two time US National Champion
*Wedderlie Mardi Gras
had a GREAT year in 2007!
The year in pictures.....
(lots of them, so may take some time to load!)
The year got off to a great start when Mardi was Supreme
Champion at the D'Alonzo Spring Show.
Gretchen stayed home on foal watch -- Gary and Charlie took Mardi to
the show themselves.
It was good practice, because they ended up going to a lot of the shows
by themselves in 2007!
Here are some video clips:
Clip 1 ~ Clip
2
Then, at the SLWPA Summer Gold Show
in California, Mardi was Grand & Res. Grand Champion and Supreme
Champion!
It was very exciting!
Gretchen also drove him in the Pleasure Driving classes!
They won good ribbons and had fun, though Gretchen doesn't know much
about driving,
and Mardi hadn't been hitched in over a year!
Here are some video clips of Mardi driving -- it was fun!!!
Clip 1 ~ Clip
2 ~ Clip 3
Next came the combined shows --
Oregon Welsh Pony Society's double Gold show
and
The Western Nationals
at the Albany, OR fairgrounds.
The two shows were held back to back. It was fun, but tiring, to have
two shows back to back like that.
Because of Mardi's "breeding obligations", we were only able to stay
for the in-hand classes before coming home.
But we had a great show!
Mardi was Grand Champion Section B
at both shows, and Reserve
Supreme Champion at both
shows too!
Here is Peter Rutherford, our UK judge, presenting Mardi with the Grand
Championship!!
We always love to go to the Santa Barbara National
Horse Show!
The venue is very exciting, because it is held in conjunction with
other breeds -- gaited breeds!
It gives the show a completely different atmosphere than what we are
used to at "regular" Welsh shows!
In Santa Barbara Mardi was
DOUBLE Grand Champion
and
Supreme Champion & Reserve Supreme Champion!
The camera was unfortunately left in the tack room while he showed,
but here he is posed with some of his ribbons afterwards!
Next, Mardi, Gary and Charlie trekked to Colorado for the Columbine
Summer's End Show.
They had a great trip and it was well worth it!
Mardi was Grand Champion Section B, Supreme
Champion & Best In Show!
The lighting in the arena made it really hard to capture anything you
could see....
Here is Mardi modeling his Best In Show ribbon for you.
Video clips of Mardi in motion in Colorado:
Clip 1 ~ Clip
2 (walking)
Here is Mardi relaxing in his stall after his class.
In the break in between Colorado and California, we had fun playing
in our arena on a HOT, dusty summer day!
Here are some pictures!
Here are some video clips! Mardi had a good time!
Clip 1 ~ Clip
2 ~ Clip 3 ~ Clip
4
Clip 5 ~ Clip
6 ~ Clip 7
Then came the Brookside Welsh Show,
in Elk Grove, California.
It was HOT, but we had fun!
Mardi was Grand & Reserve Grand Champion,
and Supreme Champion too!
(This picture is actually from the Brookside show LAST year -- I never
got my camera out once the whole time at the show THIS year!
Take my word for it -- he looked EXACTLY like this in 2007 too - purple
Supreme sash and all!)
THEN..... came the LONG trek to Tulsa, Oklahoma for the Central
Nationals!
Mardi, Gary and Charlie went -- it took 36 hours of driving to get
there!
Mardi hadn't been to Tulsa since he was a 2 year old -- he was National
Champion that year, too.
The Central Nationals are held during the Tulsa State Fair, so there
are lots of spectators -- and fun things to do when you aren't showing!
Here are some pictures of Mardi showing!
It was worth the trip -- Mardi was Central
National
Grand Champion!!!
Here they are entering the arena:
And beginning the "real" trot:
He was just "ramping up" to really go for it.... and another stallion got loose.... and he never got to finish his entry trot.....
Here he is standing up for the judges:
Round 2 of trotting in his class:
Entering the Grand Champion class:
Mardi in motion in Tulsa!
Clip 1 ~ Clip
2
Standing up to be judged in the Grand Champion class:
being judged by Pauline Howells of the Glenient Stud (UK), who chose
him as her Stallion Champion and Grand Champion
Waiting for results to be announced.....
Posing in his stall!
The stalls are open at Tulsa -- so lots of other ponies all around,
though you can't see them in this picture.
Our friend, Alison Ruhe, from California, also came to Tulsa.
She took these AMAZING pictures of Mardi there!
One of the other west coast Section B stallions came to Tulsa also
-- and everyone thought that "snorty stallion pictures" were about to be
in the making.
Instead, Mardi and Mo decided they absolutely loved each other, and
here is the beautiful result! (Mardi has the wider blaze in the photos.)
Mardi is on the left in this shot -- aren't these beautiful pictures?!
From Tulsa, our show attendees headed to Riverside, California for the
Riverside
Rancheros double Gold show.
By then they had been on the road for almost 2 weeks!!!
But WOW, what a truly GREAT show!
Mardi was DOUBLE GRAND CHAMPION
and....
DOUBLE SUPREME CHAMPION!!!!
Here he is posing with the judges and his ribbons! HOW FUN!
Here are some shots of Mardi showing off in his class:
Want to see him go? Here are some video clips:
Clip 1 ~ Clip
2 ~ Clip 3
Here is Mardi standing up to be judged:
Then, for their "encore presentation", Gerald Verkuyl of Goldhills Welsh
kindly loaned his 4 wheeled cart and harness for Mardi to use!
(and he even loaned Gary his hat!)
Mardi had never pulled a 4 wheeled cart before -- and had not been
driven since his brief outing at the June show!
But they had fun, and he won good ribbons! (thanks Gerald!)
The driving classes were at night, and these are video captures, so
the lighting and sharpness leave a little to be desired!
Video clips of Mardi in harness (remember, he is still a bit green in
harness, and also this was only the second time he'd been driven in over
a year!):
Clip 1 ~ Clip
2 ~ Clip 3 ~ Clip
4
WOW....
The 2007 show season was FANTASTIC!!!
D'Alonzo Spring Show - Grand Champion Section
B - Supreme Champion!
SLWPA Summer Gold Show - Grand Champion Section
B - Supreme Champion!
OWPS 37th Annual Gold Show - Champion Stallion - Grand
Champion Section B - Res. Supreme Champion!
2007 Western Nationals Gold Show - Champion Stallion - Grand
Champion Section B - Res. Supreme Champion!
Santa Barbara National Horse Show - Double Champion Stallion - Double
Grand Champion - Supreme & Reserve Supreme
Champion!!!
Columbine Summer's End - Colorado - Champion Stallion - Grand
Champion - Supreme Champion & Best In
Show!!!
Brookside Welsh Show - Grand & Reserve Grand
Champion - Supreme Champion!
Central Nationals - Tulsa, OK - Stallion Champion
- Grand Champion!
Inland Empire Halloween Gold Show - Double
Grand Champion - DOUBLE SUPREME CHAMPION!!!!!!!!
What an INCREDIBLE show season!!!
*WEDDERLIE
MARDI GRAS IS THE 2007 NATIONAL CHAMPION!!!
In 2007, Mardi
Gras accumulated MORE breeding points than ANY of the other National Champion
Section B ponies
since the year
2000 (which is the earliest year available for viewing online)!
We are
VERY proud of his superb accomplishments!!!
