Animal Spies, Andalusians, and an Arabian

Wow, here we are nearly half way through September already! Without a time-consuming special event going on in Star Stable, we've had time to do a bit of questing. Here are some screenshots from my favorite one we've done recently out in Mistfall.

It involved various animals trying out to be spies for the mysterious Spymaster. He had only been using squirrels, but he decided to be more open-minded and let other animals try out, including Kora's seagull, Beeper.

Clara got to help supervise the three trials. Unfortunately, some of the entrants did not make the cut. This one was led astray by the scent of garbage...

...and these two didn't hide sufficiently while practicing their spying.

At the end of the trials, both Lucien (the Spymaster's veteran squirrel spy) and Beeper were missing.

 

Aided by the other seagulls, Clara, Kora, and Evie eventually found the camera that Beeper had been wearing. The last photo revealed...

Again thanks to the other scouting seagulls, they eventually tracked down this mysterious horse and rider.

Barbie vibes!

A chase ensued, with the seagulls dropping smoke bombs on the kidnappers.

She released Lucian and Beeper, claiming she had better things to do.

Luckily, everybody arrived back in time for the graduation ceremony.

Celebration (and cheese?) was in order. Yay for Beeper!

So cute, Star Stable! <3 I do want to know why no little terriers tried out to be spies, though.

Star Stable launched into another trailblazer track after Camp Western ended. It's already a fall-themed set, which I personally was a little sad about (I'm still savoring the last few weeks of astrological summer), but we're gladly claiming the free stuff. 

Star Stable held another bazaar surprisingly soon after the last one. The three breeds that were on sale this time: the Andalusian (475 star coins), the Jorvik Pony (280 star coins), and the Lusitano (475 star coins).

These were great deals, but we had little trouble resisting. Both the Andalusian and Lusitano are made in the more cartoony style of older generation 3 breeds, which we just don't love. (Their hind legs in motion... yikes. XD) We much prefer the more realistic style of the game's newer breeds. 

Even though it's probably about the same vintage as the other two, we find the Jorvik Pony adorable. Maybe because of their stocky, short-legged build, they don't look nearly so awkward in motion. We just wish the mane moved at higher speeds... but oh well. Our beloved first pony, Tigertin, is technically a magical equine, not a Jorvik Pony, but she still counts to us. (She is one in all but color.) Hence, we didn't feel compelled to buy any more. 

Will we make it to October before adding any more horses to the herd? I guess only time will tell!

The third new development: Star Stable introduced an updated Andalusian to the game! The old Andalusian (yes, the same that was just on sale) has been renamed "Jorvik Andalusian," similar to what happened with the older and newer generation 3 versions of the Friesian.

Here's a quick look at the seven different coat colors and what they look like both still and in motion.

I am as dazzled by them as I was by the Jorvik Mountain Horse. It's so fun seeing other players riding them around! Hopefully, in a year or so, they'll go on sale, and we can justify getting one of our own. It's going to be really tough to pick just one once that time finally comes!

The champagne? pearl? has a beautiful pearly sheen.

The Andalusian looks like Shadowfax... except for the random blue eyes, that is. (Why, SSO?)

I will be pushing for the dapple gray. <3

I will leave you with some small but fun real life news. Mom collects Feed N' Nuzzle Grand Champions. They're a special variety of Grand Champions (a brand of model horses from the 90's and 2000's) that have moveable heads and necks and a magnet in their muzzles. Each came with a clip-on lead rope that matched the built-in halter, a blanket, and usually a few magnetic food items.

Mom LOVED these when she was growing up. Even after the company went bust, she continued collecting them thanks to eBay. She and her sisters had (and still have) a whole ranch set up in a small basement room just for these guys and their riders. There had been one stall left unfilled for years... but no longer!

The stallions have always been a bit harder to find, probably because the mares, which each came with a cute foal, were likely more popular and therefore produced in greater numbers. That's my theory, anyway. When Mom happened to be on eBay recently, she noticed the creamy "Arabian" stallion for sale! (Mom calls hers Quarter Horses, though, because purebred Arabians can't be dilutes.) She had the mare version and her foal but couldn't remember ever even seeing the stallion for sale before. He was very well-used but priced accordingly, so she couldn't resist.

A photo from the eBay listing. Poor guy needed some TLC.

Here are a few photos from before and the careful makeover Mom gave him.

before

after

before

after

before

after

His hair - while still rather bushy - sure looks tidier now. It's so satisfying to see what a good cleaning, brushing, and gentle scratch removal can do! Now he just needs a name, and a homemade blanket and lead rope from Mom. 

Mom's mare, Sugar N' Spice, heartily approves! <3

Honeyhollow Racks it Up

We have thoroughly enjoyed Camp Western! It was great motivation to play every day for an extended period, and all of the horses got to experience it at least once. Even after attaining all of the free stuff we were after (this happened by early week 4), we continued to amass shillings, gold, and tokens, because why not? 

For your enjoyment and ours, here are some fun screenshots to illustrate our Western adventures.

One crowded summit! 

This chest was a real pain to open, since it's also a picnicking location. We spent a good couple of minutes trying to get at an angle where we could click it rather than getting the "find picnic basket" message, only to eventually realize we needed to hit E. The poor wandering animals waited patiently in various degrees of awkwardness.

Check out the levitating saddle bag on that Belgian Warmblood!

(Also, we apologize for Clara's poor posture. She was rolling her shoulders in this shot.)

This red bucket has been back in all its levitating glory.

Great minds think alike!

Doing another champ with a big clunky box along for the ride

Behold, the cowboy mule ribbon! 

We made it with plenty of time to spare. Good job, everybody! =)

Thanks to YouTube, we had no trouble finding, satisfying, and taking home this year's wandering pets. 

This is Reuben in his cute green vest, who was hanging out by the wolf-infested abandoned mine.

And here is Ginger in her grass green bandana, who was hanging out by the bull.

Riverrock and Clara didn't have to face Daisy Coyoteclover or anyone else in this Jorvik Stable championship! Even though their performance was lackluster (ran into a horse/rider in the paddock and cheese, as I recall), they happily accepted the gold ribbon.

Ah, the satisfying glow and creaking noise that come with opening a chest. We will miss them.

The wandering horses stick to Clara like glue. Those horse lures must really be tasty!

Artie-Tombhoof overlap after doing the hammer swing. Oof.

Two for one wandering animal return. (We have also tried it with two cows. Would not recommend.)

A wolf about to get sprayed with beast repellent. XD 

For week 3 of Camp Western, an August horse bazaar rolled out, featuring the American Saddlebred (629 star coins), the Appaloosa (449 star coins), and the American Paint Horse (469 star coins). 

This would have been an ideal time to buy an Appy or a Paint, but happily, we already own one of each from past bazaars. Our eyes immediately zeroed in on the Saddlebreds, who made their first bazaar appearance...

We quite liked these two...

...but eventually, we narrowed it down to either the palomino or the chimera pinto.

On the day fateful last day of the bazaar, we saw somebody else riding their new palomino. This tipped the scale firmly on the side of the pinto, though it was already leaning that way anyway. The palomino is gorgeous, but a chimera pinto with a green eye? How could we pass that up when it's the same price?

As you can see, we couldn't quite give up on the alliteration yet. We think we'll keep it going through horse #20.

Hello, Honeyhollow!

Our buddy Yvonne tagged along to witness the momentous first ride. 

Her first 3 gaits are "the usual," but instead of galloping, she speed racks!

She does still gallop if you ask her to go even faster. 

So, so cool! I'm not a huge fan of Saddlebreds in real life, but I love Star Stable's! <3

Thanks to a very small pool of competitors, Honey managed to win a silver ribbon in her first-ever championship! Wow!

She sparkled her way through her experience levels at lightning speed! By the final weekend of Camp Western, she'd already made it to level 15.

One of our favorite parts about her: the proud way she flicks her tail. <3

I think she especially enjoyed this ranch task, where a little pinto foal follows her adoringly around a paddock. :)

She also enjoyed leading the wandering adult horses, of course. This one was in a particularly awkward way...

She's happy to pose pretty much anywhere, really.

And yes, we did save up enough gold nuggets to take home both Savanna the cat and Eggatha the chicken. 

The stage you saw above eventually became the site of the pumpkin competition. It was all up to Clara to transport both enormous pumpkins there. We really should've gotten out Magic the Shire for this, but Honey somehow managed.

Probably because we helped them equally, both Dorith's and Jasper's pumpkins looked... identical.

I saw that one coming! Fine by us, we didn't want either NPC to be disappointed.

Jasper was disappointed anyway, but oh well.

It's Lisa! Clara isn't technically supposed to know her yet (not far enough in the storyline), but she at least knows of her. And is a fan of her music, clearly. (Good day to have selected that t-shirt.)

These random western NPC's danced, Jasper danced, and even Honey danced. Clara and Dorith did not. =)

We're sorry to see Camp Western go, but we know it must to keep it special. Will we continue rotating in the Western gear from time to time? Maybe, since we have so much of it now. The new pets - my favorite part of all this - will for sure continue to make appearances year-round. =)

Alas, no more taking a wandering horse along to championships for moral support.

Goodbye, Camp Western! Hope to see you again next year!