Current News 11/01/08 - 10/01/09

Current News 3/17/08 - 11/01/08

10/1/09 It has been nearly a month since I've had time to update you here! It has been a great month, just very busy!  I will do my best to quickly update now!

9/26/09 UCSC Show. We took a nice group of our up and coming horses and riders to a rainy UCSC open show Saturday. Charlotte, Savannah, Emma, Anna, Emily, Bekah and Madison all braved the dreary weather to ride beautifully and win many ribbons. Zoe was there too and did super. I was very proud of all of them! We had a fun time eating lunch at Rough Edge on the way home. We even had a blast from the past, Joy Howell came into the store and we got to talk. She is so beautiful and successful! I'm looking forward to helping her again with some TB broodmares she has. Great day!

9/20/09 Latta. We arrived for a rainy weekend at Latta Park for the last 2 judge NC APHA show of the year. We came armed with the new knowledge I garnered in Florida the week before. Everyone was spectacular! Although the bad weather did keep the big numbers away, there was plenty of good competition. Our riders have really absorbed all the new information and they are putting it to work. They shone like new pennies, seemingly winning everything! It makes the future very exciting and bright!

I took Liberty, 'my' 2 year old from Kathleen in Texas. He had been so good in Clemson so I was feeling much personal pressure. I suppose he felt it too and the outside pen with all the distractions was really bothering him Friday afternoon. I got off and did more groundwork before riding him again. Bella fell off the pad for the bleachers and I thought I was going to get bucked off, he was so sensitized by the enviornment. I decided Friday night that I wouldn't show him, it was too much pressure for us both. Saturday ran so late and the torential rain that followed our last class stopped me from riding him, so I was concerned when I got him back out on Sunday morning. I put the driving lines on him to get everything back in line before I took him to the 'public' schooling arena. He seemed fine so I proceeded up where my friends D. John and Grant Williams Jr were riding their 2 yr olds. There was another guy up there riding a very mature, very broke and steady 2 yr old too. As I led mine across the pen D. John  asked about him, I told him he was 2, he said he was cute. I sent him out in a circle online to make sure he would be ok, I asked him (Liberty) 'are you ok?' and before he completed a whole lap he 'said' yes. So I picked up my rope and walked back across the pen. The new guy made fun of me for only making one lap and teased me thinking I was leaving. I told him the colt said he was fine and I was just going out to get on him. He looked puzzled and D. John rode up and introduced us. Trent Rae was his name and D. John proceeded to tell him that I do talk to them and if I said they said they were ok, they were. He started telling him that I did a bunch of natural horsemanship and had ridden with Pat, I didn't hear it all but I was concerned it would be much to live up to when I walked back into the pen. Liberty was so sweet, he totally had my back and cracked off jogging super cute. Then I loped him off and their faces stopped to watch. He felt great and by the sounds of it, looked that way too. I was proud. D. John left to get a hackamore, Trent left too. I decided I would just do the practice class to get in the pen without the pressure to run get ready and the pressure of showing against the 'boys'. The practice class had only a couple other people in it but the bleachers and rail were full of spectators, I felt enough pressure for the moment. He was super good and I got some very nice compliments. After I got done I got off and loosened his girth and just held him by the ring talking to my friends so he could hear and see everything in a nonstressful way. Allen Mathis, the owner of D. John's colt, walked up and started taunting me about showing with them. I just said I didn't want to, he started pushing harder, "don't you want to see how yours measures up?" I said I wasn't worried about that, I just wanted to get my colt confident and happy in the show enviornment. He said, "I want to see what you got!" I told him he should have been up there during the practice class and he could have seen. He wanted me to get back on and ride for him in the schooling area so he could see. I said mine had been good, he didn't need more riding. "We will see who has the best horse at Arden. Don't you want to see today?" D. John and Trent came to my rescue by telling him I did have a god colt. Their class started and Allen left.

It planted a seed in my head. Liberty is the fanciest 2 year old western horse I've ever had. I just want to do a good job. I'm doing my best to develop him into a physically, mentally and emotionally balanced showhorse. Our trip to Fort Worth is getting closer and I really need for him to be super confident and trusting. The 12345678 has helped him improve dramatically. The future is bright!

9/13/09 Sarasota Cowhorse Derby and Bridle Spectacular. I drove to Sarasota, FL to meet Rick and 'family' for my first show with Dixon since he went to live with Rick in Florida. I was super excited to see the changes and to bring him home to enjoy! Rick is off to Reno to the Snaffle Bit Futurity for 2 weeks immediately following the show so it gave me a good push to bring him home.

I arrived after an incredibly long, rain-filled drive in time to go to dinner with everyone. Do not follow your GPS and cut across at Orlando  - baaad idea, much traffic!

Saturday morning came early in the midst of torrential rain. Rick rides at 4am so he has the arena to himself and here was no exception. Unfortunately he had gone up with one of his 3 futurity colts and I was on my way up riding another (a 3 yr stud colt who is going to Reno) in the pouring rain when a huge bolt of lightning hit the transformer at the show and knocked out all power. The blast was loud and scary, but didn't compare to the blackness that followed. I didn't know what to do. The colt felt that and started squealing, I needed to make a decision before we became the next target for the lightning. I got off and led him, wading through ankle deep water, up to the pitch black arena. I thought if Rick did intend to ride him next I'd be there, I also needed to get out of the pouring rain, it was cold. After a few minutes my eyes adjusted as much as they could, and I saw Rick working the other colt in the ring as though the lights were on. I would see flashes of them loping by and wondered about this strange man who didn't let a monsoon, lightning cracking all around him and the absolute darkness affect his morning work. He rode up with his big smile and asked how I was, I said fine thinking he was crazy to be so unaffected by the situation, he said "the darkness gives us an awesome opportunity to get our horses really focused on us. They must listen to us and follow our directions to get through the moment." This was a totally different perspective than I had considered, it even made sense. So I agreed and gave him 'my' colt and got on his to walk him cool him off by walking around. We continued until all 6 horses were warmed up. I even enjoyed my ride on Dixon. It was about 7am and light was beginning to come (the power was not fixed until after 9am), I put my trust in him and warmed him up like I could see perfectly. It was odd to have a 'trainer' standing there making me go through all the pieces of my pattern. Going places as the client gives me empathy for my clients. It seems much different than I perceive; good for me to feel it :)

The morning of Derby and Bridle Spectacular went by like a blur. When the regular classes started I got Dixon out for Rick to show in the Open Bridle. Now I thought I knew how to ride him, but when I got on and waded through the rain and water he felt different. He used to walk fast with his head up but now (inconviently with the pouring rain) he walked slow and deliberate, head down just like a pleasure horse. When I finally got to the practice pen and asked him to trot, I was immediately fussed at for being too heavy. I tried to lope and spin and Rick fussed more. After trying to warm him up and only meeting embarrasing resistance from Rick (and complete noncompliance from Dixon), I just resigned myself to walk.

Now anyone that knows me, knows I pride myself on being natural and soft. They would also know Dixon takes many hours to prepare to show safely. He needs much loping to calm and focus him. At the World Show this summer he took 3 days of hard work to get ready to show and was still fresh in the cowhorse. Rick came in and stepped up on him about 7 minutes before he had to show, I knew he would understand me better after he cracked that gate. Dixon will seem fine only to come alive when his feet hit the sand. He cannot stand still, will not steer, spin or stop like he does outside. Those 'hot potato' feet bother me because I can't get focused when he is dancing all around. When Rick sat down, took the slack out of the reins and loped off I was sure someone had done something to my horse - he was perfectly calm and focused. Light and responsive he went through all his manuevers only once and went to wait at the gate with time to spare. I was shocked, but not more shocked than I was when he did his pattern and worked that cow. It was like my horse was gone and this soft calm obedient horse was here in his body. He did every move confidently and correctly, his feet were buried in concrete every time he was meant to be still, his ears were forward and his tail never swished. After only 6 weeks, Rick changed my 10 year old horse. I was blown away!

People who had been a little snide, actually came up and gave me big compliments. When I came up later for my stockhorse fence class people kept commenting on how I had the calmest safest horse at the show. Other amatuers kept saying they wished their horses were as sweet as mine was. I only got a few steps of warm-up when Rick was getting something to eat out of sight. But when I went into the showpen Dixon was as good for me (calmness wise - he stopped better for Rick of course) as he had been earlier. I was amazed at how he waited on our rundowns for me to ask him to speed up; normally he takes off as soon as you round the turn. He feet were solid on the ground when they were supposed to be. It was great! My cow was pretty good. Dixon was super and I had an actual plan (I love plans, I love understanding what I'm meant to do). Each piece of my cow work was dramatically better than it has been, however the transitions between pieces were a little slow. You have to box your cow at the end, then take it down the fence and turn it both ways, then circle it both ways. I was thinking so hard about how to do each piece that I 'stopped riding' at each transition. I was still happy. Rick was happy too, although he said I need to keep going so I don't lose position.

Sunday was sunny and good. We started out on the Derby colts and Rick taught me a new way to 'bridle' my horses - 12345678! When we are riding he demands that you always have a plan and follow an equation. You must Look, Focus, Guide, Bridle, Release. When I went to bridle he said I went way too fast and way too hard. So he broke it down into pieces that were much more polite and light for the horse. I would start by closing my inside hand, outside hand, inside leg, outside leg. Each piece takes 2 steps that you must count out; inside hand 1,2; outside hand 3,4; inside leg 5,6; outside leg 7,8. By breaking it down like this, the horses get time to respond and line up, it is truly amazing.

The next big thing he taught me that morning was how to properly turn my horse on the fence. He establishes a track 6 to 8 feet off the rail and warms them up on that track. It is the same track he will use as he runs the cow down the fence. He feels that by putting them in that spot before the cow comes out, the horse becomes comfortable there and can focus better on the cow - very cool! Well my turns were not up to par - "what was good about that turn, anything?" I heard after and especially sloppy turn. He explained, you move down the fence with your fence side leg at the girth (inside leg) and the center of the pen leg 6 inches back (outside leg), stop and back as one fluid movement, move your hands 3 inches to the inside for 3 steps, follow with your outside leg to push your horse through the turn, release your leg when the horse commits to finish the turn and move your hands forward to allow that horse to go forward out of the turn. We did that over and over until I got it.

 I'm learning that everything has an equation and once you and your horse learn the equations and how to connect them, you have the key to bring out the best in each horse. Sunday went as smoothly as Saturday for Dixon. I loaded him and brought him home. It has been a fast 6 weeks but filled with learning that will change my life.

Whatever that horse needs is what you are going to do. Bill Dorrance per Leslie Desmond

9/7/09 WOW! What an incredible weekend! Madison, Courtney and Jennifer blew away the competition!

Monday Madison came for a lesson a changed rider. We had a tough week last week bc she has been working very hard to improve but was having second thoughts about really putting her leg on her horse. Her mare is lovely - but she is also super sensitive - and like most of us Mads isn't wanting to set her 'off' by using too much leg. We had been preaching to her that to improve her 'slow game' she must ride with her feet 'on' to get the steering, engagement and control she desired. This weekend she went home, put on the western saddle and figured out how to ride with her legs and feet. The difference was unbelievable! Congratulations to her on pushing herself to that next level! She won the Novice Youth and the 13 & Under High Points decisively! Great job!

Courtney and her horse, Boomer, also showed up to compete. Courtney just started doing APHA shows this year after a very successful 4h and Open Show career. She started where we all do, lower than she liked. We had a talk after Pelzer and I explained to her she had a choice, she could stay the way she was and continue to show at her 4h and open shows and win or she could really dig deep and elevate her performance to compete at the APHA level. APHA showing does require a whole new level of dedication and mental, emotional and physical effort and toughness that is not an option for most people. Many people who are in school or have busy families just don't have the time. Courtney said she wanted to take on the challenge and the past 2 shows have been amazing for her!  She has started putting together performances most people don't achieve until their second or third year of showing (at best), the ribbons and points have come right on with the great rides! 

Jennifer and Mello continue to add events and show us that hardworking adults can achieve high goals too! Jennifer's biggest news was the FANCY new living quarters trailer that she bought and broke in this weekend. She negociated a super sweet deal and made us all swoon at the space she aquired. We are so proud of her accomplishments both in and out of the ring!

I must say our program has gone on a huge learning and improvement curve this year. I have never seen such vast improvement in so many people and horses in such a short period of time! I think the credit goes in many places, but probably first in our families' great attitude for learning and grabbing good change and working with it. We have changed the way we do things literally from the ground up. Our shoeing ideas have been challenged and refined. We have looked at new a different ways of doing things and have grabbed some great new techniques from Jim Crew, Fred Cloniger and Healthy Stride that have dramatically improved our horses' balance, comfort and movement. Bryan Stack and Brad Freeman, our long time farriers, have accepted the beneficial new techniques and all our horses have improved! Craig Johnson invited us to his Open House this winter/spring and that brought us many new ideas and a renewed hunger for learning. I met Scott McKutcheon at Craig's and then got to got get a day riding with him at his farm in Texas this summer. Scott brought us more new ideas that sent us further forward. But the biggest influence on our catapult forward this summer has come from Rick Steed. He has helped me at the cowhorse shows the last year or so, but when I hit a brick wall with Dixon I knew I needed more intense help. I called Rick to see if he could take Dixon and me for so serious help. He stepped up and has embraced my learning as important to him. He and his wife, Toni, have opened their home to me four of the last 6 weekends and Rick has fit in more theory, concepts and practice than I could have ever imagined in that short time. I have totally immersed myself for 3 days each time in his program, with great rewards! He has such a complete organized program from start to world/national champion finish that he can give you a blueprint of how to go from where you are to where you want to be! Its amazing! I think our big changes are a combination of the shoeing and the training - adding these two vital pieces together has skyrocketed us to a new level! I'm so grateful to everyone who has helped us, 'Thank you'!

Rick has agreed to come for a Horsemanship Clinic October 24-25 at our Lancaster location. We can have up to 12 riders ($300/ea), spectators will be FREE. Other clinics at this level are $600+ for a weekend, we want this to be affordable so as many people as possible can enjoy the benefits! If you cannot ride, come listen, you will leave with more than you can imagine! Email me to sign up today! charlottec@comporium.net

9/3/09 My computer has been totally on the fritz because my current modem, my phone, won't work properly as a modem. So I have only been able to access my email on my Blackberry. I had no idea when I sent out birth announcements to the 7 people who have been persistantly emailing me about puppies, that I would get such an overwhelming response. I feel so sorry for so many of you. I think every person wanted a sable female and there was a huge 'race' to put down deposits on the girls. In less than 12 hours all the girls were gone. I had no idea it would be this emotional! If I could create 20 sable female puppies I might come close to satisfying all the wonderful families wanting them. It is truly a tribute to the personality of the sheltie breed that so many people want another when their precious baby passes on. I have cried and cried over the touching letters I have received from hopeful 'parents'.

We do still have the 2 sable boys available! I think many shy away from the boys thinking they will not be as cuddly and devoted as a girl will be. I used to have that same feeling before I got Frosty. Frosty, the daddy, is the biggest momma's boy you can imagine! He LOVES me like nothing else in his world and he spends all his time connected to me, either sitting on my lap, sleeping packed tight to me or walking so close I think I will trip over him, Frosty gets the prize for most attached. I really believe that these boys of his will be as cute and cuddily as any little girl would be. One of the big advantages of the boys is their coats come in earlier and fuller than the girl's coats do! The girls seem to need to be spade or be a few years old before they get a really big coat, poor Bella had such short hair her first summer here that when we were in Fort Worth nobody could tell what breed she was. I was devastated, but she had had a litter of puppies before I got her and her hair fell out from all the hormones changing. People thought she was a Pappion because she was tiny and did have big hair coming from her ears. Today her coat drags the ground and she is absolutely beautiful! I think the boys will not disappoint; they will be gorgeous and loving, they are also turning out to be the tiniest of the litter!

8/28/09 I had long day yesterday, long night driving all night, long day riding with Rick in Florida today and now Cassie has decided to deliver her puppies tonight! Tommy had asked me to take Cassie with me to Florida because he was uncomfortable 'birthing babies', with no experience and so many waiting for these babies, he didn't want to mess anything up. Actually he turned out to be wise, the first puppy came out completely backwards, only a tiny tail floating in the bubble meant to hold a face and two front feet. I helped her with him and the next 4 came out super smoothly. We have 5 gorgeous puppies; 3 girls and 2 boys! All of the puppies have beautiful markings and seem strong and healthy! I feel truly blessed - now for some sleep!

8/26/09 Last night I came home with a bad headache. I think I'm feeling the effects of all my recent exercise. It has my body changing and I think the yucky stuff is making me feel grouchy. Seems like there is always much drama, I love peace and happiness, dislike drama and conflict. There are so many wonderful things going on right now, it is only appropriate that it comes with a bit of sludge. I addressed an old friend last night who has been in the middle of a very turbulent drama, I hope by addressing him directly, he will see I do not want trouble but also not intimidated by anyone. This stress too shall pass.

I'm very conflicted about what to do about our Florida appearance at the PNH Celebration this fall. I do want to go and take a huge group to perform, but I also do not want to walk back into the negative experience we had in TN. I sent an email to Pat, Linda and a few others last week outlining my ideas. I want an 'ok' from them before I mobilize our group and put it into motion. I expect this Celebration will have the most applications for Spotlights, therefore will be the most difficult to get chosen. The girls and I have come up with phenomenal, over-the -top concepts; but I'm not sure if they are within the parameters PNH desires. Here is a portion of the letter I sent:

We are considering applying for Spotlights in Lakeland. I have some BIG concepts and wanted to run them by you first before I developed them with the kids (because this will be an expensive large undertaking) and if the concepts are not in keeping with your big picture, many hard workers will be disappointed.

All my questions are for our group presentation. I understand there is a 7 horse limit in the arena, we are working with that. I want to have a scaffold across the entrance to the arena (plenty tall to ride through) with lights which flash in rhythm with the music. I also have a dear friend who is a national country music recording artist (who expressed an interest in coming with us to watch), I'd love for her to perform live (with karaoke music) while we perform. I thought she could sing a Shania Twain or a Reba song for our #1 On-line/Liberty song.

For our #2 possible song. I have conceived a routine to the Grease classic, 'Greased Lightning', starting with a kid in a cow suit riding in on a 4 wheeler with me following on my cowhorse running up the aisle and sliding into the arena. We would then use all the pieces of a reining and cow horse pattern to do a routine following the 'cow', starting with the 'cow' running to the end of the arena, jumping off the 4 wheeler and 'cutting' back and forth with the horses mirroring the action down the arena (like we practiced boxing with your robo cow in Florida, with you in front, me next to you, next person after me, etc). She (the cow) would next jump on her 4 wheeler and 'run' circles with the horses trailing incl flying changes; then we would run down the fence and turn on the fence, horses falling back and turning like dominos; after turning on the fence both ways, we would run down the center, best stoppers making the longest runs, with everyone evenly distributed we would all spin both ways, then back hands-free at the end.

I think it could be amazing with everyone in '50's 'Pink Lady' jackets (themed with the song) but totally displaying all the cow horse and reining elements! The lights could pulse and circle like a concert - too cool!

The possible #3 big number I have conceived is to Martina McBride's 'When God Fearin Women Get the Blues'. My friend sings the fire out of that one, and we can include kids dancing alongside her too. The song has a myriad of characters described in it, we can dress up kids and horses for the parts! It gives fast opportunities and slow opportunities for us to showcase our free style/finesse. We could even do these in hackamores?

My ideas are huge Showmanship and Horsemanship undertakings. We need to get to work if they aren't too 'over the top'. I am using the Freestyle Reining model I've seen developed each year at the world shows. I want to get a thumbs-up before I start mobilizing this huge group of troups.

I hope this seems good to everyone. I forgot to mention the fog/smoke machine, probably wouldn't have helped us get accepted, it might be good I forgot. My feeling is that we could tone it down and have a more 'Wind Beneath My Wings' presentation, but that is not us (me)! If we (I) go I want it to be spectacular, inspiring and over-the-top! It is too far, too expensive and too big an opportunity to play it safe/conservative. I want to set the bar for showmanship and horsemanship, I want to show how we take the PNH program and run far with it! To stay within an implied little box of 7 Games is so not our style. I sent the email on August 21, I will give them 2 weeks to respond before I go on with a different plan for that weekend (there is a big fun APHA show in VA that weekend we will go to if we don't go there. Tommy is going either way). We did get a very positive response from Jim Crew today. I love him! He is a big thinker and he is not afraid to be himself with his own ideas and life path! I will be disappointed if we get no response, but I understand we are a bit extreme for the Parelli purists. This time I will not knowingly walk into a lion's den. I want them to be well aware of our plans so they can make the choice. Last time I wanted to really 'bring it' but have it all a surprise so nobody would copy us, and so everyone would be surprised - I found this to not be the best choice. Full disclosure to the top/powerful people so they will be ready to defend us if necessary.

Tommy has suggested I just go and do something with Skip or Skip and Dixon. I strongly feel I do not want to go without our kids. I feel we are a family team that shines together. If they do grab our 'Team' entry, I have 2 really good individual entries to make. I encourage every one of you to develop your own entry as big and elaborate or as pure and simple as you desire for this event too. You must have been a PNH Savvy Club member to enter.

Each of you knows how much I want this to work. I do believe in the PNH program and its benefits for horses and humans of all disciplines. I also accept that we push the limits in all we do, both in the show world with our natural ideas, and in the natural horsemanship world with our high show goals. I believe we all have a purpose and a path that we are 'meant' to follow. I believe every individual must be true to her/his passion and follow it to see where it takes her/him. My son Will may have won a Res World Championship, but his passion is for golf. I believe he must follow that passion as far as he desires to take it. My daughter Charlotte hates PNH, I must honor her desire to ride and develop without exploring the PNH program. Each person has infinite choices, find those choices that fit you best, you will realize your dreams.

I would LOVE to go to FL and  blow the roof off the building with our performance, but I can see that my vision and the PNH vision might be different. Although I felt we were right in line with the 'spirit' of the event last time and we did reach many people, we also offended a group of people too. I see this as a perfect stage for our grand energy and ideas, but not everyone feels my vision is appropriate. I am prepared for either outcome, it has taken me some serious soul searching to feel that way, so I hope this note will prepare all of you the same way. Either way we will continue to reach for the stars and do it in a natural way that puts our horses' needs before our own. There will come a time and place where we are embraced for our imagination, drive and skill - we are the future of natural horsemanship! We bridge gaps nobody has ever bridged before! We must keep going forward and demonstrating there are ways to achieve high competitive goals and have amazing relationships with our horses too!

8/23/09 Our family was fantastic at Latta Park this weekend! Everyone rode beautifully and won much! I am so proud of all of you! Well done!

8/18/09 Today I started a new exercise program at Anytime Fitness near our house. They have 1200 locations all over the country (like I'd actually want to go when I'm away from home) that allow you to work out 24 hrs per day. Eddie, the owner, is darling and he gave Tommy and me private start-up coaching sessions today to teach us how to use the machines. He set us up on a good program with both weights and cardio - it was hard! I'm looking forward to seeing the changes!

8/16/09 I had a wonderful day today shopping with Charlotte. Spend MUCH money on a few outfits for her! I hope she had fun too - hard to tell with teenagers :)

8/12/09 After a tough rainy day of camp, I had the surprise of my life - a huge birthday party in the apartment at the barn! It was amazing! I couldn't believe all the people who worked so hard to plan it - you are incredible! And all the people who took time out of there busy lives to come, some from very far away - I was touched! THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU!!!!!!!!!

8/10/09 I got home to a wonderful surprise! For my birthday, our 'family' spend the weekend cleaning and fixing the farm! My flower bed in front of the 'bunkhouse' was weeded and the rockwall was uncovered and set back up! The stand was completely fixed with new wood, new chairs and new trashcan! The biggest thing was the removal of TONS of weeds, trees and trash around the ring and paddock next to the ring, Carlos and Holly actually went to the dump twice with overflowing loads! I am so happy and so grateful! Thank you sooo much! The best present ever!

8/8/09 Today was a really good day! I'm in Okeechobee, Florida at Rick and Toni's for the 3rd weekend in a row getting help (originally) for Dixon and his stops on the right lead that I just couldn't get right. Boy has it turned into a much bigger horsemanship growth experience than I ever expected.

Rick has really taken so much time explaining and building my understanding of his program, that I can see where this is the simplest, most complete advanced horsemanship program out there today. He has connected the dots so easily from groundwork in the round pen to a finished reined cowhorse that it seems like given enough time anyone could do it! I'm super excited to be learning it because I see HUGE applications of all his techniques for our all-around horses too! I think if all I got was his ethics, 1,2,3 and basic equations I would be able to bring out so much more in both the horses I ride and the people I teach. This is truly a professional horseman's roadmap to creating a successful horse training and teaching blueprint that one can adopt and take home. It's also motivating because you can see it doesn't take a big fancy facility to do outstanding work. You don't need all the newest greatest gadgets; nor do you need a stable of Mexicans to keep it all perfectly groomed and manicured. His deal is as streamlined as it can get, but everything you need is here and the horses are physically, mentally and emotionally happy and fit.

This weekend he has challenged my focus and feel more - I just thought I was focused before, I just thought I thought about better ways to communicate with my horses than other people, I just thought I made things simple - Rick has organized so much in his brain, I think I could be here every weekend for the next year trying to absorb it. Today it started with straight lines in the riding area using trees, cones, fence posts, etc as targets. 'Look, Focus, Guide, Bridle, Release' over and over. 'Take 3 strides to do anything before you change it', 'sensitive horses, more time'. My idea of 'release' was  'babysitting/holding' to him, he takes release to a whole new level! 'Outside leg back' became an obvious need on Dixon.

Dixon had 'passed his math test' and we were finishing with straight lines up the quarter lines of Mike's arena. On the left lead my legs stayed good and he stopped well; on the right lead it was considerably better, but still left a bit to be desired. I loped him down, leaned back, put my feet forward, asked him to stop without using my hand but Rick still fussed! 'You were holding him! Don't you feel it?' Truly I did not, actually I had made a big effort not to pull! He explained it was not my hands that were the problem, it was my legs .... they were letting go to cue him to stop, but immediately coming back in to brace for the stop before letting go a second time. To the left I wasn't doing it and he was stopping smoothly, but to the right, here was a big hole. Boy that tidbit was worth the whole trip! After I realized that, I loped him down again and felt for the first time how I was running down with little left leg on him - no wonder he was leaking out to the left! With just these 2 observations I think I can make monumental changes in all the horses I ride!

Today I realized what an amazing feel he has for people and what makes them tick as well as the horses. A self proclaimed multi-swirled human, he has an uncanny way to read people and what they need at a given moment to be successful. I'm not sure whether the kind things he says to me are true or are a way to build my confidence in a really challenging stressful situation - either way, it is helping me get better. We spoke yesterday about having him come up to do a clinic - he agreed and his prices are great! We just need to find dates and fill them now.

I also can see from all the work we have done here with his 4 wheeler and Hot Heels roping dummy, that we need one of each. So if you know anyone with a good one (of either), please contact me. I think the Hot Heels could help all kinds of horses and sticky moments, as well as just being a fun thing to chase! I can see where flying changes are much easier to achieve with this setup!

8/5/09 Sadly, Amanda, Raphael's fiancé (the one who was living in my house with him when I returned from the World Show) had to leave today. She has been quite depressed since they found out they were not having a baby last week. So much so that she has been sleeping most of the time which was aggravating to Raphael. They got in an argument yesterday and she decided she wanted to leave. If they are fighting, I too thought it best; but I think Amanda expected I would send Raphael away or demand that he get along with her. I told both of them that I was not considered when they decided to move her in, but I would make the decision that she needed to leave if her presence was causing drama and conflict at the barn. Unfortunately for her, I think drama is her attention-seeking device and she was fast convincing me she needed to go sooner than later.

Apparently overnight she made a halfhearted attempt at "cutting", leaving scratches all over both arms (and legs too I was told). When she explained to the kids (who were hanging out in the barn) that this was her form of relaxation, I blew! I demanded that she leave immediately or I would have her removed by the police once lessons were over. Apparently she went to get help at Monroe Hospital. I think I speak for all our barn family in truly hoping the doctors there can help her find peace and happiness. Please keep Amanda in your prayers! None of us know how the relationship between Raphael and her will work out, but I'm certain we all wish only the best for her future!

8/4/09 Everyone is really progressing well with the addition of Rick's 1,2,3 program - awesome results! I encourage everyone to get out and learn the new drills to experience the difference!

8/3/09 Wow! It's been a long time since I have been here! So much has happened this summer, I have been going so hard the place I have updated every day has been Facebook because I can do that from my phone. I feel terrible I haven't kept everyone who is not on FB up to date here, so I shall do my best to piece together the past 6 weeks that feel like 6 months!

I just got in last night from another super trip to Florida to ride with Rick Steed and his wife Toni. They live on a lovely small farm in Okeechobee, Florida. With a peaceful lake (turtles bask, fish jump) and helpful neighbors, it seems a perfect place to develop fancy cowhorses. He has no live cattle living there, but his 'Hot Heels' practice steer creates a perfect practice environment every time, every day, no feed or pasture required.  I feel so blessed to have this opportunity to learn from such spectacular people.

Its amazing the way that God works in our lives to direct us and bring us to the people and experiences we need to shape us and to fulfill our purpose. I encountered a big bump in my progress with Dixon. I had come so far with the help of Craig Johnson (mainly), Rick and a lesson with Scott McCutcheon. We had improved and developed so far I felt super about every piece but my stops on the right lead. Both sets of circles, both lead changes, both turn-arounds, both rollbacks and my stop to the left were going better than they ever had. The addition of more speed amplifies all the good but also all the bad and I couldn't get that stop smooth no matter how hard tried. So I realized I needed more concentrated help with Dixon, not just a single lesson here and there. I needed somebody that could help me at shows, could get on my horse and identify and set up new effective patterns, that teaches in a way I can learn on days and times I could be there, that lives close enough for me to get there enough to make it stick, and most importantly, has the same ethics I have with the horses. Rick was the right choice for me.

I met Rick a couple years ago at Pat Parelli's in Florida. He came over to show Pat a shoeing deal, and Pat wanted to show him his Robo-steer. I recognized Rick immediately as the previous  year's winner of the Freestyle Reining (bridleless in fact) at the APHA World Show (last summer he was World Champion in the Cowhorse and 3rd in the Sr Reining, as well as winning both the Open Hackamore and the Open Bridle in the NRCHA deal too). Rick came with a really cool entourage and a 'life' and personality befitting of rock star. I was impressed with the way he treated me and everyone around him, with kindness, interest and respect. I went with Pat the next day to a NRCHA show and Rick and his friends were there, a friendship was born.

Since then Rick has helped me at NRCHA shows, giving me much needed help and encouragement. He had also invited me to come to his Florida farm to learn more. Life is busy and I never made the 600+ mile trek until now. I had hit a roadblock that was frustrating me, and as many of you have felt, made me want to throw ethics out and 'make' my horse do this 1 last maneuver. Fortunately for both Dixon and myself, we had worked too hard to gain confidence and build our relationship, I couldn't throw all that out for one stop, I had to find help that meshed with my idea of how I wanted to build my horse. It may seem like way too far to drive (esp. on a regular basis) and like there are many successful trainers close by - that may be true, but I needed to go where I already had a comfort level and a trust established.

I was so right in my decision. Rick has helped me find a whole new level for my teaching, riding and overall horsemanship. He has worked the past 9 years to simplify his program to make it understandable and attainable for all horses. One of his 'slogans' is "Communication is not an illusion."  I asked him what that meant, he responded that many of the natural trainers of today make training seem mysterious and magical, he feels good communication is no illusion, mystery or accident, it is the result of clear questions and answers, asked the same way every time, yielding the same answer every time. By building a common language in the form of simple math equations (1+1(always)=2, 3+5(always)=8) even the most scattered fragile horses (and humans) can learn given enough time and patience without blowing up or flunking out. He concedes not every horse will win the Open Bridle class in Reno, but every horse can enjoy the luxury of always knowing the right answer to the questions his rider asks. Every horse can become a willing confident partner in his program!

You can imagine how super excited I am to find this person who can mentor me both in my horsemanship and in my teaching on a big picture/conceptual level plus help me achieve greater results in my current direction of personal growth - the reining and the working cowhorse! After last weekend, I brought home the foundation of his program (his 1,2,3) and started experimenting with it on our horses both in the saddle and in my teaching - awesome results! I went back this weekend and found more refinement and a greater sense of understanding - can't wait to continue on our horses! D. John called me this morning to ask if I could show a fancy young hunt seat horse for him in Latta Park. I told him about what I was doing, he loves progress and has preached for years about keeping things simple and never sacrificing your ethics for a class or a client. He has led me for years, teaching how to help more horses (of various minds) reach higher goals. He is phenomenal with horses in general, but especially fragile ones. I quickly explained the 1,2,3 foundation and he could already see the possibilities. I'm going over to his house Wednesday to show him this new stuff and to ride this filly he wants me to show. I am excited about that too!

I better get you some updates because we went to the Summer APHA World Show and did amazing! Plus we have had loads of great camp! I have much to update!

7/31/09 Great camp week comes to a close with pouring rain. We got lots done and had much fun! Thank you to everyone who participated and who helped!

7/30/09 I presented the Spotlight ideas to the kids and boy did they run with them! We will cause PNH to raise the bar on both horsemanship and showmanship! We are pumped!!!!

7/26/09 I got home from Rick's with a couple hours to rest before going to the Lynrd Skynrd/Kid Rock concert. After the LONG drive I think Kid Rock is the only person who could have gotten me revved up and moving again. WOW! They were awesome! LS was as great as the legend implies; Kid Rock knocked it out of the park with sound, lights, visual graphics, energy - you name it! He was off-the-chain! I am inspired to do a kick-butt Savvy Spotlight with the kids in Florida at the final Parelli Celebration after experiencing that!

7/23/09 We vetted and bought Tommy a horse to learn to jump on today! He is a 9 yr bay tobi gelding, super cute, super quiet, super trained over the jumps! I'm excited for him to have his own project horse to learn new things on! After jumping Clark, he seemed to be enjoying himself. Now he has one to take in the fall to show in the Hunter Hack in Ft Worth. I'm so happy for him!

7/19/09 Took Dixon to TN to meet Rick. Got him off the trailer and hopped right on. Rick found our holes in minutes, he got on and showed me the holes. I was disappointed I didn't do better, but a big dose of reality is good for us all. I'm looking forward to the journey ahead ....

7/18/09 Good open show here at the farm. Mary Roddy did a great job judging as usual. Boy are we tired from the show and camp. I think we will get some sleep before leaving for TN.

7/14/09 We have an awesome group at camp this week! We are getting lots done! We even did a trailer loading on a difficult horse (who did beautifully) and saddled and sat on that horse for the first time too! Cool experiences for all to enjoy! We are blessed with a wonderful life!

7/11/09 I am proud of Bekah and Roxy who were just 3rd in the NC State Show in the trail out of 40 riders! Yeah Bekah! May the force be with you!

7/9/09 I am grateful Frosty seems like he is going to make it. Pearl kicked him, cut his face, broke his sinus, gave him a concussion but he woke up later!  He is coming home tomorrow. Thank u God!

7/7/09 I got to go watch Will play in a golf tournament in Rock Hill today. He was wonderful! Shot a 69! I'm so proud!

I do think there was some sort of ripple in reality today though. When I arrived I couldn't find Will so I sat up by the clubhouse waiting for him and looking for a kind face to maybe give me some direction. I waited 2 hours without anyone ever speaking or anything, needless to say I was pretty depressed and about to leave when I heard these teenage girls sitting behind me say 'Look there's Will'. And just like that things began to change. It was Will and his 2 partners for the day hitting up onto the green in front of me. I was so happy! Following them were the 2 other moms, so I joined right in with them. They were darling and made me feel welcome and comfortable as we walked and chatted. Will was doing really well and they were impressed with his game. I was delighted to get to see him play and feel a part of our little group. In the midst of our happy moment, Will's dad drives up on a golf cart and starts shooting off questions I couldn't answer. I was frozen for a moment, but the other 2 moms with whom I was now bonded, jumped right up to my defense. "Who are you? His coach or something?" they spouted. Both his dad and I were silenced. You must know that his dad is 24 yrs older than I am, and we have not been together since 1993, therefore we have not dealt with the age thing in 16 yrs.

We both stumbled out that he was Will's dad, which received the appropriate looks from the moms who had grown fond of me. All of a sudden Will's dad wanted me to ride with him in the golf cart. I didn't initially understand, after all we have done much to avoid any contact for 16 yrs and all I've heard is unpleasantness - now you want me in your golf cart - what's the trick? When I cautiously sat down, it became apparent he had 2 motivators - 1). Now my younger status was looking good to him and he seemed to enjoy it (go figure). 2). He had some things he wanted me to do.

One must understand the background to fully appreciate this break from reality. When we were married my age was an issue and much was required of me to not look so young (perhaps when you are 20 you have that effect - looking young), secondly, my strong personality was the demise of the relationship. I require a long rope shall we say, if you try to hold me short or keep me in 'jail' I will bust/act out. Tommy does a great job of giving me plenty of slack (and maybe I'm not quite as wild as I was either), I stay beautifully behaved; when I was married before the rope was so short and tight inside a tiny claustrophobic jail, that I came completely untrained on a regular basis. Finally I cut that rope .....

Anyway all of a sudden his dad starts talking about how great it is that Will has my personality! He starts talking about passion and the ability to hyper focus (things that were not highly prized in me before) and how those traits have brought Will to this elite level in golf. He explained how I needed to talk to Will and push him to take his golf more seriously (although his dad did say Will practices 6 days a week now) so he can achieve all there is for him in the sport. His dad explained how Will has the talent to possibly play professionally with the right focus and dedication, that same focus and dedication I have for the horses.

You must understand these were not positive traits the last time we fought about them, and I had no words....

His dad explained Will does fine in school, does what he needs to, but could do much better if he applied himself more (that sounded a little familiar), but I needed to push and inspire him to take his golf as seriously as I had taken the horses at his same age.

I caught my breath and started to explain to his dad that nobody can push you to be like this, it is from inside of you. A compulsion to achieve, that gets in the way of a normal life much of the time. I will certainly support Will if he is as focused and motivated as I am, but anything more than that will cause him to sull up at best, spit it all out at worst. Will needs to pull this wagon, not me. We can make it easier and keep things fixed up for him, but he must do the pulling himself.

Whether his dad heard anything I said or not, is irrelevant. I cannot believe I lived long enough to see the day that he appreciated those qualities in me. Never give up, eventually if people look hard enough, they will 'get' you....

7/6/09 I am caught completely off-guard by the new woman living in my Indian Land house with Rapheal claiming to be his fiance and to be pregnant with his child. I only left for 2 weeks? How could this have happened that quickly? I will give her a chance. After all I'd love to control everyone around me, but alas I cannot, and I must allow everyone the love of their choice. We shall see how she fits into our happy family.

7/5/09 I am excited because Bekah and Roxy were 6th out of 37 in the Showmanship at the SC State 4H Show! There are over 700 horses in the show! Congratulations Bekah!

6/20/09 We just got the news that Woody got really weak and tired last night and had to lie down. He was too sick to get back up so he was helped peacefully to sleep. It was a very difficult decision for his family, but he was suffering, it was the right thing to do. The vets explained this was the 'Barbaro Syndrome', the stress of all the medication and pain was too much for his body. Everything possible was done for him. He is deeply loved by all our family and will be greatly missed! Please think about his family today....

6/19/09 We have had a really crazy busy week getting ready to leave for Fort Worth Monday. The predictable pressure hit me last Sunday like a lead weight. Every year I know the moment I realize its about to happen, this huge pressure comes down on my shoulders (freaky really). Makes me grateful for the rest of my life that doesn't have that immense pressure. Is that what normal people feel who complain about, or get sick from stress? Wow! It is real, I can see how it is much to bear if it were not for something wonderful like this.

Practice has gone great this week with everyone! I think we are really ready to go and do our best! I'm super excited to take this team out there and show them off to the world!

Ben Snipes stopped by this morning to offer me an opportunity. He lives a few miles from here, he owns the farm that hosted the rodeo 2 weeks ago. He has just started a Cowboy Church on Thursday evenings. After our PK performance he thinks we would be a great addition to involve and inspire more people to come and hear the Word! I'm so excited and so flattered that we embody that picture to him (and the others that saw us perform). He told me he received numerous compliments and questions about us after we performed. He said everyone LOVED it! He said they were quiet because they had never seen anything like our routine and they were amazed. He wants me to give him some dates that we can come and do special activities and performances for the Cowboy Church. He will advertise and get more people in to see us and get involved. I think this is an amazing opportunity that we must follow. What greater compliment than this? If our 'true' mission is to inspire and reach people in this way - what a wonderful positive purpose! Think of not only the adults, but also all the children we can reach! I am the first to admit I'm not the 'normal' perfect 'church' leader, but if 'church' is about doing your best to live your life in a positive way, and admitting when you make mistakes and doing your best to fix those, I think I could do that. The doors that open when you do try to live 'right' are amazing!

Woody has had a very hard week this week. All the medication, stress and pain are taking their toll on our little buddy. He is strong, but it is getting really hard. He had to go back to Greenock because his fever had shot up again and we fear laminitis in the other hind foot. Barbaro has been referenced several times. They are excellent doctors and everything that can possibly be done for him is being done as we speak. Keep praying.

6/14/09 We just finished a whirlwind week of Summer Camp finishing with a great Open Show.

Camp went great in Lancaster! We had a small group - 8 people - but it was super fun! I drove back and forth picking up, delivering and teaching in Indian Land, it actually went just fine. We had 2 great guest demo/speakers, lots of riding, great food and tons of fun! Thank you to everyone!

The show went great! We had very few of our lesson people participating, but Honeysuckle Farm and many others came and filled the classes beautifully! We had to split both the Novice Walk-Trot and the Novice Walk-Trot-Canter. My dear friend Laura Pettler stepped up and did a beautiful job judging for us! Big thanks to her!

Woody went back to Greenock after Arden because his ankle swelled terribly after the show. They re-ultrasounded and found a huge area that needed surgery. He had a big surgery to remove a huge area of necrotic tissue including 40% of his tendon. They think it was a snake bite. What a horrible place to get it! He is home and doing well in a cast. Please pray for him!

6/7/09 What a great weekend! Several of us got to go to The Tack Room in Camden, SC today to shop! Charlotte needed a bunch of new clothes so we bit the bullet and drove the the Mecca of all english tack stores to get her stuff. Summer summed it up well when we walked in "WOW! This place is huge!!!!" It is an absolutely beautiful large store, filled with tack, clothes, furniture, accessories, jumps and much more. I would highly recommend The Tack Room to anyone who needs good stuff! The prices are really good too! They have a huge Sale Room filled with all types of items ... the sales are awesome, but their regular prices are great too so we bought from the regular side of the store. We had a super time!

On our way home we drove by Riverside Ranch and saw the sign that said they were having a rodeo Friday and Saturday nights. We decided to go. We called a few friends, put it on Facebook and drove on in. The owner of Riverside, Ben Snipes, greeted us warmly and gave us a private tour. We enjoyed seeing his new baby mules! They were beautiful and made us want one for our farms! We chose seats and soon the Sandalls, Woschkolups, Fishers and more met us in the bleachers. As we were watching the cattledog demo I got the idea that they needed to let us perform on Saturday night! I jumped down and headed off to make that happen. After a bit of fast talking, the rodeo organizers agreed to let us come the next night and do our thing, trusting me that it would be a great addition to their show (since none of them had ever seen us perform). I returned to the stands full of adrenaline and excitement. We started calling and texting to assemble the PK team in less than 24 hrs for a huge gig.

It was like a beacon in the night sky, the texts started returning and nearly every original varsity member could do it! Savannah Parks agreed to fill the one spot that was vacant. We all met a FPF at noon Saturday, practiced like we had been practicing every week since our last demo in Pelzer (months ago).  We moved to the rodeo right on time and took over with our pink shirts and confidence.

After warming up quickly, our music came on and we went into demo mode. Everything went beautifully, but the crowd was a bit quiet. I couldn't understand why they were so quiet (later Ben told me they were mesmerized and didn't know what to do). We even brought the minis and did our freestyle reining to 'Swing' with an old friend, Tim Adams, standing in (or sitting in) for Tommy at the end. It went fast (to me) and we felt good when we were done! I got MANY lovely compliments from all sorts of people, I think we reached an entirely new group of people - great!

We had several people stop by the farm Sunday to ask questions. Seems like nobody knows we are here - we need signs! It was well worth the effort to get it together! Thank you to everyone!

6/1/09 We went to the Arden APHA 2 judge show this weekend.... it went great! Everyone did well! Congratulations to all our winners including Bekah who was Res High Point Nov Youth All-Around!

We had a weird thing happen this week. Woody came in with a horribly swollen ankle and could hardly walk. Ben took him right away to Greenock Vet Hospital for treatment and things look good. He showed well on Sunday, doing great in the trail.

5/25/09 Things have been rolling very fast here. First Julie is greatly improved. Thank you so much for all your prayers, again they brought our little darling home. It was not certain which of the two maladies she actually had, it took over a week for 'her' to come back into the tiny shell we call Julie. Although not all the way back, she was howling yesterday morning and her tail has come back up - we are quite pleased!

The Union Co Saddle Club Show went well this weekend. I got to go with my adorable younger group who have been working hard on their horses. I was especially excited that Charlotte got to come, and even got to spend the night with Savannah the night before! We had a super group, Charlotte, Alexis, Cameron, Amy, Savannah, Gracie, Zoe, Avery, Madison, Jennifer and Emma. Everyone arrived Friday to wash and groom their horses and everyone was on time Saturday morning to leave meeting at 6:30am. Fred Cloniger came Friday night to fix Roxy and Dixon's shoes and ended up reshoeing Sassey who was sore from long toes. It took so long that my scheduled trip to go shopping with Charlotte to get tall boots, pants and a show shirt didn't happen. I was so grateful when Avery offered her old (but really nice) tall boots and pants to her. Bekah brought her a shirt and Charlotte looked great and I was out of the doghouse - THANK YOU AVERY AND BEKAH!

Everyone showed well. It was a big show so the ribbons were tough to get. We got our share but competition was super tough! We talked about ways to really stand out with grooming, tack cleaning, and personal turnout. I think it was a wonderful learning experience even more than a winning show. We all need things to keep us looking forward and striving for more. Charlotte won a 2nd and a 3rd, Cameron got some really good prizes, Zoe and Marley really stood out too. Congratulations to everyone who went and showed so well!

5/18/09 Tommy took a group to Charleston while I was in Williamston. They were super successful! Madison won the high point all-around award in both the Novice Youth and the 13 & Under! I wasn't there but Tommy said she was amazing! Emily gave a great show as well, the jumping pictures of her on FB were wonderful! The biggest story coming from Charleston was reguarding the dogs. Dogs had to be leashed to keep them from being eaten by the alligator! Apparently there was an alligator who patrolled the show at night (mostly), his footprints were all up in the barns. Organizers were very strict about keeping dogs contained to keep them safe. Robin and Madison went to the edge of the lagoon and got pictures of the alligator for her Face Book page, check it out!

5/17/09 I met Craig Johnson and his family this weekend at the Carolina NRHA (National Reining Horse Association) Derby in Williamston, NC. With Julie in capable hands, I could go and concentrate on learning as much as possible. Pulling in I was really surprised by how packed the show was. There were trailers everywhere! Nearly all the stalls were 'rented', but the stall lady got me a stall in the same barn as Craig's stalls. I found Craig, his wife Lynn, daughter Sarah, boss Bob and helper Travis. They invited me to go to dinner with them. Craig was excited because he had qualified 3 horses for the finals the next day, and both girls had qualified their horses too. It left them 1 rider short to school them that night. He asked if I wanted to help, what a silly question! We originally scheduled to ride at 12am, to avoid a big crowd, but when it was still too crowded, Craig pushed our time to 2am. We all got up, saddled horses and hit the arena still filled with at least 30 other horses and riders. Craig asked me to work on 'my' horse loping off softly on the left lead because the slow circle was first. Apparently the past few patterns they had run had fast circles first, so Denero had to be prepared to go slow first. I was also to keep him really soft in the bridle and work on stretching his head and neck down. How perfect was that job for me?! Craig always finds things I'm good at when he asks me to ride, it does make me feel confident and helpful. After he rode the others he got on Denero and I walked and softened his while he worked mine on the fast stuff. It was early but it was awesome watching and riding with these incredibly talented riders!

We got done and washed horses and put them away. Craig's wife Lynn has details that I never knew reiners (or anyone else) did. We washed the horses with EQ, a 'blaster' system that Jerry Stanford introduced us to many years ago. After rinsing and conditioning manes and tails, she had us spray them with this pink coat conditioner stuff (these horses have gorgeous coats) then brush their bodies so their hair would lie perfectly. After we were done we left them all loose to relax before all of us were to meet again at 4pm to get ready for the classes that night. I slept a while, then got up and fed Dixon. I walked up to watch some youth classes and ran into my old friend Doug Meador from Knoxville. He used to show at our APHA shows in the reining and cowhorse classes when I showed Angel. He spent several hours one night at lower Arden helping me turn her around better. He now lives in VA and had driven with a friend to the show to watch. We hung out and watched for about an hour, before I decided to get out and ride Dixon.

I was very intimidated to ride with these people. This was probably the biggest group of super-talent I had ever been around. Every horse slid 30 feet every time, they all spun like blurs, they all ran circles wide open with perfect bends and head carriages - they were unbelievable! My ride was less than stellar, but I think my issues were company related. If I had been in my regular APHA or even NRCHA group, I would have felt fine. It was a real reality check - whenever you get feeling a bit stronger in something, immerse yourself with a group of people this much greater and more consistent and you will see how far you have left to travel. It was inspiring and I saw that if I could ride with these talented folks, I would be just fine in my other shows.

We met at 4pm, I had brushed all the horses and gotten the shavings out of their manes and tails before they arrived. Craig gave me a schedule for the horses along with which headstalls, pads and number. When everyone arrived it became a regular pressure-filled horse shoe scene. Amazing how no matter what you do it all feels the same at that level. I saddled, sprayed, rubbed, whatever I could do to help. They were real professionals at preparing their mounts to look great. They even had covers over their perfect white polos and different hind boots for the show arena (from the practice arena). Craig had great mental prep. We went in to watch and sat right on the center line. He stared straight ahead, not really watching the riders. I noticed but said nothing. Sarah and Lynn had given me a pep talk earlier about how quiet he got when he showed and how not to take it personally. They were very sweet but I've been around a bunch of horse shows, and helped a bunch of people, he was as quiet and focused as any other successful competitor. Anyway when we walked out he explained if he watches the center line (with 'soft eyes') he can see the riders showing but not precisely. He can imagine it is him and visualizes each run on each horse. Very cool!

Sarah and Lynn showed in the Non-Pro Derby Finals first. Lynn did well, but Sarah  and her Superman were amazing! I was taken back at how wide open they showed their horses. At this level you cannot be conservative about anything.  When Craig went to show the horse I rode in the morning was first. All dressed up in show tack, he looked great! It truly brought tears to my eyes watching him show. I had never seen anyone go that fast in a reining pattern. He slid so far and deep, dirt was all over the saddle and saddle pad, up in his ears, everywhere; his hocks were sliding across the dirt! I was surprised when he only scored a 118 1/2, it looked way better to me. I walked out and washed each horse after it showed. I was happy to have a job and proud to be helping Craig and his family. The next horse looked like the penultimate reiner, buckskin/dun with mane way down below his neck. I met Craig at the gate with him when I took Denero to cool off. Craig puts so much time and precision in warming up each horse as an individual. He preps each one for the pattern they are about to run. After he is ready he moved up to us for his pit-crew grooming. They have a can of gum in the grooming bag and they get a fresh piece each run. Apparently one time Craig's mouth got dry and he ran down and said 'whoa' but nothing came out. He stopped but not as well as he could have, so since then he chews gum to keep his mouth wet. This colt really burned it up but only scored 118 1/2 too. The leading score was 124. Craig's owner was putting on the pressure when he came out. I just rode the horse around cooling it off. His owner wanted more speed in all the manuevers. Craig came out and gave it more and although not quite as clean scored a 118. His owner said he got paid for the speed.  I was amazed at the speed of everyone, this is not a sport for the faint of heart.

After everyone was washed and put away, they invited me to go out for a drink with them. Craig thanked me for working so hard and said he would help me after we joined everyone for 1 drink. After midnight (they didn't get done showing until after 10pm) we rode back over and he  gave me a wonderful lesson. I couldn't believe he helped me that late. He had to leave at 5am to fly back to TX in the morning so there was no time Sunday. I was really impressed he saw the effort I put out for them, so he reciprocated by helping me - I appreciated it so much!

He helped me on my circles, when he drifts pull him in the ground and do a 360 away from the drift and start again; on my spins, get him turning off the rein only, I had him waiting for my leg to begin the turn; and on my stops, my horse was getting too down in his front end and that's why he misses some stops, straightness and balance in the approach is what gets a great stop. It was wonderful and Craig is brilliant. He is a great teacher, giving you only what you can comprehend and do. I'm certain when I et these things better, there will be a host of new things to work on. Reining at that level is one of the most challenging horse sports I have ever seen! I can see by hanging out with and learning from super successful people at this level, I will achieve much at the level I show.

5/14/09 We had a shock today when our precious Julie staggered up the barn aisle wet and dirty with her head twisted hard to the right. I scooped her up and rushed her to the vet. Dr Kurtsinger was quite stumped but felt she had idiopathic vestibular disease, a problem usually occuring in older dogs, not 2 yr olds like her. It is characterized by head tilt, eyes shaking, vertigo, nausia and ataxia. It usually resolves in 72hrs - 3wks with only a head tilt left. Apparently many dogs are put to sleep because of the severity of the symptoms. He sent us to the emergency vet in Charlotte for a brain scan. When I arrived I was visibly upset. Avery's mom was there and was amazing! She sweeped me back into a room and took care of everything! I REALLY appreciated her sympathy and excellent care - thank you Laura!

Dr Berman there felt it could be trama as well. Trama seemed the more obvious answer since she runs constantly and runs into things occasionally not paying attention. It would be easy for her to be kicked or hit by a horse too. They put her on IV fluid support to observe her overnight. When we called later they said basically no change from the limp, twisted little baby we took in. Poor Jules, please pray for her. I would expect if it were only a kick, she would be snapping out of it faster than this. I will update as soon as we hear something. Thank you for all your understanding and well wishes, we need them right now, please!

5/13/09 I had a wonderful day today! I was pleasantly surprised with our new horseshoers. I will first repeat, Bryan and Brad are doing a fabulous job, they are still doing the majority of my shoeing including my beloved Skip. But as you know, I am a very progressive thinker and I'm always searching for new things to maximize our performance. My reiner Dixon was not living up to my dreams for him, so he was the first horse I tried when I found Healthy Stride and Jim Crew.

As many of you know, Jim Crew is the farrier for Pat and Linda Parelli, the only farrier. His background is actually in walking horses which sounds completely unlike anything we do, but wait it is more than you think. In his years showing and competing at the highest levels, Jim developed ways to enhance his horses' movement and performance through pads, shims and wedges. Thid doesn't sound like a big stretch because most walking horse people work with pads every day - but Jim looked at them in a different way. He noticed how as little as a 16th of an inch pad could move a shoulder up or forward a whole inch. He started observing horses in motion, then observing the characteristics at rest that seemed to create deviations from a perfect stride (like paddling or rope walking). He found a pattern with these problems like horses that paddle/wing out in front are usually toed in, horses that rope walk/move really narrow behind are usually much higher on the inside half of their feet. He developed shims and wedges to correct these issues after proper trimming. That was really cool to me, but he doesn't aim to just correct foot flight issues, he aims for total balance over the entire horse. He looks at the horse as a series of 'A' frames and arches. He sees the horse, very simply put, as a table who can be either in perfect balance or easily get out of balance. He says when a leg is shorter on a table, he folds a napkin and slips it under the shorter leg to level the table. He applies that same therory  to his shoeing. He does and extensive evaluation of the horse from many different angles, then uses pads under his/her feet to achieve perfect balance. It is amazing! And the most difficult horses to shoe (ones I've had to heavily tranquilize to stand to be shod) can be done without any drugs, slowly the first time, but much faster in subsequent shoeings.

Jim offers shoeing clinics all over the country where he invites horses and local farriers. He evaluates the horses and works with the local farriers to develop a plan and shoe them for perfection. We attended our first clinic in Feb or March at Nancy Smith's farm in Lake Wylie. We took 5 horses and had great results. His hind feet are the best change, it helped every horse we applied it to. Bryan and Brad have been able to reproduce the hind shims great as well! The front feet were done with Natural Balance shoes, and some of that is a bit extreme for our needs. To me it can rob too much foot and not give quite enough platform for jumping (or truly landing from a jump). The idea is it speeds up the breakover and moves the stride further forward, it works. When we went back two weeks ago to our second clinic I (I was in NY) sent Bryan Fisher with instructions about creating a bigger foot to slow down the breakover so our pleasure horses could get the benefit from his ideas.  He was incredibly open and embracing of the ideas I sent. I am very pleased with the shoeing that was done.

After Dixon's first shoeing with Jim, Dixon was so improved it was like I was riding a totally different horse. He had, before the shoeing, a natural bend in his body to the right (shoulder float to the left), after putting a pad under his right front foot, he had a slight bend to the left (shoulder float to the right). This was easier for me to ride because after breaking my back I have more feeling in my right leg than my left. When he drifts into it, I can straighten him easily. It made for a wonderful 7 weeks. When he went back Jim reevaluated Dixon and determined his left front need the pad this time. Unfortunately for me it created a big drift in his shoulder to the left - I had trouble riding it. I even had to step my bridle back up to try to put him back together. So after I struggled a bit with him at Latta, I decided to contact Jim to see if we could change him again.

Lee Ann, Jim's coodinator, gave me his number and I called him today. He was amazing! He took a break from shoeing Pat's horses (he is in Colorado with Pat and Linda) to talk to me for nearly an hour. I explained my issue and he was really open and understanding. He had told me he padded Aspen differently for Caton, Pat's son (who had a stroke); than he pads him for Pat. I asked if once we got our horses level, could we tweek them for individual riders strengths and weaknesses - he said YES! He was really excited that we had grasped the concepts so well and were on to the next level. He said I needed to get Fred Cloniger (the shoer who actually shod Dixon both times under Jim's guidance) to come back out and reevaluate and change his pads as needed. It was after 3pm so I was worried I would have a problem getting Fred out (its Wed) before I have to go Friday morning to Williamston to ride with Craig this weekend. I called Fred, he said he would be out after lessons.

Fred arrived during our final advanced lesson. I was actually teaching the kids about reading their horses shoeing needs from their backs. I explained the bend/shoulder float and how we could change that with a pad under a front foot. I had them assess which way their horses bent/drifted and what foot did they eel needed a pad. Fred was amazed that we had lessons on this, but we are looking for maximum performance so why not? After the lesson we went inside to look at Dixon.

Jim had also said when we get the horse as close as Dixon is to level, he can change within 2 weeks dramatically enough to need adjustment. So we talked about what was going on and chose to remove the pad from his left front foot. After removing it, I took him out and rode him. Amazing the difference! He was wonderful! If you have ever had problems with your horse drifting or overbending in a direction - there is a fix! I am so excited about now having the ability to read  not only my horses but also the kids' horses to fix them up specifically for them! Wouldn't everyone want a horse created to enhance their strengths and to diminish their weaknesses?

Fred Cloniger 704-860-1805

5/12/09 Hi! What a beautiful day ahead! I love this warm weather! I was touched by all the people who mentioned to me that they missed our current news updates. I'm so sorry I haven't been updating often enough, I've been on Farm Town on Face Book. It is completely addictive and super fun. I encourage all of you to get on FB and 'friend me', I will send you a gift to get on Farm Town, and you too can enjoy the fun!

We went to Latta Park this weekend for a paint show. Everyone was a star - too many to even remember - I was blinded by their light! Madison won a ton in the Hunter Under Saddle, Avery was the big winner in the Hunter Hack, Courtney really shined in the Equitation and Horsemanship, Jessica and Bekah blew them away in Trail. Natalie really improved her patterns, and Jennifer Weiss had an impressive Horsemanship debut. Nadine stepped up and did a good job in the Trail, Emily was super and surprised us all with her Equitation pattern. Jennifer Paschal arrived from her first month with Clark at home, we were all impressed with her performance. Gilbert, her new baby, was as big and as quiet as one would hope of Clark's little brother. Jessica Weiscarver had consistently good performances this weekend on the flat and over fences proving to us that she will go to Fort Worth even stronger than last year. Even Zoe and Nancy brought their horses to the show to ride around and get experience, I think they both had a great time and are a step closer to showing at an APHA show.

It was fun and the weather was good and hot, at least until the torrential rain hit Saturday afternoon, it was over quickly and our stars shown brightly in the games too. I was proud of our entire group - super job!

5/7/09 Wow! It has been a whole month! My friend Blake sent me a text last night requesting a current news update. I promised I would but I thought he was exaggerating about it being a month since I had updated.

Lots has happened, but the biggest reason I haven't been here is that my Verizon air card broke and I had quite a time getting it replaced. Now I have a new one, all is well!

MRSA - This week has been filled with my personal battle with the staph infection MRSA. I got what we think was a spider bite a year ago, it turned into a horrible case of MRSA. I waited much too long to go to the doctor (go figure) and ended up missing nearly a week of work. Unfortunately it has kept popping up on my leg. Well a spot came up last week on the side of my knee that I was unsuccessful in treating. The first time I received my antibiotics, I noticed they were SMZ tablets. They looked exactly like our horse SMZ, so each time it popped up I took SMZ from our big bottle for the horses. Seemed effective and timesaving, I avoided to doctor visit and was healed. But this time it was only getting worse. So Monday I went back to my Dr Kumar to get stronger antibiotics. He couldn't believe I had been taking horse pills, maybe he couldn't believe I was admitting taking horse pills, either way he said I needed stronger pills (novel idea). He then explained if it wasn't better by Friday I would have to go to the hospital to have it opened up and debrided. That sounded really scary, so I requested that we just open it today. He reluctantly got a square gauze and went to work. OMG it hurt so bad! I think he was especially squeezy since I 'made' him do it instead of waiting for the surgeon. After he was done my red MRSA spot had turned dark purple and was bleeding. It was effective, however, by the time I returned home Tommy said it looked much better. I talked to Dr Kumar about some other aggravating symptoms I'd been having. He said we needed to test for Diabetes and Thyroid problems. I had to fast 8 hours before the test, so I went back on Wednesday and got the blood drawn. My appointment to get the results isn't until Monday. Low thyroid would be a great result because the synthroid would give me much more energy and really help me with this horrible weight gain. We shall see...

I posted on my Facebook page about my MRSA and got quite a supportive response. Meg Sadak (a mom at my barn) even came out and brought me some cream that her daughter had used on her own MRSA. Meg explained to me that there are 2 different kinds of MRSA. The horrible deadly kind comes from the hospital where everything is cleaned and bleached constantly. For it to survive after that, it is really a superbug. The Community MRSA is less intense. It lives everywhere and it can be effectively treated. That information soothed my worry - thank you Meg!

It is Thursday and the Bactrim they prescribed combined with this cream has nearly eliminated the spot. I was not going to another horseshow like the one last year. My leg swelled so much I couldn't get my pants on to show. After that I realized this was serious and needed to be addressed early.

Last weekend my friends Carol and Wik flew to NY with me to see Craig Johnson's Grand Opening at his new Santa Hill Ranch. Although I wasn't clear about when we needed to arrive (we missed the first half of Saturday), Carol did an amazing job of getting everything in order from our flights, hotel rooms and rental car. Thank you Carol! The barn was incredible! Nothing ostentatious, just beautiful and perfectly functional! The stalls even had 'mattresses' in them. Under the mats were these inflatable things like pool floats, filled with shredded rubber. When you stepped into the stalls it was like standing on a pillow and it was interesting with all the activity going on, many horses were lying down sleeping while we were there. The owner of the ranch, Bob, said he had never seen horses sleep as much until they got these stalls finished. I'm curious and want to find out more about these. Bob said they were about $1,000/stall.

Craig presented an amazing clinic with Scott McKutchen and Shawn Flarida (the #1 reiner in the world)! I was disappointed that I was not invited to ride in the afternoon portion before I saw the people who did ride in it. They were really good! They also got their butts worked off! Dixon and I would not have been fit enough or nearly fast enough to keep up. I was grateful Craig didn't invite me to ride Saturday after seeing how hard everyone was working. It was super educational to watch and I learned a ton! Probably the biggest two things were, they are putting much more 'bend' in everything, as compared to what Craig presented to us in our clinics the past couple years. The second thing was about speed - I have to go faster! My fast circles are too slow and I saw how fast I really needed to be. I am cautious because Dixon tries to change leads every time he goes through the center, I saw the fix for that too. Now I can really move without fearing an unintentional lead change.

Sunday was filled with paid practices. Each  rider got 10 min in the arena just like they were showing to school their horse. We arrived early so we wouldn't miss anything, but we got there way early. Craig had strongly requested a birthday present, so I had gotten him an iPod shuffle and loaded it with the music I use to get pumped up and focused to show. Anyone who really knows me, knows what was on that iPod, a combo of Kid Rock, AC/DC, Bon Jovi, Guns and Roses, David Allen Coe, Waylon Jennings, Hank Jr and much more. Craig seemed shocked when I presented the gift to him, I think he didn't expect I would really get him something. He said he loves all sorts of music, even some opera. I told him there was definitely no opera, but I hoped he enjoyed it anyway. His wife Lynne grabbed it and passed it to his daughter Sarah who thanked me for it. She said she would have to fix it for him. I am waiting to hear what he thinks .... not sure what his response will be.

Carol and Wik decided to run to the general store to get a sandwich when nothing was happening, I chose to stay there. After they left Craig approached me and asked if I would like to ride. Of course I wanted to, but I only had clogs so he loaned me his boots and Sarah loaned me her spurs. They had a lovely girl who got 'my' horse ready and I was out in the arena. Craig is so smart! He gave me the mare he had demonstrated on the day before and asked me to ride her like a pleasure horse. He said she was a little nervous and tight, he wanted me to soothe her around. I breathed a sigh of relief because I could really do that! She was a delight! This mare was so broke that I could put her anywhere I wanted to. He wanted her to go around with her head down and slow - she really was quite good at it after a few minutes. Lynne came in on her horse and either looked at me or said something to me, I just blurted out, "Craig told me to ride her like a pleasure horse." Lynne hollered to Craig that she thought that was a fabulous idea and she wished it had been hers. Sarah chimed in and said it was a great idea too. That made me feel very happy and very comfortable as I rode amidst all the intense reiners. It was sooo fun! I stopped in the center to thank Craig and he introduced me to Scott who was sitting there on a horse. Craig said some very nice things about me, and we all had a good conversation about the state of our industry. Craig got back to work on Lynne's horse but Scott and I continued to talk. He explained that he does many paints and would be showing in the 3 yr old deal at the World Show in the summer. My wheels started turning and I told him I was showing in the reining and the cowhorse out there too.  He offered to help me while I was out there. He invited us to come to his farm in Gainesville, TX. I'm super excited! I am so grateful to get to know and work with these great horseman!

We had to get out so the paid practice could begin, so I grabbed a spot on the bleachers where I could both see the riders and hear Lynne's commentary. It was super informative and I feel much more prepared to show the next time! Carol got a call from a strange number while we were watching. She thought about no answering it, but then said it might be the airline. It was the airline, and they cancelled our flight from Newbern to Philadelphia. It would have been a panicky situation except I had my laptop and we Map quested the distance and had plenty of time to drive the 3 hrs to Philly. I offered to drive and we took off. We made it and turned in our car- with a  hefty fine for dropping it at a different airport - thanks Avis! I met a darling older lady from Kansas waiting there. We moved on to the gate and decided to wait the 2 more hours in a Chili's at the bar talking to the most interesting bartender. We moved to the gate about 30 min early to find everyone had already boarded and the plane leaving early. Good thing we got up and over there! When we pulled our boarding passes to get on the plane Carol's pass was gone - we were sweating it thinking we did not have time to go back and get another pass and still make the plane. Out of the blue the lady at the desk offered to print her a new one and we were off. The plane had few travelers on it (perhaps the others showed up at the time on the ticket and missed the flight) so we had a lovely roomy flight home. It was a wonderful weekend!

Jim

NCRA

Arden 4/17-19

4/7/09 It was cold and windy today. Not many riders or lessons. With all the rain and all the other stuff, you guys have gotten out of the habit of coming. Please come back! Please come any day you can! We have openings and need to have lessons to support all our horses and staff. I have been spending lots of time learning new stuff, I'm ready to share it with you! Please show up Mon-Thurs 4-8pm, we will give you a great lesson!

4/4/09 We had a great demo today! We even had some faces from the past like Lauren, Kayla, Amanda and Jane performing with us again ... it made me very happy! Everyone did a beautiful job! We even had some of our strong up and coming performers, Amy, Savannah, Alexis and Kirsten who brought minis from next door to add some comic relief. I had little faith the minis would behave but I was wrong. The girls and their vertically challenged partners were a huge hit! It all went great and I only had one nasty comment this year from the leader of the red people ... 'you horse (Skip after he had stood motionless for 20+ min for tiny children to pet and sit upon) is a danger to the public, you must move him behind the fence'. Last year she told me I had to pick up all our horses' manure by hand so her slipper-footed vaulters would not slip in the wet grass on our horses' poop. She actually told me to do it several times last year - things have improved :)

We had a great day! Thank you everyone for all your hard work and talent! You make me look good every day and I truly appreciate it!

4/3/09 We had an amazing demo team practice tonight. I was touched in a deep way by everyone's performance. The kids were so amazing with their horses, I was so proud to be their leader! I get down on the Parelli deal from time to time, nearly always because of the politics I see as completely ridiculous. But as I watched them playing with their horses, I saw the reason I'm in the program and why I'm out there promoting and supporting it on a daily basis. Great job you guys!

4/2/09 Another rainy day outside, I'm becoming physically sick from not working ... not to mention FAT ... I'm ready for some sunshine! We did put Missy and Baby Lewie outside for a few minutes, she was going stir crazy in the stall. They were so cute! Susan Sandall caught a couple pictures while I took video. I hope to get video posted soon.

4/1/09 Tommy and I left out last night around 8pm to go to Kentucky to pick up his mare Missy and her new foal. I drove through a bit of rain but we got to the London, Kentucky exit about 2:30am. My experience in KY hasn't been good so I felt really nervous and unready to go to sleep, but once we found a truck parking lot, hooked up Benji's generator and got the dogs inside the trailer, I felt just fine and fell asleep fast.

We got up around 7:30am and left for our friend Lew Jones' farm. Unfortunately the GPS was in a sarcastic mood and took us all around the world on the tiniest roads you can imagine. When we went from the one lane road with drop-offs on either side to the grass cow path, I was freaking out. Fortunately Tommy was driving this morning and he decided we had to back up this tiny road and turn around. We had to restart a few times but when we thought there was no hope left (we had tried to call several times), Tommy found the farm.

We pulled in and our friend was working his Australian Sheppard on his sheep. He gave us a working dog demo that was incredible! He then informed us about all the awards he had won with his stock dogs. We got to learn about the most unusual sheep I'd ever seen. They had 4 horns each (actually 1 even had 5 horns) and spots! Lew said they were a cross between Black Hawian, Jacob and 4-Horn Painted Desert sheep. He explained that the Jacob sheep were from the bible. Jacob was tending some sheep and he was told any sheep that had spots he could keep. So Jacob started collecting spotted sheep and now we have breeds with nearly all spotted sheep. I thought it was a cool story.

After watching the dog and the sheep, we went in to see our baby. The barn was beautiful with a brick floor and beautiful roses crafted from iron across the tops of every stall.

When we made it to the stall, there stood the most perfect little horse we had ever seen. Now I will say, it's like your own children, you always think they are beautiful - of course this one is ....

He was standing up looking right at us without a bit of fear. Lew went right in and moved him around to see us. He had told us he was a minimal sorrel and white tobiano colt. In the dark stall we could only see that he was much more loudly colored than we had expected. His markings are beautiful! He must have a tobiano and an overo gene; he has all the classic tobi stuff but also a blue eye, big white under his jaw and wild borders on his spots. He pricked his curled ears and looked 'through-the-bridle' at us and we were long gone!

I glanced at the time, which I realized had gotten away from me, and told everyone we needed to get on the road! His first trip out of the stall was precious, and Lew picked him right up and put him on the trailer even before Missy got on.

Our drive home was easy but long. We didn't get back until after 5pm and we were exhausted. We decided not to do lessons and came on home to settle him into his new stall. When he stepped off the trailer I saw a black spot on his foot and thought 'red horses cannot have black spots'. I asked Tommy if he thought he could be bay instead of sorrel. We started looking and sure enough, he is bay. Everyone who has ever bought or raised a horse can imagine all the dreams we are seeing for this little baby! We are so pleased and happy with our unexpected gift - Baby Lewie.

3/30/09 We had a wonderful weekend in Pelzer at the APHA show this weekend! Although the weather was lousy, at least it wasn't brutally cold - anything but that. It did pour rain all day Saturday and the wind tried to blow us away Sunday - but everyone doing so well made it all ok!

We took a huge group - 19 stalls - in this economy I can't believe it. Everyone was super good - all these new shoeing tricks we have learned recently are really paying off - I see big differences in all the horses we have used them on. I think I will stick with our regular front feet application with the addition of a pad on a low shoulder or a pair of pads on low withers, but the new deal on the hind feet is the total bomb! Jim Crew is a genius! We will improve a bunch of horses' performance with his ideas - thank you!

In no particular order -

Avery and Lacey were rock stars in the western! She has worked so hard to bring the two of them together ... it really showed in their rides this weekend! She got great placings and even greater compliments from all our friends! Avery even go good calls in the hunter under saddle Saturday; and wild fun with our FPF Outlaws in the games Sat night!

Jodie Strait joined our clan Friday night after a tough day in Clemson at the AQHA show. We should be incredibly grateful to still have such great numbers at our shows - Jodie was the ONLY novice amateur at the show! I had fun trying to ride her horse after a very brief warm-up Sunday - didn't go too well, but it was fun anyway. Ace is a lovely mare just trained completely differently from any of our horses and I felt like I had no steering or speed control. It turned out well because Jodie watched and knew she knew her mare's buttons and could have done much better. It empowered her to take her home with her and just show her herself! I'm very proud of her, I think everyone should get to live with and enjoy their own horses if they can. We can get them dialed in but nothing takes the place of that closeness of the team between a horse and its primary rider. Lots of our out-of-town clients gets to take their horses home at least a little each year, that daily riding makes a huge difference! If I could give Jodie or anyone some advice, it is to get out there and ride your horse as much as possible, you need this bond between the two of you to create a solid partnership.

Natalie had her debut on Woody in the novice youth and 13 and under this weekend and they far exceeded my expectations! They looked darling, and very grown-up with her in her new tall boots. Nat really focused and did her best, Woody did too. Give this dynamic duo a few more shows and they will be tough competition! Great job Nat!

Jessica Moore and Dakota were big stars again! With the change in his shoeing, he has improved dramatically! They were even Reserve High Point 14-18yrs All Around in their debut in 14-18! Great job!

Emily and Smoke had a great show! Their star shined brightly in the Hunter Hack - Congratulations! It keeps getting better!

Madison and Miss Kitty have hit a new high this year. They are performing at levels we never expected from either of them. Great job on all the progress you have made in the western (and with your emotional fitness)!

Jessica Wisecarver and Karson looked great in the hunter under saddle and in the equitation. Their greatest improvements were made in the hunter hack - Jessica has really stepped up and improved her riding to bring the best out in her horse. Great job!

Jennifer Paschal was super successful even though she wasn't feeling well this weekend. Jennifer and Clark always bring their 'A' game ... they are really the pair to chase in all the amateur events. I hope you feel better really soon!

Jennifer Weiss and Mello have been working on expanding their skills. They won their first western ribbons this weekend! They were as good as ever in the english, and we were proud of her progressive approach to creating a more versatile horse.

Courtney and her Boomer made their APHA debut this weekend. They did very well and even got their names called many times! They showed in both english and western events - allot to do on your first trip, but Courtney has been super successful in both 4-h and open show competition. Keep coming and you will conquer these too!

Bekah and Roxie had their best APHA show yet! They were great in all their events with big prizes in the western pleasure! All you hard work is paying off - keep the focus going - you are doing amazing!

Suzahn and Tuff had another good weekend. A fairly new show team (Suzahn got Tuff last summer) Suzahn and Tuff are developing into a competitive pair in both novice and the tough 14-18 yrs events! This team is about to really break out and kick some serious bottom!

Tommy showed Judy's gelding Chip this weekend with great success! They won the green trail and were second in the green western pleasure. Although he had a few baby mistakes in the regular classes, he was super good and we were very proud of all the progress he has made!

I took Dixon to show in the cowhorse and the reining. After another great weekend last week I was armed with new strategy. Joe told me last weekend that in the cowhorse we have to 'train' the cow. At the beginning in the boxing, we must train the cow to move, stop and turn both ways off of our horse. We have an opportunity here to feel how excited the cow is and blow off a bit of energy if we need to. My cow was pretty agreeable and followed my direction there pretty well. We then must drive the cow down the fence past the center marker, then turn him back into the fence both ways. I got him down the fence and we got a couple real good turns. After you get the cow to honor your horse at speed you must take it to the center and circle him both ways. When I drove him off the fence to circle he went willingly and I got him circled both ways before the whistle. Even Tommy thought it looked much more under control. I'm loving all this new stuff I'm learning! I was pretty excited running in for my dry work and missed my first stop, but all in all it was good enough to win and put my first 2 points on him! Madison and Jessica were really sweet and filled my reining class. They both did well. I was much calmer and Dixon did really well! We got all our stops, I need to work on my spins in the class, but I was pleased with the improvement! Thanks to the girls I put 2 reining points on him too.

We had a great weekend in spite of torrential rain Saturday and cold wind on Sunday. Great job everyone!

3/26/09 Tommy's mare had her baby! Boy Tommy was right it was coming soon! She had it last night ... a sorrel and white sorrel tobiano colt! We are so grateful the two of them are ok and that he was born in Kentucky ... who knew this would ever be a desirable place for me to go again! That God certainly is a jokester!

3/25/09 This has been a crazy day. I have been soaked and freezing, yet the rain seems to be mocking me. It comes and then it goes, making me question my judgment about cancelling lessons.

Our last puppy met his new mom and brother today. Ashley Myers drove down from Hickory to meet him and see if he was right for her. She loved him and I thought she was really awesome, so with a tear in my eye, I bid him farewell. She brought along her gorgeous long haired Chihuahua  so they could meet too. He was beautiful! This puppy will have a wonderful home with Ashley!

Yesterday I had an amazing ride on Randy Hunter's mare Lacey. She has been living with me now 2-3 months. When she came she was straight out of the pasture and had not been really worked with in some time. Brad had started her and had ridden her a few times but she still needed much work to be a safe partner. She has really changed and come around well. I had been riding her in a rope halter and decided yesterday to go ahead and try a snaffle. She did amazingly well. I walk/trot/cantered her all around the ring, even got some nice soft-feel and vertical flexion. Randy wanted her to progress into a show horse, I think there is one in there. I can even see a possible reining or cow horse ... No matter where she ends up, I'm super happy with her progress!

3/22/09 I got super lucky and got to go to Unadilla, GA this weekend to a NRCHA (National Reined Cow Horse Association) show. I love these shows for many reasons. First, I love the people! There are not a huge number of people at these shows, but the people who are there are super friendly, inviting, encouraging and just plain nice. They have gone way above and beyond to make me feel welcome and supported. Second, I love getting the chance to learn and broaden my knowledge from these talented people. To actually be able to successfully compete in these shows, one must be good at many things. You must be good at the reining and good at reading and handling cattle. These two things encompass huge expanses of information and technique, I am amazed at the sheer number of talented natural riders/trainers here. Third, I love the opportunity to go into something where I have so much to learn. I show in the Green Program they developed to help riders new to the sport get started in a less expensive (my classes are $75/ea versus $220/ea in the reg NRCHA classes) and more fun/less competitive/more supportive environment. It is super fun for me to go and show in something I'm not meant to be great at - I can just be me for better or worse - and these people are super accepting and always willing to offer help and support for me to improve. It is the environment I think we all wish all our shows could have! If anyone would like to go with me the next time, I'd love to be their door into this amazing group! Pat Parelli took me to this very show last year and I really appreciate that. I would love to do that for you!

Last night was freezing! I arrived around 11pm and the place was black! Everyone had gone to bed and I wasn't sure how I was going to find my stall. I used the light from my phone to go down row after row of stalls looking for my name on the stall front. I found it and finally found a light switch too. After getting Dixon set up in his stall I went out to try to find a hook-up. Every spot I backed into a spot my truck (still hooked up) was hanging way out blocking the road. I did not want to block anybody and get fussed at in the morning so I finally parked away from the barn and turned on Benji's generator which is still in the back of my truck from my trip to Florida. It started easily and I rug out the heavy cord and hooked it up so I would have heat and power. Well the heat worked about 10 minutes and then cut off. I didn't realize the weight of the cord pulled the cord out of the generator because the lights will work either off of electricity or off the battery. So when the heat came on, then went off and the lights were still working, I didn't realize the cord had slipped out turning off the electricity. The trailer was 51 degrees by the time I got up, I was so grateful to have Bella and Frosty to keep me 'warm'.

I got up and fed, found my hook-up, rode until they closed the pen and talked to my friends Allison and Doug with whom I was stalled. Allison and Doug are awesome people! I met them 5 or 6 years ago when my friend Joey McCray (sp) was helping me with Angel. Joey works out of their farm in Anderson SC. They are also good friends with a couple of my heroes and friends, Poag and Linda Reid too. After they cleared the pen I went up and at down to watch and learn. I was a little bummed that neither Joey (he was at an AQHA show in Clemson) nor Rick Steed  were there. I enjoy hanging out with hem, and I always learn so much listening to them.

I proceeded to the office to enter when Tommy called in a panic. Although his broodmare had been checked not in foal a month or two ago, she approached him this morning with a huge milk bag! The past few week he had noticed that her topline had become thinner and attributed it to the spring grass coming in and giving her a fat belly. Well he was panicked when he saw the bag because after we were told she wasn't pregnant, we were instructed to stop feeding her grain (because she was just 'fat'). Now he was really concerned first about the health of his mare and foal, second this foal is eligible for the Kentucky Breeders Incentive Program (which is quite valuable) but with this program the mare MUST foal in Kentucky and we had no arrangements made with a Kentucky farm (since she 'wasn't' in foal), third he had saved money for these additional expenses but since she was not having the baby, he had used that money to pay other bills and now did not have the extra funds to quickly solve this issue. He was freaking out!

I explained to him that the mare and baby should be totally fine. If anything, the foal might be small and therefore easier to deliver. And since this mare was supposed to be such an easy keeper, her weight will come right back with feed. Second  I had a friend on Facebook who lives in Kentucky who delivers foals, they are Saddlebreds, but I imagine they all deliver the same. I could get in touch with her and we could get the mare out there this week (she is due in the next couple weeks). And I had just made a deposit, if I had to wait to pay my truck payment, I could get the mare there and started. I assured him all would work out just fine.

Even I was shocked when as I was hanging up, I was also sitting down on the edge of the bleachers to fill out my forms and watch some more. Once I put my phone down I looked up and a nice guy, Joe Hooper/Harper, who had warmly greeted me early this morning, was sitting on the bleachers below me. He looked up and asked if there was a problem at home. I explained the situation. He nodded in understanding. Then I asked where he was from - HE WAS FROM KENTUCKY! I asked if he knew anyone who did this foaling for the breeders deal, of course he did and he gave me a name and number. I was shocked! If that wasn't enough, his friend walked up and started talking to us, telling great stories. We eventually told him about my problem and he said, he too foaled out mares. He had a great vet and an open foaling stall. I asked if they had a spot open on their trailer if I could get the mare delivered, they did. We negotiated a price and it was set up. I called Tommy and gave him the good news, and explained he needed to get us the horse on Sunday. I think he was surprised! If you think God is not present in your daily life, here is a wonderful example of how if you trust in Him, He will give you the tools to solve all of your problems, you just need to trust and listen!

The rest of my day was amazing! Joe was super helpful and gave me a bunch of new stuff to work on. He has kind of taken Rick's place for me at these shows. He encourages and helps everyone. He also wins allot. He helped me with my cow work. He started by explaining that cutting is a purely defensive sport, working cowhorse is an offensive sport. We must handle and 'train' the cow in the boxing portion to honor our horse. We must teach him to move and turn according to our desires. He showed me how to drive and turn the cow, he also showed me how to 'body' my horse around to be in better position. He showed me how cutters sit way to the outside to draw their horses ribs out, but how they do it without using their inside leg and spur, which would block the horse if the cow made a fast move back the other way. With your legs soft and by just using your body, your horse is in perfect position to roll over his hocks and follow that cow instantly. He showed me how they 'roll' their horses back and forth  without using the reins or their legs, it was way cool! I was practicing and Doug came up and asked me to 'be the cow' for him to practice. It was fun and made me feel like I was helping too.

You would be amazed at the depth of high quality horseman at these shows! There was only 1 trainer there who was jerking and spurring on his horses. The rest of the trainers and riders were soft and really natural - these people are super-talented! You should see the soft slick lead changes they have on their horses, western riders wish theirs were that soft and good! I am inspired when I sit and watch. It makes me want to be that good too!

When my turn to show came up I was excited and nervous. I sometimes feel that feeling in my stomach and wonder what it might make me do when I get in there. In the Green class you do a different number of spins so I asked an official looking person how many. He said 2 1/2, so I went in and deliberately did 2 1/2 spins each way. Well my stops were good, lead changes super, spins were good, circles had a bobble or two in the middle (Dixon still anticipates the lead changes some); when I called for my cow I was feeling good. The cow work was the best we have done and I was feeling really happy when they announced my scores. Unfortunately I got a 0 on my dry/reining work, but a 68 on my cow. I was super happy with that since it was the best cow work we had had. When I went out I was told I did too many spins. Here is the perfect example of why we, as exhibitors, must learn the patterns and rules ourselves. The pattern called for only 1 1/2 spins. I know of a few times we have read horsemanship or equitation patterns wrong and the kids have suffered. I usually say, you need to read it yourself and check to see if we understand it correctly. I was not upset at all, just gave myself that same little speech and went on to enjoy my progress.

Saturday night they held a small awards banquet. They fixed steaks, baked potatoes, salads and chocolate cake for everyone. When I called to get a stall they asked how I wanted my steak. Do you know that they cooked every steak correctly and according to each person - I was amazed - great organization! After we ate they gave out gorgeous gold buckles and breathtaking framed photos of each winning pair. Beautiful awards! There were many 'door prizes' and I must have been one of the only people who didn't win one there were so many. At the end of the evening they auctioned of a headstall and breast collar to benefit the club. Mark Champlain and Dave "Bone Daddy" Phillips got in a bidding war. They bid it to $500 and Mark 'won' the bidding. He then donated the set back to the club to either auction again at another time or give away as an award; then Dave matched Mark's donation and gave $500 to the club too. It was really cool to see club members supporting the club in such a selfless way! As we left the room there was a hat on the table collecting money for the DJ we were supposed to have had who had a triple bypass the weekend before. Everyone dug into their pockets and dropped something in on their way out. We could all learn something about supporting one another from this group.

I was almost as happy to get back into the trailer as Frosty and Bella were to see me when I got there. I set the heat on 75 degrees, and we all climbed up into bed to enjoy a cozy night's sleep.

Sunday morning started with paid practice runs from 7-8am to also benefit the club. I learn allot sitting and watching these guys. There is so much to see, read, feel and do. I wish I could sit and absorb it more often. After the paid warm ups I got to go in and move Dixon around before the show started. I think he was a little tired and body sore, but he was really putting in a huge effort to do everything I asked of him.

I took him last week to a Jim Crew Clinic to have him evaluated and shod. Jim wedged both back feet considerable on the outside which took all the twist out of his back legs. I have been having problems stopping him correctly, but with these new shoes I think I have a new horse! He is so greatly improved! I'm amazed! Jim Crew is a smart guy!

I took Dixon out and gave him some time to graze to show him I appreciated all his efforts. When I was at the Parelli Center they impressed upon me the importance of little stuff like that for your horse's mental and emotional well being. Doug gave me a little teasing as he rode off across the street to run his horse and dog in the big field.

Our performance was even better than the day before! It was a run-in pattern, I was a little worried, but Dixon was super cool and calm. His reining was really nice and solid; our cow work seemed fast and more challenging. I felt like it could have been a little cleaner and the turns crisper and tighter - but we are doing tons better. We got a 69 on both our reined work and our cow work - I was thrilled! Dixon has really made a great show horse for me to learn on and enjoy. I am so grateful that Jimmy Dale and Shelley Jo Swaim made it so we could purchase him, they trusted me and I am glad. I would not be enjoying all of this without their help. Here is a link to a picture from the show.

After the show we all packed up and drove up to Atlanta to meet Tommy and his mare. Joe knows how to drive and I was challenged to keep up with him. Once we stopped he said he was impressed that I could keep up. He stopped us in an apartment complex. We had about 30 min to kill so he started telling stories.

My favorite was about a horse who would come crashing backwards out of trailers. He said he had known this lady who had a lovely horse who had gotten the terrible habit of bolting out of the trailer backwards anytime he heard the door start to open. It was incredibly dangerous and he had narrowly missed trampling several people in the past. The lady had sent him all over to all the best natural (and not so much) trainers with no success. She was ready to give up. One day they were all at a horse sale and this stranger overhears them talking about her horse. He approaches them, introduces himself, and claims he can cure her horse from this terrible habit. She explains to him that he can't, but he insists in 3 days the horse will be cured. He says he will take the horse and work with him and if when he returns, if the horse is not fixed, she owes him nothing. She agrees and lets him leave with her horse. Three days later he returns with the horse to collect his money. He opens the door to the trailer and the horse calmly waits for him to unhook it and coax it back off. Everyone was stunned! Even more stunned that the horse had not a mark on him. He repeated the process several times and the lady promptly paid him. He refused to tell her what he had done to her horse. My new friend Joe couldn't take it not knowing, so he followed the stranger around until he agreed to tell him. He explained he had an 80 foot rope he tied to the horse and held. He then backed his trailer to the edge of a dock with a long drop to the water. He rattled the door, the horse busted out backwards and fell into the lake. He said it took only 3 times of falling in the lake before the horse stopped running backwards out of the trailer. Joe said to this day that horse carefully comes out of the trailer.

I was still reveling in the story when we saw Tommy fly by. Joe pulled up into the apartment complex and turned around right in the center of a mass of screaming city children. On his way out I told him I'd be a few minutes because I would take Dixon off the trailer for the kids to see and touch. He went on and I shared my beautiful horse with a swarm of kids who were frightened of Bella and mesmerized by Dixon. Some of them even petted him, it was a really cool moment. When I got back into the truck they were all hanging from the windows, one begged for the can of unopened Mountain Dew and one grabbed a broken ipod, he swore he could fix, out of my door. I gave them both and drove out to meet Tommy. I drove on home feeling really great about my weekend trip!

3/16/09 Another rainy day ... I suppose I will get more stuff up on the swap shop today. I need to correct something I wrote here yesterday; Lynn has her horses at home and is taking lessons from our friend Derek. Again we wish her all the best.

3/15/09 We attended our first Jim Crew Clinic yesterday in Lake Wylie at the farm of Nancy Smith. It was awesome, we learned a tremendous amount about our horses' bodies and how they work, also we learned how to evaluate our horses' balance and make adjustments and corrections through the feet via shims and wedge shoes. Anything that can project us into a higher level of performance fascinates me! I want to achieve the highest goals with not only my own horses but also my clients' horses too; I want my students to surpass me and go on to do incredible things not only with their horses but in their lives as well! Here we sat with some super-progressive thinkers who were doing their best to make things better for horses and their humans - it was really cool!

I was proud one of our farriers, Brad Freeman, took the time to come listen to the lecture and learn (even though he has his son this weekend, a big 'thank you' to his mom for watching him). Our support people are on this same track - looking for positive, progressive solutions to increase our performance for the future!

Ben Moore, Nancy Donaldson, Bryan and Avery Fisher, Tommy and I all set out about 8am with our horses; we returned after 10pm tired but buzzing with all the new knowledge we had garnered from the day.

Although some of the farriers who worked on our horses seemed a bit extreme, I am excited to see all the changes that occur in the next few weeks. I fully expect big changes! It was the third time I had had an opportunity to work with Fred Cloniger. He shod several horses for clients before this clinic with fabulous results! He worked on Dixon and Boomer here. I would recommend him as well as Brad and Bryan to anyone looking for a change.

Brad Freeman 803-242-3095, Bryan Stack 704-301-8303

I'm disappointed we are not practicing with the demo team right now. The rain continues to pour down. I think God knew we were ready for a quiet day off. The trailride for next weekend has been changed, we had only 2 takers so I have decided to take that time to go to learn more from my friend Rick Steed from Florida. We will reschedule the trailride for another time soon.

3/13/09 After having a couple days to think about the new Demo Team suggestions, I have come up with some ideas. First there is not enough time before MARES and VA to change people. So we will be watching riders in the practice to see who is best at the 'savvy' spotlighted in each song, the strongest 6 riders will perform each song, the others will stand aside. This gives riders who may be super in one savvy but not so much in another, a place to shine. Second we do have a new song lineup and a new dance on-line, everyone must be able to do this dance! You will not be able to participate in either demo until you learn it. Get familiar with the new line-up so you will not be lost. Third, I want to make the try-outs into possible audition tapes. Check out the demo team page for more info.

Lastly, I would like to thank all the brave girls who approached me about making changes. I felt your words were well thought out and delivered. I thought you chose a good person to speak for your group. I appreciated you waiting until after lessons on a quiet evening, and waiting until after I returned from Florida. The best thing I liked about your presentation was not only did it fully explain the problem, but they also had great solutions! To be successful one must be solutionary ... I was extremely impressed with how beautifully they had thought out the solution. As adults we often complain about lots of stuff, with no intention of finding a solution for our problem. Here are group of  teenage girls who behaved more maturely than most adults! Great job girls!

3/12/09 I have been sooo excited about all this new info that I got in Florida! We have implemented all week with great success! I have "ridden" nearly every person here for lessons to demo the difference between our regular stopping technique and 'duck landing with suspension rein' - wow what a difference! And the fluid/combing rein has been unbelievable! Great new stuff!

Our demo team members were quite disturbed when their name was changed this week. We had a meeting to go over the change and they expressed some of their feelings about our growing team. They were concerned about the team getting so large that it has become dangerous in the arenas at the events. I must say at the last event I was nearly hit at least 3 times as well. We must find a way to trim back the number of riders in each demo so safety and fun return. They proposed a try-out with points earned by completing tasks on the Requirements List. Members with the most points would do the next demos. I think this is a great idea because we do have many young riders who are dying for a chance to join us. This way it becomes a level playing field for everyone. I will post the score sheet here soon so you can practice. I hope this makes things better for everyone!

The other big suggestion that was made was to have the Jr Varsity perform at MARES this yr and the Varsity perform in Va. We will discuss this possibility on Sunday.

Please note to be on the team you must have official Parelli halter/rope/carrot stick, you are strongly encouraged to be a member of the Savvy Club. Official PNH Assessment will be required to perform at the Florida Parelli Celebration. These are free until May 1, 2009. I encourage you to film your Auditions today! All the information is on the Parelli website.

3/10/09 I just got a private message on the PNH website telling me Mariah had said something very negative in another post and I needed to address what she said. I spent a few minutes responding to this wonderful supporter (whom I do not know personally), and I thought many of you may have questions as well, especially with all the changes to my website. So I copied my response to paste here:

"Hi!

Thank you so much for looking out for me! I read what she wrote and because of you, I have a choice about whether to respond. I chose not to because:

I was in Ocala at the center for a course last week and got to meet with Pat and Carol Coppinger about the kids' program he asked me about starting. Although this might be way more than you ever wanted to know ... I want to tell you :)

About a yr ago he invited me down to ride with him (Pat) for a few days. During that time we went to a horseshow in GA. I rode with him in the bus while his helpers brought my truck. We talked about tons of stuff, but the biggest topic was a global kids' program. He asked me to write a vision and present it, so we could begin a program. After I got home, I did that and I started a program called 'Parelli Kids'. After very little feedback (they are really busy), but after they sent me boxes of dvds and promo material, I started doing demos, worked on pages on my website, offered clinics and summer camps. I went forward with as much enthusiasm as Pat had had that morning in the bus.

We never got to sit down and talk about it again until the Savvy Conference this past Sept at which he and his attorney informed me that although Pat asked me about doing this, he had not cleared it through everyone else first. And now there was a big backlash about me teaching and doing all this without having gone through the instructor's program. They explained that they needed to be a category for me to fit into to combat the licensing issues.

We met in Florida last week and Pat asked me to be patient for 10 more months for them to create a suitable place in PNH for me (and many others too). The traditional instructor's path is not suitable for me since I already earn my living teaching and training horses (and have for 25 years). We sat down and changed a bunch of stuff on my website to demonstrate to all the legal people that I am a team player.

Pat asked me if I didn't want to just do my own deal ... I told him (and Carol) that I really want to be a part of something bigger than myself, I want to support a program I feel strongly about. I want to follow their rules, they just need to give me those rules and boundaries.

They gave me more direction, which I appreciate. I do hope after 10 months that we can go forward with the concept of the program Pat and I envisioned. PNH is such a huge group, it is easy to step on toes without intending or even knowing about it. Pat has given me feedback to improve our Savvy Spotlights for Florida, I do hope we will get to perform their in October.

Thank you very much!"

Hopefully this will help everyone get on the same page. In 10 months they plan to launch new Ambassador, PNH Facility and new Professional's Programs. I sincerely hope they see a place for me/us in these new programs.

3/4/09 I'm sitting here waiting for the hot water to heat up with nothing much to do. I already checked my Facebook and updated it, and the emails I need to answer need more than a few seconds of thought, so I will leave them for later. Today is a big day for my precious Whopper. His new mommy Kate comes at 1pm. He is so gorgeous and playful, I have had a wonderful time with him on this trip. Really its a good thing I was committed to Kate and her husband, because after sleeping with him and having all this one-on-one time, I wouldn't let him go. She seems like the absolutely perfect home! I'm truly grateful she found us. Its so scary to raise puppies (or anything for that matter) and think that they might not be treated well. Kate and her husband are young, pre-babies, beautiful and already have another sheltie who looks just like Julie. I think he will have an amazing life!

Just got Tommy on the phone and he says I need to do something different with the gas. Have a super day!

3/3/09 I am in Florida after my second day of my Parelli Course, Natural Performance, and I'm so happy. I was concerned about this trip. I didn't know what it would be like or whether there was enough to learn to make it worth my while. It has been wonderful! I would highly recommend a course to everyone! I'm so glad I got to come to this one. Although it is my strongest area - we must meet horses/people where they are to get them to move to where we want them to be (says Ray Hunt). I needed to come here in my strongest area to really see how much they have to teach me about all areas. Our instructors are amazing! I love their attitudes and personalities! Everyone here is well educated and great at sharing that education with others in a fun, entertaining way. I have so much in my brain, I will make it out soon - just not tonight :)

2/27/09 It has been a whirlwind of a week! After the best trip to Myrtle Beach, I got the word that my friend Kathleen had procured me a free week at the Parelli International Study Center in Ocala, Florida for next week. I have been crazy trying to prepare and get all the necessary paperwork filled out and faxed to them so I can get into the course. I'm super excited because it will be their advanced Finnesse course called Natural Performance! It is the perfect class for me! I'm excited to get to hang out with all the PNH people for a week. I think I will learn so much from them that will make us all better; I think it will be good for them to see I'm truly dedicated to their program and I'm determined to learn as much as I possibly can about it. It will be good for us to understand each other better - we may seem to live in different worlds, but we are all working toward the same goal of developing a great relationship with our horses so we can both excel in our lives.

I've been very nervous about going. The 'haters' get old sometimes, but this afternoon I'm starting to get my gritty feeling, once I put on the Kid Rock I will be back to my confident determined self. I know this will be a wonderful turning point for me within the PNH organization.

Tommy left early this morning for Clemson. We have a 4 judge APHA show this weekend too. I was really looking forward to showing Dixon Sunday in the reining and working cowhorse but the check-in in Florida is 9am-12pm with a 1pm orientation that is mandatory. As much as I want to call and tell them I will arrive Sunday night - I better follow the rules and skip Sunday's show. It is a bummer but a sacrifice well worth it to have this amazing opportunity! I suppose it will be another all-night drive, I'm not sure how all these people do this 9am check-in thing - but I will make it work. Benji was kind enough to loan me his generator so I can stay in our trailer while I'm there. We really do not have the money for me to be gone much less a hotel - but Tommy is going to do his best to fill in here (who knows, everyone may like it so much, I will have to go to Lancaster to ride and he will stay here to teach everyone). It will be big fun I just need to get there and start.

We had much sadness and some relief this week. Last Friday one of my dearest and oldest friends was diagnosed with pancreas cancer; he was given a few months to live, but Monday they said only a few weeks; Ed Jaimeson passed away Wednesday night at home. Our prayers and love go out to Jeanie, his wife, and their 2 sons. They all took lessons years ago, and we have bought and sold several horses together. Ed really helped me get back on my feet when I returned from Kentucky by bringing me a beautiful load of hay when I had no hay and no money. He will be dearly missed.

The relief was felt with Summer's dad, Donnie, who had a heart attack Tuesday night. He was meant to have triple bypass, but when they did the surgery he only needed a double. He has gotten out of ICU and is in his own room now. Although quite sore, Summer says he is walking and eating. What a relief! Donnie and his wife (and Summer's mom) Pam have been here longer than I have. I have taught all three of Pam's girls, we have been friends many years. This winter Donnie put new carpet in my family room and all 3 bedrooms in our Indian Land house to thank us for all we do for Summer. I never expected him to do such, it touched me. Everyone please keep praying for his recovery!

The last relief was when Greg Sandall got my computer working again. I had purchased and installed a new Norton 360. Bad idea! My computer slowed down, wouldn't get on the internet - I thought I was going to kill somebody! Poor Tommy had to try to keep me calm. Normally I get home and decompress by working on the computer, with no computer I stayed pretty keyed up. I know Tommy wished I would put the computer down sometime, now he is happy to see it again. Thank you Greg for saving my relationship!

I think that's all the current news.... Be safe and hug your family tonight, tell them how much they mean to you. You never know what the future might hold.

2/23/09  We were blessed with two gorgeous days to ride on Myrtle Beach this year! Everyone did so beautifully! I was thrilled - it was absolutely magical for me to see my girls galloping through the surf and down the beach!

We loaded up 15 horses, riders and a few brave parents on Feb 20 to make the trek to the beach. It was an event I have hosted several times with great stress and great success; this time I was plenty stressed because we left with only 4 horses and no people (except Tommy and me) who had actually been before; everyone else, horses and people, had not - it was nerve-wracking! I just trusted it would be ok ... I was so right - thank Goodness!

We left around 7pm Friday night. We arrived at Hardee Lane Farm around 12:30am (we are not the fastest movers) after a crazy supper at Wendy's. Glenn Singleton, my friend and owner of HLF, was there waiting for us with clean stalls and a big smile! It was quick and easy to unload all the horses and get Glenn set up with our horses' breakfast. He is so wonderful to feed and care for our horses when he does his. When we first started coming to Myrtle Beach, we stayed at Seawinds Stables - no frills and no help - when Seawinds closed we moved to Conway and Glenn's - happy we did!  We progressed on to the Crown Reef Hotel, arriving at nearly 2am. The kids were wide open when we hit the big purple hotel - you should have seen them when they saw it all lit up - they were impressed!  We checked in easily and all got ocean-view balconies, our room even had a jacuzzi in it!

Saturday started early with us hitting the Treasure Chest restaurant in our hotel. They had wonderful huge breakfasts for $3/each. Stuart and Lisa (our adult friends) were there eating, ready to meet us for the day. We all got what we wanted and headed on out to the barn. Glenn and his daughter Lindsay were waiting there for us to arrive. It was wonderful to see Lindsay! I have known her more than 10 years, I have seen her grow from a 'youth-kid' to a gorgeous college graduate who has her life completely together! She was working a baby in the arena when all our kids descended upon her. Fortunately she was just lunging him because he came alive when our 15 hit the stage. It was a great way for the horses and the girls to get out some excess energy before we left for the beach. After all the horses seemed calm, we loaded and our 4 trailer plus two car convoy set out for Myrtle Beach.

The ride was at least 30 min and the kids were getting crazy in my truck. We stopped at the ranger station to pay for our horse beach permits (every horse had to have one) and I started to have a little meltdown because I could neither find the Coggins tests for the horses that went to TN (Tommy put them somewhere) and I couldn't find my Parelli bag with my checkbook, my credit cards, drivers license and all my cash. Fortunately Tommy knew where he had put the Coggins tests and he had a checkbook and drivers license so we got our permits and proceeded to park. Unloading went smoothly but many of the horses were quite bouncy. I went ahead and tranquilized most of the group of horses that had never been there before. I thought better safe than sorry. There are no rules against it and as excited as the kids were, the horses needed to be calm. After a 10 min wait for the drugs to kick in we were all off to the beach!

It was a beautiful site when I arrived; the kids were all doing their groundwork spread all across the sand. A small crowd had gathered to watch. Although there were many riders that day on the beach, there were no other obvious Parelli people. After answering many questions we mounted and started moving. All the kids and horses were doing great as we played in the surf. Dauntless was the only horse who really didn't want anything to do with the ocean, but Arianna kept him focused down the beach. After going under the first pier, we found a cool spot where a fresh water stream emptied into the Atlantic Ocean. The stream had cut banks into the sand and we spent some really fun time jumping up and down those banks. Dauntless reluctantly got into that water and we all were feeling good. We split into 2 groups and the faster group galloped away down the beach. Our group started trotting from pier to pier, then cantering from pier to pier - it was amazing!

After we finished riding, we drove the horses back to Glenn's and put the tired souls to bed. We were starving so we stopped at Ruby Tuesdays for dinner. We had 18 people in our total group so they gave us an entire section. The dinner was good and we went back to the hotel with full tummies. After we returned to the hotel, all the kids put on bathing suits and went swimming in the heated hotel pool. A few insane girls even jumped in the freezing outdoor pool and lazy river - but only for a moment. A wonderful an exhausting day had come to a close.

The second day was supposed to be cold and raining, but our spirits kept the bad weather away. We had sun and lots of wind - no rain at all. My old friend Mike came by to say 'Hi', it was very nice. I wish he could have stayed to see us ride, but after 20 years, maybe a few minutes of us was enough ... haha.

Jaime Huddy took over 400 beautiful pictures. She created CDs for everyone that went. Make sure if you went please ask me for yours! Enjoy getting to see our trip - we want everyone to go with us next year!

2/15/09 The rain stopped and we were able to begin our show at 11am with a full house! We had a special guest exhibitor from Joy and Misty Meadows Mitey Riders Program. Veronica was completely adorable, and a lovely rider too. She arrived on an old friend 'Zipper', a darling appaloosa gelding Maria Stine rode for years! I recognized him instantly - the last time Breezy went to the Washington International Horse Show, Maria took Zipper to show in the Staff Class. That must have been around 2001 - really cool to see him looking so great!

I think everyone had a wonderful day! The Showing Naturally had met at Kelli Sandel's house Friday night to bake goodies to sell Saturday to earn money to go to Virginia to a demo in April. The treats were delicious and they raised some good money. Susan and Greg Sandall also broke out their cooking skills to support the Showing Naturally! I think they raised over $200 with the delicious food - the wings were my favorite! Thank you everyone who bought food and sweets to support our wonderful Showing Naturally!

Mary Roddy did an excellent job judging the show that went well after dark! We hardly stopped to switch the ring for jumps or trail - I really appreciate everyone coming out in spite of the weather! It seemed like each person that arrived had left pouring rain to join us - too many happy people here to allow rain in our space today!

We have added much music to our playlist and as the day wore on, I got to take over the DJ duties. It was super fun to go back and find some great old dance songs to keep our spirits high as the temperature dipped on down! I hope everyone enjoyed it as much as I did.

Tommy and I were thinking of not doing any more shows for a while. They are expensive (ribbons are about $1,000/show, the judge is $300/show), it is always tough to break even. But after the fun and fellowship of yesterday I came in the house ready to go again next month. We will check our schedule and hopefully have some more shows this spring and summer. I know I need to get out and sell sponsorships - but we are working so hard to get our regular stuff done (we greatly appreciate having so much regular stuff to do!), that I cannot imagine trying to take on a fundraising drive for sponsorships. If we can raise money for PK, that is as much fundraising as I can attempt.  I love to work; but asking people for money is not my strong suit. It will all work out well I'm certain.

I have posted Summer Camp Dates, please check those out today! We are looking forward to our Myrtle Beach trip next weekend! I'm excited! It's been about 5 years since we have gone with our horses - it will be an amazing experience for all of us! Right now our trailers are full, if you would still like to get into the fun we can try to get some alternate transportation to get you there! Thank you to everyone who has signed up to go - I know money is tight - I have done all I can to make it as affordable as possible for you!

Enjoy your week!!!!!

2/14/09 Happy Valentines Day! What a blessing this beautiful warm week has been! It has rejuvenated me and helped me get super excited about the spring and summer! What a wonderful change from the frigid temps in TN!  I do hope this morning's rain stops so we can have our Open Show today!

2/8/09 We awoke before 4am yesterday to travel the three hours to get to the Circle M Arena in Pelzer SC for the annual SC Horseman's Council Meeting and Parade of Breeds Saturday Feb 7, 2009. Although missing three of our star performers, we had a fabulous group and added a new member , Jillian Galindo to our ranks! Kelli Sandel was back and with a strong group of helpers and dancers, we were ready to bring our stuff to the arena. I was impressed with the smoothly run well attended large event! There were many vendors with great information to share, even Gary Biggerstaff and Linda Reid had booths there! Our beautiful girls surprised me with a gorgeous painted pony, tow prayers and a priceless handmade card - I held back my tears in front of all the strangers - it was completely unexpected and sincerely appreciated! Without the dedication of all these amazing girls and their families, none of this would be possible! Thank you so much!

We got into the arena for a good long time before the show and everyone was doing beautifully. Where we went in to do our demo a small donkey and 2 farriers had been added to the far end of the arena. Our horses are not around donkeys and when the loud music came on and the farriers started beating their anvils, I thought we were going to lose a few riders. Not too worry, they cowboyed  (sp) right up and made it work despite the distractions. After talking to Pat on the phone Friday, we decided to let the songs run straight through Glamorous to Cupid Shuffle from Me and My Gang without breaks in between. It felt really fast but we did maintain the attention of the crowd better. Our riders did beautifully throughout the entire show and we were rushed with questions when we left the arena. We were invited back to do an encore at the very end - of course we stayed (a few parents took naps in the sun while we waited) and our second go was even more fun than the first! We did YMCA and the crowd was really with us! We stayed answering questions until a few exhausted parents made it clear that 18hrs was enough already. This demo was a great success! My hat is off to everyone who made it possible! One final thanks goes out to Brandon who got us home after I got us lost looking for a bathroom for some needy family members - he obviously gets out more than I do!

Pictures for the TN Parelli Celebration and the Pelzer Demo are now up!

2/4/09 We made it! We are back from our TN trip to the Parelli Celebration! Everyone did an amazing job! I think the other competitors were quite shocked with our demos having so much entertainment infused within the horsemanship. Pat rewarded us with excellent ribbons and scores each time! Unfortunately because it was running really long each entry only got 2 of their 3 songs and our 2 best songs never got shown. It does give us a great reason to go back in October to Florida for the final Celebration. 

We took over the practice pen Thursday night with our music and high energy - it might have been a bit much for everyone else - but we had great fun! Bekah won a dance-off with Dancing Pete right out in the arena to 'Super Freak'! Congratulations Bekah! We were screaming and encouraging her - she brought her 'A' game! The acting in 'Swing' by all of our parents was amazing! Whether it was natural or liquid enhanced - doesn't matter - they were awesome and we got the highest score of the day! Our campsite was off-the-chain! The weather was brutally cold but Robin brought a fireplace that saved us from frostbite! Greg and Susan Sandall did all our cooking - and it was FABULOUS! They prepared gourmet meals every day - they were so above and beyond - thank you again!

We got a lovely email from Parelli yesterday. They expressed their appreciation for all our efforts this past weekend. Pat was thrilled with everything we presented and has asked for a time he can call to express his feelings. He has also extended an offer to help all of us improve - how exciting! I do not know what this might hold for us - maybe a few suggestions over the phone, maybe a trip to Florida - who knows?

We must dream big to achieve big! Never let others discourage you in the realization of your dreams! Occasionally it takes more time for some to see the brilliance you exude! Stay positive and progressive and even the haters will come around, eventually. Remember you can only control what you do, you have no control over others. By always being positive and smiling, and by always putting your horse and your relationship with him first, others will see your talent and skill in time. I am so proud of each and every member of our 'family'. Every member displayed excellent character throughout the entire weekend. Thank you very much!

1/25/09 We had a great weekend! First Will texted Friday night and asked if he could spend the weekend - of course I was thrilled and we played Mario Kart well into the wii (ha ha!) hours! It was FUN!

Saturday started with a flawless PK Practice! I'm sooo proud of our Demo Team, they have put their heart and souls into this dream I have for all of us! We added a flag to Glamorous. Jillian gallops around the arena with it flying! What a great contrast to everyone doing so many concentrated slow things - it adds balance to our group - welcome Jillian!

Saturday night we attended the CPHC Year End Awards Banquet. Even Will joined us for the great food and fellowship with friends we haven't seen in a few months. All our girls were dressed beautifully complete with very high heels (that they could actually walk in)! We had so many winners I'm frightened I will forget someone - if I do, it was not on purpose, I just didn't remember, let me know and I will make a correction. Jessica Moore, Jessica Weiscarver and Jennifer Paschal all won gorgeous trophies painted to match their horses (I LOVED them!); Natalie Moore won a huge shiny belt buckle - I think it is as wide as she is - I hope she wears it everywhere! I need a picture of her with it on to post here! Madison Woschkolup and Jennifer Weiss both won beautiful wooden and marble plaques for their winning efforts! Christin Deese also had a successful first year in 13 & Under, congratulations! Cassey Werner won the first annual CPHC Youth Scholarship. We were very proud to be a part of Rob Waddell's awesome concept! Lynn and all the CPHC Board put on a lovely fun event! Great job everyone!

Sunday started with a bit of computer and iPod frustration but I was determined not to let it get the best of my day. And look now after my wonderful day, my computer has decided to work again (iPod too)! After putting the computer down, I invited Will to come up to FP with me to see everyone and possibly ride....?   He agreed!!! And we were off. We arrived and he headed out to the ring with the girls and I headed into the house to meet with the parents. Everyone was represented and the meeting was positive and informative. I think we got everything done (pretty quickly too) and everyone left feeling good about our upcoming trip! Thank you parents for taking the time to come and support us! I am noticing something funny about this trip... we started planning and practicing very early (like 2 months ago).... and WOW what a difference prior proper preparation (to quote Pat Parelli) makes ... we are ready without panicking! The things that are yet to be completed are reasonable and we have a plan! I need to adopt this process more often, it makes things much calmer and more organized! Who would have ever known? :)

After our meeting I ran out to the ring and met Nancy and Jim who were just completing their purchase of Boomer from Bryan Fisher. How exciting! I think this is a wonderful new beginning for Boomer and Nancy! We will go forward as a team to help her fulfill her dreams with her new son!

When I reached the ring I saw Will up on Skip cantering over jumps sitting on his blanket with nothing, not even a savvy string, on or around his head or neck; it was beautiful! Will hasn't ridden in about 18 months since he got his driver's license. It has been hard on his mom (me!) to let him go and do his own thing, but I knew I had to. It was amazing to have him back out riding - he looked like he hadn't missed a day (to be 17 again!)! I caught Dixon and saddled him, worked him on the ground and Will rode him as if Dixon was his horse all along - they got along great! I was so happy to see the two of them, I was nearly crying....

We had a super weekend, I hope you did too!!!!! We leave Wednesday for our Parelli Celebration; Sue dropped by today fresh from the Florida Parelli ISC full of excitement about her trip and excitement for the Celebration this week! We will arrive in a totally loving and supportive environment! We are blessed! What an amazing time to be here! We will bring home photos and video to share with those who cannot make the trip! Congratulations Brandon (Summer's cousin and our official DJ) who just found out that he gets to come to TN too!

1/21/09 What an amazing day! Cassie had her puppies today! It was wonderful to welcome these 3 beautiful babies into the world! We have 2 very dark sable boys and 1 gorgeous sable merle girl! All have great markings and tiny faces! Tommy was worried I wouldn't sell a one.... after the first one was born, I could see why he was worried.... I did email Amy Wylie to tell her they had arrived. Poor Amy gave me a deposit  3 years ago (we thought Bella was pregnant at the time) for a puppy, these are the first live puppies we have produced since she gave it to me. She also has a tiny sheltie that she is insane over. She wanted another one... I was worried we would never be able to fulfill her request! Wonder whom she will choose or will she wait for Julie's puppies?

We are supremely grateful that everything went well. I hope your day was as good!

1/20/09 For all those who couldn't find it, here it is:

CURIOUS ABOUT WHO'S GOING TO BE IN THE "SAVVY SPOTLIGHT" AT FRANKLIN, TN CELEBRATION?

Me too!  Fortunately, I get to talk to some of the Passionate Parelli students who are participating in the Savvy Spotlights competitions for ALL of the Celebrations.  This week, I was lucky enough to speak to Charlotte Cannon, who is coming from South Carolina, Fox Point Farm, with a TROOP of horses and kids! 

Charlotte is high-octane, pure energy, and I am certain she is going to Blow Us Away with her presentation.  Charlotte has multiple World Champion ribbons and trophies, but somehow they weren’t the “prize” she was seeking.  She knew there was more – she wanted to win respect and true partnership with her horses.  

 

Charlotte was introduced to Parelli 5 yrs ago by her friend, Lynn Everette, who said, “You do this and don’t even know you do.”  Lynn loaned Charlotte her Parelli Level 1 and Charlotte was hooked.  She got everything Parelli she could get her hands on.  “I LOVED it.  It was organized, structured and progressive.  And everything now is so much more!”  Charlotte says Parelli Principles have transformed her program teaching young people a new way to be with their horses and giving them the FOUNDATION to compete with extraordinary success at the highest levels.   They know now that maintaining the dignity of the horse and preserving the relationship is number one.  If you win a ribbon, but lose your horse’s respect, you’ve put your Goals before your Principles and lost something big.

 “I had already won multiple world championships.  Hunters & racehorses to start, then paints & quarter horses – hunter hack & working hunter.  I have 8 top ten buckles in western pleasure, reining, cow horse, trail - I like to do lots of different stuff.  And I like having my wall covered in ribbons, don’t get me wrong, but I have learned that there’s more to life – I do love kicking people’s butts but pulling off my horse’s bridle and having him follow me with exuberance is a bigger gift.” 

 Charlotte believes Parelli is “such a phenomenal foundation to get on the path to performance.”  She’ll be bringing two horses and nine young riders – all Savvy Club members!  And they’ve been accepted for three different entries.  She’s asking for Volunteers for one of her entries – if you’re interested in learning the Cupid Shuffle (line-dancing) go find Charlotte at her trailer on Thursday and get a quick lesson!  I’ll tell you more about Charlotte's Parelli Journey - she has a great story about NOT PASSING Level One - and Updates about what Charlotte has planned as we get closer to the Celebration!  But I won’t spill ALL the beans – you’ll have to come see for yourself!  January 30 – February 1, 2009 – JOIN US!

BY THE WAY, even if you're NOT a Savvy Club Member yet, you can still go here to see a FREE VIDEO Tip of the Week!

Posted at 11:16 AM in Daily News | Permalink

1/19/09 It came out!!!! (Parelli Blog) Norma (writer from Parelli) did such a great job putting my thoughts together .... we all know understanding and putting them back out can be a challenge sometimes. When I got to talk to her I was talking so fast and about so many things at once - it's a miracle she got it straight! I was just so excited to get to talk to somebody from there (who wanted to hear what I had to say), I suppose I tried to say it all at once... Oh well, maybe I'm actually just like that.

Please check it out - it is a very proud moment for me. I think it is a precursor for huge things for the Showing Naturally. Once PNH gets releases I think they will grab our kids and run! You are so talented! You deserve the greatest respect and credit for taking what I have given you and turning it into really cool awesome stuff! Practice went great today... it will keep getting easier... just keep pulling to get better (I have to bust my fanny to keep learning to offer you a little more all the time). Together we will challenge everyone around us to reach higher and stay purer than ever before! I'm soooo proud of all of you! Thank you for making all of my dreams and much much more come true!

Dream big.... you can achieve all you can conceive with hard work, patience and perseverance!

1/17/09 I am over the top right now - I had a most wonderful day! I got to present the website I created for the Carolina Country Store. Although it isn't perfect, we got it up and running! I'm delighted! Benji showed up at the last (but perfect) moment to help us fill out the final spots, thank you! The Galindo's were happy, I was happy, great!

Our water was completely frozen at the Indian Land farm, and sweet Tommy went over (while I was doing the website) and fixed it all! He is such a peach!!!!

My last wonderful note came from Norma at Parelli... I will be featured on Monday beside Linda Parelli and Craig Johnson in their new Parelli Blog and in this week's Parelli E-News! I am so grateful for this wonderful opportunity! I could never have had this happen without everyone around me - especially the Showing Naturally! Thank you everyone! Please enjoy this moment with me - all of us get the credit - well done!

1/16/09 It is FREEZING today! 26 degrees at 1pm - ridiculous! It has given me time to catch up on my computer work - thank you! The past few days I had such a headache from congestion from the cold, I haven't been able to even turn on the computer when I got home at night. I need several hours each day to keep stuff current so this has really gotten me behind. Even my Facebook page has been easy to resist. But today I've gotten much done and feel much better...

A bit of excitement came from Parelli's head writer Norma Vela yesterday. She called and informed me that they would like to use us to launch a new Daily Interactive Parelli Blog and would like to use us in the Parelli News. She said we 'were the news'! All of Parelli is buzzing with the plans we sent for the Savvy Spotlight. She said we 'are Pat's vision of the future'. By using PNH as our foundation for high competition goals (and the fact we are successful) has brought us much recognition. Norma has requested photos and video clips (with releases) to use as 'Inspiration' for the Savvy Club and the new Blog. They especially want photos with PNH equipment. Let's get together some awesome stuff to send and blow their socks off! If you have great photos for this, please email to me today!

I have emailed the 'Logistics Packets' to the people going to TN at the end of the month. I didn't have email addresses for all of you, so if you didn't get an email from me today - please send me your email address so I can get you one ASAP.

Cassie is getting much closer every day to having her puppies! i got a call from a lovely lady in New Jersey this morning looking for a tiny sheltie puppy. If you are interested, please get me your name asap because quite a list is forming. puppies will start at $500.

1/13/09 We got the email we have been waiting for - we were selected to perform at the Parelli Celebration in Franklin, TN at the end of the month! We are so excited!

1/12/09 Happy Birthday Will! I can't believe my oldest is 17! I hope you had a wonderful day!

1/11/09 We had a great (and tiring) practice today at Chetola for our Showing Naturally Demo in TN later this month. Everyone is really putting in the time and effort to make this really fun and really cool! We must video all of it for everyone to see because all the choreography will floor you! We have continued to add new intricate maneuvers until now it is really impressive! I can't wait for us to get there... it will be awesome to let all those folks watch our kids ride! I'm very proud of all of them! Fabulous job! I need to get to work to keep up!

We are looking forward to a great week of riding and lessons! I hope we see you! Have a great night!

1/10/09 I'm so happy to have my computer back!! It burned up another power cord and thanks to Bryan Fisher - we are back in business!

This week was filled with many questions, the biggest was the weather. It rained all last weekend, so the week was looking great - if you were a duck! Anyway, it kept on raining Monday and Tuesday, so I had to find something fun to do - so we got on Facebook! I made a profile, then the next day, I made one for Tommy too. We were having a little competition on who was going to have the most friends... when he got too close, I didn't want to play anymore. Facebook is a cool place to catch back up with old friends - I love it! Lauren was funny, she wrote on my wall the other day that Sarah had told her we were on Facebook. So she had to get on to see. Sarah told her "Fox Point Farm had taken over the wall."

On Wednesday I had to decide whether we were going to have the show today. I was completely stumped on what to do. The ribbons alone are $1,000 and the judge $300. I had to order the ribbons by Wed to get them in time for the show. I decided not to have the show because I was worried about putting out the money for the ribbons. It was completely flooded here and the weather forecast was  for lots more rain, including rain today (Saturday). I was also worried about having enough money for our trip to Tennessee at the end of the month. So I did schedule a couple lessons for this morning thinking by lunch, we would be having rain again. Unfortunately it seems like I made the wrong decision. Although the field is still too wet to park in, the ring was rideable today. I'm sorry to everyone who I disappointed by cancelling, but I was trying to make the best decision possible.

We have a big practice day scheduled for tomorrow at Chetola. Everyone must meet at FP of IL at 7am. We have 3 hours over there to work out all the details of our performance. It is very exciting! We have a wonderful opportunity to show lots of people what we can do! It will be great fun! Keep looking forward!

1/3/08 We have had a wonderful Holiday Season with Christmas Camp; our visit to Pinehurst to see Tommy's family; our visit to Hilton Head to see my Dad, Nancy, my sister Leslie/Alex, her husband Porter and their baby Chapin; and our New Year's Eve visit from my dear friend Laura. We have had so much fun riding to music every day - it inspires us to ride better and longer - we need a waterproof sound system  to use in the ring everyday!

I have been obsessed with our next demo in Franklin, TN at the Parelli Celebration. We have really practiced and put our heart and soul into the preparation of our choreography. I'm so proud of everyone who is participating, nearly everyone was out practicing every day during the break. We missed Summer and Emily who got the opportunity to enjoy a long break in Florida, but I'm certain they will pick up all the new stuff quickly! They have been working on their pairs performance for months, so a little tune-up should be all they need to shine with the rest.

Holly and her family have been great help on the creative side by purchasing the fabric and all the decorations for our Cone Covers. Bekaha's Mom really came to my rescue when I could only create a knot with the sewing machine. Carlos, Holly's Dad, explained how simple it was to use, and my Mom is a phenomenal seamstress and I sewed with her a little as a child. Apparently not enough - I created knots and freaked out. Ruth was called into save the day and made short work of the covers. Then the kids decorated them - many sparkles have created beautiful masterpieces that will not be equaled at the Celebration. I can't wait for everyone to get theirs done so we can stand the group of cones together and enjoy them.

I would like to take this opportunity to thank everyone who attended this Christmas Camp. We really needed that economic boost to get things caught up (or at least much closer to caught up). We are so grateful to have such wonderful thoughtful clients and friends. We have seen so many of our peers struggling and going out of business, we feel so blessed to be doing what we love and meeting our financial obligations. I truly understand the difficulty many of you are having during this time of economic uncertainty, but I believe we can survive this and still have fun together. Horses are a huge stress reliever and when all the news gives us is gloom and doom, we need a bright spot in our lives. Let the horses help you decompress and find peace. Instead of barking out orders and scheduling our days full of instruction and demonstrations, I let everyone float to the music at Christmas Camp. We had people doing groundwork, flatwork, jumping, bareback and just generally having fun. I cooked or bought lunch each day, which was scarfed up, and back out they went again. We did 2 trail rides and one day away at an indoor ring. We had some really chilly days, but nobody seemed to notice, they just kept riding. Thank you, I too needed to see the joy and harmony (everyone got along beautifully - no conflicts!!!) that is still possible. I also needed to see everyone enjoying the horses we work so hard to maintain every month. Sometimes it seems like we keep way too many and everything is so hard and so expensive - I got to see why we do it - thank you!

I wish everyone great peace, joy and harmony in their lives this coming year. Together we will live to see the economy come back stronger than ever. I think every so often we get a big 'check' to balance us and bring us back to what is truly important. Keep your chin up and things will work out for us all. Tommy and I watched Extreme Home Makeover last night. A family in New Hampshire had lost their home to flooding - they lost everything - clothes, furniture, pictures - literally everything. They had rented a small garage apartment  next door to their empty lot for 4 kids and 2 parents in hopes of rebuilding in the neighborhood they dearly loved. Their insurance didn't cover flooding and their were going to lose their lot and all their dreams next month when the last of their savings was gone. Somehow EHM found out about them and came in and with the help of tons of volunteers, built them a new house far beyond their expectations. I never cried so much watching a tv program. It was so beautiful to see this family on the very edge get saved by their community (and EHM). The father said in one of the interviews when asked what he was going to do next month when it all ran out, said he just refused to even let that enter his mind. Although he was working as many jobs and as hard as he could possibly work, he knew in his mind he could never provide (again) what his family needed (a house - he was paying the mortgage on the destroyed house plus the rent and had been denied another loan to rebuild), he just could face that in his heart, he just had to believe through prayer and hard work something was going to happen. That man cried like a baby over and over too. He was so appreciative. This family gave me hope for all our struggling families. It also confirmed why we give so much of of time to so many - we must all step up and help each other this coming year. Money is becoming so hard to come by, we must give of ourselves, our time and labor, to make this world a better place. I could see what an impact the volunteers had on this family. By helping one person, one family, one group you can make such a difference. We can change the world but it takes one person at a time. When we set goals too high, too large, too expansive we become discouraged and never attain anything; but when we set smaller goals we can truly make a difference.

12/31/08 Wow! Things are wild around here! We have tons of kids and tons of horses - it's great! No time for the computer. Kids staying over tonight and my friend Laura is coming too! Big trail ride tomorrow to celebrate new year! See you here very soon!

12/25/08 Merry Christmas! Things have been great here the past couple of weeks! We did Christmas Camp all week and in spite of frigid temperatures on Monday and Tuesday, it was fun and successful! The girls started riding about 10am each day; got off long enough to eat lunch; then back on until after 4pm. They did groundwork, bareback, finesse, jumping - everything all day with the music blasting! I look forward to another great week next week - come out and join us as many days as you can!

We have several 'colts' to start this month and I'm delighted to report, they are doing beautifully! Skip has helped me for years by ponying colts. This year we taught Dixon to do it too. Tommy has been really happy and surprised at how safe and easy it is starting colts with another horse instead of just in the round pen. I actually think a couple of the babies might have had some fragile moments when asked to trot if they had not had the lead pony. They are a little reluctant to go forward and I think having the other horse to get them going instead of getting firmer as a rider, will really pay off later with less grumpy horses with better ears. Liberty, Angel, Shelley and Lacey are riding beautifully!

12/17/08 We had a marvelous show. I'm still computing champions and reserves. More on that later. But Sue sent me this note that she got, I had to share it with you.

 This was written by a Metro Denver Hospice Physician:

I was driving home from a meeting this evening about 5, stuck in traffic on Colorado Blvd., and the car started to choke and splutter and die - I barely managed to coast, cursing, into a gas station, glad only that I would not be blocking traffic and would have a some what warm spot to wait for the tow truck. It wouldn't even turn over. Before I could make the call, I saw a woman walking out of the quickie mart building, and it looked like she slipped on some ice and fell into a gas pump, so I got out to see if she was okay

When I got there, it looked more like she had been overcome by sobs than that she had fallen; she was a young woman who looked really haggard with dark circles under her eyes. She dropped something as I helped her up, and I picked it up to give it to her. It was a nickel.

At that moment, everything came into focus for me: the crying woman, the ancient Suburban crammed full of stuff with 3 kids in the back (1 in a car seat), and the gas pump reading $4.95.

I asked her if she was okay and if she needed help, and she just kept saying 'I don't want my kids to see me crying,' so we stood on the other side of the pump from her car.. She said she was driving to California and that things were very hard for her right now. So I asked, 'And you were praying?' That made her back away from me a little, but I assured her I was not a crazy person and said, 'He heard you, and He sent me.'

I took out my card and swiped it through the card reader on the pump so she could fill up her car completely, and while it was fueling, walked to the next door McDonald's and bought 2 big bags of food, some gift certificates for more, and a big cup of coffee. She gave the food to the kids in the car, who attacked it like wolves, and we stood by the pump eating fries and talking a little.

She told me her name, and that she lived in Kansas City Her boyfriend left 2 months ago and she had not been able to make ends meet. She knew she wouldn't have money to pay rent Jan. 1, and finally in desperation had finally called her parents, with whom she had not spoken in about 5 years. They lived in California and said she could come live with them and try to get on her feet there.

So she packed up everything she owned in the car. She told the kids they were going to California for Christmas, but not that they were going to live there.

I gave her my gloves, a little hug and said a quick prayer with her for safety on the road. As I was walking over to my car, she said, 'So, are you like an angel or something?'

This definitely made me cry. I said, 'Sweetie, at this time of year angels are really busy, so sometimes God uses regular people.'

It was so incredible to be a part of someone else's miracle. And of course, you guessed it, when I got in my car it started right away and got me home with no problem. I'll put it in the shop tomorrow to check, but I suspect the mechanic won't find anything wrong.

Sometimes the angels fly close enough to you that you can hear the flutter of their wings...

Psalms 55:22  'Cast thy burden upon the Lord, and He shall sustain thee.  He shall never suffer the righteous to be moved.'

My instructions were to pick four people that I wanted God to bless, especially for the months left in 2008 , and I picked you.

Please pass this to four people you want to be blessed and a copy back to me.

Here is the prayer:

'Father, I ask You to bless my children, grandchildren, friends, relatives and email buddies reading this right now. Show them a new revelation of your love and power. Holy Spirit , I ask You to minister to their spirit this very moment. Where there is pain, give them Your peace and mercy. Where there is self doubt, release a renewed confidence through Your grace, In Jesus' precious name. Amen.' 

0k now I picked more than four -- you can, too.

When Satan is knocking at your door, simply say, 'Jesus, could You please get that for me.'  

12/9/08 I hope your holiday season is going well! We are working hard to make things meet but thanks to all of you we are squeaking by. I have gotten many things up on the swap shop - now it is your turn to go there and check the stuff out (and maybe pick something up for yourself - or a gift). I have included phone numbers and email addresses so you can contact the sellers to ask more questions and possibly negotiate further.

We are having a horseshow Saturday. Please come! We are doing fundraisers at the show for our Showing Naturally Demo Team to get to go to TN next month. We have talented kids who will not get to go without sponsorships/support, please come out and support the horse show and the Showing Naturally!

Our prayers go out today for one of our dearest friends, Sue Hanson. Her adorable father passed away yesterday. Sue and her husband Denny had built an addition onto their home for her parents a year or so ago. She has been spending much time with both of them and her father's health had been shaky. He did come out to our last demo at Chetola, and I got to talk to him for a few minutes. What a sparkly magical man, he will be greatly missed.

12/3/08 It is amazing I haven't updated here in over a week! I've been on the computer and the website every day countless hours working and updating. I hope you have noticed some of the changes. We now have up and running, a Swap Shop! It was a little tough - but it is up and ready for your items! Today we are at the lowest level store (number of items), the price goes up at 20 items again at 50 and again over 100, I think. Anyway, at first each item listed will be $5; but as we list more each item gets less expensive. So send in those items and we can all get a cheaper rate. We can all get to peruse a fun 'garage sale' and pick up neat stuff for gifts and ourselves too. Please list all types of things, you never know what someone's mom might like - a cool lamp, a shower curtain? Please send a photo, description of the item, price and contact info for you so I can list all your stuff.

We are hit and miss with the lessons bc of the weather. Rain and cold temperatures have made things challenging but we stride forward (even if it is through 9 inches of mud). I will be doing Makeup Lessons this Friday at 4 and 5pm so if you missed your lesson Monday or any of these crazy days last week or just want to get some extra time to ride - please come! We are also doing Trailrides on Sunday in Lancaster. Open to everyone! We will move the schoolhorses down there so you can ride your favorite outside on the trails. Only $35/person, please come out dressed warmly and enjoy a fun day with us!

We are working very hard, just like you, to make ends meet during this tough time. We truly APRECIATE all of your support and help! We have seen many of our friends go out of business with the sharp increase in overhead (feed, shavings, hay, help) and virtually no increase in fees. Please let us know if there are services you would enjoy that we could provide. We have done our best to add many new activities for the winter months, we want to keep active and afloat. Things are tight but we are secure - thank you for that! Without you we may be greeting you at a drive-through window. Happy Holidays from all of our family!

11/23/08 I am happy to report Frosty has successfully learned to operate his grapes and he and his second wife, Cassie, have consummated their union. We anticipate many junior Frosties in 60 days! We are so excited! Tommy said he was too much of a mamma's boy to ever figure it out. At the time he was making one lap around her, then he would return to his mom for more belly rubbing. We have spent so much money, time and effort to produce some tiny sheltie puppies. We are much closer today! Tommy is concerned I will not sell any of Frosty's children - I'm sure the perfect families will appear and I will be happy for them to go.  We shall see.

11/22/09 I've had a few hours to work on the website today and I'm excited for you to see the changes! Check out the Videos page. I figured out how to embed many videos so you can preview the videos before you commit to watch. I also found a way to get my win pictures from Tx, I posted them below. I better update my sitepals. Have fun watching :)

11/19/08 Hi everyone! I've missed you terribly! The power source on my computer stopped working and I haven't been able to use it in weeks! Special thanks to Brian Fisher who diagnosed the problem and got a new cord so I could resume! So much has happened since I last wrote ... where to begin?

First, we must all pray for Avery and all her family. Her grandfather (her Mom's dad) passed away yesterday. We all know how difficult losing a family member is; let's be there for Avery during this difficult time.

Second, we had an amazing APHA Fall World Show! I'm so grateful to everyone who supported and allowed us to go! The farm was well cared for and was spotless when we arrived back home! Thank you to all of you who took the time to check on things and help make them run smoothly in our absence! Special thanks to Bengi who got the checks and deposited them into my account so we would have money to return home!

The show itself was super fun! We only took Skip and Dixon. We met my Parelli friend Kathleen out there. Her yearling gelding, Liberty, was showing in the Lunge Line classes (he did really well too). She sent him home with us to start. I'm very excited about him - he is the perfect horsenality and mover to make a successful show horse.  He took the trip well and after a little cough, is now settling in great (he is Skip's new paddock companion).

We were supposed to have stalls with D John, but when he decided not to come we were wondering what our new neighbors would be like. Debra and Eric Jarvis of Jarvis Ranch (and Red Charisma fame) were right next to us. Although I had met Deb before, we really didn't know each other at all (I suspect they had their reservations about us).  They now stand 'I Got Charisma' and had several of his babies there to show.  We were impressed with both them as really neat cool people and the quality of their horses! It turned out to be a huge blessing that we were stabled next to them!

My first class was the Working Cowhorse Sweepstakes and I was most nervous. I had seen the cows be really wild, crazy and fast here before - I was worried I might get left behind. Apparently my concerns were legitimate. Although the horse in front of me had a cow who was terrified to come out and see the lights - mine was not quite so much. I was feeling pretty good after my dry work (reining pattern) but my joy was short-lived. Before I completed the first nod of my head I saw him in silhouette - the wildest fastest cow of my career. His tail was thrown straight up over his back and his telltale hump and loose skin swung like the ugliest old woman you ever saw. Dixon and I had the biggest eyes in the building when that cow shot out straight toward us. I wasn't prepared for how to handle such a beast - safe to assume Dixon wasn't either. We moved forward and our crazy cow hesitated, flipped us his tail and was off.  I'm not sure if everyone else noticed the hesitation but our heads simultaneously whipped around following our cow, without our feet (not unlike spectators at a tennis match). I realized where we were, told Dixon and we took off after him. We caught up faster than you'd think and got him worked, no brilliant control but we did complete our mission after our initial brain lapse. We ended up Reserve (second) in the Limited (not open to the World Champion from the past 3 yrs) and fourth in the Open (open to anyone). I was exstatic! Dixon was really good :)

My second day was really busy. I had the Working Hunter Warm-Up first. Skip was good and we were second. In the Working Hunter Sweepstakes he hit a jump and although it stayed in the cups, we ended up fourth. A bit disappointed I was ready for the Hunter Hack Warm-Up. We nailed the jumps perfectly and our railwork was good. We were first. Tommy told me I needed to get him to let go of his neck a bit more at the trot, he was a little tight. I listened and when we went in for the Hunter Hack Sweepstakes I had my Game On. We won both the Open and Limited Hunter Hack, two big neck ribbons and two lovely trophies! I was so excited (I had wanted one of those trophies so bad - now I had two!)! I begged Tommy to bring all the midge'ts for the picture. He wasn't too enthused but he is a dear and went to fetch them. We waited and waited, the people at the photo place asked if we were waiting on more people? I answered - no - our dogs. He appeared with the entire clan, I was delighted! They funneled all of them up to the backdrop and handed me Bella. Tommy held Julie, Frosty and Cassie in his arms and Daisy on a rope. When he almost dropped all of them it looked as though we would never get the shot - but KC's helper looked back and said he had it. How cute it was, all of us were looking at the camera smiling! I can't wait to get it in the mail to show you!

The next day we got to go to Craig Johnson's for me to get a lesson. I was so excited (and nervous). Deb and Eric live on the same exit so they gave us excellent directions. When we pulled up at Craig's there were many horses and riders in his covered arena. They all looked really good and I was intimidated. I was also the only one on a paint - it sometimes surprises me how few paints are really out there in open competition. We watched Craig and his daughter, Sarah, nail stop after stop, rollback after rollback. They were awesome! After they were done Craig told me to warm up while he watched. His wife Lynn was riding around and I said to her, "You know I'm not really great at this, right?" She was so nice, "That's why we are all here, to learn, right?" That was what I needed and I went on to take in so much in a lightning fast hour and a half. The biggest thing we needed to work upon was speeding up his feet in everything we do. Craig used a 'confusion' technique which worked great for both Dixon and me. We left feeling great and loving Craig and his team!

We stopped at the Jarvis Ranch on our way back. Deb and Eric showed us there beautiful horses including 'I Got Charisma' and several of his babies on their immaculate place. It had been raining so we didn't get to see them move outside but we saw that if we had the $, this would be an excellent place to pick out a successful future showhorse.

My next class was the Pleasure Driving Sweepstakes. Deb came out and helped me with my position and cues. You cannot believe how much help from a knowledgable professional can make and although Skip had never heard the sound she had me make for the road gait, he totally understood and responded appropriately. My competition was a big fancy Zippos Sensation gelding, 'Outa Be Sensational' and Mason Lyons. Mason was Reserve World Champion this summer and he wins lots in the hunter classes. We were definately the underdogs. We brought our 'A' game and Skip showed like there were 20 in the ring. At the end I was left in the ring all alone, and we won both the Limited and Open Pleasure Driving too. Two more trophies made me really happy! Tommy was not in the mood to get all the dogs back to another photo especially because I had wanted to go back and ride with Craig once more before the reining. I agreed to leave the puppies out this time.

Our day got too crazy and Craig had appointments in the afternoon so we didn't get to go back. I got up quite nervous the next day for the Reining Sweepstakes. There were none of the same people in the reining that were in my cowhorse. These people were much more intense! They were not talking to each other or to me. I blocked it out and enjoyed the fact at least there were other women in the class (the cowhorse had no other women). We went third and although our pattern wasn't perfect, it was better than we had ever done before. The stops were especially better! Craig's stuff really worked. We ended up Reserve Champion in the Limited and fifth in the Open. I was delighted!

After the class we packed up but didn't leave before getting into watch a few more excellent classes. We left feeling really satisfied and happy.

Go to Current News 3/17/08 - 11/1/08