Helping Horse Show & Kenny's Ride -All in the same Weekend?

I know that my "Quota for Life" is too high, but boy did I try to pack it all in this weekend! (March 12 & 13) I brought Sadie, Seven and Reuben with me to the Helping Horse Show in Pinelevel on Saturday. The show went well and those that asked me, if those were my mules, could not believe that they stood tied to the horse trailer so quietly all day. (They had hay to munch on) The show was pretty big this time, over 200 entries, which is great and means more money for the Therapeutic riding group but it made for a longer day. I donated one of my crocheted horses to the silent auction and also ended up winning some Easter colored and shaped bird seed eggs, and a cool sign saying Blacksmithing. Once the show was over I turned the mule out in the arena for a few minutes while I changed clothes and got ready to go. It was cute because the owner of the property, a retired farmer, kept asking me if I needed help catching, watering or loading my mules! I thanked him very much but showed him how polite they are.
I arrived at Kenny's Sandhill ride at about 8PM. It was pitch dark since this was the night that the time changed! My great friend Barry Greene helped me out so much by getting me parked, unloaded and the mules set for the night all in the dark! We joined everyone for some lively conversation at the camp fire. All at once Reuben started barking and Kenny's dog Rimshot took off for some trees on the edge of camp. We then heard what sounded like a coon going up a tree. You could hear all the claws on the bark of the pines. We, of course, ran over there with our flashlights but could not see a thing, for which I was kind of glad!
After another hour I decided it was time for a shower and bed. I returned to the trailer and decided that it was a little cold and got out my propane heater for the trailer. I hit the light button and flames started coming out the top of the heater! I tried blowing it out and then turning it off and that did not work so I grabbed it with my leather glove and carried it out side. I looked at it for a few seconds and then went and grabbed my fire extinguished and that put it out!! With that emergency over I decided to take my shower! I got all ready, towel, curtain up, etc. When I turned on the water to come out of the top it just sprayed out of the faucet and not the hose. Grrr...now what. I guess no shower. So I filled a bunch of plastic cups with hot water and washed my hair outside! Got a sponge bath that night, but at least it was a warm one! I decided that I better go to bed before anything else started happening!
The next morning I was so tired! It took me a while to get going! We left out about 9AM for a wonderful ride! Not a cloud in the sky. Two wagons and 7 riders. We stopped for lunch at a beautiful lake, where Seven tried to roll in the sand! After lunch Wendy wanted to try Sadie Mae out, so we tied her mule to the back of Kenny's wagon. I was amazed because I actually got Sadie's halter off and her full bridle on and buckled with out even getting off of Seven!
We got out front and took a good long canter down the sand road. Wendy tickled me when she said "When I dream of riding, this is what I dream of!" So as you can guess she loved riding Sadie! I took her off the trail some and up and down some hill sides that Wendy was not too sure about riding! But she loved it all in the end.
I am grateful that now the time had changed and we can do a little more riding in the evenings!

Guilford County Trail Riding and Safety Presentation

On March 7th Seven and I traveled to Greensboro to the Guilford County Extension office. Several months ago Agent Ben Chase had asked us to be part of an extension educational program is on Monday nights, for 8 weeks. I gave a classroom presentation about first aid kits, training, selecting and preparing your equine for trips on the trail. Later Seven and I used the livestock arena to demonstrate proper tack, fit and training for good trail horses. Seven was really good considering all those people (about 40) were looking at him. It was a lot of fun and I had several people tell my they learned a lot but it was a long drive home! Two ladies came up to me and tell me that they wanted to go trail riding with me! That was a high compliment!

Hopefully a photo coming?

Chris Cox Wins Road To The Horse for the Third Time!

(Feb. 24-27th) We had the tickets for almost a year and we where all excited to be going! Competition of the century! Chris Cox, 2 time winner of RTTH, Clinton Anderson, 2 time winner of RTTH competing against Pat Parelli, most well known "natural" horse trainer of all time.
Cindy, Susan and I flew out of Raleigh and met up with Cobie and Jan at the airport in Nashville. With a few car rental problems we headed out to Murphesboro, TN! I met up with Bev and two of her friends at the hotel next door later that afternoon.
The next day we headed over for the fun to begin. They had many guest riders and presentations. Even a Charo with a beautiful Palomino horse!
Chris, Clinton and Pat all gave demonstrations. The shopping was really good and I found some very interesting things to buy!
The next day the three each picked a horse and started working them in round pens. Each had 2 hours on Saturday and 2 hours on Sunday to get ready for the obstacle course and skills test. Chris's horse was scared to death and it took nearly the whole first session for him to be able to touch him. Clinton's horse was very aggressive and fought him the whole time. Pat's horse seemed very friendly, let him touch him all over with out a fuss. Then when he put the saddle on the horse, he broke in two and bucked for all he was worth. Later Pat stepped on the horse and he broke into a huge bucking fit, bucking Pat off by the second buck.
The next day all three trainers made great strides but when it came down to the obstacle course Chris' horse was the most prepared and put in a very good performance!
We are so proud of Chris to win for a third time in a row and to beat the best of the best!!
I have orded the DVD and can't wait to watch it all again!

Chris riding in the final obstacle course.

First backing.

Chris riding with his three year old daughter Charley, she is a natural, and cute too!

Weekend Adventures!

This last weekend (Feb. 19 & 20th) we had some unseasonably warm weather, so I got some mule riding in! Saturday I met my friend Cara for a mule ride at Medoc Mountain State Park. Her horse is getting over a hoof abscess so she rode Sadie Mae. It was nice and warm but the wind was blowing like crazy. We rode on the side of one field and when the wind kicked up, I thought I was going to be blown off my mule. At one point, heard a cracking sound behind us, and the mules quickly scooted forward. When we looked back the top half of a tree had blown over! We were not in any danger of being hit by it, but it was nice to know the mules are quick to respond to keep us all safe! We rode in a different section of the park from the last time I was there. Some how we got off the park land, it took us a while to figure that out, and to get back. Seems the logging company also uses blue marks on trees like the blue trail in the park. I marked the map so I will not make that mistake again!

Sunday, I took Seven over to Jerry's to ride with the Pilot Group.

It turned into quite an adventure.

My cat, Shawn, thought he would like to come on the trail ride yesterday!! I got to Jerry's place, opened the living quarters door, to get my helmet, and there he was. I grabbed him and put him in the truck for the ride and then he drove home with me, rubbing all over me. He never acted scared of anything. Good thing that did not happen on a long weekend trip!! That would have been a big problem!

Three weeks ago, when we rode down a certain trail, I spotted a deer horn and could not believe that no one else stopped to pick it up. I was at the back of the group and decided that I did not want to stop and get it, I regretted ever since. Sunday we started down that same trail again and I promised myself that if is was still there and no one else picked it up, I would. We rode by and there it was! I could not believe some dog or animal had not dragged it off. Seven was really good and stood perfectly still while I got off, picked it up and tied it down. We caught up with the group again pretty quickly. Part of the way home I found that the deer horn was coming loose so I had to ride home with it in my hand..oh boy! That was a little tricky, but that is when it is all worth it to have a well trained mule!

On the way home, we took a trail that is not used very much. We came to a small creek with steep sides. By the time four horses had gone through it, the last horse was sinking up to his knees and it was too rough for the rest of the group to go through. I was the first to dismount from my mule! A few people rode over but most people got off and jumped their horses over a different part of the creek! Seven was not sure about it. He kept coming close to the edge and then backing off! Jerry got up behind him and just waved a stick, Seven jumped! Oh boy! 4 foot high and landing two feet further than he needed too! From the amount of excursion he put out you could tell he wanted to make sure he would make it! Glad I was not riding him, even if I could have stayed on for that jump, my head would have been cut off on the branches!

Reuben and Shawn check out the deer horn, Reuben licked his lips!

She was here and then she was just GONE......

For some reason God took one of my dear friends Sarah Joyner to heaven, on Feb. 5th. She was in an unexplainable one car accident. I was so crushed then her sister called me the next morning to tell me. None of us can believe that she is gone.
I met Sarah a few years ago when I started working at the Vet School. We seemed to be instant friends although we really did not have that much in common. She did not ride but loved to read books and was into all kinds of things mystical. Dragons, Halloween, crafts and her family. We ate lunch together nearly every day and I loved to hear about her grand kids, the books she was reading and all the neat things she was doing. She in turn would listen to all my adventures with the mules. When ever I had a party at my house, even if it was the Shannon and Navarre the Donkey Birthday Party, she and her wonderful husband William would always come. She used to say that "William could fix a rainy day!" After I was not working at the Vet School any more we continued to maintain a close friendship. We would meet for lunch several times a week and share our stories. I still come home from an adventure and think, oh I can't wait to tell Sarah, but then realize she is not there any more.
There is a big hole in my heart from losing my friend!

Sarah was in a belly dancing troop when she was younger!

One Sarah and Williams many costumes for the famous Halloween Parties!

New Blankets for the mules!

This Winter the weather has been extra cold! I decided that Sadie and Seven's turnout blankets needed to be replaced! I ordered blankets rated for warmth, and so far they have kept them warm and dry. They only wear them when it is going to be extra cold or when the rain and snow comes! Here is Sadie with her fancy new blanket on! Bright blue with a reflective tag on them! Not really my first color choice but they were on SALE!

A BIG Mule Visits RMF

My friend Tara, whose first mule experience was riding Sadie Mae at Leatherwood, called me and wanted to bring over her new mule for us to work with. She said she was jokingly afraid to tell me what she had bought because he is quite the opposite of the mule she was looking for. She was looking for a dead broke, Belgian cross trail mule, middle aged, and about 15 hands. The one she fell in love with and brought home from Kentucky is a just turning three, 16.1 ½ hand, john mule. She fell in love with him because he has a very pretty face, kind eyes, and calm demeanor! She named him Rupert!

She arrived on Saturday. We did some groundwork with him to start. He seemed to know some things but still needed some work to be safe to work around. My new mule club friend Karen from Louisburg and her friend Connie came to visit around 11 a.m. They were highly entertained by us working with the big lug!

We took a break for lunch and all had something good at Smithfield’s Chicken.

Then it was time to ride. I put Karen on Sadie Mae and Connie on Seven. Connie and Seven did really well together! Karen tickled me After riding around on Sadie I asked her what she thought and she said that Sadie was a “Hot Ticket.” That just tickled me!

Next we got Tara up on Big Rupert, as this was only the second time she had ridden him I led him around for a “flight check,” which went very well. She then rode him around the pasture several times following Sadie and Seven around. As you can see from the photo, Rupert makes my two look like ponies! We joked that Tara would have to always ride first down the trails to clean out all the cobwebs!

Tara spent the night and we had a grand time. The next morning she rode with me up to Murphy’s to get some shavings and hay. Rupert handled the whole trip so well and even loaded back on the trailer quickly! Tara will have some homework to do on Rupert before he is ready to go to the mountains, but boy is he sweet and calm! Something to be said for that!

The next day I took Seven over to Jerry’s barn, also a new CMA member and rode out with his Sunday ride group. They ride from 1 p.m. till dark nearly every Sunday. He lives north of Zebulon near a town called Pilot. There is still a lot of open farmland and woods in that area. We rode through some woods that reminded me of Uwharrie with some good hills and lots of trees. It was really pretty. I doubt that many people know it even exists in that area.

Seven was glad that it was Monday and time for me to go back to work and for him to have a rest.

Tara and Rupert!

Size Comparison! My Mules look like ponies now!

Medoc Mountain State Park

Having had enough of staying in the house because of the cold weather, I met my friend Lillian to ride at a new place for me! Medoc Mountain State Park. It is about one hour north of my home. It was great! It had a nice parking area with a picnic shelter, bathroom plus 10 miles of trails which were great. We just bundled up and went for it! I knew it was cold but when I got home they said it never got above freezing all day! ACK!! Lillian and I both looked like Michelin Tire Women! But we stayed reasonably warm. The outside and back part of my feet got cold and once in awhile my chin. Lillian said her nose was getting cold, but not till we were headed in! She rode a cute walking horse mare named Olivia. Lillian has been riding Olivia for the owner just to get more miles on her. This was her first big trail ride and she did great the entire time!

The Warm Michelin Women!

Lillian and Olivia!

Sadie and Olivia!

The Rest of December

I started a new job and the weather was so terrible that I did not do much with the mules except take care of them. I chopped a lot of ice and carried a lot of warm water when the hoses were frozen. I finally found a water trough heater that I liked and ordered one. It floats in the top and keeps things from freezing over!

This December went down on record as the third coldest in history!

I was hoping to get some riding done but maybe in January?

New Years Day Ride, January 1st, 2011!

Wendy and her Mule Jonah.

Summer taking Sadie Mae for a walk!

I arrived later than I had hoped and had to hurry to get saddled. I waved the group on and when we were ready, Sadie and I trotted to catch up. They did not get very far till someone had a tack problem, so I caught up to them very quickly!

We had several riders and three or four wagons on the ride. As we moved through the woods, it tried to start raining on us a few times, but it just quit as soon as I got my slicker out. Everyone said I should just leave the slicker on!! When we stopped for a break, a young girl named Summer came over and wanted to pet Sadie. She did not want to ride her, just pet her. I taught her how to lead Sadie around, and we gave her younger brother a ride! Sadie was so compliant. She did give Summer a hard time once in a while and made her work for it, though! Poor Sadie, on her time to rest she had to work! We rode over to Camp McCall to the famous tank that overlooks the airfield where they do maneuvers and do parachute drops for the soldiers. Kenny and I started to tell Gene, his friend from South Carolina, about the wagon wreck that almost became an international incident! This is where Donna and Sadie Mae were nearly run over by some runaway mules after a wagon crash! We were in the middle of the story and my phone rang. It was Donna calling from France to say Happy New Year!! How great to hear from her! I asked her if her ears were burning because we were just telling the wagon-wreck story.

When we returned to camp, Kenny’s wife and a friend had a traditional meal for New Years day in the South. It is supposed to bring good luck! Green Collards, Black Eyed Peas, Cornbread and Ham! Thanks, Kenny and Jan!!! HAPPY NEW YEAR TO ALL!