Clark Festival 2014

It was just a few weekends ago when we visited Clark to attend El Kabayo's Horsefest. Another event is scheduled this weekend and for those that are interested, especially for the horse show, please check out the list of activities below. 

Lifting this from their Facebook page:

The Association of Clark Horsemen Inc (ACHI) and Clark El Kabayo are participating in CLARK FESTIVAL 2014 which is open to the public. We extend the invitation to all our friends who might have the time, and want to join the fun at the Clark Freeport Zone - Stotsenburg Parade Grounds (December 5-7, 2014).

El Kabayo Horses will be available for riding at the Parade Grounds on these days. Great area for Horseback Riding and the glory days of the Cavalry.

Hello, December!

It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas 

Ev'rywhere you go; 

Take a look in the five and ten glistening once again 

With candy canes and silver lanes aglow. 

It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas 

Toys in ev'ry store 

But the prettiest sight to see is the holly that will be 

On your own front door. 

A pair of hopalong boots and a pistol that shoots 

Is the wish of Barney and Ben; 

Dolls that will talk and will go for a walk 

Is the hope of Janice and Jen; 

And Mom and Dad can hardly wait for school to start again. 

It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas 

Ev'rywhere you go; 

There's a tree in the Grand Hotel, one in the park as well, 

The sturdy kind that doesn't mind the snow. 

It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas; 

Soon the bells will start, 

And the thing that will make them ring is the carol that you sing 

Right within your heart. - Johnny Mathis

Maximus

Just this summer, I had the privilege of riding my instructor's horse, Maximus. It was the first, and hopefully not the last. Personal horses are not often allowed to be ridden by other riders for the simple reason of acquiring (bad) habits, I think. So I was pretty surprised and chuffed I was offered to ride him.

Max is a thoroughbred, dark bay gelding, with a very small/faint star and light brown eyes. I'm not sure about his height but he should stand around 16+ hands. Very handsome horse and does both show jumping and dressage.

I can officially say I've ridden all horses at PLS. Oh, will try Perla, if she can take the weight. Will talk about her soon.

Choosing between Max and Trojan to ride for the afternoon...hmmm

Last round to cool down but that wasn't my last ride...

Could not end the day without spending a bit of time with my all time favourite, Trojan <3

El Kabayo's Horsefest 2014

It's been 7 months since my last entry. I've been more active on Instagram so feel free to follow iamasupermommy

I recently attended the Horsefest in Clark and as you know, the equestrian/horse riding opportunities in the Philippines are very limited. Activities, clinics and competitions in Manila are mostly done, if not all, in the Manila Polo Club. I've been confined to riding in the stables where I ride, Pook Ligaya Stables, and had the chance to ride a few times in MPC for the annual Jump Club and a horse jumping clinic. I was curious about the Horsefest when I heard about it last year but missed it due to schedule conflict. I almost forgot about it until I recently visited Marikina Equestrian Center to drop off some items and got invited by one of the grooms to attend and watch since they were participating. Luckily, we were free that weekend.

It was a 2 day event with activities that included both English and Western riding. The owner of El Kabayo is Sheriff Gabby La O. A very nice and friendly guy. Prior to driving out to the event, he sent me the registration form and list of activities for the Horsefest, if I wanted to take part. Perhaps next year. 

It was great to see all types of riders -  the young ones, the young at heart, grooms, anyone who could ride and hold onto the horse, can equally compete. Horses from Baguio, Manila and Subic were brought to the event by their riders. It was so nice to see a number of riders from MEC. The sport is growing and I am more than thrilled to see more people wanting to learn to ride, which develops the love for horses and eventually, the love for animals. We need more people to care, you know.

The activities were fun to watch and had us laughing when some of the riders had to rent horses and were left with the tiny Baguio horses, which they couldn't get to canter. It was an awesome event to have all horse enthusiasts together and just have a good time. Such a relaxed and friendly environment that you'd think everyone knew each other.   

Please support this event as it gives all riders the opportunity to show and practice their skills in the different activities/disciplines of riding. It builds confidence and encourages them to do better. You also get to learn from other riders, too. We all dream of one day being able to compete like the calibre riders of the country and again, this is a great opportunity. Perhaps the Baguio ponies can also aim  to compete in the Hunter competition along with the thoroughbreds. A horsey person or not, you'll have a great time. We'll definitely be back next year.

Photo credit, my sister in law. Didn't really have the chance to to take pictures because I was busy watching :)

Japan beauty products

For those that don't know me, I'm that girl that goes everywhere bare faced with only moisturizer and lip balm. When I'm out under the sun riding, I use a high SPF sunblock. Even when I used to work, people would encourage me to put a bit more color on my face so I've started using a tinted lip balm. That's about it. I have sensitive skin and it easily gets irritated so I can't really wear face powder. I bought a Korean brand BB cream once. It blended well on my skin but after a few days, my face got irritated. Other than that, I have very limited knowledge on beauty stuff. Hehehe!

So you can imagine my challenge when my girlfriends asked me to buy them some stuff from Japan. I was told that they had, if not the best, beauty products that are really good on your skin and the best part, cheap. There are many drugstores or pharmacy stores that can be found in every corner, where they sell all sorts of beauty products. Millions of selections...but I couldn't understand a thing. What made it harder was these stores were always full and you're pressured to quickly find whatever you're buying.

 

What I did was observe some of the shoppers to check what they were buying. Facial creams, blush and mascara. I also noticed that almost all women wore false eyelashes and contact lenses to make their eye pupils bigger.

 

 

 

My Japan beauty haul

All of a sudden I want to take care of my skin. Hahaha! Here are some of the stuff I am currently using:

I wanted to have that "porcelain" skin like the Japanese women so I used this. It didn't work well on my skin in the cold but it blended perfectly on my face here in Pinas.



I am super loving this sunscreen! Once applied, it's easily absorbed and feels like you're not wearing anything on your face.

Facial foam



Will try the rest of the products and would love to go back to buy more beauty stuff. I have been converted!



Cat Cafe, Osaka

For the love of cats, I had to visit one of them cat cafes in Japan. I wrote down the directions when we were creating our itinerary prior to our trip to Osaka, but it was kinda tough asking around when we got there. We just walked and walked, wherever our feet took us, erhmm, our eyes actually. Whatever we saw that was interesting (everything!), that's where we went and luckily found a cat cafe. Although it wasn't the one I saw on the internet but I was happy as can be, nevertheless.

H-A-P-P-I-N-E-S-S :)

As you enter the cafe, you can already see all the cats in their own holes on the cat tree with some on top or under the tables. The concept of the cat cafe is you pay to spend time with the cats. It's 1000yen (almost P500) for 1 hour with a drink, included. We had to take off our shoes and wear the slippers provided. There were mini lockers to put our shoes and bags so we could get comfortable with the cats. We were asked to choose our complimentary drinks and were also given shredded chicken in a small plastic container to feed the cats. Lastly, sanitize our hands. We could take pictures but without the flash.

I think those are the date of births, breeds and names of each cat.

Toys you can use to play with them :)

The look of a non-cat person surrounded by cats. Tee-hee!

Beautiful!

The ears of the cat is really like that. It wasn't flat because it was annoyed. I just learned that he/she's a Scottish Folds.

Purrrrrrrfect!