Walla Walla Fair & Frontier Days Open Horse Show

I had pre-entered Sinwaan into the Fair's open halter show in the "Other Breeds, 5 & Over" class.

I aimed to be at the barn by 5 am to feed Sinwaan and give him enough time to eat. Well as it turns out I didn't get to the barn until about 6 am. I fed him and sanded his hooves while he ate. He got through about 3/4 of his breakfast and then I decided I needed to move him to get working on the grooming for the show. I put him in the shower stall and started with clipping his whiskers. He was fairly co-operative. I also clipped the underside of his jaw and his bridlepath. Once I was satisfied that he was tidy I hosed him down. Well he hated me for that because it was only about 50 degrees outside. I thoroughly washed out his tail with Quicksilver to try and make it white again and washed the rest of him with a rag since I had forgotten my bucket to dilute the shampoo. I scraped the water off of him as fast as I could and once I was done he was shivering. I then spritzed him with Show Sheen all over.

I tied him at the end of the barn so he could be in the little bit of sun that was just coming up and I put a fleece blanket over his back and rump to help prevent cramping. Well about then Ruth showed up (7 am) and she got to work on detangling his tail while I worked on his mane. Then Ruth braided and wrapped his tail. We added hoof oil to his hooves and baby oil to his muzzle and around his eyes. I added a little vasoline to his forelock. I thought about adding gel to his mane but it was laying fairly flat so it didn't look like he would need it.

I was worried about the time but as it turns out we got pretty much everything done by 8:15 am and loaded up and hit the road.

As we pulled into the fairgrounds I could not believe the crowd of trailers. Where on earth would we park? I was glad Ruth had a little trailer, easy to navigate. Some fair workers motioned for us to turn in the first gate and then stamped our hands and told us where to park. Another man pointed at a spot once we pulled around back. We had to pull straight in with no outlet to the front. We unloaded Sinwaan and pulled off his blanket, and I swapped halters. Well wouldn't you know the moment I touched the clasp for the show halter it just fell apart. Half of it dropped into the gravel, lost forever. I freaked out for a second, wondering why this was happening to me NOW? Then I tried putting the chain around the concho and it looked like that would work. (Relief!) Ruth unbraided his tail and he looked just fabulous.

We walked over to the big indoor arena where I thought the show would be. Nope, it was full of cows. Shoot! That is where I told my brother to meet me. I looked over to the outdoor covered arena, full of sheep. Where the heck is the horse show?! I asked one guy and he had no idea. So we wandered over to the outdoor arena and I saw some horse ears and figured that had to be the place. Ruth held Sinwaan while I went to the registration table and got checked in. I was number 507. I took it back with me and Ruth pinned it on my jacket. Sinwaan was edgy but not unmanageable. Would he set up for me? It's been 10 days since I have even seen him, quite a vacation he's had.

The halter show was set to begin at 8 am on Sunday morning, and was divided into Paint, QH, Pony, Mini and Other. They ended up combining some classes (ages) so even though we got there about 8:25 am we didn't have long to stand around and wait for our class.

Yet I took him over to a corner where we would have a little room to work. The first couple times I tried to set him up he would step sideways or jump around, trying to see all the sights and sounds. After a quick correction he got down to business and stood nicely for me a couple times. After that I led him back to ringside to wait for our class. He relaxed after a couple minutes and rested, enjoying the breeze.

I saw Kasey and she asked about Kittee. I told her I hadn't seen her, so she must have gone looking. They showed up just in time, as the Other Breeds class was combined for all ages. Cripes, I would be showing against them after all!

We had a sizeable entry for our class, but I did not learn until later that there were 11 entries. We were next to last going in the ring. The judge was about 30' feet in from the gate and we walked up to him, and then trotted to a cone and then went to our place in line. I was going to let Sinwaan relax at that point until I looked over and saw the judge looking over all the horses so I set him up quickly. He did great for me. Although the darn cologne on my hand didn't seem to work for him very well :-) Sure did stink! The judge seemed to start from the last horse in the ring, looking at them from the rear, side and front, and asking the age. He did not take too long in judging, although I was able to move Sinwaan around a bit and set him up about three times.

My mom showed up to watch the class, and Jenee and Maddaly were there too. Ruth and Jenee' both took some super photos for me. (Thanks!!)

As they called the results, they started out by saying "First place... 500...." I was waiting for her to say "and seven" but she didn't. Darn! Second place... ?? Third place is "number 507, Shana Bobbitt' WAHOO!! I trotted Sinwaan down to the exit gate. I didn't see anyone handing out ribbons though. Oh well. I talked with Jenee' and Ruth and my mom for a while. My brother couldn't get in without paying so he gave up. Matt was going to video tape for me but I had our gate passes and he didn't have any money.

Rosey, the McKuster's Arab filly placed 4th.

I came back later and asked about ribbons, they gave me a sticker and told me to trade it in for a ribbon at the exhibitors office. The woman in the office had no idea where the ribbons are. Back to see Heidi...she gave me a ribbon. It is a nice small rosette. Heidi also signed my Open Show form for AHA. We'll see if I get a point for this placement or not...worth a shot!

Virginia Highlands Endurance Challenge

Sleeping in the back of the truck wasn't all that bad. I had a pillow and a sleeping bag and the seat was fine. I was a little tall for the width of the truck however and found that I could stretch out one leg by curving it around and the other leg was bent. I woke up off and on throughout the night and felt... damp. Just clammy. Yuk. Well what are you going to do? At about 5:30 am I woke up and although it was dark I could see my camp neighbors were packing up their SUV. They were being pretty quiet but if they were up that must mean that it was about time for me to get up (never-mind that they were 55s with a start time an hour earlier than me). So I got up and put on my boots and tromped on down to the porta-potty.

Coming back I wasn't sure what to do because if Kim was sleeping I didn't want to wake her up. So I walked down to the water trough and hauled back two buckets for the boys. Red drank a little which I was glad to see. I took off my boots and crawled back into the truck to see if I couldn't get another 30 minutes of rest. Well not 10 minutes went by and Kim was up. So I got back out of the truck and Kim asked me if I knew the horses mysteriously had water. I said yes, I hauled it up for them. So she went off to the porta-potty (so much for her fancy personal toilet I guess) and I fed the horses, brushed my teeth and put up my hair.

Kim came back and we had cereal (the good kind with strawberries and blueberries) which we topped off with a fresh banana for a breakfast of champions. After that there was enough light to see by so I did some final packing of my saddle bags and we got the horses tied to the trailer and started tacking up. Kim was ready to go in no time flat, I couldn't believe it! I had to get a little help from her on Red's girth, it was a leather western style one.

Well Kim had everything color-coordinated, from our helmet covers to the plates we ate off of, I have never seen such a thing, it was really fun.

We were ready to go right on schedule so we mounted up (I had to use a bucket, Red is taller than I am used to, and I had adjusted the stirrups pretty short). Red doesn't wait around so it was a bit of a jump to get on him as he walked off. We walked the horses down to the start and asked if anyone was taking numbers. They weren't ready so we walked some more circles back towards our trailer and Kim put Falcon to work since he was acting fairly co-dependent on Red. Red didn't seem to have a problem with leaving Falcon so I told Kim for the trot-out she should go first. We went back to the start, it is 7:50 or so and they are still not taking any numbers. So I told Kim we should walk the horses towards the registration table at the other end, she wanted to get out of the crowd of horses that had gathered.

Red's walk was no-nonsense, we are going some place which was nice to ride, a ground-covering rocking stride. We warmed up and stopped at the big water trough. I was glad to see Falcon drinking but Red wasn't interested. By the time we got back to the start everyone had left and they told Kim to trot out. I waited for her to get ahead of me a little because at the ride meeting they had specified ONE AT A TIME. Not two seconds later and the out timer said "The trail is open, you may go" so I don't know if there was anyone there even checking the gait of the horses. We caught up with Kim quickly and the horses were eager to go. We had a short canter and coming back down to a trot I was able to get Red gaiting for about a minute before he broke back into a trot. It was awesome. Kim said I was lucky to get a minute from him.

We followed the trail as it went up on the jeep road and then went to single track. In the start, Red did a fair amount of leading, but we had horses not to far away from us and he was chasing them. We got on the trail that started up the mountain and we were MOVING, I remember a very fast trot and sometimes a canter as we wound around some sharp corners. It was incredible. The trails were beautiful and great footing. We came to a dry river bed and it had some big rocks but Kim commented that this was nothing, the trail was much better than she expected. Well, famous last words, right?

We reach highway 94 (6 mi) at just about an hour into the ride. We were at the tail end, although there was a lady on a leopard appaloosa not far ahead of us, and a gal on a really pretty chestnut Arab behind us (I can't let you get behind me because I am competing for the turtle award, she told us) After crossing with the aid of the fire department we reach a nice water stop. Kim dismounted and sponged both the horses (bless her!) Red still would not drink.

Onward we went, climbing the hills and walking our way through the rocky sections (which were becoming more frequent). Every so often I would pull out the camera and try to get a photo of the trail or the view. We were both having such a good time, it was a blast to finally ride with Kim as an adult. She has been my inspiration for endurance riding and now finally we have the chance to do it together. Her first competition ride and my fourth this year. She was great company!

We passed a group of people going the opposite direction and the man said to us "You better step it up or you aren't going to make it in time." I grumbled at him in my thoughts, it made me mad that he said that. We are out here doing this and we are doing fine on time, how dare he tell us how to ride. (As he says this we are walking through one of the worst rock sections)

The vet check was right about half way and I had heard that if we didn't make it in by noon we would not complete the ride on time. We pulled in about 11:20 I think. Crews were allowed on the left side of the road only. Our crew bags had been delivered and were on the right side of the road. We had dismounted to walk them in and were trying to figure out what the next step was. I think we lost a couple minutes just trying to think at that point in time. Finally I told Kim to grab the crew bag and set it on the left somewhere so we could dump the tack and go down to vet through. It was hard to find a spot, it looked like some places were reserved for... who? 55s coming later? Well we squeeze in a place and it looked like it would work. Ok! This ride said tack off for all vets. We then took the horses down to the water tanks. Falcon drank, Red did not. Geez! 13+ miles and still not thirsty? I was starting to worry about him a little bit. I asked for a pulse and a friendly man came over and took it. I think he was down to 60 and the criteria for this hold was 64. The man asked me how he was doing. I said he seemed a little tired but I thought he was ok. We chatted a couple minutes while I waited in line for the vet. In the meantime I let Red graze.

The vet checked him out and scored him high on everything but a B on gut sounds. We did our trot out and no problem there either. I noticed Kim was going through with Falcon at the same time at the other vet so I let Red graze nearby since no one else was waiting at the time. Well Falcon did not like his vet, he would not stand still for her to listen to his HR or gut sounds and worked himself up trying to get away from her. It took a significant amount of time to get him vetted through. Finally he passed but scored a C on gut sounds so the vet told Kim to come back and get rechecked before we headed out. They told her to feed him everything he would eat in the meantime so we headed back to our crew area for our 40 min hold.

Kim had their grain/e-lyte mix all ready to go in their tubs and told me just to pour some water on it so I used what was left in the bottles in my pack. Sure enough he slurped it right down. I ate my PB&J sandwich, it was so good. I also downed a whole bottle of fruit punch gatorade and it was still partially frozen. Yum! I swapped out the water bottles in my pack and that was about all I had to do. We weren't sure if the vet wanted to see Falcon before or after we tacked up, so we decided to go back down there before. We stopped again at the water tanks and this time, FINALLY Red decided to drink...and drink...and drink. Wow, he was not messing around. So I let him drink as much as he wanted and in the meantime Kim had made her way over back to the vet. This time they gave Falcon a B on gut sounds so back we went to our crew area to tack up. I held Falcon while Kim got her saddle on and then she held Red while I hoisted up his saddle. I had her girth him up for me again because she is faster and better at it and he blows out and she does real well with him on that. Kim put our crew bag back in the pile for pick-up and then we walked the horses down back to the vet before re-checking the girths and mounting up. Well I had to lead Red over to the side of the mountain to get a leg-up on him. Off we went. On the ride out Kim mused that we never got our ice cream, never even saw any of the ice cream. Oh well, it would have been just another thing to fuss with and we had our hands full as it was.

The trail out was good footing for awhile and then it turned to rocks. Rocks, rocks, rocks. Slow going for quite a while. I was keeping an eye on the time and figured we were ok. Kim was watching her GPS but the milage was shorter than it should have been. Oh well. We passed that group of people, again going the opposite direction, and again the man telling us to "step it up if we were going to make it in time." This time Kim told him we were just taking it easy with first-time horses. We had someone catch up with us and pass us and about then we caught up to the gal on the pretty chestnut who wanted the turtle. So we passed her and rode along, trying to "never hurry, never tally" like Stagg had told us.

After awhile we got onto a private gravel road and saw a lost boot. About a minute later I saw a man on foot leading his horse. I asked if he lost a boot, he said Yes and we pointed back to where he could find it. Then the road turned and went up the mountain. The plate sign on a tree said "1 mile climb" so onward we went. At the base was a woman walking her horse, she said they were ok but waiting for a trailer to come and give them a ride back to camp. I think the gal following us knew her because she stopped and talked with her a while. At the top of the climb was a water tank. The horses drank and Kim went off in the woods to pee. I ate a fig newton. Falcon acted like he wanted some so I gave him one and he spit it out. Kim came back and mounted up and off we went again. Just then the other gal appeared, on foot, leading her horse on up. Said they were doing good. We rode the ridgeline for awhile and trotted as much as we could, knowing we were getting short on time now. According to the map, we had a 'lollipop course' today meaning we would ride out and back in on the same trail, and the outer trail was a loop around with the vet check in the center. We made it back to the stick part of the trail and eventually made it to highway 94 again. I knew we were 6 miles from camp and we had made it up in an hour, so giving ourselves an hour and a half to get back down should be no problem.

We get a move on and trot trot trot. Sometimes Red canters short bursts on the uphill but I was unable to get him to gait anymore since that one nice moment on the way out. I forgot to mention I had seen someone at the vet check with a New Promise Farms Crew t-shirt on on a gaited horse and I talked to her a little bit and she gave me some pointers- sit deep in the saddle, ask the horse to collect and squeeze with your legs and he should go right into it. Well I tried and tried but never was able to get it from him. Part of the problem was his trot was so big and so fast that it threw me right up out of the saddle and "sitting deep" at the trot was just about impossible.



Well we are crusing around and up and down and not remembering all these uphills. We are looking for the switchbacks, knowing they were fairly early in the ride. On and on and on we went and Kim is convinced I have my time wrong and we are not going to make it. Maybe she is right. Well we finally get to the switchbacks and I made the mistake of looking down on a sharp turn. I immediately felt sick to my stomach and lightheaded. I just focused on breathing and looking ahead (and not down!) oh wow, I have never felt so sick on a horse before and this is all my own fault. I am a bit scared of heights. Well we made it past the knee-knocker trees and down the mountain and still have a ways to go. When we made it back to the jeep trail, some 55s came cantering past us. Red suddenly realized he was close to home and now he had someone to follow! So he took the lead and just ran his heart out. It was glorious. He had tried bucking with me a couple times this ride but now that was the furthest thing from his mind has he happily ran towards 'home.' I heard Kim wait "Wait for us!" and I pulled him down to a trot until she caught up and then off we went again. We ran and ran and ran. The 55s lost us and then we slowed the horses down to a trot. We got back on the gravel road and saw the finish line. I started tearing up. We had made it. I looked back and smiled. I tried to say "now is when I get all emotional" and Kim said "I can't even talk right now!"

We dismounted and walked the horses back to the trailer. We dumped our saddles and walked them to the vet check. I glanced at the time and we had about 10 minutes to go until cut-off time (3:15 pm) Red walked over and pulsed in at 48. (WOW!) Kim asked for a courtesy check on Falcon and he was still up there, about 86. Michael told her to get the hay out of his mouth and not let him eat since the very act could be keeping his HR up. I had never heard that but within 5 minutes he called for time on number CO. (Forgot to mention, Red was number CN) I think he pulsed in with only a minute to spare. Vetting through, Red did excellent, mostly A's from what I can remember, maybe a B on gut sounds and muscle tone. They let me keep my vet card so I will try to scan it in when I get back home.

This was a fabulous ride and one I shall never forget. I know I have left out a lot of little details so will try and put them in later as I remember them.

After we vetted through we put the horses up with water and hay and sat down with some food for ourselves. We had boiled eggs from Kim's chickens, potato salad Kim had made, more frozen gatorade (Kim said "I think this is the best thing I have ever had") chips with salsa Kim had made. I am sure there was more but I am forgetting what. We rested and reminisced and once we had the energy we got up and took the horses for another walk. We hand-grazed them probably about an hour and then I got tired of Red dragging me all around so we put them up and I don't remember what after that, I think by then it was about time for dinner. So we took our chairs this time and walked back down to the meeting area.

They were just opening up the tables for dinner, and MY what a spread! They had a table for meat eaters and a seperate table for vegetarians - bless them! There was chili beans and chips and lettuce and tomatoes and onions for a make-it-yourself taco salad. They encouraged me to take two plates so I could fit all the food that they were about to give me. A woman told me "honey, you ain't lived until you've had this cornbread salad" so I tried that too. There were fresh canned green beans and fantastic off-the-cob-corn; potato salad, pasta salad and rolls. Seems like there was even more of that, I just could not believe ALL THAT FOOD! The ladies really outdid themselves and I have to say a huge thank you to them for that wonderful meal.

I sat down and started in on my first plate. I got through it and then looked up to see my dad and Matt and Levi walking up. Yay! Levi was hungry so he ate a fair amount of my taco salad and green beans and corn. Later I also shared my cake with him too. There was about 12 kinds of cake and one was even in the shape of a horse! The chocolate kind I selected was so moist and good. There were a number of igloos for juice and tea and I saw one labeled sweet tea so I had to take some of that. I was a little disappointed though, it was warm and not sweet at all. Oh well, can't really complain, everything else was soooo awesome. Kim said "this is the south, and they FEED you in the south!"

We really enjoyed listening to the mountain music provided by a lively band, the Pilot Mountain Bobcats, who I hear
won a first place at the local fiddler’s convention the weekend before. Levi even danced to it.

Awards seemed to start a little late and my dad pulled his car up close and sat in it at the back since we only had the two chairs. They started out by calling out the last people completed - Kim and I, and mispronounced both our names. I expect that with my name - Shana - most people get it wrong, but Kim Patton - they said Payton I think, but no bother. Don said he had put out the award for rider most traveled and I won that since I came from WA but he also said he expected it to go to the person who brought their horse the farthest, and if anyone was there who thought it could be them to let him know and there may be a free ride entry in it for them. The award shirts were cute - a cartoon sketch of a horse and rider with their thought balloons overhead.

As for the turtle award - there was none! But Kim would have won it being the last person in. The other gal ended up pulling at the finish, she said her horse was a little stiff and and off at the end.

We left shortly after and Kim stayed the night with the horses and got home safe on Sunday. Be sure to read the Falcon blog in my links section for her version of the story (and maybe additional photos)

Things are different in the East!

Well, I must preface this blog today by stating that this particular story has nothing whatsoever to do with Sinwaan, but I wasn't sure where else to put it, and since it is an endurance ride story, I thought it only fitting it belong here.

The ride: Virginia Highlands Endurance Challenge on August 23rd held in Ivanhoe, VA. Managed by Don and Nicki Meuten.

My dad dropped me off at my auntie Kim's in Luray, VA on Friday afternoon. She wanted to leave by 11 pm. Well we got there about 11:05. I went down to the barn and met my mount, Red Dog Dan. I had seen photos of him but this was my first chance to meet him in person (horse?) He and Falcon both looked fat but since Kim has been riding them both up her mountain I figured they'd do fine. We each haltered our horses and led them up to the trailer. Posed for a couple of photos and then got them loaded up with no problems. I threw my overnight bag and purse into Kim's truck, hugged my dad, husband and toddler goodbye and off we went.

Kim wanted to stay off I-81 as long as possible so we took some smaller parallel highways, which also got us around a mountain instead of hauling over it. This worked out well until we realized how long we would be on the road at this rate. So eventually we did get onto I-81 and it was pretty packed, Friday evening traffic. Some of the semi-trucks were driving crazy, waiting until the last minute to jerk over to pass and riding people's tails. Kim and I had some good conversation on the road.

When we got close to ride camp I read out the directions and they were very clear but we found the milage increments to be a bit off. It didn't really matter, we made it with no trouble. It said to look for Tom Sites and he would park us. Well we never did find Tom. Ride camp looked packed. I got out and walked clear down to one end and there was room so I had Kim pull back there and she got turned around, we unloaded horses, and then she backed into the shade. We got the horses tied to the trailer and walked down to registration to figure out where everything was without the horses. We also wanted to give them time to eat their hay and rest before vetting in.

Well turns out we were parked as far as possible from registration and the vetting area. Go figure! We hiked down there and got our ride packets. Mine was incomplete, so I filled in the info for Red. Then the lady wanted to see our AERC cards to verify that they were current. I have never heard of this before. (Kim says "well Shana, things are different here in the east!" - this was to become a familiar phrase over the weekend) So we hiked clear back to our camp and got our cards and hiked back again. It felt like a mile but Kim had her GPS this time and it was about .36 of a mile one-way.

I asked about the ride dinner, if it was for the night before, or the night of the ride. They told me I could choose, and if I wanted to know what they were serving to go and ask. So we hiked over to the building housing the kitchen and discovered Friday night was spaghetti night with both meat and veggie options. Saturday night was taco salad night with meat and veggie options...but also vegetables and pasta salad and cake and ... WOW! I am eating after our ride!

So after we got that squared away we went back for the horses. We led them to water and they weren't interested, but they did nibble along the way. The ride camp was in a really nice grassy area. Red vetted through with all A's and a heart rate of 46 I think. Great! Kim said Falcon got a B on muscle tone and she meant to ask about that but didn't. She couldn't believe Red started out better than Falcon already.

So the horses were taken care of but it is now about 6:30 pm and the dinner starts at 7 with ride meeting to follow. We still had to unpack the rig and set up camp and tend to horses. We decided a pre-ride was out. Oh well. So we tied the horses and set up Kim's portable corral (that thing is neat, but heavy!) Once they were squared away and fed with water in front of them we got to working on our camp. Kim had brought everything a person could want, even her own personal toilet. HaHa! Well I helped her lug everything out of the front tack room so she could inflate a mattress in there for bed tonight. She didn't feel like setting up her truck-bed tent and it was already getting dark, so we decided one person in the trailer and one person in the truck. She has a four-door truck with a nice back seat so I volunteered to sleep back there. I am quite a bit shorter than Kim and I figured she may not sleep too well all cramped like a sardine. Plus, her trailer smells like cat pee. She said she has shampooed it numerous times and the smell will just NOT come out.

I kept looking around camp since I didn't have a watch on at the moment, and noticed people started grabbing chairs and leaving so I told Kim we should get on down to the meeting area. I was paranoid we would miss something, and had fresh memories of my last ride where I never did hear the horn for the meeting and missed it entirely. I made up our PB&J sandwiches for tomorrow's vet check hold and said let's go! So Kim gets some last things done and feels rushed and unorganized but oh well, off we go. We hike the .36 miles for the fourth time in a couple of hours and realize after we get there that we should have brought the chairs!! Well Kim is tired and achy and I still feel ok so I tell her I will go back for them. As I ran off I overheard a lady say to Kim "she's a lot younger than you are. Well, I don't mean you are old!" And Kim says "yes, she is about 20 years younger than me!" (although if you stop and do the math that isn't right, Kim has a ways to go before she gets to 50)

Not long after I had picked up the chairs and was struggling back to the meeting with them I met a lady named Mary who was walking two horses. She said if I could make it to her truck, she would give me a ride. Fantastic! When we got in the truck she mentioned that it had been through hurricane Isabella and because of that the gears didn't work right and she couldn't put it in reverse. Well I am not complaining, a free ride is just that!

I got back with the chairs and we reclined together and ate pasta salad she had made and drank our ice cold water and waited for the ride meeting to start. I must say, I have never sat through a more enjoyable ride meeting. I believe it was Don and one other guy doing most of the talking and they were both such a RIOT they had me rolling in my chair laughing. They were talking to an audience of A) people who already rode the ride today, B) people who would do the ride tomorrow for the first time and C) people who would attempt both days. So when asked about the trail they would say "ask your neighbor because the rocks will be bigger and the trails will be steeper when they tell the story" They explained for the 30s that the trail would start out with a trot out one at a time at the start, and then follow the road we came in on for a little ways, then take a right and go up on a jeep road up the hill which would turn into a single track trail which would become switchbacks up the mountain and then after some more climbs we would reach highway 94 and there would be volunteers there to help us across. At the vet check there would be home made ice cream and the hold time is 40 min. It was noted there were climbs on both sections and a fair amount of rock but it should be fine and everyone should have a good time. Plenty of water on the trail, provided for us by the Ivanhoe Fire Department. So that was that, they talked a little about the 50s/55s? and then said that the beginners meeting would be given during the awards meeting off to the side by Stagg Newman. I told Kim we should go to that too since she was a new rider and secretly I just wanted to meet Stagg and hear what he had to say since I see his photo and read his editorials all the time in Endurance News.

So Kim agreed, even though by now it was pitch black. Stagg went over the usual new people things and allowed plenty of time for questions and I thought did a real nice job. He even handed out back issues of Endurance News and I got a classic from 2006 that I may not already have :) They also handed out some reading material and a stethoscope to everyone there. Impressive! Don or someone had mentioned during the ride meeting that "tomorrow when you start out in the rain..." so I asked about the weather prediction for tomorrow and was told it should be a real nice day. Good weather. Super!

Back at the trailer we did more last minute preparations and called it a night.

Clipping Sinwaan

Tonight Shane came out and met me at the barn to help me with clipping Sinwaan. He trimmed up his ears and whiskers for me and showed me how to do the feet. He noted I would likely have to redo the whiskers before the show. He also showed me a trick for clipping the bridlepath to make the neck look slimmer. He said if he had a professional set of clippers with a size 40 surgical blade he also would have clipped a diamond pattern on Sinwaan's head. He brought the bridlepath up to the poll and trimmed the jawline.

Now for the list of things to do when I get home to get him ready for this show;

I need to bathe him and wash out his tail really well since it is currently kind of dingy. Put the shampoo in a bucket and apply it with a sponge. Use a whitening/blueing shampoo if I can. After he is washed I will apply show sheen all over him liberally while he is still wet.

Brillo pad and then sandpaper, rough and then smooth, on his hooves to clean them up. Then a clear coat. (Blacking is illegal) He said I could use a clear shoe polish and buff it out but I won't go to all that for the Fair show, maybe MacMurdo.

Baby oil (lightly) his ears and around his eyes and his muzzle to bring out the black in those places. He also said I should add a little oil or a dab of Vaseline to his forelock to smooth it down.

I also need to get a hair gel for his mane to help the frizzies lay down with the rest of it.

Surely I am forgetting some things. I soaked everything Shane said up like a sponge but on the drive home was kicking myself for not taking a pad of paper and taking notes!

After he was all clipped up Shane took him out in the driveway and had him stand up square and he did really well. It is just amazing to me how fast this horse has come along. I asked him about some tips to get him to get his ears up and lean into the whip. Shane said I need to crack it to get his attention so I need to practice that. (no time!) He also told me a trick to get him really interested - right before ring time, dump some cologne on my hand. Hold out my hand and he should bring his nose right to it. Well I'll be!!

He said I had done really well with him but I give most of the credit to Shane, I have only really been able to work him a couple of times since our first session a couple of weeks ago. Of course having Lesley teach him a lot of this as a foal has been instrumental as he has drawn on this memory in his sessions. Horses do remember, even 10 years later!

This will be my last blog until Aug 31, after our halter class at the Fair. Wish us luck!

Last August ride on Sinwaan

Weather today is predicted to be 107 degrees, HOT HOT HOT. I set my alarm for 6:07 am and hit snooze twice before I finally drug myself out of bed. I haven't been feeling 100% lately, battling a mild cold or something, so I wasn't real eager to go out and exercise but I knew Sinwaan needed it, and so did I - to stay somewhat in shape for my toughie ride next weekend in the hills of Virginia.

I had hoped to ride with Ernie but he was doing a 50 mi training ride in the mountains today with Dean. Nope, not ready for that distance yet. :-)

I was able to get the dogs pottied, chickens fed, and filled up a water bottle, got dressed and grabbed some carrots, all without waking up Levi. Gave Matt a kiss goodbye and quietly snuck out of the house. The weather was perfect for a motorcycle ride out to the barn, and I even wished for a jacket when I hit the 40 mph straightaway.

Sinwaan eagerly came over to greet me, thinking I had some breakfast for him I reckon. I pulled him out and had just gotten done grooming him when Darold came out to say hello. I asked him if he would join me today and he said he wished he could but he was watching his grandchildren at 8 am. Maybe next time. He did say he would wait to feed the horses until I was gone, which was very nice of him.

We headed out at a brisk walk and then had a little startle when Sinwaan saw a lady walking up the road. He was acting up a little on the short stretch to Elliot but once there we could trot and get some of his bugs out. He actually did better for me today than I expected, considering he hasn't been ridden for an entire week, and he was going out without his breakfast. I was relieved, as I was feeling a bit faint already. Power through....

It was getting warm already. We saw a man out working on his grapevines at the first homestead, I said good morning and he responded. When we hit the dirt road I asked for a trot again and he was moving sloppy, really clipping himself. We stopped at the junkyard for a bite of wheat and then I asked him for the canter. He wasn't thrilled, but willingly went along. We turned up Telephone Pole Road and trotted most of it to the corner, where I let him rest and eat the grasses and alfalfa alongside the road. At this point the heat really hit us. Sinwaan's shoulder was all sweaty and I could feel heat just coming off my arms and my head under the helmet. Yuk! My arms were glistening. Time to go, let's get home before the real heat hits.

Riding through the stubble of the wheat field Sinwaan knew now we were headed back in the "right" direction - towards home - and he was happy to pick up the pace. I let him set it, knowing this would be more work for him plowing through all the churned dirt. At first he started his flying trot which soon turned into head tossing and a little buck, he was agitated. Ok then, GO! And go we did, we had a very nice canter after that and were through the entire field in no time.

On the road for a very short stretch to cross over the railroad tracks and turn back onto Elliot, I saw a truck heading towards us. No worries, we were off the pavement with a minute to spare. More trotting, loose rein, ears ahead, good attitude. Sinwaan was a joy to ride the rest of the way home. Even slowed to a walk a couple times on his own, I think that field wore him out. We had a bit of a breeze and occasional patches of shade. Saw the man with the grapevines taking a break as we went past.

I had Sinwaan walk the last 1/4 mile to cool him off a little but once we got back to Braden he wanted to trot. Eager for food! I had let him stop periodically to much on wheat or weeds or alfalfa on our ride but nothing beats a good meal. I was hungry too. I untacked and put him in the shower stall and hosed him off. He was pretty sweaty today. It looks like his hair is shedding and clumping up under his girth by my stirrup. I didn't like the looks of that but otherwise didn't see any problem areas. I fed him his carrots, I had thought about working him in halter a little today but I want to set him up for success and didn't think he would be in a very good mood if I withheld breakfast any longer. He gave me a great ride - 8 mi in about an hour +, so he deserved to be done. (I forgot a watch and know I was only gone from the house 2 hr total)

I hope to go out tomorrow to work on halter, and will try to arrange some more help from Shane on clipping, etc before I leave town.

August 11 Halter Photos

Tonight Matt went out with me to the barn and we got some halter photos of Sinwaan at magic hour. He did pretty well for me. This was my favorite shot of the evening.

Virginia Highlands Endurance Ride

The countdown has begun - this time two weeks from now the Virginia Highlands Endurance Ride will be over.

They offer a clever award to the person who has traveled the farthest distance to their ride. Here are my numbers -
2,512 mi as the car drives.
3,454 mi going from College Place to PDX to Baltimore Airport, to Hagerstown, to Luray and onto Ivanhoe VA.
Wonder how I'll stack up.

From the website:
Free Ride entry 08 (your choice) for whoever travels the furtherest to participate. Please figure mileage from where you actually leave from. Sponsored by Tom Sites ---Paid for by Don and Nicki Meuten

Leisurely ride with Ruth

Today Ruth agreed to trailer out and ride with Sinwaan and I, so she picked me up about 9:15 am. The weather was just gorgeous, about 80° with a breeze, could not have asked for better! I showed Ruth my Arab halters and we talked a little about the halter training and then we groomed and tacked up the horses.

We went down Elliot Road and turned onto the dirt path and followed it to where it intersects with Telephone Pole Road. We then took Telephone Pole Rd south to the intersection at Birch Creek Road. Here we decided to ride along Birch Creek Rd to where it comes back to Elliot Road at the grain elevator. There was really not much of a shoulder on the road so we took advantage of the neighboring wheat field which had been tilled under. We had a lovely ride. We probably walked about half of the miles and trotted the other half. There were still train cars on the track but no activity today (maybe that's the trick - ride on Sunday's when no one is working) The horses were both well behaved and there is no real trouble to report on.

I thought for sure we must have done about 8 miles today but looking at the map now that I am home reveals a trip of about 6.8 miles. [EDIT - I drove the distance in the suburban 8/11 and it was exactly 8 mi!] Well at least we are riding! Ruth said next time we should try to do the whole thing at the trot. We'll see. I got back home right about 12:15 pm.

:)

Halter training, take 2

This morning the weather was cool and I was excited to go out to the barn and try my new knowledge out on Sinwaan. Riding the motorcycle out was a bit hairy - the wind was blowing me all over the place, it was crazy. At the barn there was just a nice breeze so I grabbed the show halter and whip and went out to get Sinwaan.

He walked right on up to me and waited as I put on the halter and attached the throat-latch. I led him out to the round pen and noticed that he never even tried to take a nibble of anything on the way there. Either he was full from breakfast, or he remembered a little of yesterdays training - this halter means business.

We worked together for about 30 minutes and I was very pleased to see that he had remembered just about everything from yesterday. He got his rear planted in the right spot and then would move his fore with me to the side when I asked to line up and stretch out just a bit. Twice he gave me trouble backing up, rather than getting more frustrated I moved him forward again and we would start over.

I took carrots out with me today and when he would set up and stand just right I would then ask him to bring his head forward and if he did a good job he got a baby carrot. I figured he deserved some little rewards today. He really did awesome for me and I am thrilled. What a confidence builder! I feel like I could really take him out now either for photos or to a show and we would do ok. I am sure there are still some things to learn but for now at least I feel like I am getting a grasp on this whole halter handling business. Exciting!

Tomorrow it's time to saddle back up and go for a ride. Weather is reported to be a high of 84, I can't believe it! :-0 In August! I am getting SPOILED and am sure I am in for a real awakening when I hit the highlands of Virginia - only about two weeks away now.

Halter Training

Today was the big day. After work I went home and ate a bowl of granola with blueberries and then hopped on the motorcycle and rode out to the barn to meet Shane for our halter training lesson. I was nervous - felt like a kid going back to school again. The weather was HOT, and I was so glad to take off the motorcycle helmet.

Sinwaan was just standing around in the sun and came over to me eagerly, almost shoving his head into the halter. I noticed the flies were bad again today. I took him into the shade of the barn and brushed him and put on fly spray. That helped a lot. Then I took him out between the barns and let him nibble on what growth he could find. Mostly weeds. I noticed how he seemed to enjoy pulling them out by the roots and then crunched down on them, almost as though he was eating little carrots. It was so hot standing there in the sun, I could not believe it. I was wiping the sweat out of my eyebrows when I saw Shane pull into the drive. I walked Sinwaan down there and halted early when I saw he was on the phone. Sinwaan whoah'ed when I asked and stood quietly. Surely that is a good sign.

We walked back to the barn and Shane brought along his own halter and whip. I showed him what I had, and he made some comments. He pointed out that the lead on my black halter is patent leather and that is notorious for sliding out of one's hand. He advised wearing gloves. I asked him for all shows, or just when using a patent leather lead. He said pretty much all shows. He pointed out that he wears a suit to the class A Arab shows, and a nice shirt and vest to the MacMurdo show. This talk reminds me of showing AKC. Dress up and try not to get dirty. He also showed me how he connects the chain to the lead so there is no part of the chain in constant contact with the horse's head.

We put Shane's halter on Sinwaan and went out to work in the round pen. Shane walked and trotted him around in hand to get an idea of where he was at with his training and how quickly he would stop when he said WOAH! Sinwaan didn't do too bad at this part. Then Shane showed me how to set him up. You want the horses' hind end set up first. The rear left leg is set at a normal angle and the right leg is slightly to the inside (forward). You walk the horse up until that right rear is about to come forward then you WOAH and they should stop just as it lands ahead of the left. To get the front end where you want it the handler steps to the left or the right and asks the horse to move a front foot that direction. This is where Sinwaan had a lot of trouble. He would just about move a front foot and then his rear would move with it. When he did this Shane would back him up and get his attention and then walk him forward and try again. This is when we discovered that Sinwaan really doesn't like to back up - or at least he hardly tracks straight in reverse. He was scooting all around trying to go any direction but back. He was crowding Shane and not paying attention and looking to me.

Shane was all business and made it look easy even with the challenges presented to him. He handed me the lead and whip and told me to try. This is always my least favorite part when learning something new. Well Sinwaan knows his momma and took advantage of that right away, crowding me and hanging over me so Shane made me get after him and back him up. Pop with the lead and hit the whip down towards the ground at his front feet when needed. I was paying more attention to where that back foot was then the fact he was breathing down my neck. When I would bend down, Sinwaan's head would come down so I would have to stand up straight and pop the lead to get his head back up and then move over and ask him to move a front foot and then he did. I think ONE time I got him to do it well. At least he caught on pretty quickly what we were asking him to do.

Shane took him back after I tried a couple times without a whole lot of success. He wanted to get him to stand up well and end on a good note since we had been out there for awhile. And boy did he ever. The last time he had him standing up perfectly and his head was up and starting to stretch out for the whip end and he was a completely different horse. I wished I had brought a camera. Oh well, next time maybe. He looked amazing. Maybe there is hope for us after all. Shane said he thought for sure Sinwaan must have had some halter training at some point in his life, because usually horses' won't finish up that well. He said that was a large part of the battle won right there.

We heard rumbling thunder in the distance so decided to call it a day. Shane said he would come back out and work with us on Sunday if I wanted. Heck yes!

We went back in the barn and talked more about show specifics, where to clip the bridle-path to (the top of the poll), and how to get a thick mane to lay flat (clip some of the underside of the mane). He said he would come back out and help with all that too. He said when clipping the inside of the ears, to leave a small 'teardrop' section at the tip. We also talked a little bit about some of the horrendous tactics used by some barns to get a horses' tail up, etc. It was an incredibly informative session, and I am so grateful to Shane for his kindness.

He looked at my black halter again and determined for sure that it was too small. I guess I didn't measure his head right. Shane said we could put a tag on the halter and try to sell it at a booth at the Pegasus show next month. Sounds great to me since returning it isn't really an option.

The rust colored halter looks like it could work if I could find a gold chain for it. A dog choker will work if I can find one the right length. Then most people remove the end rings and put on heavy key chains instead. I had heard of this about a month before so it didn't surprise me when Shane mentioned it. For now I can also use Shane's halter.

Lesson one, a success.

August 6 2008

First ride for the month. The guy coming out to help me with halter pointers had to reschedule for Friday, so I decided to go out and ride tonight. It has been fairly hot lately (high of 92° today) and today we had quite a bit of cloud cover, making for a muggy - yet cooler - day than anticipated tomorrow (98°). So I figured I needed to get out there and ride!

I drove the motorcycle out, and on the way there thought about how I really didn't want to ride tonight. I was getting uncomfortable under the helmet, it was warm. I thought of Kim and how hot it will be at that ride later this month and decided I had better grit my teeth and get used to it!

Sinwaan peeked at me from behind his shelter. I'm not sure he was thrilled about working either but he willingly came along with me into the barn for his quick grooming. I brought a backpack this time so I could haul out my water bottle and some new fly spray for the equine. The flies are starting to show up now that the heat is coming on stronger. Until last week I hadn't seen any.

I tacked him up quickly and was soon mounted up and riding down the driveway. He took a second look at the motorcycle but otherwise was fine with it. He tried very hard to convince me this time that he was STARVING and just HAD to sidestep over there and take a bite of weed. I think not!

He was pretty lazy and slow on the way out tonight. I decided to go up Stateline Road again and see how things went. As we passed the pasture on the left three horses came galloping up to meet us. Just then a truck came up behind us and drove past in-between (I kept Sinwaan to the right) There was a cute red roan, a dun and a lighter horse, all mares. They were very curious. A small car followed the truck and both were courteous, not too much dust. We crossed the railroad tracks and I took a look in both directions. No trains tonight, hallelujah!

We did a lot of walking and some trotting but overall took it easy. There was more traffic tonight then I have ever seen on this road. People coming from both directions. Most slowed way down to pass and to help with dust, but one lady in a little hatchback cruised on by us in the other direction at about 30 mph.

I asked Sinwaan to trot some more and we set a fairly slow pace for about 1/4 mi. I saw a little road to the left into a wheat field so we took that for a change of pace. Sinwaan was happy to trot down this road because he thought it would take him back to the barn and his dinner. It didn't go very far, looked like a turn-around for farm trucks. We turned around and headed back to the main road.

We went back into a trot and then I asked him to canter and he picked it up right away but was sluggish. We cantered for a short stretch and then came upon a sprinkler that was jetting out across the road. We walked up to it and timed it so we could walk past without getting wet. We went on up to the stop sign and turned around and headed for home.

As usual, now I had a different horse under me. He walked to the sprinkler section with no problem but boy then he wanted to GO. I let him trot but had to keep checking him to remind him who the boss was and I hadn't asked for more speed. He was really moving out and wanted to run but I made him trot until I felt him settle down a little. Once he was more manageable I asked for the canter and he was quick to give it to me. I felt his hind end come up and out in a quick buck and I verbally warned him and after that we didn't have any more trouble. He was running so he was happy. We kept it to a hand gallop, nothing crazy on these back gravel roads. We had a truck come at us so I slowed him to a trot until it went past and then back to a canter. A little more attitude from him - but again - quick to settle into a nice gait. Goodness me. We must have cantered 2/3 of the way home. Just before the railroad tracks I made him trot and we trotted until we reached the horse pasture just before the pavement. From there we walked so he could cool down a little.

He wasn't thrilled about walking but he did listen. He had a little spook once or twice from that point - on the right was a winery building with some kind of fan that kicked on, on the left was a house with a jumbled-looking yard (lots of cars and 'stuff' scattered about) and kids hopping around playing on riding lawnmowers, a sprinkler going, etc. We got past it at a brisk walk.

Back to the barn safe and sound. What a relief. Now that I am riding the motorcycle out to the barn I worry a little more about coming off and getting injured. It would be possible to drive myself home in a car with an injury, but a motorcycle? Not a chance, I need all limbs working 100%.

We did about 3.4 mi tonight. Not much, but at least I am riding! Only 2+ weeks until the Virginia Highlands ride.

I untacked, gave Sinwaan some baby carrots as a treat and put him away in his paddock. I am looking forward to our halter lesson on Friday!