Updated July 4, 2005

Don't forget to check what's new on the site.

Training Notes from elizabeth - June 13, 2005

Read our Success Stories
New Chouette Player Success Story!

We have two new horses for sale! - July 9, 2005

Lise Matte and Brewster all decked out.

Lise Matte and Brewster all decked out for the Fourth of July celebration picnic and games at Bits & Bytes Farm.

 

 

Heather's Best in red, white and blue as per Marie's request.

Heather's Best in red, white and blue as per Marie's request.

 

 

Fort Mason wore stars and stripes on one hip . . .

Fort Mason wore stars and stripes on one hip . . .

. . .and the Canadian flag on the other.

. . .and the Canadian flag on the other.

 

 

 

Mactavish and Leighton in their red, white and blue colors.

Mactavish (AKA Te Conquistar) and Leighton in their red, white and blue colors.

 

 

 

 

 

Marie and Jango

Marie and one of the security team members making sure we are all decorated for the day's fun.

 

 

 

Getting on Joe Bear was the hardest part of the Ride-a-Buck game for Paula.

Getting on Joe Bear was the hardest part of the Ride-a-Buck game for Paula. Joe Bear stands at 17.1. Paula did manage to pull herself on!

 

Zulu dressed up for the holiday too!

Zulu dressed up for the holiday too . . . in red, white and blue! - Photo by Marie van Roekel.

 

Elizabeth tries some new food.

Elizabeth tries some new food and a new Amish look for the day. - Photo by Marie van Roekel.

 

 

Sally and Coloned Colony were tough competitors in the Musical Chairs competition.

Sally and Cloned Colony were tough competitors in the Musical Chairs competition.

 

Elisa and Charlie tied with Gertjan in the water glass game.

Elisa and Charlie (still bareback) tied with Gertjan and Big Money in the water glass game. Each rider rode with a glass of water at a walk, trot and canter. The rider with the most water left in the glass was declared the winner.

Gertjan and Big Money

Gertjan and Big Money had to add some jumping to make the game more interesting. Gatorade was substituted for water so we could better watch the results.

Winners!

Interestingly enough, both riders were able to keep Gatorade in their glasses over several jumps. A toast to the winners!

 

Elisa and Gucci go home.

Gucci and Elisa leave for home in Elisa's truck.

New July Prospect Six - Grey Thoroughbred Horse for Sale. Gray Thoroughbred Horse for sale.

July Prospect Six - is an eight year old gray Thoroughbred gelding.

 

 

New July Prospect Horses listed. - July 1, 2005.

Welcome to Bits & Bytes Farm
 

Welcome to Bits & Bytes Farm on the Web. Take a virtual tour of the farm and see the beautiful thoroughbreds we have for sale. Follow their training and learn how we bring them from racetrack to a new career in the show ring, fox hunting or eventing.

All of these Thoroughbreds are off-the-track and enjoying new careers with their owners at Bits & Bytes Farm.
All of these Thoroughbreds are off-the-track and enjoying new careers with their owners at Bits & Bytes Farm. All the riders are riding bareback!

2005 Fourth of July Games

Holidays mean picnics and games for the gang at Bits & Bytes Farm. It doesn't take too much encouragement to get everyone to participate. Marie was in charge of organizing the day - both the games and the food. Everyone was given their food assignments and told to turn out in red, white and blue. We had so many great things to eat we needed to have more guests to eat it all!

Marie, Sally, Barry, Angela, Kimberly and Lauren enjoy our picnic.
Marie, Sally, Barry, Angela, Kimberly and Lauren enjoy our picnic.

One more reason we needed more guests, was to be our photographer and videographer. Fortunately, our newest boarder Kriston Glushko (Austin's Wolf - our prospect who came home with us two weeks ago) brought her husband, Dennis, AKA "The Wallet". I guess he wanted to see for himself just what he bought himself in for. He did double duty grilling ribs and videotaping the day's festivities which started out with a group photo of the off-the-track Thoroughbreds who were about to participate in the games.

Kriston Glushko on Austin's Wolf - last week's prospect who came home with us - brought her husband, Dennis, AKA "The Wallet" to videotape the day's fun.
Kriston Glushko on Austin's Wolf. "Wolfie" has been off-the-track for just a few weeks now.

Honoring Marie's request to turn out in red, white and blue our Canadian friend Lise Matte went all out. She bought red, white and blue water based paint and painted her horse Fort Mason with both stars and stripes and the Canadian flag with the help of our Dutch warmblood import - Gertjan.

Gertjan assists Lise in painting Fort Mason.
Gertjan assists Lise in painting Fort Mason while Fort Mason stands without being tied the entire time.

Grayboo shows his patriotism
Kimberly painted Grayboo. Roll over the image for a closeup of her artwork.

Getting into the patriotic spirit, Elizabeth and Kimberly (our newest Friend of Bits & Bytes Farm) painted two more horses - Heather's Best and Grayboo.

Marie and Gertjan made custom T-shirts to represent their horses names.

Marie and Gertjan made custom T-shirts to represent their horses names. Can you guess which horses they are riding? Answer at the bottom of the page.

The first game of the day was "Ride-a-Buck" but to make it interesting we rode with ten dollar bills - winner takes all!

Paula and Joe Bear practiced for weeks.
Paula and Joe Bear practiced riding bareback for weeks but to no avail.


On lookers enjoyed the whole thing while laughing hysterically.

The competition got exciting as more and more ten dollar bills went sailing to the ground until there were just two riders left - Lise on Fort Mason and Elizabeth on Heather's Best. Neither was about to let their money slide out so it was decided to ask them to jump.

Lise Matte and Fort Mason were winners in the "Ride-a-Buck" game.
Lise Matte and Fort Mason were co-winners in the "Ride-a-Buck" game.

Four rounds later with the jump getting higher it was called a draw. The winning prize money will be donated to a rescue organization to help feed and care for an injured ex racer.

Elizabeth and Heather's Best were co-winners in the "Ride-a-Buck" game.
Elizabeth and Heather's Best were co-winners in the "Ride-a-Buck" game.

The next game was Musical Chairs. The riders ride around grain sacks (one less sack than riders) and jump off their horses when the music stops. They must lead their horses into the area where the grain sacks are. One rider is eliminated each time. A poor choice of music for the first song sent riders jumping off their horses only to be snapped back to reality when their horses did not follow them to the sacks.

Musical chairs on horseback provided many laughs.
Musical chairs on horseback provided many laughs.

On lookers enjoyed the contests while laughing hysterically. Competition was tough here as well with Sarah, Sally and Elisa vying to win. Elisa (our trainer) was handicapped by having to ride a green horse (Charlie) bareback. The lack of saddle turned out to be an advantage as she would jump off while moving in the correct direction. Sally and Cloned Colony gave her a good fight, but in the end Charlie and Elisa were declared the winners.

Sally give her a good fight, but in the end Charlie and Elisa were declared the winners.
Charlie was ridden bareback by Elisa for the Musical Chairs game.

At the end of the day, twelve off-the-track Thoroughbreds had competed in fun games - painted and adorned with silly hats and ribbons. The games included: Ride-a-Buck, Musical Chairs, Simon Sez and the Water Race. Not one spooked or got out of control - even during the bareback Ride-a-Buck class or the Musical Chairs. Not one rider fell off or got hurt - except from laughing too hard. One horse has been off-the-track for less than a month and another for less then three months. Only one of the riders is a professional. Several riders have only owned their off-the-track Thoroughbred for a short time. Do try this at home. It is great fun -- especially with a Thoroughbred!

Gucci and Elisa leave for home in Elisa's truck.

Call or come by for a visit

Please call us to discuss which horse might be the best match for you based on riding skill, experience and equine personality. We do not send out videos because it is important to match the personality of the horse with the personality of the rider. We are matchmakers, not horse brokers. We have horses in a wide price range. Call us to discuss prices or to schedule an appointment. We'd love to have you come meet all of our horses--we know that it will be worth your time. Just bring peppermints!

Answer: Two Thumbs Up and Big Money.


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