Alright, so there has been some huge changes here at Blackthorn Stables ever since the move from Region 6 to Region 7.

First, our Logo has been changed to a Tennessee Walking Horse with a Crescent moon to reflect our present focus within the hobby, which is on Gaited Breeds. We still use the Jumper logo, but will be using this one in addition to it!

Second, we have sold off most of our Stone Horse Show String and will no longer be pursuing Stone models. The following horses are no longer showing with us: Diamonds and Guns, California Rose, Nobody's Business, Spotted Big Time, Doktor Nowak, Domino Effect, Senorita Margarita, and Paparazzi. We have more of our show string still listed for sale: Iron Cross, High Note, Reign of Fire, Oakleaf Autumn, Tahitian Moon, Casual Friday, Whiskey Business, and Thieving Magpie. With the exception of our American Saddlebreds and our Tennessee Walking Horse "Mr. Firestarter" we will no longer be showing within the Stone Division for personal reasons.

Third, the good stuff! We have moved on to Customs and Artist Resins, the current focus being Gaited Horses, but we will be pursuing Stock and Sport breeds as well. Presently we have an Independence by Chris Nandell-Flint waiting in the wings, and a Moonshine resin by Kitty Cantrell being sent off to Sue Kern for painting. We also have an Amity and Phoenix on the way. The Amity is blank, and will be painted as a portrait model- the Phoenix is pictured above.

So a lot has changed, but all for the better. I feel more relaxed and rejuvenated in the hobby and I can feel the spark coming back.

Blackthorn Stables would like to officially welcome Terms of Endearment aka "Maximus". Maximus came to us all the way from the United Kingdom, and before his stop there he took up residence in Australia but is American bred. He's come a long way, that's for sure. He is performing the levade, a very difficult maneuver that puts him at a 30 degree angle from the ground.

Today we picked up yet another show horse. Meet Veridis Quo! Disco is a gorgeous stallion with a deep rust colored mane and tail. He is an Iberian type horse and we're going to be working to get him conditioned and ready for his first show in April!

He was a local pickup, and a surprise as we certainly weren't expecting to pick up any new horses today! I am looking forward to getting to know him!

Yesterday we saw the arrival of our newest warmblood stallion, Paint it Black. Dorian, as we like to call him around the barn, is quite a lovely gentleman and arrived from Pennsylvania in absolutely perfect health! He is a very competitive horse, excelling specifically in Dressage and a bit of an interest in Hunter under Saddle as well. We will nurture these talents and hopefully he will continue to excel and be a great new addition to our show horses. He will hit the show ring in mid April. Until then, training, training, training!

Here's a video review of Dorian if you're interested to see him "in the flesh" as it were. I certainly recommend him to anyone and everyone!

Whew! What a day! After the morning set of lessons I was settling in for lunch when the long-expected truck from Florida was pulling up to the barn. Our last batch of new arrivals were finally here! We had been looking forward to them most of all, due to one of the horses being a buy back. We always have a hard time letting our horses go, and this fellow was particularly hard. so we're glad to have him back. Take a look below at the new faces!

We were surprised to see a little trailer from Indiana roll up to the barn this morning at feeding time. It looks like one of our ponies got here a day early! We didn't have a stall ready for him so we put him out in the wooded paddock to let him acclimate. So, meet our newest pony! He doesn't have a name yet, but as we learn more about him and his personality he's going to be getting one that best suits him!

We are very excited to have him, and are looking forward to the other new arrivals in our future! What a happy surprise to start off our weekend with! The lesson girls just love him. Everyone wants to ride him! Haha!

So, we're very excited to announce that we will have quite a few ponies joining our ranks within the next few weeks! Well, three of them actually. Two Fjords and one little Sport Pony (if all goes well!) we will also be adding a few other regular sport horses to our barn to add to our dressage lesson program (and our jumping program, but we just love dressage more!)

Stay tuned for pictures, names, etc. They're all still in transit but will be here hopefully within a week!