All good things come to an end, and the markets are one of those good things that always seems to end too quickly!

The party gave us a chance to get everyone back together for a night of dancing and silliness. DJ Lushred joined us again and kept us partying into the wee hours with some great tunes and some very silly tunes, and despite some muleish behaviour the prize pinata showered us all with his intimate objects, not least some incredible prizes donated by Validus, Betta, Darky and Pegasus. Thank you so much!

Here's some photos from the night if you weren't able to make it, or to remind you of the carnage if you were :D Thanks to all who came and made it such a fun night - and of course for making the market such a success. Enjoy!

Well done to everyone who braved the wrath of the Hoof It bronco - I hope you're not too sore!

We got some excellent top scores, and three winners with two taking joint second:

You can see the full results here.

The release of the Viewer 2 beta has introduced many new features, not least the long-awated alpha skin textures (actually introduced as clothing parts) - allowing us to make parts of our avatars invisible without the need for scripted invisiprims and their associated graphics glitches (they become visible when seen in front of shiny surfaces, water, and 32bit textures).

The latest update to the horse avatar is shipped without invisiprims, and with a new alpha skin which you can wear (and use with other prim avatars, of course). You can now tuck yourself away inside your av without bits poking out or odd visuals when you go swimming :D

For details on which parts of your avatar you'll need to replace from the new box, see the updates page as per.

Note: Whilst the effects of this update are visible in earlier viewers, the new skin is not useable in anything but viewer 2. So if you aren't using it, it won't work. If you are using it, the new skin will look as it's supposed to for everyone who sees you, regardless of what they're running.

Clench up and head over to the paddock, where our mean old bronco is back for the next 24 hours.

The Hoof It bronco isn't a game of luck - it's a game of skill. But it's also totally free to enter, and you can enter as many times as you like - either to get the hang of it, or to keep that top score ;)

Simply hop on, take a copy of the HUD and wear it. After the countdown, arrows will light up on your HUD - press the keys as you see 'em and try not to get three wrong, or you'll be dumped on the floor!

• 1st place - L$400
• 2nd place - L$300
• 3rd place - L$200

PLUS the winner gets the Hoof It horse or avatar of their choice!

After a bit of a slow start we soon had a huge crowd and many of our merchants hopped up on stage to show us what they were selling. We even got two new recruits for the market! Here are some pictures from the event, in order of appearance.

Darky got things started with her beaded Native tack

And her roping tack

Rixi showed us her Epona texture and horse plushies

And Epona carrot meter!

And some stunning texures

Findhorn displayed his equestrian photography

Beautiful Arabs! *wants*

BillyJo and his barrel horse took to the stage

Woah there!

Apparently the splinters prove how manly you are :)

Calien came for the event and stayed to take a vendor spot!

She showed off her very smart carriages

Alaria also joined for her first market to sell her wagons

Haylp!

...thanks.

Join us at 3pm tonight in the paddock where we'll be inviting the merchants who are taking part in the Winter market to get their products out of the vendors and show them off in person (or horse).

If you're a merchant, this is a fabulous opportunity to show off your work and discuss it with potential customers. And if you're one of those potential customers, what better way to check out the products before buying!

This is a friendly, informal gathering and you don't have to speak if you don't want to, but if you're free pay us a visit - it's a wonderful way to meet both merchants and customers and see the sort of things people are making.

Thanks to everyone who made it to the official unofficial opening, and also to Lushred who stepped in to DJ at the last minute - and to Moon who found her!

If you've not had chance to visit yet, be sure to call by to check out the amazing range of equestrian products on offer, from some merchants you may recognise and some you may not. There's plenty of exciting stuff to root through, so pay a visit and give those vendors a good prodding! (I mean the machines, not the creators...)

While you're there, click the icicle by the paddock gate for a notecard listing all our participating merchants, what they sell, and where to find them in world and online.

The Winter Market is now officially open, and we're dacing like fools :D Come play!

Never sold your work before? Don't want to pay crazy prices for a mall space customers might never find, not knowing if you'll sell enough to cover the rent?

Not to worry! It's that time of year again!

A chance for novice content creators and old hands to sell their equestrian products for free at the seasonal Creators' Market. During the run up to the market and the last two weeks of the month when it'll be in full swing, we'll be hosting classes (to get you started selling your stuff!), and events to get customers to your stalls, and to give you a chance to show off your products (and see what everyone else has made!)

If you think you'd like to apply, we really need you to get an application in else we can't guarantee you a space. You can still change your mind if you apply, but if you don't, you might miss out.

Grab a copy of the application from the signs at Hoof It, or the group notices - be sure to read the notecards attached - and get it back to use before Friday 12th February.

Hope to see you there!

Congratulations to Lieke Mensing on Ronja who came first with a time of 02:39.07. In second was Ruby Vandyke on Golden Girl with a time of 02:33.37, and in third Kylee Gracemount with 02:32.64.

Well done to our winners, and thanks to everyone who took part.

You can see the full results here.

The February cross country is a speed trial, so get movin'! Entries are open now - good luck :D