Weekend out!

Just got back from a fantastic long weekend with two of my favorite equine ladies.  We attended the Horse Owner's and Breeder's Conference held in Red Deer, AB. 

Weather heading down was quite cooperative; we left early on Friday and were checked into the hotel by noon.  We had some time to relax and find our way to the Sheraton Hotel - Capri Centre.  I had won an eaerly-bird door prize kindly donated by the Alberta Veterinary Association.  I was presented with my prize at their opening activities Friday evening.  Lovely facility, nice, small trade show (would be nice if it were about 3 x the size) but the "Open" bar was quite expensive, in my opinion, costing $16.25 for three flutes of wine. 

Anyways, a jacuzzi big enough to fit 3 is always welcome, as are bottles of wine and good  company - so Friday was a hit all the way around.  Another of my favorite people (my sidesaddle enabler) came up to spend some time and visit, what a treat! 

Saturday morning found us out at the conference bright and early (10 am, we missed the first lectures as we weren't horribly interested in the early topics) and I attended Dr. "Andy" Anderson's lecture on trailering.  What a fantastic character!  Dr. Anderson is from Oklahoma and it sure is evident from his accent and vocabulary.  But what was equally amusing, were his stories!  I went back the following morning (8:30 this time) for his second speach on ground manners, something I feel is HUGELY important!  Picked up a couple of new things I'm looking forward to trying in the future too. 
My comrades took in various lectures as well, and came back with raving reviews!  The one I found most interesting was on breeding.  I think that a lot of the information would've gone right over the average horse person's head, but, since I have a biology background, I was able to follow along.  The gentleman who spoke was a self-proclaimed advocate for the stallion.  At one time I had to ask if he was a father... he was not... 
Also got to meet up with some friends and favored people I hadn't had the pleasure of seeing for a while.  Got to love big horse-related events for that! 

By Sunday, the weather had turned so we headed out early and missed the SPCA's talk.  It was cold cooold and I was sure glad for heated leather seats on the drive home.

The attendance did seem fairly low, unfortunately, but I would highly recommend anyone involved (to any degree) in the horse industry go next year!  I am planning on it!