Pretty soon it will be National Farm-City Week. It’s held the week before Thanksgiving. To kick it off I’ll be attending the National Farm-City Week Kickoff Luncheon in Washington, DC next week.
The luncheon will begin at 11:30 a.m., and the keynote speaker/entertainer is motivational speaker and country music artist Michael Peterson. The award-winning country music artist not only sings, but also speaks eloquently about the value of agriculture and those involved in it.
We all know Michael will do a great job since we’ve seen him perform before. I’m really looking forward to it. I also want to thank New Holland for sponsoring my coverage of this year’s event.
Horse Photograhper Extraordinaire
Sometimes the photographer gets his picture taken. I hope Larry Williams is happy with this one of him and his wife Karen.
They’re the official show photographers of the Appaloosa World Show and boy do they have a job to do. You can only imagine how many pictures they have to take and take care of. They do thousands at a show and their system is very impressive.
Larry said he’d been trying to figure out how to make a living in the horse business for a long time. I think he found a way since equine photography is his business and specialty. Like a lot of people Larry has had some mentors and people to learn from and he talks about them in our interview.
You can listen to my interview with Karen and Larry here: awcs-07-williams.mp3
I showed Larry this photo I took at the stump races this morning and he said it looked good. I asked him for some tips on how to get a good one of something going this fast in relatively low light. His answer is “lots of light” and “shoot a lot.” He’s got lights rigged all around the ring that all flash with the camera on the floor.
After shooting Indy cars at 220 mph I’m not sure which is more difficult!
Learn About Reining
I know a lot of you are like me, “not very horsey.” But you work at a show like the World Championship Appaloosa Show and you can get pretty horsey real fast. How many of you know what a reining competition is? Quick show of hands. That’s what I thought. So watch this video clip and then you’ll have an idea
Of course you can see the action live on the arena webcam.
Steve’s Angels
Hey, if Charlie can have some then I guess Steve Taylor can too.
Actually these were some of Steve’s helpers at last night’s World Championship Appaloosa Sale. They were responsible for getting the paperwork to the winning buyers in the auction.
And we wondered why Steve left Missouri for Idaho.
Shining Up a Storm
If you need your boots shined at the World Show then “Storming” Norman Miller is your man.
I got mine done earlier today and had a little chat with the shine king. He says he’s been doing this for the ApHC for at least 15 years and about 53 years all together locally. I asked him how many shines he’s done. He says that there’s 5,280 ft. in a mile and he’s shined a lot of miles! He handled my interview with him like the professional he is.
You can listen to my interview with Storming here: awcs-07-miller.mp3
Appaloosa World Show Returning to Ft. Worth
It looks like the World Show will be in Ft. Worth for some time to come. Today the Appaloosa Horse Club signed a new 5 year contract with the city of Ft. Worth. Looking on just after the signing are ApHC representatives Steve Taylor, CEO and Eric Beené, President along with Ft. Worth City Councilmen.
I attended the signing and recorded their comments which you can listen to here: awcs-07-facility.mp3
After the signing there was the traditional exchange of gifts. The ApHC guys got some very nice leather bound note pads.
Steve Taylor brought along an Idaho (ApHC Headquarters state) favorite, Huckleberry Mead. The way the Ft. Worth City Councilmen were eyeing the bottles of mead I know which gift will last longer than the other!
Chasing After Cottonseed Oil
Cottonseed Oil is greasing up the highways during its ‘Comeback Tour.’ New uses for cottonseed oil are popping up across the U.S. and the National Cottonseed Products Association is making sure consumers can track where and how the oil is being used, even if they can’t make a cross-country trek. Cottonseedoiltour.com takes visitors zigzagging across a web-browser sized U.S. to learn about the latest success stories of cottonseed oil. Paul Fraser, proprietor and chief operator of Cork’s Old-Fashioned Donuts in Albany, Oregon says cottonseed oil is the special ingredient in his healthier and better tasting donuts. The site traces the history of “America’s first vegetable oil.”
Barry Corbin Talks About Trail End
You never know who you’re going to run into when you’re out doing some agriblogging. For example, I got to sit down with actor Barry Corbin yesterday at the World Championship Appaloosa Show. He recently completed an award winning short film titled, “Trail End.” The movie stars a great Appaloosa horse. On the left is Tony Nix, owner of the horse in the middle, Chippen Gold (“Chip”). On the right is Barry Corbin. Barry’s starred or guest-starred in too many movies and tv series to list.
I spoke to both of them after yesterday’s screening of the movie here at the World Show. Barry says the horse was the star and he only played a supporting role. He says about Chip, “He supported me but I supported him. It was kind of like a partnership.” In my interview you’ll hear Barry describe the movie and talk about his other experiences in the acting world. I asked him for some behind the scenes stories from making Trail End but all he could really say is that he had a good time and that it was, “Like a week and a couple days of a trail ride.”
You can listen to my interview with Barry here: awcs-07-corbin.mp3
When I spoke to Tony he says that he got involved after someone at the ApHC made a connection to him when the movie company called seeking a horse in Kansas. He says that Chip was great and showed that an Appaloosa (even an 18 yr. old one) can star in a movie. He also thinks it might be pretty cool if someone would need him to star in a movie too.
You can listen to my interview with Tony here: awcs-07-nix.mp3
World Championship Appaloosa Sale
It’s been an interesting afternoon here at the 2007 World Championship Appaloosa Show. As you can see one of the rings is busy. They’re just about to wrap up the last show in time for tonight’s World Show Sale.
I spoke with Appaloosa Horse Club board member Chuck McWhirter about the sale since he’s one of the main organizers. He says that they’ve got some great horses lined up and now all they need is some buyers. That would be nice if you want a successful sale.
It is Halloween and the good thing is that I’ve found candy everywhere so I’ve got my chocolate fix.
You can listen to my interview with Chuck here: awcs-07-mcwhirter.mp3
Successful Farming Launches Farm Machinery Show
Farmers and ranchers can tune into a brand new show that’s devoted solely to farm machinery beginning tomorrow. Successful Farming is launching it’s Farm Machinery Show on both RFD-TV and high-definition RFD-HD.
Premiering November 1, 2007, The Successful Farming Machinery Show the Successful Farming® Machinery Show will deliver all the best-read favorites from the magazine, and for the first time ever brings together these favorites in a full length television program. The show features will include: new product reviews with Successful Farming magazine’s new products editor – Laurie Potter, highlights from farmer submitted ideas in All Around the Farm®, winning shop designs and features from Top Shops®, industry leading coverage from The Ultimate ATV/UV Test, machinery auction news with Greg “Machinery Pete” Peterson and stories from Roger Welsch, the Tractor Whisperer.
New programs will air weekly – starting Thursdays at 7:30pm Central on RFD-TV. Hosted by Successful Farming machinery editor, Dave Mowitz – the show will air four times a week for 18 weeks on RFD-TV and on RFD-HD. These informative programs airing each week will provide farmers with all the information they need to know about machinery to make their farm or ranch more successful. The show is sponsored in part by John Deere and Firestone Farm Tires.