EQUINE AFFAIRE!!!

November 10-13, Eastern States Exposition

W. Springfield, MA

The Gifted Pony, LLC is pleased to be exhibiting with the 2011 Equine Affaire!

Find us in the Better Living Center, Booth 630-631

Brand new for 2012, we will be unveiling several new product lines available for immediate order. Come get a first-look of our 2012 designs and products while taking advantage of some great show offers and special discounts. The Gifted Pony, LLC is working hard to bring more artisan, handmade designs as well. These designs are often “one of a kind,” and once purchased, may be considered a true collector’s item. As always, our custom crafted work has a strong presence, and we are especially expanding on our rhinestone show accessories this year. Choose from a menu of available colors and options to create your perfect design. There will be a limited selection of stock designs to purchase on site, and they go FAST, so stop in and grab them while you can!

Retailers who would like to reserve a time to meet, please contact Robin Morris via email: rmorris@thegiftedpony.com, or by phone: 860-201-5948.

To purchase tickets and find out more about the 2011 Equine Affaire, please visit: http://www.equineaffaire.com/massachusetts/

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Come See Us At The 6th Annual

Goshen Stampede!

www.goshenstampede.com

Check out our booth at the Goshen Fairgrounds in Goshen CT on Father's Day Weekend, June 17-18-19. We will be bringing our best and brightest products, many are exclusively designed by The Gifted Pony! Something for everyone- english or western disciplines, and driving too! Fantastic discount prices, great food, and a fun time guaranteed. See you there!  http://www.goshenstampede.com/

Purchase Your Advance Tickets online for a discount today!!

AdmissionsAdult Admission:  $12
Youth Admission:   $6 (10-18 yrs.)
Children Under 10yrs Free with Coupon and Paid Adult
Veterans & Active Duty Free Admission with Military I.D.Parking$2 to Help Support the Connecticut’s Civil Air PatrolPlease note:

• No Pets, Service Animals Only
• Beer Sold
• No ALCOHOLIC Beverages Brought In
• No Coolers
• No cooler Back Packs

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Come See Us At

French Park!

Check out our booth May 8th in French Park on Mother's Day! We have just gotten in a bunch of new products, some designed exclusively for The Gifted Pony! We will be featuring a brand new product called Twisteez Braiding Wire- a revolutionary way to quick braid your horse's mane and tail. Plenty of bling for both english and western riding disciplines- Come see!

For those with a GPS, or mapquest, the location can be found at: 21 Prospect Lake Road, Egremont MA

The Taste of Gingerbread is a Favorite!

Who can resist the warm taste of Gingerbread right out of the oven? Not me... And neither can ANY of the horses who taste our Limited Edition Gingerbread Spice Mash, blended exclusively for The Gifted Pony! Simply add hot water (or cold if you want to wait a little longer) and soak to serve up a treat that not only tastes great, but settles your baby down until Santa arrives;)

Homemade Peppermint Horse Treat Cookies

Sm. package of peppermints or candy canes. (For iced cookies, save some for last step.)

2 c. oatmeal
1.5 c. bran
1.75 c. water
2 tbs. salt
1/4 c. brown sugar
1 c. molasses

Put peppermints in a sealed bag and smash carefully into pieces with a hammer. Pieces should be about the size of corn kernels or smaller.

Mix ingredients together.
Grease a cookie sheet.
Drop spoon size balls onto cookie sheet.
Bake at 350 degrees for 8-12 minutes or until hard on the outside.
Can refrigerate.

For the holidays, you might like to ice these cookies with a simple confectionary sugar/water frosting, and then sprinkle with left over peppermint pieces!

Icing: Let cookies cool completely before icing. Start with about 2c. confectionary sugar. Add water a few tablespoons at a time and stir until thick enough to stay in place on cookies. Add additional sugar or water as needed to achieve consistency. Spread on cookies and immediately sprinkle with broken up peppermint pieces. Let dry completely before storing.

Refrigeration for storing homemade treat always recommended- but we doubt they will stick around too long;)

Check out the newest Artisan Tack!

Finally- Artisan quality show tack meets affordable pricing! All sizes available including Mini Horse, all the way up to Draft! Of all the designs shown, all colors and elements may be customized into your own design- merely let us know and the artists will get started. (Please allow about 4 weeks to finish.) Need it faster? Check out the stock designs already on hand! Want a matching breast collar or even a saddle to match? Most designs already have one available! The possibilities are endless, and the choices are gorgeous... Love what you ride in- everyone else will too;)

New Jewelry At The Gifted Pony!

Stunning stone and coral chip necklaces sport a hand crafted antler rosette pendant. Turquoise, red coral, or mixed stone necklaces are hand strung and woven to create a beautiful color field against your neckline. The antler rosettes make these pieces special and vary as to the natural design with Swarovski crystals, turquoise, spur rowels, and more! The rosettes are naturally shed by migrating caribou and elk, then collected and sliced. The rosette is found at the base of each antler, sometimes forming into oddly intriguing natural shapes. Each one is unique, and something of a sculpture. The more unique, the more collectible (and valuable) it becomes. Some of these rosettes are additionally carved as well.

We're sure you'll agree, each one makes a beautiful, creative statement. Find them in Personal Style, as well as on our Facebook page. Keep checking back often, as we are making them and posting as soon as each one is finished;)

Get Your FREE Mane-a-kin!

Young Rider Magazine is GIVING away 3 Mane-a-kins! Put your name in before May 3rd to:

Mane-a-kins/YR Freebies

P.O. Box 8237

Lexington, KY 40533

Here We Grow Again!

In recent days, there has been an explosion of great products popping up on The Gifted Pony's website! Check out the brand new selection throughout all the categories, such as bath towels, sheet and comforter sets, stylish handbags, fun checkbook and phone covers, lunch totes, insulated equestrian grocery shopping bags, license plates, jewelry, and MORE!

Here's a glance at just *some* of them!

Prayers and Support for Courtney King!

For those who don't already know, Olympian dressage rider Courtney King has recently taken a serious fall while schooling one of her horses. In support, The Gifted Pony would like to offer some items for sale, "best offer" to be accepted, with all profits going to help speed her recovery! The thread of offers will be held publicly on Facebook as they come: http://www.facebook.com/pages/The-Gifted-Pony-LLC/172015507096

For those wishing to donate directly, The Courtney King-Dye Medical Assistance Fund has been established by the Palm Beach Dressage Derby to assist with King-Dye’s medical and airlifting costs.

Checks can be made out to The Courtney King-Dye Medical Assistance Fund, and mailed to:
Evelyn O'Sullivan
100 S.W. 7th Terrace... See More
Boca Raton, FL 33486

The items we have allocated for sale are pictured below. Some are brand new and not even offered for sale online as yet, so take be the first to receive something back in an effort to help Courtney!

Mane-a-Kin (Pick any color!)

Pony Feathers: Desert Guide

Pony Gems Bridle Charms! (Includes one design of choice- please pick.)

These bridle charms are a new take on a familiar idea, with the difference being that these charms are easy on and off. No longer any need to take the bridle apart, or even off your horse, in order to remove or change around. Simply wrap the straps around the leather (browband or wherever!) and they will disappear from view on a dark colored bridle, putting all the focus on your horse. Use one, or add like a charm bracelet to design your own look. Make a statement!

Another Happy Customer!

"Alyssa" knows just what to do now that she's practicing her show braiding with a Mane-a-kin and an instruction book! Her mom reports that Alyssa's braids are looking styish and correct, and she is practicing much more to get them right!

Thank you Rebecca for sending in these lovely photos and kind words! We look forward to seeing how well Alyssa is braiding by summer and the ribbons she'll be bringing home!

Introducing A Brand New Line... "Pony Feathers!"

Designed to multitask, "Pony Feathers" can be worn over a boot, or over your ankle to jazz up your favorite pair of heels. Give some extra texture and focus to Ugg boots, or add some serious attitude to your plain pumps. Wear alone, or stack them like bangle bracelets for your feet! Look for them in "Personal Style." More colors and designs coming soon!

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Have You Heard??? Young Rider Magazine is GIVING AWAY FREE Mane-a-kins!

The Gifted Pony has committed three Mane-a-kins for Young Rider's Fabulous Freebies offer, all you need to do is send your name in on a card (business or index I assume,) to this address BEFORE the drawing on May 3rd.:

Mane-a-kins/YR Freebies
P.O. Box 8237
Lexington, KY 40533

Fun At The Farmers Market!

The Gifted Pony would like to send a big round of thanks to the folks at The Litchfield Farmer's Market! Featured as a guest artist, we brought in the entire herd of Mane-a-kins and showed them off to attendees. In amongst the fresh veggies and other organic consumables, bread, pastry, and yummy baked goods, fresh made bruschetta, and local honey, folks browsed and got to try their hand at braiding. Some of the braiding demos included button braids (of course!) falling (or "running") braid, a straight pony braid (basically a french braid,) the difference between a yarn braid and a sewn braid, a continental braid (lattice style,) and fanciful ribbon braids just for fun!

For Those Horse Lovers Among Us Who Have Spouses, Here Is A Handy Anniversary Gift Giving Guide:

Anniversary # Traditional Gift Modern Gift Horse person equivalent First Paper Clocks Spurs Second Cotton China Personalized Saddle Pad Third Leather Crystal / Glass Half Chaps Fourth Fruit / Flowers Appliances Clippers Fifth Wood Silverware Saddle Sixth Candy / Iron Wood Wood Tack Trunk Seventh Wool / Copper Desk Sets Sheepskin Girth Eighth Bronze / Pottery Linens / Lace Deerskin Breeches Ninth Pottery / Willow Leather High Boots Tenth Tin / Aluminum Diamond Jewelry Horse Trailer Eleventh Steel Fashion Jewelry Bridle with Crystal Browband Twelfth Silk/Linen Pearls Set of Sheepskin Jumping Boots Thirteenth Lace Textiles / Furs Training Session with                       Olympic Level Rider Fourteenth Ivory Gold Jewelry Saddle Fifteenth Crystal Watches New Truck Twentieth China Platinum Another Horse Twenty-Fifth Silver Silver Bigger Trailer Thirtieth Pearl Diamond Another Horse Thirty-Fifth Coral Jade Own Farm Fortieth Ruby Ruby Better Health Coverage Forty-Fifth Sapphire Sapphire New Hip Fiftieth Gold Gold Back Brace Fifty-Fifth Emerald Emerald Whirlpool Tub for Soaking Sixtieth Diamond Diamond Diamond

Enjoy!

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Important Notice:

Friends, plenty of work has been going on behind the scenes at The Gifted Pony! Several artisans and specialty vendors are gathering from behind the curtain, and many new items will be filling the store in all categories soon. The front page will stay the same as always, but the back pages will be easier to navigate, and I will have the ability to drop ship from different locations directly to my customers. What does this mean for you? Lots! 1. Items will cost less to ship, 2. it enables me to enact deepers savings and skip some shipping charges altogether, thereby passings more savings on to you, and 3. it enables specilty artists to advertise and sell their work directly on The Gifted Pony website from their location without the bother of maintaining their own storefront. In this last example, artisans are invited to message me if they make something they'd like to sell to the general public.

We will be putting up sales and specials as normal- but look forward to even better offers in 2010.

Watch us as we grow!

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Homemade Peppermint Horse Treat Cookies

Sm. package of peppermints or candy canes. (For iced cookies, save some for last step.)

2 c. oatmeal
1.5 c. bran
1.75 c. water
2 tbs. salt
1/4 c. brown sugar
1 c. molasses

Put peppermints in a sealed bag and smash carefully into pieces with a hammer. Pieces should be about the size of corn kernels or smaller.

Mix ingredients together.
Grease a cookie sheet.
Drop spoon size balls onto cookie sheet.
Bake at 350 degrees for 8-12 minutes or until hard on the outside.
Can refrigerate.

For the holidays, you might like to ice these cookies with a simple confectionary sugar/water frosting, and then sprinkle with left over peppermint pieces!

Icing: Let cookies cool completely before icing. Start with about 2c. confectionary sugar. Add water a few tablespoons at a time and stir until thick enough to stay in place on cookies. Add additional sugar or water as needed to achieve consistency. Spread on cookies and immediately sprinkle with broken up peppermint pieces. Let dry completely before storing.

Refrigeration for storing homemade treat always recommended- but we doubt they will stick around too long;)

Easy & Healthy Homemade Horse Treats

1 c. chopped carrots

1 chopped apple

2 tbs. vegetable oil

1/4 c. molasses

2 tbs. Flax (ground or whole)

1 tsp. salt

1/2 c. rolled oats

1/2 c. rolled bran

1 c. flour

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
Mix carrot, apple, vegetable oil, and molasses together.
Stir in dry ingredients until well blended. Do not over-mix.
Spread dough out in one piece on greased cookie sheet.
Bake for 20-25 minutes till golden brown.

Score cooked dough while warm, then let cool and break into individual cookies.

Keep in mind, any treats made without preservatives are best kept refrigerated.

Just in! Fine Artisan Saddle Bags & Belt Pouches!

The leather work on these pieces is just gorgeous. I've brought in some celtic designs to start, but many more motifs and colors are available from the crafter of this beautiful line. The saddle bag pictured above has a celtic design button, the rest additionally have an image crafted into the leather itself. Priced at less than the competition, these bags are an even higher value. Hand made, each one is one of a kind.

The Chocolate is HERE!

The shipment has arrived one day early- Yea! All six chocolate designs are uploaded and ready for you to peruse. I have personally taste tested one of them (hey, wouldn't you???) and can confirm the quality of the chocolate and clarity of design. As a chocolate connoisseur and amateur candy maker, I will attest that this chocolate is truly gourmet quality, with deep flavor balanced by smooth creaminess. It is very rich, and stands up well against Belgian and Swiss recipes.

The perfect gift for your riding teacher, reward for a job well done, a delicious way to say "thank you," or simply to treat yourself. Try one today!