Tux did pretty well at last weekend’s show and certainly behaved among the very best of all the weanlings there, but Luke placed no better than third in hunter in hand so earned no national points. Luke is still feeling under the weather and just wasn’t up to the task. We will ask Andy, the trainer, to just rest him up and we’ll see how he feels in a week or two – we don‘t believe in pushing horses that aren’t feeling well. His trainers really love Luke, and they’re talking World Show - we are taking a wait and see approach. Tux placed with two firsts and two seconds (only two horses in that class) in Non Pro Most Colorful (all ages); second in the Colorful Futurity out of six weanlings and yearlings; and fourth in Open Most Colorful; and in Weanling Round Pen he didn’t place in the top six out of 15 entries. That’s disappointing, but in that class a professional handler shows the weanling in the round pen, allegedly to eliminate judging bias, and Tux’s handler never got him to lope in either direction! That’s just unbelievable – they won’t place if they don’t do all three gaits. Tux is just so laid back and like his dad, would rather go slow. So you have to be firm about his lope and then he looks gorgeous doing it – other weanlings normally are on red alert out there and go like a bat out of heck and you can’t get them to slow down! So maybe the handler just didn’t expect that and did not know what to do before his few minutes was up in the round pen. Oh well – he continues to look great, show great and is so easy to handle.

Two of the lower fence boards on the paddock on the inside of the big pasture were completely busted out today. We figure it had to be Reverse. One, it’s low to the ground (about little steer head height!) and two, he loves that little paddock! He likes to go in there and lay up against the outside barn wall in the sun. It must be warm and relaxing, and Reverse loves to nap there. He used to be able to fit UNDER the fence boards, but is getting to be a big boy now and must have decided to make a door where there wasn’t one!