Breakfast in bed at Lake O

Sure was a thrill to see Tracie and Percy rock the house with their first Grand Prix Freestyle. WOW -- and were those tears we saw, Tracie?

Of course, the horses were kept in as pampered a condition as is possible when it's hotter than you-know-what outside. The electric fans helped, and both Fritz and Percy seemed absolutely captivated by those cute little whirly things.

Lisa made a slurry breakfast treat for Fritz; here's a picture of him eating breakfast in bed. :)

Congrats to Lisa on her Bronze!!!!

Woo Hoo!!! Lisa earned her final score for her USDF Bronze Medal last Friday at the Letter Perfect Show! This is a big accomplishment -- everyone give her a big hug!

Getting ready for Letter Perfect!!

William (Alex), Fritz (Lisa) and Ali (Tracie) will be going to the Letter Perfect Show in Ridgefield this weekend. We are leaving Thursday and have classes on Friday and Saturday. No ride times posted yet, but we'd love to have all the support we can!!

I'll announce ride times when I know them!

Tracie

Caught Percy drinking again...

... Im just not sure what to do! Is there an E-AA group?

A little 'GoodLucl Bling' for Rexie ;)

Holly's Warm-up-She is the hole a.k.a. "next !"

Holly is ready!

Holly's Test-Woo-Hoo !

Blue Ribbon show prep

The warm-up day for the blue ribbon show was today, and all the horses did really well!!

It is so wonderful to have a facility like Devonwood that not only hosts the "big" shows, but also provides a venue for schooling. We are so lucky!!

Can't wait to see how everyone does tomorrow!

T

Getting ready for BRS

We are heading to Devonwood for the Blue Ribbon show on Friday. This one is a 2-day show, so we'll have the opportunity to ride both indoors and out. It is SO fun to have the group going to all these shows!

Who's going? Tully/Jen, Bella/Sarah, Rex/Holly, Ali/Tracie, Welka/Kathy

Did I miss anyone??

T

Musings on Ft. Vancouver show

Wow! What a fun weekend we had at Ft. Vancouver!

As I watched videos and thought about the show, I realized something pretty cool! Every single horse and rider at this show was OUT OF THEIR COMFORT ZONE!!! It would be so easy to sign up for rides that we have done before, but all of you pushed yourselves!

Sarah/Bella: had never done 2nd level before, and their tests were steady and accurate... and qualifying scores!!

Monica/Gen: had never done 1st level at a recognized show before and got 2 qualifying scores!

Lisa/Percy: Lisa rode Percy exactly TWO times before taking him to the show, and Percy had been off for 6 weeks! They did great, and got qualifying scores for ODS championships!

Wromeo: His FIRST real show ... he got a 62.8% at Training 4. What a great score for a horse that has only been in training for a few months!

Welka: Her FIRST real show ... she had scores in the 60s, including a 63.5% at Training 4. She was able to get this score after standing for 20 minutes, 2 warm-up circles and into the ring!

William: Had never done anything higher that PSG - several years ago. He went out at Intermediarre II (baby Grand Prix) and was AWESOME!!! We have some work to do on his Piaffe, but the ones were great (this had been his challenge!)

Ali: This was his FIRST real show, and he was very well-behaved! He went in the ring and gave it his all! His scores were mid-high 60s... quite good for first show!

What a great show.... I can't wait for the next one!

Tracie

Congrats to Martha and Fritz!!

Martha and Fritz had an awesome go at Heart of the Valley this weekend! Qualifying scores on both tests... Congratulate Martha with a Margarita.... she needs more pain-killers... Ha! :-)

T

Blue Ribbon Show rides

Duncan and Wromeo were great at their very first show! Wromeo was unflappable even with the big thunderclap in the middle of his test!

Terry and Cedar also had a great show, scoring mid 60's!! Way to go, Terry!

Construction is mostly done!!

I excited. I think the construction is almost done.

There will be some little things that we need to do, but the bulk is done. Yeah!!

Crazy cats!

I love these pics...

Loving the sun!!!

WOW! It's beautiful out here when it is sunny! The flowers are blooming, and the horses are happily munching on green grass.

I need Lisa to take some pictures. I think I need a photography class...

Zonkey????

I am an incurable seeker of odd photos.  Here's one for ya:

Would it be a zonkey or a debra?  Or possibly a zeburro?

Tuesday rides

Rex was the star today! He was soft, forward, and connected.... all combined with steering! I had a blast riding him today. We had great shoulder-in and leg-yield as well. GREAT JOB, Holly! He is coming along very nicely!

New digs!

Ali and Cessna moved into two of the new stalls today!!! How fun!

I can't believe how fast it is going.... I need to get some pics up!

For Kathy

I ride because I rode as a child when life was simpler and somehow more complete. Only the whiff of a clean horse is needed to remind me of days gone by.
For always there have been the horses.

I ride because of all the great horse souls who have shared their lives with me and taught me more than I can say. Their names and faces flash before me as old friends. I ride because of all the horses I shall never ride. Those I have watched and marveled at from afar for all their grace and beauty. This is the stuff of a child's dream, the kind that doesn't die with time.
Always there are the horses.

I ride because the seasons call to me. Each unique in its appeal and all quite frequently best viewed from the back of a favorite horse. I ride because of all things, horses are my passion. They inspire and encourage, energize, and challenge in ways I cannot explain to the un-initiated. I ride because of the rush of stretching one's self just a bit farther today than before both mind and body.
Always there are the horses.

I ride because of those briefest of spans when the partnership comes to full promise. When the path twists and barriers fall, each footfall is measured and balanced between the tow as a dance. There are no others...only this moment and this single step to ride. The memories of those times stand vivid in my mind to be recalled with all the freshness of the day at will and in times less grand.

But if I must choose, I ride because I have dreams yet to live. I ride because I have dreams yet to have and what exactly they will be tomorrow I cannot say...
...but always there will be the horses.

AuthorUnknown

SWF cont. Percy

And last but not least, Percy... He decided if his mom took a vacation he was entitled to one too
and so he began to hang out with the guys during there breaks from construction.

Stay tuned for Sarah's next babysitting gig!
Have a great weekend!

Welcome back Tracie!

SWF cont Those Crazy Cows...

As we learned from Sarah's earlier post, Welka was quite taken with the cows to the point of
snatching a bit of hay and quickly turning to resume her steadfast gaze from the paddock.
We just did not understand why Welka was so enchanted and mesmorized by the bovine
creatures until we did night check...

SWF cont Young Horse Work

Sarah was an old pro with the young horses, They really
drew for her confident nature. Ali really seemed to bond
with her so she took it upon herself to work on a few special maneuvers..

SWF cont. Hay Delivery

Apparently Sarah was really disatisfied with the hay delivery so she tried a few new sources.

The first company was wonderfully old world but it sure did take awhile...

The second was some sort of bulk warehouse. Ooops Tracie, we thought you wanted 13 tons...

SWF cont. Larry's Diet

Larry's diet isn't going so well. We think Welka is slipping him her food. Sarah thought it would
be good if we took him to the local track to some cardio. Encourage Larry to stick with it.
We all know how hard dieting can be...

SWF cont. Extreme Makeovers

Since Tracie was getting
her hands tangled in the
unruly manes of some of
the young horses, we had
a few extreme horse make
overs at the barn. Here are
the before and after shots
of Diva.

It is amazing what a little TLC can do!

Sarah's First Week at GMF

It was such a busy week, Sarah did not have time
to update the blog daily. She asked me to post on
her behalf the short version of the week.

That girl sure can ride. Is that Romeo?

Enjoy...

Spring Break

Here is a TOTALLY goofy pic from Spring break that my kids took:

I'm glad to be back.

Riding Wistful Horses

Sitting here and thinking how My life much richer is now For all the ones I've chanced upon And the tapestry that was spun There was a time when no one came No friends to play in childhood game No one to shelter from the rain Nor the adolescent pain Yet in my inner heart I knew Secrets rare and secrets true Were wishes horses, all would ride Other dreamers by my side Then one day I dropped my guard I never did something so hard In my heart I let others in And found I had a friend By one's and two's they gathered near Soothing all my darkest fears A tapestry we began to weave And I once more believe For youth need never fade away As long as I can dream and play On wistful horses I will ride With other dreamers at my side

SID Show

Thank you for all of your well wishes, support and help. It was truly a team effort :) Monica and Sandy helped me with my tests, Tina schooled me on keeping my nervous energy in check, Kathy was my cheer leader and emotional support... Sarah was the video queen, Jen and Terri cheered us on with Kathy reading tests and of course Tracie busy coaching and teaching lessons running back and forth between DWEC and GMF. And of course Martha and Fritz... what a tremendous gift from the the owner and breeder and from the half human super hero horse Fritz, a.k.a. "Fritzy", "Princely Boy". I feel like the luckiest person on the planet. Our barn is truly a place where anything is possible it seems. I am every day in complete gratitude that Martha allows me to ride this very special horse. There is only one Fritz.

Being overly paranoid on Friday night, I checked Fritz quite often... I thought there has to be a better way and so I created "Fritz TV". On Saturday night I hooked up the baby monitor and camera so I could watch "Fritz TV" from the trailer and know he was safe and sound all night. During one of the night checks, he was laying down in his stall. He let me come in and love on him and he nuzzled me-it was quite a special moment.

I will post pics and some video tonight. Thank you, thank you, thank you :) See you at GMF!

Day 1 - No Tracie

And we're all still alive :-)

Everyone was really good today! A few of the horses were feeling quite energetic today - I'm sure the wind had something to do with that! But they were all good and well behaved.

If anyone wants to know what the cows did today, you can stop by Welka's stall and ask her. I think she's creating a play by play commentary of 'a cows life'. Poor girl would hardly come in her stall to eat, but she did come in for her dinner, so I think she's getting a little better about coexisting with them.... we hope anyway!

That's all - see you this week probably!

Way to go, Lisa!!!

Lisa and Fritz were GREAT at Spring into Dressage today! We all had so much fun cheering them on! Come out tomorrow and see them go again!

It was great fun. What a team!

Tracie

Construction Photos

Here are a few photos of our current state of construction! It's pretty exciting to see how fast everything is moving!

Good Luck Lisa!

Sending happy thoughts and relaxation your way this weekend ;-)

You and Fritz will do great!

Totally cool!

And here is Wromoe's video we put together last week...

Testing with Youtube...

Nerd that I am, I'm trying to see if I can link between here and youtube. If this works, this is Ali's first test from a couple of weeks ago....

Jeremy Clinic

Kathy and Holly braved the nasty weather today to go ride with Jeremy. Here are some short clips of their rides!

Miserable day!!!

Yuck! I just got in from feeding, and it is nasty out there. Every horse had a dry blanket except Welka. We need to convince this girl about the joys of shelter! Ha!

The Jeremy clinic was really good last night. Holly, Monica, and Kathy rode. It is always so much fun to both ride and watch his clinics!

Jackie and Killiarc

I was so sad to see Jackie and Killiarc leave us this week! But of course, we all wish her well in her new job in Spokane! I just wanted to share Jackie's email with you all.

--------------------------
Tracie,
Thank you so much for the beautiful saddle pad!!!! I can't believe how generous you were....it even has Killiarc's name on it!!! Thank you for the wine as well!! I can't tell you enough how much I enjoyed keeping Killiarc at your place....you do a wonderful job caring for the horses and I had so much fun taking lessons! I will miss you and GMF very much!! Thanks again for everything!! I hope to see you all soon at a horse show :)
Jackie
P.S. I hope you post pictures of the barns progress...it is always so fun to see!
--------------------

I'll have to get some pictures of the construction site up! I didn't even think of that.

Maybe we will have to find a show in Spokane this year so we can all crash at Jackie's place! Ha!

Breaking ground!

We broke ground today on the new addition. I'm pretty excited! There was lots of noise and new sights for the horses to look at, but in general they all were pretty good. I was pleasantly surprised!

Just a few details: The horses on the west side of the barn have their paddock doors closed for a couple of days (probably til Wednesday). Larry's stall doesn't have a paddock anymore since all that fencing had to be removed. On Thursday I'm planning to move Larry into Killiarc's old stall, and then I'll put Wromeo into Larry's old stall. Since Killiarc's stall has a large paddock, seniority will decide who gets it if anyone else wants to move. Just let me know.

It is going to be noisy for a while, and we will need to dig a two foot strip in the arena along the wall to prep for the cement aisleway. So, we'll have some obstacles to deal with for a while. Sorry! I'll see if I can get an idea on timeframe for completion as soon as I can.

Great pics Lisa! The show was a blast!

Blue Ribbon March-Misc

I had the most luck with Kathy and Welka
with the pictures. The timing and the indoor
lighting is a challenge.

What a great day-

BIG FUN :)

Blue Ribbon March-Kathy