Here are some pictures from our trip to the Makeover.

Choco gets a little exercise before a long trip in the trailer.


Last minute chores before we leave.



Checking in at Tennessee Miller Coliseum in Murfreesboro, Tennessee



We really are here!!!!!



Grandmother, Daddy, Choco, and I check out Choco's stall.

I decorated Choco's stall with cards made by Mrs. Cindy's 3rd grade class. They made me smile each time I saw them.

Checking out the big arena.

Daddy had to get in on the fun.

Choco and I work on memorizing our pattern for the in-hand obstacle course.

Friday morning practice before in-hand obstacle course and showmanship events.

Ready for in-hand obstacle. From left: Mr. Cohn, me, Amanda, Rachel, Mrs. Brandee

Off we go to showmanship! I'm in the lime green on the left.

Choco getting dressed in his fancy duds for showmanship.

I made the finals! The blur jumping up is me! I was just a little excited!

Saturday morning practicing for the free-style final.

More practice.

A crucial peanut butter and jelly sandwich before the final.

Choco getting ready for the final.

Me getting ready for the final.

Here we are ready to go!

One last encouraging word from Mr. Cohn.

After the final with family members Britt and Patti that I haven't seen since I was so little I don't remember. What a blessing they came!

My brother JP spent his fall break from college coming to see me! Thanks, JP!

Rachel, Amanda, and I after the final.

You need a big ribbon for a horse!

Who thought it would be a good idea to give these things to JP and me? The other pictures with these are a blur of blue and red!

Sunday morning with Ms. Charlotte after cowboy church.

Sunday morning awards ceremony. We brought home three second place ribbons!


WOW! What an amazing privilege and opportunity to participate in the Extreme Mustang Makeover!

I have learned so much in just one year. Last year, I stayed home and kept the barn while everybody went to the Makeover. This is a thank you for everybody who helped me get from barn help to 2nd place winner!

First of all, thanks to the One who made mustangs. "I can do all things through Him who gives me strength!" I have needed tons of strength to get through this competition. Jesus has been so sweet to me, and He has used a very stubborn little pony to teach me a lot. When you ask God for patience you better watch out! He teaches it by putting you in places were you really need it.

Thank you to my family who prayed for me, encouraged me, drove me around, helped clean stalls, and hardly ever fussed about nasty boots in floor. I couldn't have done it without you!

Thank you to Mr. Cohn and Mrs. Brandee!!!! Without you I wouldn't have had the opportunity to train Choco. I know that you did it because you wanted to, not because you felt like you had to. Thank you for being so generous with your time and energy. I really appreciate what "brutal and scary" slave drivers y'all were so that when I got to Tennessee and saw the patterns I said, " Is this really all we have to do?!" I also appreciate how you never did the work for me but taught me how to do it. I would have to say that 2nd place is worth all of our sweat, blood and blisters. Thank you so much for all your hard work and encouragement.

Thank you to Grandmother, JP, and Ms. Charlotte who encouraged me by coming all the way to Tennessee to watch us perform. It made me so happy to have you there. Thank you, Jennifer, for your long distance support. I wished you could have been with us, too.

Thank you to my friends who didn't get mad because I hardly ever talked to you for the last 100 days. If I did have time to talk, I probably bored you to death with Choco stories! Thank you for all your prayers and encouragement.

Thank you to each and everyone of you who prayed for me. I don't think this blog is big enough to list you all. You have been a blessing to me.

Thank you to you awesome kids in Mrs. Cindy's 3rd grade class who made cards for Choco and me. It made me very happy to know that all of you were rooting for me back home.

Thank you to everybody who has been reading my blog for the past few months. I worked really hard on it, and it would be really crummy if nobody read it. A lot of people have sent me emails or told me how much they like reading about Choco. It makes me happy to know that people are reading it. Thank you, Uncle Joe. Your emails made me very happy.

Thank you to Tessa, my dog who is never a horse. Some days I got pretty sick of horses (mostly just one horse) and was ready to see anything besides another horse. You are the best dog ever!

So many people have helped to make this possible, so I want everybody to know that I really appreciate everything everybody has done. THANK YOU!!!

Wow! I had the most AMAZING weekend! All the hard work paid off. Choco and I finished second place in everything, and I couldn't be more happy. Choco was wonderful in all his classes, and we both impressed the audience.

In the finals, we came in ONE POINT behind first place!!! Our song was "I Can Only Imagine" by MercyMe, and I think by the end of our routine most of the audience was in tears. Choco and I did better than we have ever done before. Everybody loved it, but one judge said he gave me lower marks because I made him cry! I thought that seemed a bit backwards, but I am just so happy with how Choco did.

We also came in 2nd place in the In Hand Obstacle and Showmanship courses. The obstacle course was going perfect until nature called right as Choco was getting into the trailer. I felt kind of bad for everybody that came after us. Choco finished the course just as perfect as could be.

Showmanship was rough on me because by then I was exausted. We had done the obstacle course and then had to turn around very quickly to get ready for Showmanship. I had to get all dressed up in my green suit (pictures are coming) and get all my makeup on and fix my bun that was falling out*. As we were waiting for our turn to show I had to keep moving Choco around to keep us both from falling asleep. My pony was being so bad he was driving me crazy! Everybody knows how contagious yawns are. My bad pony kept yawning and yawning and he got me yawning and neither one of us could stop! He even passed a yawn to another horse. It was pretty funny, but I really didn't want to yawn at the judge.

We also had a stall decorating contest for all the mustangs stalls. We could bring whatever we wanted and fancy our stall up, and they had prizes for the winners. We made posters out of good-luck cards from a awesome class of 3rd graders that I went and talked to about Choco. I didn't win the contest, but it was so sweet to see all those cards every time I went to my stall. Choco liked his cards too. He liked them so much he didn't even try to eat them!

I had so much fun and I am so pleased with how Choco did. I hope y'all can see the video. I also worked with my setting some more so I think that people can leave comments again. If you can't get comments to work you can just email me and I can post it on my page.

My camera card with all my pictures took a detour to Kentucky. I'll post pictures as soon as it gets back to Mississippi!


*For those of you who know me- it is required in showmanship to look and dress a certain way. I have no say in this; it's just how it goes. I just didn't want anyone to be frightened when I get some pictures up. Just sayin'.

Jessi Hartline Extreme Mustang Makeover 2010 Murfreesboro, TN

I'm really going to the Extreme Mustang Makeover!!! Today was packing day at the barn. Now it is really real. In three days I'll be on my way!!! I am very excited!!!

Choco and I have worked very hard for the last 90 or so days. I'm looking forward to showing what he can do. Last weekend we had a practice performance at the barn and went through each of our events. We had a good time, and we were all pleased with how the horses did. We even tried out wearing our freestyle outfits.

This coming Friday we have our in-hand obstacle course and showmanship events. The top ten will perform on Saturday afternoon. I certainly hope that I will be performing on Saturday!

Well, I was going to add a few pictures from the practice, but they don't seem to want to post. So much for a sneak peek! I guess you will have to wait until next week for pictures of the real deal! Until then, please keep me and "Somethin' Chocolate" in your thoughts!

Tessa got to go to the barn this week! I thought she would like to meet Choco and see where I spend most of my time. Tessa and Choco didn't get along very well. Choco was very curious and wanted to get a closer look but Tessa was scared and wanted to get as far away as she could.The predator was terrified of the prey.




Tessa and Titan hit it off great. She thought he was a weird dog at first.











Happy face! Tessa had a blast chasing me around the arena.She got really mad when I had to tie her up to work Choco.




















My Dog and Pony Show!