To Hank. Remember Hank?
- [26:48]
B
Yeah.
- [26:48]
C
Yeah.
- [26:49]
A
It's like if we bred Karen to Hank.
- [26:50]
B
Yeah.
- [26:51]
A
That'd be a mini mule. Which we're not doing.
- [26:54]
B
Yeah, we're not doing that.
- [26:56]
D
But think of the workload you could add if you had a mule, because.
- [27:02]
A
I do so much work with the minis. Cool.
- [27:03]
B
Could pull two people. Yeah. And a plow. The mules.
- [27:09]
C
All right. Will you be bottle feeding the mini calves or letting them raise them? Oh, wash your pencil.
- [27:17]
A
So we have two mini cows. Do. So Poppy and Petunia, the OGs, they're due April 26th because we AI'd them. So they're both due the same day with. I mean, we're gonna recheck them. I hope they're both still pregnant, but as far as we know, they're both due in April. And, like, when we got those babies, they were on the bottle. And, you know, I don't have, like, a super, like, solid opinion on bottle calves versus, you know, because I do get, like, they do get so much friendlier. Like, if you bottle feed them, they are going to absolutely be puppies. Like, they're going to be so friendly and easy to work with, but I think what we're gonna do is leave them with their moms, and I don't think. I know we're gonna let Papa Petunia raise their own babies, but because there's only two of them, we're gonna bring them up to the cow barn, calve them out in the stall. Not the stall, but, like, the cattle barn bay. We'll try to do, like, a full. Like, a calving season like, we'll try to have them under cameras and all that good stuff. And I think because we'll keep them up closer, and because Poppy and Petunia are so friendly, we'll. We'll get to. It'll be like, the horses. So, like, you know, it might not be where they're friendly day one, but with the horses, because you can go up and love on them, the babies then are, like, way more inquisitive, and they get used to you and, like, all this stuff. So I think with Poppy, Petunia, by having our mamas be super sweet, we'll be able to do kind of the same thing. Right. Without having to bottle feed. So that's the hope we'll see. If they're heifers, we're keeping them anyway, so.
- [28:51]
B
Yeah.
- [28:53]
C
All right, on to the big horse questions.
- [28:56]
B
Here we go.
- [28:57]
C
All right. How many foals will you be keeping from the 2026 full crop? And do you know which ones?
- [29:04]
B
You said. You said seven, didn't you?
- [29:06]
A
No.
- [29:08]
D
Seven.
- [29:10]
A
So here's the thing. I keep saying, gosh, I don't even know what 6, 7 is. Like, I chat. GBT didn't even know what 6, 7 was. I tried to get it to explain it, and it was like. Because sevens or seven, eight, nine. That's why six is afraid of seven.
- [29:25]
D
No, it was a basketball player thing.
- [29:28]
B
I don't know what.
- [29:29]
D
It's an announcer at a basketball game, and it was for this particular player. And I don't know the entire details, but I did get a breakdown of what that meant by a youth.
- [29:39]
A
A youth told you.
- [29:39]
B
Who broke this down for you?
- [29:40]
D
An Instagram reel.
- [29:41]
B
Oh, I don't think this is correct.
- [29:43]
D
This is correct. This is factual.
- [29:45]
A
It was.
- [29:45]
D
It started off as that, and then it got strewn into. Strewn into what it is.
- [29:52]
B
I thought it was from a song.
- [29:53]
C
It is from a song about a basketball player.
- [29:56]
A
Oh, got it.
- [29:57]
D
That an announcer referenced.
- [29:59]
C
He originated from that, to my knowledge.
- [30:02]
D
And that was how it was broken down. So, okay, that could be cabbage. Any youths.
- [30:08]
B
Can you confirm or deny? Can you confirm or deny?
- [30:11]
A
I think that's. I never felt so old as this six, seven phenomena, and I've always been able to keep up, and I'm not keeping up.
- [30:19]
D
I'm at that age now.
- [30:22]
A
That's what I'm doing.
- [30:23]
D
It's these dang kids, and they're slaying. I saw. I saw a thing. It was like, bro, remember? It's like nobody. Nobody bulls anymore. Like, everybody in high school was bulling Bro.
- [30:35]
A
Was what? Bulling.
- [30:36]
D
Bulling like everybody bull, bro.
- [30:38]
A
You don't just bull nobody.
- [30:42]
D
Just ride around bullying everybody.
- [30:44]
A
In high school, I'm a. I'm not a you anymore.
- [30:48]
D
I know, Boolean.
- [30:51]
C
All right, next question.
- [30:54]
A
Okay, wait, no.
- [30:55]
B
How many are you?
- [30:57]
A
Next question. So I, so we have nine babies coming. I. This past year I was like, I'm only keeping two and then I kept four. So I'm going to try to keep no more than four. I don't, I don't think I could do more than four. But at this time, you know, with us potentially having like an in house trainer, keeping four is actually kind of like better because then we can kind of see what they look like as yearlings. We can see what they look like as 2 year olds. Kind of make our decision with a little bit more facts behind it as to how they're maturing, as to like which one of them would fit our needs the best and then, you know, potentially selling them to show homes a little bit later. So like as yearlings and two year olds. So there are two embryos that I purchased this season and pretty much I will always keep an embryo past weaning due to the fact that I paid for that embryo. So it's just like, would it fiscally make sense to sell them at weaning price? Because I'm not going to make that much. And if I bought them from an embryo, it's like I'm, I'm buying from mayors that I don't own. And so it's like giving myself an opportunity at a potential show horse that I wouldn't have had because I don't own that mayor.
- [32:11]
B
Right.
- [32:11]
A
So like the Waffle House Code Red baby. Absolutely not for sale. I mean you'd have to, you'd have to pull out a lot to get that baby from me. And then the only blue couture versus Code Red baby, I, you know, it, it's probably going to be a keeper. At least three yearling just because of the fact that it was an embryo. Now as far as my mayors, I'm gonna have a really hard time not keeping the Indie VS. Code Red baby. Be really cool. It's an appendix baby because she's a thoroughbred mare. And then the Trudy First Things first.
- [32:45]
B
Baby, that's like, that's gonna be a really good horse.
- [32:47]
A
I feel like I have to keep at least one of the First Things first babies for the fact that I want to make sure they get into the show pen and make sure they are like put on the, the correct route to get his babies proven as early as possible.
- [33:01]
B
Yeah.
- [33:02]
A
So I'm probably really picky where his babies go that this. I mean, I'm picky with everybody, but.
- [33:08]
C
A little more picky, right?
- [33:09]
A
Did I just knit? I just knitted like four.
- [33:13]
D
Apparently you can't knit and talk.
- [33:16]
C
Did you do K, a KS or a kp?
- [33:22]
A
So I can't keep the Ricky Hago looking. So that's another thing people were like, why would you buy a mirror that you have to F out and then the baby goes back. So Ricky is who I would love to breed to Denver. Like I really looked at my mares and was like, I have really awesome hunt seat mares to breed to Denver, but all of my like super high caliber proven western mares are his mother or his sister or his niece, cousin. So I was like. So I was like, what do I like I need to buy a couple. So that's why I bought Buttercup and Ricky for him for, for the western. And she's bred and she's due really early in the season. And so that would allow me to have full control over like breeding season with her. If I had her at my house, if I was trying to breed her back or do a round of Ixy or whatever and she's in someone else's hands until after weaning, I feel like that would be a nightmare. And.
- [34:22]
B
Or you just have to wait a year.
- [34:23]
A
Or just have to wait a year. And I'm not trying to do that. And so like the deal was like, because I don't mind another baby. Like, absolutely. Like that's also something for us to just follow along with. And Taft Dickerson is who the baby will go back to and he's fantastic. And so it's just forging that relationship there. And I was like, I'll just fold her out. How about that? Like, because I get to take videos of it, I won't charge you board. Like, it's fine. And so, yeah, I don't see a problem in it. And we're all cool with it. So that's why she's, that's why she's there. But other than that, like the happy baby, the A Andy baby, they're both first things first. We'll just have to see what happens with that. As far as who I keep, I don't, I don't want to really lock myself into anybody but the embryos at this moment, but yeah, yeah.
- [35:11]
C
All right. What's the plan for the current horses in training?
- [35:19]
B
They'll probably go do stuff I think.
- [35:22]
A
After like the, the horses in training are Penelope who's a coming three year old. So she's Trudy and allocate your assets.
- [35:32]
B
She's doing English stuff.
- [35:33]
A
Yes. She'll do the Hunter under saddle. And then there's Wheezy who is indie in Full Metal Jacket. She's Walter's full sister.
- [35:40]
B
Taller than a house.
- [35:42]
A
She's gigantic. So she today got picked up Scott Kyle performance horses. Scott and Stephanie and Kendall did a fantastic job with her for her foundation. They hauled her all the time. Like she looks amazing, but it just makes more sense if I have two horses that are doing the Hunter into saddle and that are traveling to shows and that are. It would just make sense for them to be one place. Like it. It just makes it easier. And so Jamie English is who like showed Hank. That's who, you know, went and won the congress with him, which is Trudy's first baby. That's who has Penelope. She's had other horses for me and so I was like, hey, I think I'm gonna move Wheezy to Jamie to have everybody in one spot. And so the plan for Wheezy because she'll be four this coming year, she's just like a kind of like a little late bloomer and she's just so big. We were giving her time to grow and not really like push her hard. I would love to see if she would be competitive enough to do the like there. There's a lot more four and five year old for charities these days and made in four year old stuff and like meaning like never shown before.
- [36:47]
D
Yeah.
- [36:48]
A
And so I and like green horse and there's just lots of avenues for her to possibly show in the Hunter under saddle prior to going on to doing like an English all around career. So we're gonna see how that goes this coming year. And then obviously Denver talked about that that he's gonna mostly do the western riding and potentially the trail. Um, and then yeah, all the, the yearlings this year will go into training this coming year and they'll all kind of be on their own timeline. I don't know necessarily when their hard start is that they're going to get a saddle put on them. Like we're going to just go off of off of them and that'll be this coming spring. So yeah, I think that's, I think that's it.
- [37:26]
C
Last question. Why can't Kennedy have the pond that the mini cows use?
- [37:30]
B
So give her the pond.
- [37:31]
D
Are there other horses over there?
- [37:33]
B
Do the game.
- [37:34]
D
So just Kennedy. You see that pond right there?
- [37:37]
A
Well, no, it's because. So when I got Kennedy and she's like, the queen because she's Denver's mom, you know, whatever she had. Had. You didn't know that? Oh, my gosh. So Kennedy is Denver's mom.
- [37:50]
B
Wow.
- [37:51]
A
We have a full sibling to Denver coming in 2026. We have a full sibling to Kirby. So two Kennedy babies coming. So Kennedy had a pond at her old home.
- [38:00]
B
Yeah.
- [38:00]
A
North Carolina. Way better ground than we have here. Like, probably way more aesthetic. It was the most beautiful pasture I've ever seen.
- [38:07]
D
This is the pond here.
- [38:09]
A
Huh?
- [38:09]
D
This is the slums here.
- [38:10]
A
Seriously, Like, I'm like, I feel bad. So she had this pond. She would go swimming in it. She would go rolling in it. She loved the pond.
- [38:19]
B
Yeah.
- [38:19]
A
And now she has no pond. And everyone's like, give her a damn pond. Yeah. And so they see the mini cows have a pond, and they're like, what the heck For Kennedy.
- [38:28]
C
Kennedy.
- [38:29]
B
Yeah.
- [38:29]
A
It is so far from the barn. Like, it is nowhere near the barn. First of all, it is nowhere near the barn. There are no other horses up there. It is so deep. Like, this isn't a pond. Like, they had a pond that was like a walk in. This is like 20ft immediately. And it's not safe. Like, I have this huge investment in this horse. No, I'm not putting her in this freaking giant pasture with his pond. No. If I. I will say I'll make it a goal. If I ever move and if I ever have beautiful flat pastures that have no rocks in them to dig a beautiful pond that is safe, I will build Kennedy a pond. But until then, no, I have no pond for Kennedy. No. And we're not blasting shelf rock to make one, because that's what I have to do.
- [39:17]
B
Yeah.
- [39:17]
A
If you live in middle Tennessee, you know, the rock is for real. Yeah, it is.
- [39:22]
B
It is rock.
- [39:24]
A
So that's it. Let me know if you enjoyed this type of format. If we want to sprinkle these in every now and then of just, like, hard answering questions and going more in depth. Thank you, Lindsay, for being, like, our moderator. A moderator. Yeah. That word. Let us know what other questions you like to hear in the future and what other type of content you like to see. If there's any other games you want us to play, all that good stuff. And I'll see you on the next one.