# Congress-Mike's Plan



## Irish Hills Farm (Aug 3, 2008)

I had heard a rumor that Mike had a plan to make sure the judges got a good look at Frank.






Is it a coincidence that Frank's halter chain just happened to break during the class?





You decide....


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## Leeana (Aug 3, 2008)

Mike, it happens



. Dont be to embarrised ..my yearling filly named "Kitty" got loose at her first show this year and got to chase her down saying "here kitty kitty kitty"



.

I just adore Frank


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## Filipowicz Farm (Aug 4, 2008)

I am sure they got a good look. Beautiful horse. Thanks for sharing such great pictures.Friends buy other friends great cameras for there birthday.


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## midnight star stables (Aug 4, 2008)

Leeana said:


> Mike, it happens
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Oh Leeana! Did that happen at Area? What a scare!

And poor Mike! Frank looks wonderful though... I'd like to hear how he did


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## hhpminis (Aug 4, 2008)

Hey Mike, nice tactical manuever! I like it! LOL

I had it happen this year as well. We were at an AMHA show and my lead buckle somehow fell apart and the stallion is standing there looking at me. Now this is a 2 year old stallion in a championship class at AMHA so we have weaners, yearlings 2 yr olds of all the heights so I think there were about 16 stallions in this class. He was such a good boy, I patted my pocket (that is the que I use for them to come to me) and he stepped right up to me and let me fix his halter. Could have been sooooo bad.

Frank is a nice horse and I dont think you have stoop low to use methods such as this to get attention on him.



Just kidding.


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## KAYO (Aug 4, 2008)

Mmmmm...I saw the tail end of this class (where he won!!) and thought he was a really pretty horse!!



Didn't realize there had been a "loose horse" drama!!


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## Amy (Aug 4, 2008)

Filipowicz Farm said:


> I am sure they got a good look. Beautiful horse. Thanks for sharing such great pictures.Friends buy other friends great cameras for there birthday.


HEY -- I didn't know that & my birthday is coming up too Fran. LOL !!


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## strass (Aug 5, 2008)

Ah yes, there is no better plan to impress the judges than to do something incredibly stupid in the arena.

Frank had just won his Open Halter class and this was the Sr. Championship. We were doing really well up to this point and I thought that we had the Reserve. After everyone crowded Frank (so that we didn’t have an impromptu Liberty performance) and we had to mess with his halter for what felt like an eternity, he didn’t show worth a crap the rest of the class. Crutchfield had looked at him before this marked him down for Reserve. The other 2 judged him after the incident and put him 3rd. They might have put him 3rd anyway, but I can’t help but feel that my stupidity robbed him of his chance in the class and at repeating his Reserve Grand.

Anyhow, he still won the Grand (Stakes) for Classic Pleasure Driving, Under and there will be plenty of more chances for us in the future. I learned from this mistake and I’m just going to keep trying to improve. If this ever happens again, I won’t panic so much. Just wish I could have had this lesson someplace other than a Championship class at Congress.


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## txminipinto (Aug 5, 2008)

Hmmmm, I think I know Mike, Lisa, and Frank well enough to know that this was a total accident. Especially since I was sitting directly in front of Mike and Frank when it occured. The look on Mike's face was truth enough when he realized what had happened. Mike does a lot of goofy things for attention, but purposely loosing the chain on a breeding age stallion in a halter class isn't one of them.

Now, I've done that with one of BELINDA'S horses! It was 2 years ago in Claremore and I was helping her out since she had a bum arm. That stud did get away and did jump on another being handled by an older youth. If it wasn't for Carp Carpenter (who was apprentice judging at the time), things could have been worse! I can tell you from experience that is the worst feeling in the world to accidently set a stallion loose with other horses and handlers in the ring. And it's not funny for anyone involved.


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## SirenFarms (Aug 7, 2008)

Frank is my absolute favorite shetland ever. I swear i stalk this horse! I think he is just amazingg! I went through ALL of washburns online images lookin for him! he captivates me! i hope to get a foal out of him and i would killl to even see him in person. HES AMAZINGGGG!!!


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## strass (Aug 8, 2008)

Thank you all for the very kind words. He’s my special boy and I love him to death.



SirenFarms said:


> i hope to get a foal out of him


Crap!!! I knew there was something that I was forgetting the last couple of years. Frank has no foals because he’s still “innocent”. (That’s the only context I can use that word to describe him with.)

I’ve offered to let those who have trained him in the past breed a mare to him, but they didn’t like him. There’s a lot of competition for mares at our place and with him off-site during show season, he get’s left out. Maybe we can come up with a way to remedy that this spring. I reckon he’s earned one or 2 chances.


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## Irish Hills Farm (Aug 8, 2008)

strass said:


> Thank you all for the very kind words. He’s my special boy and I love him to death.
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It could be remedied right now..........


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## Lisa Strass (Aug 8, 2008)

strass said:


> I’ve offered to let those who have trained him in the past breed a mare to him, but they didn’t like him.






A bit of a drama queen, are you?!


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## strass (Aug 8, 2008)

Lisa Strass said:


> A bit of a drama queen, are you?!


I only say it because it's true.

Honestly, with Belinda winning a Congress Grand with not one, but 2 foals from Bright this year, who could blame her?

Besides, I happen to think that her stallion is from quite exceptional breeding. I wouldn't mind owning a full brother to him.


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## susanne (Aug 8, 2008)

Hmm...sounds like a new Hollywood "coming of age" movie, with all of Frank's friends and admirers joining together to help him lose his virginity...

He's such a gorgeous boy!


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## strass (Aug 8, 2008)

> Hmm...sounds like a new Hollywood "coming of age" movie, with all of Frank's friends and admirers joining together to help him lose his virginity...






OMG!!! Now that was a funny post.

I actually blushed when I got a visual of going home and giving him the "American Pie" speech about no longer being "unused".


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## txminipinto (Aug 11, 2008)

Lisa Strass said:


> strass said:
> 
> 
> > I’ve offered to let those who have trained him in the past breed a mare to him, but they didn’t like him.
> ...



I agree Lisa! I do believe I had expressed interest in Frank at one time..........for one of my mares, not me (had to add that



some people might get the wrong idea!



). Must have just been forgotten.


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