Hijacked: Bobby’s Favorite Things

Published on by Amanda C

written by Bobby C. Yes, THE Bobby. No autographs please.

I know…  you haven’t heard from me in a while and you missed me. Don’t worry, I’m back, and I’m here to help. You’ve heard a lot about Amanda and her favorite things, but I’m sure, like me, you’re thinking the same thing I am: WHO CARES WHAT AMANDA’S FAVORITE THINGS ARE! So to spare you from another post from Amanda about herself, I am hijacking her blog for the day to share MY favorite things! Well ok, not all of them are things. How about “Bobby’s Favorites”?  Let’s go with that. Not necessarily in order of favoritism, of course:

1.     My “ensemble”: The saddle (le sigh)…. Thank you Dustin and Silhouette Saddlery! The gloves (le sigh)… Thank you Amanda and Roeckl! The Helmet (le sigh)…. Thank you Charles Owen for donating a helmet to AEC and Halo for winning it!

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The color coordination! Wow. Amanda made me this way.
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Yes, two photos of me. I hijacked the blog, I can do what I want.

2.      Obviously Halo – no matter how many times I drop him in front of a jump, or pull to the base where he has to climb over a massive table, or run him past our distance, this sweet soul always goes and always takes care of me.  I fear the day I lose him, so I cherish every day I have – I do think he may be my ‘once in a lifetime’ horse.  He’s goofy, he’s so sweet, his personality is priceless and he tries his heart out for me every.single.time. Sweet Jesus, I just made myself emotional!  There aren’t words for how much I adore this sweet kind horse – his talent is as huge as his heart.

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Give Herrlerr cookie!!! Who wouldn’t love this face?
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That’s okay dad, I’ll jump this max Training oxer from a trot since you pulled all the way to the base. I got you, boo.
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Halo’s personality summed up in a photo. “Hi Dad, Herrlerr help! Herrlerr take off all da t-post caps! Herrlerr a good boy!”
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My favorite photo of all time of Halo – he’s spooking at the Prelim jump in the water, three strides away from the Training bank out of the water. But did he go? Of course. He’s Halo.
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And a fifth picture because you don’t own me!

3.     Amanda Chance – no need to adjust your monitor, I did write Amanda Chance, the very same one that is the usual author of this blog.  She has gone from being the girl I yelled “YO CHANCE” at across the barn yard (which would always result in me getting flipped off. Actually still does.) to being one of my closest friends.  She’s pushed me to push myself (mainly through insults and trying to emasculate me) and surprisingly I am very grateful to her for that. With a little courage and a lot of hard work we are actually running Training (and having a blast!) when I truly never thought I would ever compete at that level again. Although I could do with less insults.

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Yeah, there she is. No clue what she’s doing to jump #11. That’s my boo!

But she’s literally played ‘straight eye for the queer guy’ and transformed everything I own from cheap and tacky to classy and top notch.   She’s my partner in crime and we usually come up with the same wild ideas almost simultaneously. Go big or go home. The genius of the truck bed tent was totally hers though, credit where credit is due. And who else is going to give me coordinating black and red gloves in a glittery princess gift bag for my birthday?  And when I have a tire blow out and am running seriously late for a show, I get to the barn to find my horse already braided and bathed – who does that?  She secretly loves me.  I have to say, she’s pretty damn lucky I found her at a very rainy MeadowCreek HT in November of 2014. We have a pretty freaking amazing time in whatever we’re doing and are pretty gifted at entertaining ourselves and those around us by proxy – lucky bitches!

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The birthday card she got me. Mean, evil, brilliant. Sound familiar?

4.      Dr. Norton of Elgin Vet Clinic because she has literally and I mean literally (you have no idea) been keeping Halo alive since 2007. It hasn’t been easy.

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Dr. Norton trach washing Halo

5.     Sherri and Charlie – the dynamic duo who own the barn (and are long time friends). Sherri has played vet tech with me for years – I think she and I are more versed in the names and application of equine pharmaceuticals then we ever wanted to be?  Little side note there… she literally held Fabel (my old eventing mare I’d had for 29 years) while she died because I was traveling and couldn’t get a flight back. Wow – made myself tear up twice in one post.  As for Charlie, every barn needs a Charlie.  He tirelessly works to make the barn the best it can be and he’s always there to help with our mechanical incompetence!

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Herrlerr, Sherri, and the late but not forgotten Fabel
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Halo and Fabel a few days before she died. Because Charlie would kill me if I posted a photo of him.

6.      Amanda Merritt of Anchor Equestrian (I have way too many Amanda’s in my life) for being the most badass instructor.  She found me some big girl panties and strapped them onto me with duct tape.  She’s taught me to trust Halo at the higher speeds on XC, and she’s just so damn smart, insightful, and talented.  Yet another Amanda that is very lucky to have found me.

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She got mad skills. Who can equitate over a Prelim table?
AECTEAMamdrink
Only the best trainer has champagne on hand to celebrate your AEC win – and an empty woter bottle as the golden goblet.

7.       My rig.  I’ve NEVER had my own rig. I still love saying “My rig”. My beloved little 2016 Toyota Tacoma named Link (from the small but mighty Link from the Legend of Zelda) and my beautiful “antique” 1997 Brenderup trailer (affectionately named Wynona – look at the picture, that’s a Wynona).  We easily fit just about anywhere and she’s lightweight so I don’t need a behemoth truck.  Freedom is such a beautiful thing!  To quote one of my favorite movies: “I say who, I say when, I say WHO!” – name that movie!

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Hotel room in the truck bed, dressing room/closet in the trailer. Love! (side note: Amanda and I BOTH fit in that tent. And said tent has it’s own atmosphere, as we learned at Holly Hill – ask her about being waterboarded)

8.      Zephyr’s Garden Anti-Fungal Spray. I know I did a dual review with Amanda on this one but Halo is STILL fungus free.  After clearing up the fungus with regular use, I now give two sprays a week to prone areas and nothing has grown.  This stuff is MAGIC.  As you can see from my list of favorites, I don’t go crazy for products. If it’s a favorite thing, it’s awesome.  After years and years of the fungus battle, I’ve finally won!  HOLLER!

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Magic in a bottle

9.      Equicare Flysect Citronella. I really love this fly spray but not for any functional reason, its mainly nostalgic.  Don’t get me wrong, the lanolin sticks to the hair and repels the pests very well but I’d never laud it as the best ever because I’ve not done a comparison.  I remember my mom used to buy this brand for the horses way back in the late 80’s and early 90’s and they still haven’t changed the label in all these years.  That specific smell of citronella takes me back to when I first started riding, when my mom used to ride, to when I first rode Fabel – it’s funny how smells can take you back. I buy this so I can travel back in time. Again HUSH – MY FAVES, not HERS! Logic need not apply.

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Let’s do the time warp again!

10.   Always save the best for last: Dustin. He puts up with me, he puts up with my love of Halo, he tolerates my required horseback ride in every country we visit, he supports me unconditionally AND he bought me that amazing custom saddle – need I say more?  NO you cannot have him.  I will sell hair follicles for cloning though….

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Horseback ride through Hyde Park in London – not bad English form for someone who grew up on a ranch!

So, there you have it. Maybe not your traditional ‘favorites’ list, but at least be grateful you were spared, for a day, the typical boring ramblings of Chance.

58 thoughts on “Hijacked: Bobby’s Favorite Things”

  1. This is SO GREAT 🙂 I love all the side commentary, but my favorite part was how you wrote about Halo. Awesome post!

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  2. Love this post, Bobby! Made me smile on this otherwise very mundane Wednesday morning. Maybe when I finally make it to Austin (my sister lives there), I can meet the dynamic duo of Amanda and Bobby.

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  5. OMG I rode that same horse Dustin is on last year on a trip to London. At least I think it’s the same horse. LOL Love the post Bobby! And I just started using Zephyr’s anti fungal stuff on my pony, based on yours and Amanda’s reviews. Fingers crossed it works as well on Coal as it does Herrlerr and Henny! 🙂

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    1. I wish I could remember his name, but he was a huge draft horse! That spray is amazing! Just make sure to clean and thoroughly dry the area before spraying – at least that’s what I did! Let me know how it works for you!

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      1. I will! 🙂

        I just went back in my fb pictures and the paint I road was Mandrake. And was a chestnut paint. So not the same pony. But it was a fabulous ride and not even scary walking across the multiple lanes of traffic to get to the park. Definitely something I’ll do again!

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  7. Pretty Woman 🙂 And i too remember the smell of citronella from back in the day 🙂 Loved this blog. Amanda must let you ‘borrow it more often’. So much fun! Thanks for sharing Bobby!!

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      1. that is like the ONLY Julia Roberts movie i adore. HEE! And yes Amanda is dull but it let’s you SHINE so much more 🙂 HA

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  8. Love this list! And that fly spray! I don’t use the citronella, I use the super 7, but same nostalgia. And I have done a comparison, and it IS better than anything I’ve ever used. I bow to the Flysect.

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  9. Dear Bobby: Please steal this blog soon and review your scrumptious saddle, if only to enable the rest of us. Also because even using my best creeper google skills, finding photos and reviews of Silhouette Saddlery saddles is hard. And I want a black and green one in the worst way (I’d copy you, but that’s tacky and my horse is red… sooo no red saddle on the red mare).

    Also… who did you ride with in London? That photo looks so familiar – I rode out of Wimbledon Village Stables when I was there, and it was awesome.

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    1. We rode with Hyde Park Stables and it was great! They were about 8 blocks away from the park so we were riding on the city streets for a bit which was a cool experience! Maybe that will be my next blog theft, a review of the saddle. I am not very verbose though so it may be three sentences!! The saddle is awesome though – the leather is butter, and the cost of that custom saddle is very reasonable.

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        1. think you are verbose plenty 🙂 In fact why dont you guys just set up a live stream of you both at the barn 🙂 we would totally tune in 🙂

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  17. This is a great list. You’ve really got your priorities in order. A tip of the black-and-red cap to you.

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  21. Bobby – I love your posts AND all of your pictures! I have a technical question regarding your rig set-up – do you feel like your Tacoma pulls the trailer okay. How light are the Brenderups anyways? I won’t lie, I hate the idea of buying a big truck to pull my tiny pony, but didn’t think it was possible with a Tacoma.

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    1. Well thank you!! Very good questions as I had the same ones. First off, it depends on which year and style of Tacoma you get as there are different styles – and each style has a different ability. The new 2016 models are the first models they’ve updated in almost a decade so the engine, towing, etc are significantly better. If you get the a 2016 Toyota Tacoma SR5 with a V6 engine and the tow package – you have 6,800 lbs of towing capacity. My brender-up is 1,900 lbs empty and then with Halo and Henry roughly no more than 3,000 lbs total – we are still almost 2,000 lbs under weight. The beauty of the Brender-Up is that it has a self braking mechanism so when you brake, the trailer brakes itself alleviating the strain on the truck. Just this past April Amanda and I hauled Henny and Herrlerr on a 6 hour road trip from Austin, TX to Shreveport, LA and we had the truck and trailer packed out like the Beverly Hillbillies and the ride was as smooth as it could be! If you do opt for a Brender-Up lets chat further about the floor.

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      1. also a Honda Ridgeline pulls a lighter trailer nicely too 🙂 I have a friend who pulls an old school trailer (i.e. heavy beast) with a Tundra. I think the smaller trucks are nice as long as you make sure you don’t overload it. I bought a Honda Ridgeline in 2013 and the trailer i bought weighs 1700 empty (2015 Kingston 2 horse no dressing room). Even with my fat QH in there it is about 3000 loaded. i rarely pull two horses but i can do it for short trips but most the time its just me and the buckskin. I take my time and pull slowly and have no issues at all. And we have hills up here. But you can definitely do it. I actually like the brenderups a lot but up here a 10-15 year one cost the same as my brand new Kingston. SO the heart had to have what it wanted 😉 I love that Bobby has a Brenderup. just makes thing seem right 🙂

        PS Beverly Hillbillies. DEF you two 🙂

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      2. Okay, I have to ask, are you saying that some horse trailers DON’T have trailer brakes? That’s a terrifying thought to me, I’ve never seen one myself without.

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        2. It’s like a spring in the hitch of the trailer, when the trailer pushes on the hitch the spring compresses and then brake the trailer, they’re not electric or hooked to the truck in anyway. I am not a trailer brake expert, but I do think this braking mechanism is unique to Brender-Up.

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        3. Ah, interesting. I haven’t ever seen that kind of spring activated brakes before, that’s cool.

          Here, there’s a law that all trailers over 910kg (~2000lbs) must have trailer brakes (usually electric brakes). That weight is the loaded weight, so I think every horse trailer would fall under that category. I didn’t realize that the laws were that different in other places, but I guess it makes sense. I personally wouldn’t be comfortable hauling a horse in a trailer without it’s own brakes so I’m glad it’s a requirement 🙂

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