Blog Rewind

As promised, I am going back in time to catch up on things that have been going on since March. When I left off, I was in the process of deciding between a few colt starting clinics and clinicians/trainers to whom I could take Bailey and get help with getting her really going under saddle. I will spare everyone the details of my worrisome 2 week debate on who to go to and all the whys, hows, pros, and cons of each option. I will just say that after giving it MUCH thought I chose Randy Rieman of Montana. After speaking with him a few times on the phone and, as in my case, much prayer, I felt he was the right man for the job...and let me add, that it was apparent during my week with him, that God's hand was definitely in the whole thing. For more info. on Randy and his amazing place in Montana check out his website about Pioneer Mountain Ranch.

I headed to Montana in mid-April to spend a week with Randy working with Bailey. I also took Ranger so during Bailey's down-time, I could be working on other areas of my horsemanship. Little did I know this one week would equal the trip of a lifetime...though I do plan on returning to Pioneer Mountain Ranch as soon as I can. :)

To give you a little background...I first saw Randy, over a year ago, on RFD-TV in an episode of Aaron Ralston's "The Ride". It was actually about colt-starting, lucky me. I wrote his name down and didn't think twice about it until I came across it in March when I began looking for help with Bailey. Randy's resume is impressive, having worked for 9+ years on the famous Parker Ranch in Hawaii starting all their colts. This guy knows colt starting. He also worked closely, for many years, with Joe Wolter and Bryan Neubert, who are in my opinion, two of the best, if not THE best, colt starters in the world. If you haven't seen their video "The First Week"-GET IT! Anyhow, Randy is one of the best. What impressed me more than his qualifications was Randy, himself. He is supremely honest, has a genuine desire to help people be successful with their horses, is a great teacher and outstanding horseman, loves the horse, is one of the most humble people I have ever met, and loves God. He also has an amazing wife, Kim, who is one of the most interesting and lovable people I have ever encountered. I was instantly in awe of them and will forever cherish my time with them.

On to the horse stuff...Randy rode Bailey for the first time at the ranch, as I was still a bit unconfident about riding a hardly started, full-of-herself filly. She did great and I ended up riding her for my first time at the ranch on our third day. She was never worried about me being on her back in the slightest. Randy talked me through every detail...saddling her, warming her up/checking her out before getting on, getting her soft while "lunging", getting her attention, etc. Then, while mounted, we worked on holding her attention by keeping things interesting, keeping her feet moving (mainly trotting), flexion, moving her hip, moving her shoulders and front feet, and backing. We did a lot more, but I won't bore you with a bunch of long lists. By the time the week was up I felt comfortable saddling her up, getting on and going somewhere. I knew where to go from where we were at. My homework was to take what we had learned and advance it....getting things better and better with each ride.

While at the ranch, I also rode Ranger, working on softening him up, as he is often bull-headed and pushy, probably from his years as a camp trail horse. He likes to try to to pull the reins out of your hand and push on the bit, sticking his nose out. He will also dart downward and pull you out of position so he can get a bite of grass. By the end of week, he definitely had a different outlook as did I. One of my favorite activities of the week, and something that has long been on my "bucket list", was getting to ride Ranger out on the ranch and into the adjacent National Forest area. Now I can check "riding my horse in the mountains of Montana" off my list. The scenery on our rides (3 to be exact) was unbelievable! I did not want to leave, but when Saturday rolled around I was back on the road headed home. I loved Montana and I loved my time with the horses and Randy. I hope the photos in the following blog show you a little bit of what I experienced while at Pioneer Mtn. Ranch. I wanted to put all the photos together to make it easier for uploading, arranging, and viewing. It was a blessing to go and I hope to return soon. A big thanks goes out to my wonderful hubby for being so supportive of my going on this adventure. I can't wait to take him with me on the next Montana excursion!