The July Bazaar

Willowwind got lots of attention over the last few weeks as Clara's exclusive mount. Even though she's not a pinto, wow, is she pretty! We're so glad to have her in the herd!

She's gotten to run most of the championship courses now. She even competed against another champagne TWH one day. (I don't remember which did better.)
 

She made steady progress through the experience levels, each one getting its own sparkly celebration.

She participated in some quests, such as this one where we had to keep tracking down a creepy scarecrow.

She won her first ribbon out in Goldenhills! (Appropriate, right?)

And here she is on Friday night, doing the rear and sparkle one last time.

In the midst of Willow's training, Star Stable held another bazaar! We were surprised it came so soon after the last one... and kind of sad, because we knew it'd be really tough to justify buying another horse already. This time, they only discounted 3 breeds rather than 4: the Belgian Warmblood (again!), the Dartmoor Pony, and the Percheron. Their sale area has room for 4 models, so they just doubled up on the Belgian Warmblood.

The Belgian Warmblood seems to be a crowd favorite on the game. They look great in motion and come in some cool coat colors. We'd probably already have one by now if their idling animations didn't bug us. They toss their heads a lot and do this thing we call the shark bite: where they reach up and chomp the air.

So... we decided to pass. Again. We do love warmbloods and really want a sporty-looking warmblood (no offense, Frosty. We love you just how you are) in the herd eventually. We'll probably hold out for one of the newer warmbloods to come on sale someday... hopefully the Dutch Warmblood? Please, Star Stable?

Next up, we took a long look at the Dartmoor Pony. 

We think they're super cute. Not quite as cute as the Gotland Pony or Jorvik Pony, but a close third. =) Being the newest pony breed on the game, everything about them seems more streamlined than the older pony models. Ponies are also extra useful on Star Stable, since there is a ponies-only championship and a ponies-only training race. For all these reasons, we were quite tempted to buy one of these guys. 

What stopped us? Another idling animation we just don't love.

They do this thing called the Flehmen response, where they raise their heads and curl up their upper lip. We know real-life horses do it for a variety of reasons, but a big one is breeding-related, so we don't find it cute.

That left the Percheron.  

We loved the idea of adding in a French breed with the Paris Olympics on the horizon. We also thought it would be fun to have a draftie that could wear leg gear. Star Stable's Percheron just wasn't wowing us enough to commit, though. Their manes and tails are pretty clumpy, and their muscles seem oddly more defined than Star Stable's other horses. So, no Perchie either.

All that to tell you that we're saving our star coins and remaining at an even 10 horses for now. That's a good thing, or at least that's what we're telling ourselves when we see others riding around on their new Belgian Warmbloods, Dartmoors, and Percherons.

The other horses are back in the rotation now that Willow is fully trained. Even though they enjoyed their vacation, I think they're happy to be getting out and about again.

Frosty had fun competing in a series of championships this weekend. He even made it through the Baroness's championship, which we still need way more practice on. (It was not pretty, ha ha.)

He also got to do more chill activities, like grooving outside the disco while Clara was on the dance floor, and galloping down the beach to take Clara to a good fishing spot.

I think Tigertin wanted to underscore for us that another pony was unnecessary, because she proceeded to give us another gold in the Silversong Pony Championship and win the "fastest time of the day" prize in the pony training race.

You rock, Tigertin! <3

We are so proud of our 10 wonderful equines! Here they all are: