What a great time I had with Carole Fletcher and her friend Sue at the Columbus Equine Affaire last week. I assisted Carole at the demo rings where she had her two trick horses performed for the large audiences.
Magnifico is a Peruvian Paso stallion and besides tricks demonstrated in-hand, Carole also gave a mounted performance with the bow, laying down and Spanish walk among other tricks. In the small ring, he pivoted on his forehand both on the ground and on the pedestal with one front leg extended out. Another trick was the pivot with his front legs crossed. He certainly loved the applause!
Carole's Miniature Horse, Hercules, is also a stallion and he delighted the crowds with his tiny sneakers and ball cap. He smiled, answered yes and no and sat on a beanbag. Carole had him bow and lay down, and he also made slam dunks with his basketball! Several kids were invited one at a time in the ring by Carole to cue Hercules for his tricks, and the delighted children were thrilled to be "trick horse trainers" for a few moments!
Her booth was very busy as people came by to ask Carole questions and buy her Trickonometry books and DVDs. Visit: http://www.trickhorse.com/ Carole and her husband, Gary, reside at Singing Saddles Ranch in Reddick, Florida, near Ocala.
I met many wonderful people who shared stories about their special horses; I hope they e-mail me so I can include them in my next book, BELOVED HORSES IN SECOND CAREERS!
