Lovely Ride at the Watershed

Yesterday, Monica, Julie and I loaded up our horses and headed for the Redmond Watershed.  We went to meet some friends there and made an early start to miss all the hikers/bikers/strollers etc that would come out in the afternoon of this gorgeous day.

We met up with our friends and started out, but as our whole idea was to have a relaxing ride, we soon peeled off. 

We weren't looking for a long ride, as my ankle is still a problem and Julie needed to get back home.  We put in around 1 1/2 hours of riding, walking and trotting and the horses were relaxed and happy (and so were we!)  The light was fabulous - huge sunbeams coming through the trees and fog.  It was rather cathedral like. 

We made it back to the trailer and I just had to take a photo of the horses steaming gently in the sunshine.  They weren't really hot (in fact, Danny had only the tiniest bit of sweat under the saddle, but because it was still chilly, they were steaming through their coolers.  I'm kind of proud of this photo, especially as I took it on my smartphone.

                                               Monica and Danny and Julie and Andy

A nice lady took some photos of the three of us together, but I must say, I like this one the best.

It was a great start for conditioning for next year's rides!  I might not be riding much distance, but dang it, I'm going to the rides!

Merry Christmas!

Merry Christmas and a wonderful new year to everyone!  Have a wonderful day.

Brrrrrarn Party!

Yes, I stole that name from Aarene Storms because it was so appropriate!  We had our Cascade Gold Fun Show and Barn Party yesterday.  While it was a beautiful sunny day, it was also a beautiful frigid day, topping out at around 24 degrees.  Now, I know our Midwest and MT and CO friends are laughing a little - 24 degrees?  Don't even need extra socks for that!  But, here in the misty Pacific NW, we're more used to a damp 40ish degrees in the winter.  So, while the sun is welcome (although my kids cry "My eyes, my eyes, the sun burns my eyes" yep, they can be dramatic) we just don't have the tolerance built up for freezing temps.  We get out our layers (and layers until we look like marshmallows), stay inside and build up the fires and well, whine a little.  The horses whine a little too, as the ground is frozen into a rutted mess and their water buckets and tubs have ice on them.  But, the sun is nice!

So, anyway, we had our Barn Party and Fun Show yesterday and had a very good time.  We had lots of yummy food (lots of hot stuff, blew the fuse in the barn, woops), coffee, hot chocolate, etc.  We did our eating and some socializing in the sunshine before moving to the Fun Show portion of our day.

                                              Alice adding to the goodies out to munch on

Our Fun Show was very low key - I took my cues from the very fun Fun Show that Margaret Pomeroy had at her barn about a month ago.  Fun, silly games, not too long, not very high expectations and lots of smiles.  Kay Gurley (who did the organizing for the show at the Pomeroy's) helped me out.  Cindy Balogh did a bang up job of decorating and cleaning all week.  All the stalls have their stockings hung, there were parking stripes in the parking lot and lots of holiday decorations. 

                                                Cindy taking photos of the Fun Show

We did about 2 1/2 hours of games - just enough that everyone got to play, but not enough so that everyone froze.  We did egg on a spoon, musical feed bags, Simon Says, and a trail course.  We had several young horses come out being led, and Sparky and Nadia, Reggie and Julie and Mahri and Keiko did great.  Wendy Ford came with her boy Taz and Alice and Gus made a strategic appearance too.

                                           Nadia and Sparky, along with Cindy, Max, Oliver and Emilie on the rail

                                         Three sons of Astrachan, Ari with Aarene Storms, Danny with Monica Bretherton and Andy with Keiko Young (or Duana, can't tell which lady it is).  Alice and Gus also participated in the Trail Class, but it doesn't look like I have any photos of them.  There are a bunch more photos on Facebook though.

 

                                         After the show, us hardy souls retreated inside for cake and coffee.  We had lost a bunch of our number by then to the biting cold (they just got too cold and headed home, nothing else!) 

Everyone had a fun and festive time!

BARN PARTY!

It's been another busy month (or so) here at Cascade Gold.  We've been getting ready for cold weather and rain by finishing sheds (thank you Larry!) and working on drainage and footing.  We got new footing in the arena too.

I have gotten a few rides in between all the projects and we've been on the trails a few times.  Galen feels that I could do a lot more.

Anyway, big news this week is the Barn Party!  It's going on from Noon to whenever on Saturday, December 7th.  We will be having a Fun Show first, so if you want to bring a horse, please feel free.  We'll have about 5 classes of fun games, such as egg on a spoon, two riders connected with toilet paper, musical feed bags and a trail course (assuming the weather cooperates).  I have some great endurance rider style prizes (useful stuff and chocolate!) and several of the boarders are going to be helping out.  Cindy B has been a whirlwind of activity this week!

And, after our Fun Show, we'll go directly to the eating and socializing, so bring a dish to share.  I'm making a big pot of chili and we'll see what else shows up.

Hope we see you here!

Teke Trek 2013

It's been a whirlwind month so far.  I spent a good portion of it traveling, mostly horse related stuff, so it's all good.

I started by heading to Minnesota for the 2013 ATAA Conference and 2nd HorseFlicks filming on Thursday, October 3rd.  I met up with Jas Shearer-McMahon at the Minnesota airport and we headed out to the hotel where the Conference was.  We got there around 7 pm or so and found out they had no food at the hotel!  There is a restaurant, but it seemed to operate in a very limited fashion.  So, we ordered a pizza and had it delivered.  Then we went and soaked in the hot tub and did some catching up.  (We had stopped for alcohol on the way to the hotel, so it was all good). 

Friday morning we got up at 0 dark 30 to head to the barn where the HorseFlicks filming was to be held.  Jon had asked for an 8 am start.  The directions said it was 38 miles away, so we figured we'd give ourselves plenty of time.  Well....I don't know if it was the directions, us, the lack of coffee or what, but it took us almost 2 1/2 hours to find the barn.  Several people who came later said "Oh, I just used my GPS..."  Yes, I WILL get GPS on my rental car next time.  We arrived right around 8 am and Jon (Jon Mays, the HorseFlicks film maker) was already there.  We got to do some catching up as we waited for people to arrive.  By around 9, we had our first horse in the arena filming.  Unfortunately, the weather did NOT cooperate.  It was rainy and drizzly, so we filmed in the indoor.  We had Terri Fender's stallion Jack start us off.  He looked great and his rider, Staci, did a great job.  Next was Araghan, under western tack with a rider whose name I was told and then promptly forgot.  Sorry!  He did a nice job and has some western showing in his future.  Then, Jas rode The Akhal-Teke Stud's stallion Goblet, who is with Terri on lease.  As she had never ridden him, she warmed him up outside.  He was willing, but seemed a bit rusty.  We later found out he hadn't been ridden in quite some time.  They ended up doing a lovely job and I think Goblet slept quite well that night!  Then we had Staci riding Eramay, who had come from Texas for this filming and was then heading on to the Kentucky Horse Park for the next showing.  Staci did a great job and I think there was some lovely footage.  Then, Tiffany Dietchler rode her gelding Ivan over some jumps and Brad Sherman showed off his stallion (an Astrachan son!) Thor at liberty.  Jon did some interviews and we were pretty much done by 2 pm.  Terri, Brad and Vicki (and maybe another person?) provided lunch for us and coffee and sodas, and it was greatly appreciated.  We all got to mingle a bit, meet the people we had only talked to via email and then we all headed back to the hotel.  This time it took us a lot less time (more caffeine and better directions!). 

Jas and Goblet

Eramay and Staci

 

We met up at the bar for our ATAA Board meeting around 6 pm and then the Meet and Greet was around 7 pm.  We all hung out and chatted for a few hours until it was time to hot tub again. (at least for Jas and I!)

Saturday morning was our General Membership Meeting.  We didn't have a huge turnout, but everyone that came had great suggestions.  There were a couple of "Duh" moments for me, when someone suggested a simpler, easier way to accomplish something.  That was wonderful!  We have quite a few plans for the next year and will start working on those soon.  It was so great to have such a motivated, enthusiastic bunch that owned their ideas.  I think the next few years will be amazing. 

Then, it was a break until the Awards Banquet.  Catrina Quantrell and Betsy Wandler did a great job with the awards.  My only sniffle was that I wasn't eligible for any of the discipline awards as I didn't compete this past year.  And those awards were NICE.  They also did Achievement awards and gave out some lovely coffee mugs that had original drawings of our horses on them.  I did win 2 of those - very nice!  Those mugs are safely in my trophy case now, so no one actually USES them and possibly breaks them.  Then, I gave out awards to the Board members.  Terri and I had come up with the idea of nice photo frames with photos of the person and their horse in them.  I found the frames, but unfortunately, my printer wasn't working, so the photos will have to be added later.  Several people did find that their original drawing (we were given the original drawing that went on our mugs) fit perfectly.  I put my drawing of Galen in my frame.

Winners of the Silent Auction items were also announced.  I ended up bringing a bunch of stuff home that will get sent out soon (as soon as the checks arrive, lol)

Sunday we drove up to Terri Fender's farm, through lovely 'Seattle' weather.  It was rainy, cold and windy, not the best photo taking op!  But, we got to meet all her horses and she provided lunch.  Jas and I had to leave pretty much as everyone else arrived, to make it to the airport for our flights. 

The next stop on my journey was Upper Michigan to visit my parents.  I grew up in Houghton (not Houghton Lake, HOUGHTON, home of Michigan Tech University).  My mom and I did lots of yard work, bagged up lots of leaves, took off screens, and did some hedge trimming.  We also went out to several favorite local restaurants (yum Tostada pizza from The Ambassador!) and visited some of my nieces and their families.  We also went to visit my dad twice at the home were he is living (Alzheimer's).  It was a very nice visit and then early (really early) Friday morning I flew to Lexington, KY, home of the Kentucky Horse Park, where our third HorseFlicks filming was to take place.

Now, I absolutely love the Horse Park.  It is the horsey version of Disneyland.  If someone gave me a choice between the KHP and Disneyland, I'd take the KHP in a heartbeat.  It is gorgeous, perfectly groomed, the horses are all well taken care of and happy and there are about 1200 (I read somewhere) acres there, all dedicated to horses.  What isn't to love?  I think this is my 4th time there now and I'd be happy to go back many more times.  We were participating in a 'Breeds Weekend' as the guest breed, so we had 4 shows we had to do over two days.  The Breeds Barn has a rotating show twice daily that showcases different breeds.  Their program said they have at least 40 different breeds at the KHP, so there is a lot of rotation that can be done.  Our bit came after their program when we were announced as a guest breed.  We had 11 horses come, so to make sure everyone got a chance to be in the film, we did some brainstorming.  Our filming was only to take place on Saturday, so we wanted to showcase the most advanced horses, but everyone was to get a shot out there.  Also, we had 8 stallions, 2 mares and a gelding, so there was a little working around that to make sure everyone kept their minds on the job.  Our first filming of the day came around 11:15, and we started with Gidasp and Adamek doing dressage and then I think it was Garpun, in his search and rescue gear. Then we had Adamek and Zak jumping, then  we finished with the mares Mari and Guli in costume along with the gelding Ki being led.  I think that was the order of go...anyway, it went off very well, the horses and riders did a great job and then several of them waited for after the presentation when the public was invited to come and pet the horses and talk to their riders.  We did another one in the afternoon, this time with Eramay and Grygy in western gear and Goklen in costume.

                                                           Keven and Grygy getting ready

Goklen and Eron meeting people on the lawn after a presentation.

Eron also rode Gidasp in a third level dressage test (there was a big dressage show going on that weekend) on Saturday and then another one on Sunday.    I don't know which tests they were, but I can safely say that the one above was the most photographed test of the day - we had at least 4 cameras going, along with Jon with his video camera.

 

 

We went to the local Cracker Barrel that evening and I tried some southern cooking - interesting.  I always try something local(ish) when I'm in a new place.  We had a nice time chatting with pretty much everyone that had been at the Park that day.  I was staying with Cindy Sither, so we headed off to her house. 

 

Sunday was more of the same.  We didn't have Jon there to film, so we mixed things up a bit.  After we finished the 2 pm showing, I headed out to the airport and flew home. 

 

It was a really wonderful 10 days and I'm really glad I went, but I'm STILL catching up.  Oh well, gotta pay to play!

 

A little 'procedure'

Last Monday, I had a little "procedure"  Lest you think this is some horrible thing, it had to do with my (sigh) left ankle.  That is the one that I had operated on in August of 2012, where a longitudinal tear was repaired.  It's been over a year now and I'm still not back to normal (yes, this is a bit of a whine).  I have been able to ride for about 2 hours but by the 2 hour mark I have been ready to saw my leg off.  As my preferred type of riding/competition is endurance, 2 hours doesn't get you very far.  Now, one person did suggest I just ride faster.  Good idea.  I did that in 2012, figuring if I could ride faster, my ankle wouldn't hurt so much.  It did get me 3 top ten awards, but I was doing those rides in around 3 hours, so faster....might be a stretch.  It was also suggested I drop down to trail rides.  My competitive spirit just won't go for that.  I figure I can do THAT when I'm 90.  Anyway, I went back to the doctor and told him what was going on.  He suggested we try breaking up the adhesions (most likely one of the big reasons there is still pain, along with age, lack of strength and lack of stretch).  So, off to another office where I had dye, anesthetic (that was wonderful) and steroids injected in my tendon sheath.  Kind of a neat thing, they showed me the tenogram (I believe that is what it is called) afterwards. 

I rode Wednesday for about 30 minutes...very good, no pain.

I rode Thursday on the trail for about 60 minutes...pain at around 40 minutes, but I was able to do ankle rotations and finish the ride with minimal pain.  Also, I wasn't dead lame when I got off, which has been the case up to now.

                         Galen's ears on our Friday Trail Ride at Mann Road, Sultan, WA

                                                      Monica and Mahri.  Mahri was a star!

I rode Friday on the trail, only for around 30 or 40 minutes (Mahri's first trail ride, so it was short and slow), but had very little pain.

So, am I fixed?  Probably not, but at least it's a somewhat more optimistic outlook than I've been having. 

Will I be on the endurance trail next year?  Stay tuned...

Guest Author!

Today I have a lovely story about a mare that I bred and sold.  The horse is Kamileshen (Aliger x Anastasia) a 2006 purebred Teke mare.  Here is what her proud owner has to say:

The Water. Every rider has attempted it, most riders have conquered it. The moment of indecision on your horses part as it decides to skirt the menacing site, or indulge its riders and get its feet wet. This feat is particularly difficult when your legs only descend half way down the ribcage and your strength limits your ability to steer, or stop.

Ears fluctuating back and forth as she attempts to make out her riders confusing cues, she looks to me for a clue and then focuses again on her rider. Legs thumping the sides, hands pulling back and somewhat to the side towards the water. She looks at me for one final look of approval then delicately sticks her feet into the murky depths. She is rewarded by hearty pats from her rider.

At the time of this feat Nola, the rider, was four, Kamileshen (or Shen) the horse was six and we were at a local cross country course. It was an open day, a day where riders bring their horses out for practice and exposure. Shen and I had just finished working over some jumps when Nola stated she wanted to try the water jump. We were done, and I would often let Nola sit on Shen’s back while I cooled her down, so I boosted her into the saddle and clipped a lead line onto her bridle so she could try the water ‘jump.’ The entire feat took about five minutes – I stood quietly on the end of the lead – letting them decipher one another’s cues as they would. I was so busy watching them that I did not notice the audience that had built up. Spectators on foot and on horse were also watching. Many were probably just awaiting their turn at the water jump, but none wanted to interfere or disrupt the delicate balance until the ‘jump’ was complete.

                                                             Nola and Shen, Pas Pascucci photo

 

The walk back to the trailer was an eventful one, with riders and walkers smiling and commenting on Shen. The questions almost always started with, ‘What a nice horse, how old is she?’ Followed by ‘Really? What breed is she?’

I could understand their skepticism. I had a field full of geriatrics – my old eventer, my hunter jumper, my mom’s endurance horse, my dad’s trail horse. All still perfectly capable of packing a young child, but instead I chose the youngest horse in the lot for my four year old daughter. The reason, I strongly believe she cares about Nola, to her we are her family and I have learned that Tekes do their best to take care of their family. I have many examples, the time the gate was not opened all the way and Shen would not let Nola lead her through – rather she stood firm and whinnied for my attention. The time I was riding in the mountains and a misstep left me dangling from the end of the reins - she stood legs spread, head down until I scrambled up the side and back onto the trail.

I purchased Kamileshen in 2008 with dreams of getting back into eventing, but she has a home for life because she is family. Breeders place an awful lot of importance on ‘Tekes in Sport,’ but no one noticed Shen’s clean clear round that day – but they all noticed the small child, her tongue sticking out in concentration and the quiet patience of her mount. It is not their athletic ability that makes them invaluable, it is their spirit.

Today, Shen shares the field with two other Tekes, and I make it to maybe one event a year. Nola and Shen are now competing in schooling classes and light horse shows where she proudly sits upon her golden mount and announces ‘She is an Akhal Teke.’

 

Darla Dickinson, Hope BC