THE Futurity

Sorry I have been absent from the blog for a while. I have been going all over the place doing all sorts of things...lots of which I don't care to blog about right now. However, there is one exception to my non-blog topic list. I managed to convince the hubby to let me go to Fort Worth with some of my girlfriends to watch the Open Finals of the 2010 NCHA Futurity! Boy, did we ever have a blast! Shopping, good food, good company, good horses...what more could a girl ask for? If you haven't been to the futurity before, I highly recommend it. The finals were so exciting and lucky us, we got to see the record-breaking run of 230 by Lloyd Cox aboard the adorable One Time Royalty, which, of course, won the open division of the futurity. It was breathtaking poetry in motion, mixed with a shot of adrenaline. :) And now, a few snapshots from our big city cuttin' horse adventure...

ONE TIME ROYALTY on his 230 point record run

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Here, There, and Everywhere

Lately, I have been trying to spend as much time with Bailey as I can, though I haven't managed to be very successful at that goal. First, we hit a little speed bump....she started displaying some serious attitude. It was so bad that I couldn't even saddle her to ride! She would pin her ears, try to bite, squeal, act cinchy, and so on. No matter what I did, it wasn't getting any better. So, I had that friend of mine help me. We got everything fixed right up. She gave me some great advice and confirmed my suspicions that Bailey's antics were, in fact, just that...antics. She was bored and started making her own fun, instead of waiting for me to do more advanced things with her. She is that smart. You only have to show her once, and then, she's got it and its time to move on. I don't need to be afraid she's too young or not ready to do some more advanced things. Now, I can saddle her while she's tied without her giving me any sass and then check her out on the ground and hop on. Ah, she's a dream.

Our second hurdle was that after being with my friend for a week, we headed to the Hill Country for a week. Well, shortly after she arrived, she and 2 of her half-sisters all shared a cold. I had planned on riding her quite a bit to keep our momentum going from the week before but thought it better to let her rest up. So, I left her behind for week two while I returned "home" to the parents' place. While I was away, she and the other girls got over the cold without any further problems. She also lucked out and got a fabulous trim from my friend's farrier while we were there. I was so impressed with his patience with the horses and his knowledge and ability. He uses an electric grinder, of sorts, and it is amazingly precise and quick in his guided hands. A fraction of the time of a regular trim and Bailey's feet have never looked better!!

I headed back to Kerrville to pick Bailey up after another week and to do a one day Parelli workshop and play day nearby. On Saturday we headed over to Camp Lonehollow in Vanderpool. This place was unbelievable! The facilities are, to put it modestly, incredible and over-the-top. Every detail was planned to perfection and it is set back in a private valley surrounded by cedar and oak covered hills dotted with several small lakes. The buildings all blend in with the natural scenery...it is gorgeous. The weather was perfect, cool and sunny. Bailey was awesome! We went to two workshops in the a.m. I chose to work on Liberty first. We hadn't done much of that other than work on our "draw". She has no problem sticking to me. So, we advanced what we knew and played all the games. It was a blast. Before lunch we all did a short freestyle riding lesson. So fun! After lunch we did a freestyle timed tournament. I was impressed at how well Bailey did. She did everything I asked of her with much try and she even cantered when I asked, picked her correct lead (the second time around), and did it all without much attitude. I was thrilled! So funny how those little things can sometimes mean the most. We continued the afternoon working on some patterns for developing impulsion. It was a much needed fun and informative day led by great instructors. I had a great time riding with several of my girl friends and I met some new ladies as well. Can't wait to go back!

Below are some photos from our day at Lonehollow. That's not all we have been up to lately, so more to come soon.

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Update On Ranger

I am still wandering across Texas, so I have been neglecting the blogging world a bit. I thought a belated update on Ranger was a little overdue...Our WA vet went out to see Ranger last week and gave me some good news. Ranger is still doing very well, in fact, our vet suggested we skip x-rays this time around and just re-shoe as we had been doing. Ranger will still be needing front shoes and the same type of gel pads for a while, but at least we aren't moving backward anymore. The farrier agreed that things were going very well and that he didn't see why, if I was home, I couldn't start riding Ranger again in the near future. I am so relieved to know my handsome boy is doing so much better. Now, if we can be better prepared for next Spring and prevent this whole ordeal from happening again, we will be doing great!

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"They call me the wanderer..."

That old song definitely defines my life of late. We just got word we won't be returning home to WA until late spring or summer. I have been galavanting all over the place and next week I am off again to visit my old stomping grounds in the Hill Country. Which, I might add, I have been sooooo looking forward to doing for a while now. So, I have returned to TX for a while. Good thing. Life's been quite eventful here in the south. The morning after I arrived, I went out to feed the horses, having kept Bailey up to avoid her fighting with my youngest gelding, Blackjack, and having their meet and greet turn into what usually becomes a trip to the vet for one of them. Last time they were both together he kept trying to breed her. She was sore in her back and bitten all over. I have since kept them separated when I return to TX. Well, this time the separation proved to be in vain. Blackjack came up for his morning feed with a 10 inch horizontal gash across the lower part of his left shoulder. We have no idea how he did it or what he came across because it is at such an odd angle and height. It took 20 stitches and an overnight trip to the vet. Not because he wasn't ready to come home the same day, but because he wouldn't get in the trailer that night. If you know me at all, you know one of my pet peeves is a horse that won't trailer load. ALL my horses willingly get into ANY trailer and travel well over long distances, if necessary. Well, Blackjack hasn't gone anywhere in over a year and I can't really blame him for not wanting to get back in the trailer after what I am sure was an unpleasant visit with the vet. So, we went back the next day and he loaded up without too much fuss. We will be working on that issue once he is all healed up.

After picking up Blackjack, we headed south to a friend's house. Well, really they are a family of friends, 7 to be exact. The eldest daughter is quite the horse-woman having her own lesson and training business, which is helping pay for her college. Really, she is humble when it comes to her abilities with horses, but I think she is amazing. So do a lot of other people. She has performed at the Parelli tour stops on more than one occasion, if that tells you anything. Bailey is now staying with her for a few days and then we are going back to get some lesson time. Bailey and I have been having "issues". I know it is all me, just not being savvy enough for her. It is challenging for me to have a more confident, intelligent, athletic horse who is very playful. She gets bored easily and I am not provocative enough for her in many instances. I am used to my other gelding who used to be much more fractious, unconfident, and less playful. He needed comfort and consistency. Which I am now well-versed in providing. Bailey needs play, variety, and incentive. Its not that I don't know what to do...the knowledge is definitely there. But I sometimes have trouble accessing it and keeping my emotions out of it. As my friend put it, Bailey is a bit of a princess. At least I know now and can admit it, and hopefully we can get over this hump pretty quickly and move on to the next. :) I'll let you know how things go next week!

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Star-struck

I took a little sight-seeing day trip to Lincoln, NM yesterday with my parents. We went to check out the museums and all the Billy "The Kid" memorabilia. Little did I know I was in store for a surprise encounter with someone I admire far more than I could care about Billy Bonney. We started up the sidewalk of the old "Dolan House" in town to grab a little lunch at the historic home-turned-quaint cafe. As I approached the front porch, I noticed a cowboy sitting in a rocking chair. He greeted us with a friendly, "Hi, How are you folks?" And when I looked over and realized who I was talking to when I replied, "Great, How are you?"...I could hardly believe my eyes. It was 2010 Road to the Horse Champion, Craig Cameron!! I politely asked him if I could have my mom take our photo together, while trying not to make a big deal about it all. He was so nice and even stopped to visit with us again after we all had our lunch. There aren't too many other clinicians/world re-knowned horsemen that I think would take the time to genuinely visit with you and not think you are just another crazy horse person/fan. And he has a great smile! Kudos to Craig!

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My Sentiments Exactly...

The barn manager at Bailey's barn has this on her truck. Words to live by...

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Our Little Horse Lover

I am blessed to be called aunt by three of the most precious, adorable, sweet kids ever. The two oldest (niece, T, age 7 and nephew, M, age 3) happen to like horses. Well, T likes horses alright, but M loves them. We talk on the phone a few times a week and our conversations are always about horses and all things cowboy. I must confess, that I have encouraged his horse infatuation a little, but I also think the horse obsession is genetic. My dad was horseback a lot is his younger years and even at work during his 30's after I was around. My mom also had horses when she was growing up. Try as they might, they couldn't keep the "horse gene" from surfacing later in my life even though I was never allowed to have a horse as a child. I was, admittedly, too busy with other activities to have a horse. So, now they are being paid back 10 fold by their oldest grandson and his horse-aholic ways.

M is convinced that all my horses are actually his horses. He was so excited to see me arrive in Texas with the horses in tow. He loves my truck and trailer too...I mean, his trailer.Wherever the horses and I go, he thinks he should go as well. He loves to ride, though we don't let him do it a lot or for more than a minute or two because, in my opinion, he is still too young. We always make him wear his helmet, with the exception of the occasional photo op and he is never, ever allowed around the horses by himself. Safety first, always.

How do I know he was born with the "horse gene"? From the time M was about 18 months old, you could NOT get him to sit in front of the TV and watch cartoons for even 5 minutes, but put an old western on and he would be mesmerized. No one made a big deal about westerns, horses, or cowboys; he just loved that stuff of his own accord. He loves "cowboy shows" to this very day. Only now, he has to watch them while dressed in full cowboy garb. You won't catch him watching a western television show or movie without his cowboy boots, cowboy hat, and belt with holstered toy six shooter. He also has to have rope in hand and be sitting (straddled on the arm of the sofa) in his very own western saddle complete with leather reins. He gets so into it, when the cowboys in the movie start yeehaw-ing or a bugler plays the sound to charge...M yeehaws at the top of his lungs. It is hilarious. We finally managed to find time to go for a real ride a couple of weeks ago. He donned his cowboy hat for a few minutes to snap a couple of photos at the end of our ride. Maybe you can see why I adore this dimpled cowboy cutie so much...

Meeting our mount.

Serious cowboy business going on...

So excited!!

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