What a Wonderful World

Horse people know how to appreciate beauty, especially when they can find it in their four-legged companions every day. While there are many who can see the beauty of horses and revel in their friendship, there are few who can transpose that appearance and personality onto paper. One such person is Kimberly Kaminski.

A resident of Michigan, Kimberly has been working with watercolor portraits for several years. Though most of her work is centered around horses, she also does portraits of dogs and cats, and is not adverse to trying other animals along the way. She does do commissions, and they are well worth the money. After all, what better way to keep a beloved friend with you through the years? They make excellent Christmas or birthday gifts as well. All she needs from you is a photo of your animal and a description of his or her personality, and off she goes.

For those of you who may not be interested in watercolor portraits, check out Kimberly's metal work. She can work with brass, copper, or sterling silver. The metal work portraits make great additions to wall boxes, tack boxes, stall signs...even mailboxes or doors! Oddly enough it was a solitary pumpkin carving that led her to start her work with metal designs. A friend that spotted the pumpkin portrait enjoyed it so much she commented that it could last forever. Thanks to that simple comment Kimberly was able to find a new way to express herself artistically.

If you've looked at her page and decided that a personalized portrait isn't for you, then check out her shop on CafePress.com. Here you can find all of the portraits shown on her website and more. These portraits can be placed on shirts, mugs, calendars, hats, clocks and other items for a unique twist. With any questions or requests please contact Kimberly by clicking here. A quick note for anyone who might live in her area...she is available to take photos of your horse or pet for an additional charge. Anything to make sure the portrait is exactly what you want.

Once you're done perusing her website and making your decision about purchasing a portrait, head over to Kimberly's "Links of Interest" page. Here you'll find fun and informative sites relating to friends, family, personal interests, and animals. If you're a Mastiff lover you'll find plenty of sites about mastiffs of all shapes and sizes. All in all, this is definitely something you should check out!

While you might not find her there yet, there have been people who have often told Kimberly she should set up a booth at horse shows to promote her artwork. Speaking of horse shows...on to the more serious topic of discussion.

There are several horse shows held in the United States every year, ranging from your in-house barn and schooling variety all the way up to the likes of the Winter Equestrian Festival, Horse Shows In The Sun, and the National Western Stock Show. Horses and riders prepare for these shows by riding in lessons, attending clinics, and spending plenty of quality time together. What often gets forgotten as these people prepare for their competition is that someone has to take the time to get everything set up. They need to find someone to man the ingates, someone to judge, someone to take entries, someone to hand out ribbons, and someone to provide the liability insurance. That's where we come in.

Should I have liability insurance for my horse show/event/clinic?

Absolutely. No one should be without it. Most arenas or facilities that will allow you to lease their place for such an event will require proof of that liability insurance. That proof can be given with a certificate of insurance or an insurance binder.

What limits of liability should I choose?

That really is up to you. Check with the facility you are using, if you are leasing a place, to be sure that they do not require certain limits of liability. If you have a larger show then you will have more exposure, and it might be smart to choose a higher limit of liability, such as one million per occurrence and two or three million for the aggregate. If it is a smaller you and you don't feel there is as much risk then you might be safer with $500,000 for both occurrence and aggregate. Talk to your agent and see what they would recommend as well.

How far in advance of the event can I purchase the insurance?

Again, talk to your agent. Some companies require the signature on the application to be within 30 days of the event. Others can bind the coverage more than a month in advance. Of course it is best to look into these things sooner rather than later. If you wait until the week before your show or clinic it might be too late to get everything put in place.

Will this be an annual policy?

Most companies only provide coverage for shows or events for the days that it will be needed. For example, a horse show held on November 20 would have a policy that will start on November 19 and will expire on November 22. That allows coverage to provide for one set-up day before the show and one take-down day after the show. If you were to hold a show on November 23 and did not tell your agent then there would be no coverage provided.

What types of events will be covered?

This depends on the insurance company. Some companies will not provide coverage for events like trail rides. Most companies will cover most types of horse shows, but may not cover rough stock events, such as bull riding. Clinics are usually covered without a problem, and occasionally benefit shows or events will be covered, depending on the activities taking place.

As always, there is more to be said, but never enough time to say it all. If you have a question please post a comment, or give us a call at our office. We will be more than happy to help you.

"A horse which stops dead just before a jump and thus propels its rider into a graceful arc provides a splendid excuse for general merriment."
~Duke of Edinburgh

Thinking of those in need...

Just as there is good in life, so can there be bad. Unfortunately we in the United States have seen some tough times in the past couple of years. The most recent incident occurred out in California in the form of raging wildfires. While there are areas in the state that are prone to such events, this is the worst set of wildfires since the 2003 occurrence which killed 22 people. But enough of the negative. Even in the face of such destruction there is hope.

President Bush was due to survey the damage with Governor Schwarzennegger today to check on the government's response. Thousands of people have volunteered their services, offering shelter, food, and more to those that have been forced to evacuate. Along with those wonderful people are the ones who have come out of the woodwork to help evacuate the other creatures caught in destruction, including the horses. Some agencies, such as the Tijuana Valley Equestrian Association sprang into action immediately after the fires broke out. They risked their own lives to save horses for people who might not have had the method or means to do so. The Humane Society of the United States has also responded in force. With such devoted people hard at work it is possible that the number of lives lost, both human and equine, has been minimized.

With relief on the way, and the dedicated firefighters starting to turn the corner in the battle with the flames, we can turn our attention to other issues. The most important, and one that should be on everyone's mind is fire safety for your barn. While your barn might not be in an area that sees frequent wildfires you should still practice fire safety. Smoke alarms should be installed, along with fire extinguishers in at least two places in the barn. A fire emergency plan should be drawn up and practiced, and all emergency numbers should be posted in a place that is easy to find.

If you have never considered this before then I know a good place to start. Laurie Loveman has created a wonderful website that holds plenty of information about fire safety for your barn. A firefighter herself, she knows the importance of having a plan and knowing that it works. There is an entire page on her website dedicated to fire safety in horse barns. There are articles she has written and posted, and other articles provided by people who wished to contribute. All are worth a good look. Of course she has also been following the tragedy in California, and has kept a breaking news page listed on top of her home page to help keep people informed.

On a lighter note, Laurie is also the author of a series of books called The Firehouse Family novels. This fiction series is set in Woodhill, Ohio and covers the adventures of families and friends as they do battle with arsonists and other sources of fires. If you are interested please check the reviews, or just take a trip to virtual Woodhill and have a look around. The Firehouse Family Book Series is available at Amazon.com, Booksurge.com, and by order through most retail bookstores. If you're an avid reader we would recommend checking these out. If not...well, maybe you should try them anyway. You really don't know what you're missing.

"No ride is ever the last one. No horse is ever the last one you will have. Somehow there will always be other horses, other places to ride them."
~Monica Dickens

Holiday Gifts...so soon???

Take a look at the photo canvas I ordered...

There is no time like the present to get ahead of the game...and start that Holiday shopping early! Especially when it comes to personalized gifts it is best if the order goes in well in advance. Being a last minute shopper, I am proud to report that gift number one has been purchased. It is a beautiful photo canvas collage of my daughter with her ponies. I stumbled across a wonderful woman who is so talented. I am sure you will agree. If you would like to contact Randi, here is her website: http://homepage.mac.com/kalispell