Happy New Year!

Meet an Eventer.....Cassidy Sitton

Meet Cassidy Sitton

C Horse Event Team


~~~Doing my little bit to promote the sport that I love. I think that as a sporting community we need the support of the general public, if for no other reason than to help us save the land that we need to compete on. Another reason is to share this fantastic sport with people who may not know much if anything about it. And what better way than to introduce ourselves to others. I am going to feature dedicated event riders on this blog, pros and amateurs, young and old.
If you are a dedicated event rider and have a website or an up-to-date blog and would like to be introduced to people beyond the eventing world or if you know someone who fits this description, please contact me at eponacomm@gmail.com. Include contact information so that I can verify permission. This feed also goes out on Twitter.

Who should have a Fan Page on Facebook?

Well, let's see......
Do you own a business?
Do you have customers or clients?
Would you like to keep your customers or clients?
Would you like to know what they are thinking?
Would you like to send information out to them and get their feedback immediately?
Do you have something to say about your business and products?

You should have a Fan Page on Facebook.
Some people don't want to do this for themselves, it is too time consuming or social media is just not their thing.
So let me do it for you.
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my own trials and tribulations

I decided to include my own horsey blog in the list. This is the sometimes slow account of rehabbing a TB mare. This horse came off of the track years ago and has had one unsuccessful owner after another. After a long struggle, things are turning around for her.
Nina's Story

WEG

Equestrian Lifestyle Magazine announcing the first horses to arrive at The Kentucky Horse Park for the World Equestrian Games.
click here

Blog list

The sidebar now has an updating bloglist of some good horse blogs. If you know of any let me know.

apologies

We have been on a short hiatus. Apologies to all and we are catching up at mach speed.

Eventing Blog

Here is an eventing blog that is about a year old that I just discovered. It features interviews with leading riders, coaches, grooms etc. I will be catching up on back posts myself and I have added it to my blog roll. It looks very well done. Three Days Three Ways. Check it out.

Have you seen this all natural sunscreen?

Do you spend time outside and do you like all natural skin products? This is a great natural sunscreen from Mea Culpa Body and Bath.

Here is the description from the maker.

Are you ready for summer? For the scorching and unforgiving sun? Well....I sure am!
Don't let the sun scare you. This natural sunscreen can help your skin fighting the sun rays and can help with a mild sunburn relief. By moisturizing every time you walk outside you can help your skin fight the UV rays.

Because of all the natural ingredients, this moisturizer can also help with regular rash, itchy and dry skin, and any irritated skin - especially because I have added Colloidal Oatmeal.

The cream will soak in very fast and its chalk full with zinc oxide! Its not in the minimal percentage - its 15% of Zinc Oxide!

I scented it with the refreshing aroma of cucumbers and green tea - dive into the world of greenness and freshness! Revitalize your mind and body!

I have formulated this with Rose Floral Water, which is an awesome moisturizer, aided by the all mighty Shea Butter and ever so soft Mango Butter. The cucumber peel extract and green tea extract are both natural sunscreens and give the skin a little cool feeling while nourishing it with vitamins and anti-oxidants. It is also said that green tea can help with minor cuts, burns and wounds.

Zinc Oxide is also here and I haven't been stingy with the ingredients - it's a mineral that the body requires for the synthesis of collagen, which is a requirement for the healing of skin wounds. Zinc is also a component in the proper functioning of enzymes that are required by the body to repair skin wounds. Another benefit of zinc for proper skin care is that it is a natural insect repellent and a natural sunscreen (zinc oxide effectively blocks the sun’s ultraviolet rays).

-- Shea butter is a wonderful agent for revitalizing our skin cells so that they regain their moisture retention capacity.
-- Rose Water is a gently cleansing and toning product for all skin types. Maintains the pH balance, stimulates regeneration processes, has a calming effect in acne and sunburns. As a result the skin texture becomes even and elastic.
-- Colloidal Oatmeal Colloidal oatmeal works great to help relieve dry, skin patches (Eczema), psoriasis, acne, bug bites, sunburns, and other minor skin irritations. It also helps relieve chicken pox, poison ivy, poison oak, poison sumac, and other itching and scratching rashes.
-- Rice Bran Oil stimulates collagen production and with that helps the skin heal faster, while keeping it soft and subtle.

Mea Culpa Body & Bath
http://www.etsy.com/shop/MeaCulpaBodyandBath

DISCLAIMER - This has not been approved by FDA. This is for informational purposes only. If you have a serious health problem, please consult your doctor.

The Art of Greg Evans....."Superman"

You can visit his new blog at Greg Evans Art and his website at Art Gallery of Greg Evans.

Social Media Don'ts

I am fairly new to the Social Media wave. My expertise is in print media so I am experimenting with sites like Facebook and Twitter as a business platform. Many people are jumping on the social media bandwagon as the greatest thing since canned beer. Others are convinced that it is a temporary craze that will burn itself out.

I don't have an opinion about the future of social media, but I have formed an opinion that many of the people online who are trying to market themselves or a product via social media might learn more from a slightly slower method.

I don't have a lot of advice about "how to" do this sort of marketing, but I have some advice about how not to.

Here are some of my pet peeves:

1. Tweets per hour is not a contest. Right now my limit is 25/hour. If I see a run of more than that on my page, you are gone. I don't care what you are selling, sharing or giving away. Go away. You are annoying. I will be shortening this up as I go along and I want to see what the more effective marketers are doing.

2. ANSWER your customers. Social media is supposed to be SOCIAL, when someone asks you a question, answer it. If you are so busy posting, tweeting, copying and pasting that you can't answer a question, don't expect that person to come back.

3. Be aware of what is going on in your own little corner of the internet. Don't tweet, post and blog about special offers, big news or new products when your site is down. Yes, stuff happens, usually at the worst time. How long does it take to make sure your site is operating properly before you blast the online universe with your ads?

4. If you are selling information and advice about marketing I would like to see what you have marketed, besides your own advice about marketing. Some of this stuff is just blatant pyramid schemes and some of it is earnest, well meaning advice from someone who has never actually put together a marketing campaign for a product, successful or not.

I'm sure I will have more as I get more experience myself. Perhaps I will even develop some of those "how to" rules.

The Art of Greg Evans..... "Brass Lass"

I am very pleased to be working with the artist Greg Evans. I will be featuring artwork from his many collections, but of course, I wanted to start with the equine collection. More coming soon and you can visit his new blog at Greg Evans Art and his website at Art Gallery of Greg Evans.

Starbucks giveaway....

TheJOYoftheJoyofPainting - $50 Starbucks giveaway - thejoyofthejoyofpainting.blogspot.com

This will be great fun! Share the Joy of Painting series on this blog.

sponsored like

Epona Communications's profile on MyLikes

Meet an Eventer.....Christan Trainor

Meet Christan Trainor

Trainor Eventing

~~~Doing my little bit to promote the sport that I love. I think that as a sporting community we need the support of the general public, if for no other reason than to help us save the land that we need to compete on. Another reason is to share this fantastic sport with people who may not know much if anything about it. And what better way than to introduce ourselves to others. I am going to feature dedicated event riders on this blog, pros and amateurs, young and old.
If you are a dedicated event rider and have a website or an up-to-date blog and would like to be introduced to people beyond the eventing world or if you know someone who fits this description, please contact me at eponacomm@gmail.com. Include contact information so that I can verify permission. This feed also goes out on Twitter.

Meet an Eventer.....Kristen Wertz

Meet Kristen Wertz

Kaboom Eventing

and the blog
http://kaboomeventing.blogspot.com/



~~~Doing my little bit to promote the sport that I love. I think that as a sporting community we need the support of the general public, if for no other reason than to help us save the land that we need to compete on. Another reason is to share this fantastic sport with people who may not know much if anything about it. And what better way than to introduce ourselves to others. I am going to feature dedicated event riders on this blog, pros and amateurs, young and old.
If you are a dedicated event rider and have a website or an up-to-date blog and would like to be introduced to people beyond the eventing world or if you know someone who fits this description, please contact me at eponacomm@gmail.com. Include contact information so that I can verify permission. This feed also goes out on Twitter.

Mea Culpa Body and Bath

We all need to take good care of our skin, but if you spend lots of time outside with your horses you need to take extra care. I use and love these products, there is just nothing better for your skin (and your mood) than handmade, quality, natural creams, lotions and soaps. Check out this website and fall in love. Mea Culpa Body and Bath Creations

Willow Tree Designs

Coming out with some great new products. Leading the way are these wonderful half chaps, beautiful detail, your choice of designs, custom made for you at off-the-rack prices.
Email. willowtreedesigns@comcast.net

Upgrading the Website....

I spent months working on and off on the Epona website. Trying out different looks, layouts, information. But I am not a website developer and so once I had it to a point where I liked it, I went to an expert for some tweaking. I needed it to remain in a format where I could edit it, with limited html skills. I went to Affluency Webs and I am pleased with the results.
Need help with your website? Check them out.






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Epona on Twitter

Epona is following and being followed on Twitter..... Twitter.com/EponaComm
Come and join the fun.
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Media

Since I have been away from this business for over a year, I will be contacting all the equine print media. I feel so out of touch, this will be fun.

I like electronic media and it certainly is fast and efficient, but I love print media and one of my goals is to help print media maintain a loyal following so that we can all enjoy opening a real magazine to read and carrying it with us to show an interesting article or a great photograph to our friends.
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Facebook

Well, here we are with a brand new shiny blog. First thing to do is get a feed up on Facebook. So I am off to do that right now.