Wednesday, May 21, 2014

Meet Bjorn

Meet Bjorn

Meet Bjorn.  Bjorn means "bear" in Norwegian.  Bjorn is a 9 year old Norwegian Fjord horse.  Technically, he is a pony because he is only 14 hands tall; but also, technically he is a horse because the Norwegian Fjord horse registry declares that all fjords are horses.  When he stops acting like a pony, I'll call him a horse.

Anyway, this blog is called The Adventures of Bjorn the Fjord, mainly because every day with this pony is an adventure -- a FUN adventure most of the time.  Sometimes it is a funny adventure, at my expense.  But that's okay.  This little horse is my best friend, known to many as "The Wonder Pony," and I wouldn't have it any other way.  That being said, let's get started!

Bjorn became mine April 11th, 2013.  As you can see in the above picture, my little Bjorn buddy loves to jump! I am not a huge fan of jumping -- been there, done that -- but he loves it, so we compromise and free jump.  We even dabble in horse agility sometimes: if there is a course set in the jumping arena at our barn, I will turn him out at liberty and jog a course (not over the fences, I go next to those!).  He will trot or canter next to me and jump the fences along the way.

Mainly, however, Bjorn is my dressage pony.  We are currently competing at First Level.  Expect to hear more about that soon.

At this point, you are probably wondering: "Who is this Katie Rose anyway?"  I've been riding dressage for more than 12 years.  I've been on polo teams.  I've been a demo polo rider at the Kentucky Horse Park.  I was in pony club as a kid, so I am a bit of a stickler about details -- especially those related to safety.  However, I have also competed in gymkhana, and costume classes, and I know how important it is not to take yourself too seriously.  I go to UC Davis and I major in Animal Science and Management; my emphasis is Equine Science.  I used to own a 16 hand paint mare, Glory, with whom I competed in hunter/jumper, combined tests, and pony club eventing.  Now, though, I have the horse I wanted since I was 9 years old: a Norwegian Fjord pony!!!

I have lots of adventures with Bjorn to tell you all about, and I plan on having many in the future!  Stay tuned for The Adventures of Bjorn the Fjord!

--Katie