Happy Easter from Shiloh & Linda

Happy Easter From Shiloh and Linda!

Linda took Shiloh to visit the customers and kids!
She dressed Shiloh in her Sunday best with an Easter Bonnet and even a Bunny Tail!

I know Shiloh enjoyed it!

The Gift of Jazzy

Some times things just come together and happen all in the right order for a reason!

Over Christmas I was riding with my friends Bob and Holly. I noticed that Jazzy his 17 year old Spotted Saddle horse was having a little problem with his hocks. Bob got him checked by the vet and sure enough he has some arthritis. Bob had owned Jazzy for over 14 years and has ridden him on pack trips out West and all over the country. He is a sturdy, great minded horse and beautiful too. After much painful thought and consideration. Bob decided that he wanted to sell or find Jazzy a new home since he did not want to hurt him anymore by riding him all day in the mountains. So Bob started looking into donating him to a Therapeutic Riding group. All the groups were filled up at the time.

About that same time Linda, Dr. Mansmann's wife was telling me about a 14 year old girl she met while working at her job as an RN. Katie had been in a terrible accident with some farm machinery. She has lost and ear, been scalped, lost three fingers on her right hand and broken both arms. She was in the hospital for about a month. Linda learned that Katie dreams of being a vet some day so she asked me to get together some things for her to read from the Vet school. While talking to Linda she told me that Katie has always wanted a horse and the family had even just put up a four acre pasture. Someone had offered to give her a horse, which later we found out was a 5 month old, pony. What is an injured girl who is not experianced with horses going to do with a 5 month old pony? I considered it a challenge! I told Linda that I was sure we could find her a better horse.

I thought and thought about it and then asked if Jazzy had found a home yet. I told Bob the story about Katie. He gave it much thought and then decided that this would be a noble thing for Jazzy to do!

Katie is 5'10" and growing so she need a big horse but also needs a quite well trained horse too!
Jazzy is all this and then some!

Bob decided to sell Jazzy to Katie for $1.00!

I brought Jazzy to my house after the Sandhills ride in Wagram. He is staying with me until Katie's family has a small barn built and is ready for the horse. One of Bob's friends Dot donated a nice saddle and all the tack and the maker of the saddle is going to go to their house and help fit the saddle and tack when they are ready to ride. The Mansmann's gave some money to go and buy Jazzy and Katie a nice grooming kit. My mom bought Jazzy a nice new dark green halter! Julie is going to trim Jazzy for me, donate some boots and a special grooming packet. My friend Donna who wrote The Book Of Mules, gave a neat children's book.

In about a month, I am going to get Jazzy all cleaned up and bring him down to their farm!

All of this came about with out my hardly even asking anything, it was all offered!
It is amazing how somethings just work out and come together like this!

I know what a great horse like Jazzy can do for a young girl.

As I have witnessed it with my horse Jake and Elizabeth!

Thank you Bob for giving Katie your special horse Jazzy!

Sandhill Ride - 1st of the CMA Season

March 20, 21, 22, 2009 -
This weekend was so good it will be hard to beat it!

Jane came with me and we arrived Friday night about 8pm. Our host Lexie had some of the best warm stew waiting for us. A group of the guys had gone over to the local Blue Grass gathering so only a few people remained. We parked and put Jane's horse Val and Sadie Mae in stalls.
That night we were cold! Turns out the electric heater I had was not really working that well!
After getting warmed up and tacking up our rides, the group took off with about 20 riders and two wagons. The day warmed up, pretty blue skies and all the mules where behaving nicely!
Through out the day we found all kinds of things in the woods. Ammo boxes, old army stuff, even what looked like an unexploded bomb on the side of the road. I could not believe it but the CMA Men where smart enough not to touch that, not even with a stick!
I found a two foot long string of machine gun bullets just hanging on a branch, they were live but blanks!
We came across a tractor trailer on this back country road, we all jumped into the woods for it to go by. We also past an Army troop getting ready to go into the field for maneuvers. They were firing machine guns but stopped when they saw us. The mules defiantly took a look at them!
We rode through Camp McCall, a military drop zone for parachute jumpers. They have an old tan there. Barry and Teddy joined the kids playing on it like it was a jungle gym!
That night Lexie and Janie Smith had a pick picking with all the fixings, cake and other deserts. We sat and enjoyed a Bluegrass band that came to play for us personally. Ended the night with a huge bomb fire!
That night we were warm! I brought out the propane heater and Jane said "I'm Hot" in a whinny voice! I took that as a compliment.
Sunday we had another nice ride. It started out cold with frost on some of the mules backs but the sun came out and I soon had my jacket off. Today was even more hunting in the woods. Someone pointed out that is was like an Easter Egg Hunt for MEN! They found more ammo boxes and who knows what else!
Can't wait for the next ride!!

Cowboy Race on a MULE?

For those of you who do not know what a Cowboy Race is check out http://www.extremecowboyassociation.com/

March 7th in Monroe, NC at a Farm Called Why Not An American Ark?

I arrived on Friday and checked in. Got Seven settled and met a few of the other people who will be competing too! The Ark is a very nice place they do have at least two of every animal, but very spread out! The barns, arenas, camp ground, bathrooms, etc are on opposite ends of the earth. So I was glad when Molly showed up to help. We used her Yellow Jeep the whole weekend to run around in! Jerry, owner of the Ark was kind enough to let me park by the barn so at least my tack and everything was near Seven! I did some riding and came back to the trailer and did some practice with some of my "toys" I had brought along. Then Molly and I went out for dinner!

The next morning Seven and I drew a spot in the morning ride so I ran to tack up and get out on the course. It was warm that day and we relaxed a little while other people took their runs. I watched, planning in my head how I would do things!

Here is the run down of the course and how Seven and I ran it!
Took off from the timer and down a small hill to two Bank Jumps. He jumped up the first one, about 2 1/2 feet, we stopped turned a small circle and it was about three steps to the next one that is three feet straight up! Then we picked his way through a heavy brush pile. Cantered a few steps to the log drag. It took me a minute to get the log going because I wanted to have my reins and rope straight. The log was so heavy that you had to Dally off of the horn. We then arrived at the Hay move. It is a box about 10x10 foot. You are to stand your horse in the box while you move the hay from one side to the other. Seven stood like a rock for me! I did have to say Whoa the whole time! Then down a hill and through a Hay Ring that was sitting in small creek. Then I walked over to a cone, bent way down and took a ball off of it, rode over to the next cone and returned it to the cone. We took off down a little hill to a big cross country jump. Picked up a flag and had to jump a 2 1/2 foot wide ditch! Then return the flag to another location. Next we took off across the whole course at a full gallop. At the Jump at the far end I put on a rain slicker! Seven again stood like a rock! Take off to the water barrels where I was supposed to get the bucket, scoop some water and them carry it to the other barrel and dump it. The small bucket was 1/2 sunk when I arrived as I touched it is sank to the bottom of the 55 gallon water filled barrel! So I had to dismount and stick my arm in the barrel of cold water to get the bucket. I should have hung on to the bucket but I put it floating on top of the water again. By the time I mounted and reached for the bucket the wind blew and if turned over and sunk again. I dismounted but before I could remount to get the water in the bucket I had the 30 second whistle blown on my, meaning I got a 0. DARN! I took off for the deep water crossing, which Seven did very well. He came out and crossed another small ditch, we stopped at a cone and I had to run the last 30 feet to the timers. Seven ran right with me with out pulling.

I was so proud of him! He did everything I asked, when I asked him to do it! All those hard obstacles! I have several people come up and tell me that I did a great job and that I should be in the top eight for the semi-finals! One guy came up and told me he thought my horsemanship was perfect! Wow that is quite a complement!

The placings and scoring from the Judges did not seem even (really to no fault of their own either) the top 8 consisted of 1-7 place from the afternoon riders and 8th place being the rider who should have been the high scorer from the morning. Several people from the afternoon who made it to the top eight had major faults, problems and not smooth rides. About 4 or 5 of us from the morning should have made it back to the top eight and about 4 riders had good rides equal to those in the morning from the afternoon. When I spoke to the Judges they told me they could not believe that I did not make it back to the top 8 and they had nothing that they could give me that was wrong with my ride (other than the 0 I got because the bucket sunk twice) One Judge told me that he was using my run in his head to compare the other riders with for scores. Oops...guess not scoring the same as in the morning.

My theory is that the Judges scored the morning riders. Then lunch, then while Judging the the Pro riders they got used to handing out bigger scores . When they went back to the last 8 of the Non-pro division. I later learned that the Judges are not allowed to check their placings and so the scores stood. I have written a letter to Bill Hull the pres. of the Extreme Cowboy Assoc with some of my suggestions. Judges training, score cards, ways of running heats and several other things need to be changed before I will spend my money on that again.

I got a nice letter back from Bill Hull thanking me for my constructive criticism. I hope they can change things so that it will be more fair to all and then I will come back to ride! I think this is a great event and one I want to see continue.

The lady who won the Non-Pro is Stacy McCall from GA. She had a nice Buckskin colored Dun Stallion named Silent Poco Sunday. I cheered for her the rest of the weekend! She and that horse where so smooth and quick. He stayed quiet and calm no matter that was asked of him.

I am not sure I could have beat her!

The most upsetting thing for me was that Seven did so well and did not get to try again!

Pine Hurst Dressage Show Feb. 15th

Big Thank You to Linda Hoover and Sue Smithson for letting me bring my mule to their shows! To my wonderful surprise everyone was so nice about Seven being there! I hope that he made a good impression with everyone. He sure tried him hardest to do everything I asked!

Another Big Thank You to Tom Reedy for this photo of me and Seven competing in Sport Horse Versatility Under Saddle. It was great fun! Linda really made the course much harder this time to my delight!

Seven was very relaxed, a little too relaxed at the show! He was very good but keep hitting the poles with his toes and falling asleep between classes. He made me work just as hard for each stride of the dressage tests as he did!

Here are the results:

Intro B, score 66.5, placed 2nd out of 5

Training 2, score 62.5, placed 3rd out of 8
In-Hand Sport Horse Versatility, score of 119, placed 1st of 6
Under Saddle Sport Horse Versatility, score of 129, placed 2nd of 3

We lost the Under saddle part of the SHV by one point! It was a good, tough competition! The winner also got 3.5 more points in the Dressage test half of the event. I was very proud of Seven for winning the in-hand part! He had been having problems not jogging up to the Judge at the end of the course. He showed a major improvement in this! That is all we can ask for and this time it won him a Blue Towel Too!

We are taking a break this week, partly to have a rest and partly because it has been much colder this week. Next week we will start practicing for the Extreme Cowboy Race on March 7 & 8th. This will be a big change for Seven from the rather tame Dressage ring but one I think he will enjoy and needs! For those of you who don't know what a Cowboy Race is check out http://www.extremecowboyassociation.com/

Seven Makes The Paper Again!

This article is from The Pilot, Southern Pines News Paper!

The Stars Aligned at Pinehurst Dressage
BY PATRICIA SMITH: EQUESTRIAN CORRESPONDENT
The third time was the charm for the Pinehurst Dressage Schooling Shows. The first two shows in the series were cancelled due to inclement weather. Luckily, Feb. 1 dawned sunny and cool with no rain or snow in sight.
The nice weather brought Dressage riders out to the historic Pinehurst Harness Track to dust off the cobwebs. Sue Smithson, show manager, had three rings running simultaneously to accommodate a large turnout. A Sport Horse Versatility (SHV) competition was also running in a fourth ring. It included an in-hand division and a ridden division.
Orion, aptly named after a constellation, was the brightest star making his debut at Dressage. Orion earned the high score of the day, a 76.785 in a Training 2 class, with Gina Fiore in the irons for owner Donna Griffin, who is sidelined with a fractured leg. Fiore has been riding the 5-year-old Trakehner/Irish gelding, a grandson of the show jumper Abdullah, for three months. "I thought he was really well behaved, very quiet and accurate," said Fiore.
Orion was unbeatable, also winning a Training 1 class with a score of 69.565. Fiore was on a roll, continuing her winning streak to place first in Intermediate A with her 9-year-old Irish horse Ferol Erol, who scored a 63.448. "He (Ferol Erol) was fresh today but ridable. It was a good first horse show (of the season)," said Fiore.
Michele Lobsinger's mare, Brandenburg's Able Starlight, also shone brightly earning the second highest score of the day, a 72.5, to win a Training level class.
Remington, an American Quarter Horse, took a first place in Preliminary A class scoring 57.037 for owner and rider Linda Dreher of Vass. Remington also came in second scoring a 62.917 in a Preliminary B class.
Remington was a bit distracted in the Preliminary A class. "My second test (Prelim B) was a better test," said Dreher. "There was a mule (Lucky Number Seven owned by Shannon Hoffman of Zebulon) in the ring next to mine and Rem thought it was the strangest thing he had ever smelled. Rem was very keen to figure out what that smell was. He obviously had never seen a mule before. By the time we were warming up for test B, the mule didn't prove to be as distracting."
The mule, Lucky Number Seven, proved his versatility by winning the Sport Horse Versatility (SHV) Under Saddle class with owner Shannon Hoffman aptly guiding him through the obstacles. Seven did well in Dressage classes which counts as part of the SHV score. Seven scored a 64.286 in Training 2, finishing second on the heels of Orion. And Seven never brayed once during the competition.
The next Pinehurst Dressage Schooling show is scheduled for Sunday, Feb. 15.

A Weekend Treat Of Good Weather!

With the tempatures in the high 60's and low 70's I planned a weekend filled with riding!
Started out Saturday morning with Jane and her horse Val coming over with Sharon who running the baording stable where Jane borads Val. With Sharon on Sadie and me on Seven, the three of use rode for two and a half hours.

As we headed out and across the back fields I saw something big and bird like on top of two light poles. As we got closer we realized that they were Vultures sitting on top with their wings held out. Spooky looking! When we came in we had some rasberry tea and lunch provided by Jane. We relaxed on the side porch in the sun!

That is when Billy my Cousin from Alabama called. He was in training at Fort Bragg with the Army Reserves and did not realize that I am only about an hour away from there. Jane and I went out for another short but fast ride while waiting for Billy to come. We cantered and troted the big loop again. Both Val and Seven worked up a sweat!

Billy arrived and it was so nice to see him again! It has been years! We hopped on the mules again and out we went! We rode until the daylight sent us back in! Sadie was her usual good but sneaky self. Trying to wait for the second Billy was not paying attention to stop and grab a snack! She even did her trick, trying to turn in to the yard with the apple trees, only problem, it is the dead of winter, no apples! Billy told me about his life, great family, their house and his two tours in Irag. I got to see a bunch of neat photos. He also showed me some photos from then his Army unit was sent to Montana to learn how to ride and pack! It was at the base of the snow capped mountain. I am Jealous! Jane headed home and Billy and I went out for a nice dinner, then he headed to a friends house to go Mountain Biking on Sunday.

Seven looked like he needed a cup of coffee the next morning while I was grooming him!

Sunday AM found me heading with two mules to Howell Woods, a part of Johnston County Communittee College where we had a reservation to ride for the day. I came across a major probelm when I got close! The bridge is out for repairs so I had ot take a 15 minute detour that lucky for me worked out!

We met Claudia and Jack and Jane. Seven was already tacked up so I helped get Claudia started tacking up Sadie. We took off for another nice ride! We did a 9.2 mile loop in about two and a half hours. At one point we saw hundreds of Vultures all in one area. We found they had left some boars that had bee killed the day before out in the field. There was a camera set up near them, some kind of study? It was spooky to see Vultures for the second time in two days!

Once we got back to the trailers, we rested Mules, horses and people. Had some snacks and a lunch! Jane and I plotted our next ride and Claudia and Jack headed back home. I decided that Seven had been ridden three times yesterday and Sadie only twice so I would leave Seven in the trailer with hay and water and ride Sadie out for a Trot/Canter ride. Well, my normally calm Seven wanted nothing to do with this and hollared, pawed, knoked the water over and spead the hay all around. Jane and I had another great ride. We even switched for a few miles so that Jane could See her horse being ridden! I find it always fund to see what you own horse looks like going down the trail! It was a little hard to get used to the different swing in his Walking Horse gait but fun!

All in all Jane and I figured we rode about 25 miles in 2 days!

Home by 5Pm but chores to do!

I think the mules danced a little JIG when I went to work the next morning instead of riding them!

Dressage Show at Pine Hurst Track

Big Thank You to Tom Reedy for the photos!

Saturday was cold but I got up and rode Seven, then clipped him up, vacuumed and washed his tail in a bucket! He looked pretty spiffy! I asked him not to roll and put a blanket on him! Sunday morning I got to the Pinehurst Track about 9:30 went over and learned my obstacle patterns and then tacked up Seven to warm up! He rode warmed up well but became a slug during the Into B test. I had to kick and kick and squeeze and squeeze! Despite this, I was pleased to learn we had placed 4th with a 62.5.

Then I had to run back to the truck and untack for our In-Hand Obstacle Course. He did everything very well but I did a 360 turn instead of a 180 so that cost us some points. Seven also did not want to jog towards the Judge, who was wearing a long black coat (not a surprise). We placed 3rd with a score of 103 out of 150. Linda Hoover the Judge said we did a really nice 360, too bad it was supposed to be a 180. I hate it when I mess up! Back to the trailer again for a little break, a sandwich for me and some grain for Seven. I was hoping a little lunch would wake him up, but I took no chances and tacked up with my spurs and crop.

Our Training Level 2 test went pretty well. I was not happy about going right behind a wonderful grey horse who was a beautiful mover, turned out to be the winner of the class. I was very glad I had my spurs and crop for re-enforcement! Seven tripped and almost fell on his nose during the first canter circle. We both recovered with out missing a stride! He was a little stiff and not bending as well around the corners. I think it was because I had the crop, but at least he was moving forward! We placed 2nd with a 64.286, I was very pleased with that! The final class of the day was the second part of the Sport Horse Versatility under saddle obstacle course. 50% of the score if my Intro B test and the other half is from this course. We had to stop with the front two feet over a pole, cross a bridge, do a 180 in a box, go between some brush, go into and back out between two poles and then circle at a trot and stop at the Judge. Seven Won! I was so thrilled! I am so proud of him!

We sent over to get our test papers and Seven got some apples and carrots with his awards. Instead of ribbons Sue Smithson has small colored towels! Very handy for cleaning up my mule!

While we were at the table five little girls came over and wanted to pet Seven, they where about 8 to 10 years old. I showed them how to rub his ears, he let three of them rub at once and one girl picked up his foot. When I told them to see if it was different than a horses’ hoof (Mules feet are deeper and more U shaped) all the girls and about three more adults crowed around to see! Seven was so relaxed that day, good thing!

Next Pine Hurst Show is Feb. 15th! Everyone cross your fingers we do well then too!

Trail and Donkey Riding!

My friend at work's Daughter Kayla came over this last Saturday to do some mule and donkey riding with me.

Claudia came and brought her really cool Black TWH and rode with us in the moring for about 2 1/2 hours.

When we got back Claudia wanted to try riding Chester my donkey! So we tacked him up!

She liked his long ears and his funny swinging gait! She said next time she came she would have to try a longer trail ride!

Kayla and I picked up a quick lunch and then headed out on the trail again. This time with Kayla riding Chester! She did very well with him. On the 1 hour ride I only had to have Seven Pony him 4 times to get Chester moving again! Not too bad!

Seven Makes The Paper!

The Pilot - Southern Pines, NC, Local News Paper - Weekly HoofBeats Article by Patrica Smith

PATRICIA SMITH: An Odd Place To Meet a Mule SkinnerI went over to the Pinehurst Harness Track Jan. 4 expecting to cover the Dressage show only to find out it was cancelled due to the storm earlier that morning (which produced just enough lightning to take out my electric fence, phone line and Internet connection.)
A few competitors showed up who didn't get the message that the show was cancelled and decided to take the opportunity to school their horses.
But wait a minute. Is that equine with the big ears I see schooling in the field a horse?
No, it was a Belgian mule owned by Shannon Hoffman of Zebulon. If her name sounds familiar, it is because Shannon is the Administrative Support Person for the Equine Health Program at the College of Veterinary Medicine at N.C. State University.
Shannon brought her 12-year old john (gelding) mule to compete in the show. (Female mules are called molly mules.) Lucky Number Seven (Shannon purchased him when he was 7 years old for $700, hence the name) already has one win under his belt. He won an Intro B class at the Raleigh Schooling Show Dec. 20.
Come to find out, Dressage is one of three United States Equestrian Federation recognized disciplines that allows mules to compete. The other two disciplines are driving and endurance competitions. (Mules may compete in Dressage with the exception of USEF Championships, qualifying and selection trials, and international classes.)
Who knew?
Seven also ground drives. Shannon uses him to drag her pastures. Now there is a saving in gas for your tractor.
And apparently mules are cost-saving in other areas as well. Mules could very well be the answer for the current economic downturn.
Shannon says she feeds her four mules for what it costs to feed one horse. Mules eat 1/3 to 1/2 less hay than horses. They have very hard feet, though she does put shoes on them if trail riding over rocks and rough ground.
Shannon shared some other interesting facts about mules.
"They live 5-10 years longer than horses. Mules are 2-3 times stronger than horses. They do spook like horses but tend not to turn and run like horses. They have a keen sense of self-preservation so if they see a hole in the ground they will avoid it."
So exactly what is a mule like Lucky Number Seven's family of origin?
His father was a donkey and his mother was a (Belgian) horse.
Mules are sterile because they are a hybrid between two species. (For you biology majors, a donkey has 62 chromosomes and a horse has 64 chromosomes. A mule ends up with 63 chromosomes.)
You can design your own mule by picking any breed of horse and mating it with any breed of donkey. (Donkeys come in any size, color and shape and can even be gaited, according to Shannon.) The mule hybrid can grow bigger than both of its parents.
Just think, a 17-hand spotted Warmblood mule could be in your future if you're really serious about catching the Dressage judge's eye.
What do horses think about mules? Some like 'em, some don't -- mainly because mules smell different.
"I am very happy to work with people who need to expose their horses to mules so that when they get to the big shows a mule will not be a new thing to them. This is what these schooling shows are all about," says our newfound mule skinner friend.

The story is reprinted by permission of The Pilot, a newspaper in Southern Pines, N.C
http://www.thepilot.com/stories/20090111/sports/hoofbeats/20090111PATSMITH.html