(Betsy & Zoe @ Top O' the Hill Farm) We hosted another open house yesterday. Many administrators of the area agencies were invited and attended. We had 4 of our regular riders come and help with the "demo". These riders are usually riding alone in their own private lesson-- first time for them in a group. They were very proud to be part of the show and were so anxious and excited to volunteer to show their skills on their horses. One of the riders missed her Math class to participate ! . Zoe had them playing musical chairs on horseback. Many of the attendees who came to learn more about our therapeutic program are horse owners themselves, so they had some understanding of the potential challenges present in the mix of horses and handicaps. Everyone who comes is so impressed with the Curlies-- their kind attitudes and patience is what stands out everytime. We may have even sold a horse out of the day's presentation !!  The family will be back for a serious look as they definitely want a Curly horse for their own. The riders by the way do their own grooming and tack up with supervision if they are capable. They love their mounts. It's heartwarming to see for sure.

(Michelle & Lakota)The last time I sent in an update was back in June.  At that time, I had made a pact with myself to ride Lakota at least 3 times per week, and to concentrate on softening her, and working on her "going out into the big scary world" issues.  Lakota is very comfortable at home in the roundpen, but out of the pen, she gets anxious and worried, which results in her just stopping and refusing to move.  Which really is not all that bad of a reaction to something she doesn't want to do, but we still needed to work on it.  She is very green. About 3 or 4 weeks into this concentrated effort, we started to have some resistance issues.  Lakota became less interested in coming out to work/play with me.  She wasn't very enthusiastic, and started to get a little resistant in our groundwork.  I thought at the time that we were dealing with a training "hump",  one of the famed "gets worse until they get better", or just a little resistance in having to work. I just continued on, doing my best to be clear and consistent. We were working on going out of the roundpen to walk around out in the yard/barn area.  Lakota resisted, I insisted, she resisted again by backing up, and backed right into the open gate. This spooked her, and she had a big teleport spook that landed us about 15 or 20 feet to the left. I was hanging off her, but managed to pull myself back up (I had been riding in a bareback pad only, due to the heat).  She was still very tense and spooky after that, and had a difficult time settling down.  She had a few more smaller spooks that day, and I finally decided to cut my losses and put her away.  The next two times I took her out, we had similar issues, with her being very, very tense and spooky, and just really unwilling to do anything together. Then the weather got very, very hot and humid, combined with rain about every other day, no indoor arena (or arena at all), kids schedules, work schedule, vacation schedules, she I didn't do anything with her for about 2 weeks.  I did think a lot during this time, though. Lakota became difficult to catch again, and was just resistant and hard in all our normal daily activities. I decided to just lay off the pressure for awhile.  I took her out and didn't ride.  I played "touch the goblins" which is one of her favorite games, it really builds her confidence. She loved that, and instantly was happy to be with me again, and had lost all her resistance in the barn and paddock.  I did take her out a couple more times, and spent more time on groundwork and smaller amounts of time riding.  The last time was just fraught with disaster, with my neighbor letting his 9 month old Lab puppy loose to race around like a maniac just as I got on her (Lakota hates dogs, she tries to stomp them).  Luckily we had no issues, but I did decide that discretion was the better part of valor, especially since I was home by myself for 4 days and didn't want to lie dying in the sun for 4 days before I would be found, and I jumped off and we worked through the dog issue from the ground. However, over the last 3 or 4 weeks with a less concentrated, structured effort, she seems to have jumped forward a few steps, after falling backward with more consistent, concentrated, and structured work.  Hmmmmm ....  something to think about, ponder, mull over ......

(Meredith & Curly Sioux) Meredith and her sister Kaitlyn (who is 12) have done two fun shows this summer.  Meredith has taken her beloved Curly Sioux both times.  She has received Participate Ribbons so far but she and Curly Sioux are learning the ropes of going to shows.  Grandpa Hall recently purchased a new curly horse.  He is in the process of getting her registered.  Her name is  Phoenix Rising.  Kaitlyn will be training on Phoenix for barrels in the upcoming months.  At our first show in May, a lady there recognized the curly breed in Curly Sioux and could not stop talking about them.  It was really neat to find someone who actually had even heard about Curly Horses.  Most people we meet have NO IDEA and have NEVER heard of them, so of course, we tell them all about them!  Attached are two pictures from the show in July.  In the pictures attached Meredith was competing in Open Halter and Leadline.

(Sheryl & Kristal @ Cozy Nook Curlys) I am participating in the Colville Fair Parade this year with my curly kids.  I plan on riding Girlfriend and leading Chuck through all decked out in Beads Perm rods and what ever I can to make it fun.  My truck will be pulling a trailer decorated for the pooch parlor(to whom I work for)  It will of course be sporting the Curly emblem on the doors!!  I will follow up behind them, Followed behind me will be Misty riding her Curly colt sired by Chuck.  We are starting to work on the costumes now, I just found some beads and a really neat lace drape that will work well.  I will send in the completed  look when I finally get there.  Should be loads of fun.  Kristal and I have managed a few more rides this year, but are hoping for a lot more.

(Susan & Ahd) FINALLY...is the name of this RAC post, because I have not ridden for over a month.  My Lab Ruby had a litter of pups, and with that on top of my family responsibilities, I have not been able to enjoy my favorite pasttime.  Well, I had a BLAST on my Sunday ride.  I felt I was my old self, with no confidence issues whatever.  I even used my creaky old Western saddle, the one my parents bought for $50 when they bought me my first horse thirty-five years ago.  I felt comfy in the saddle (even though my butt kind of spills out the back now), my very fashionable pink saddle blanket and with my sporty lil' Curly raring to go!  Since we have had rain just about every day for a month - VERY unusual for Maine - there were lots of changes in the woods, including a huge culvert that had been raised right up out of the ground by what is normally a small brook.  AhD didn't like the looks of THAT, so of course we had to go right up to it and explore.  AhD slogged through some very muddy spots and lots of horse-eating puddles.  Even though I haven't been riding this month, I have been doing my Curly Promotional Duties.  I have talked about Curlies to every person who has come to pick up their puppy, and to people who are looking at our Clyde mare for sale.  The problem is, once they see my adorable Curly, they don't seem as interested in a Clydesdale!

More from Susan!...A woman who is a horse psychic came to look at our Clyde mare last night.  I put on my RAC Curly horse shirt for the occasion.  Luckily she liked the Clydesdale a lot, but she was also totally intrigued with AhD!  She oohed and aahed over his curly coat, mane and tail.  I took him out of his stall so she could "see him better" - but I was really hoping she would tell me something cool  - even though I realized she was not being paid to do a reading, and I totally respect that.  She raved about his feet (so do I) and his hair (so do I) and obviously really liked him (SO DO I!!!).  I explained to her and her husband all about the vast wonderful traits of the Curly and described his winter coat.  She liked the spirals in his mane.  AhD really liked her, I could tell.  He was very quiet, inquisitive and gentle, even with her small child.  He made a very good impression; I was extremely proud of him!  Oh, and as far as insight, she asked me, "Who calls him Oddball?"  I was quite shocked and said, "NOT ME!"  She said, "Well, he doesn't like it. And someone has referred to him as The Red Horse and he doesn't like that either, because he's not red."  I have no idea who these people are, but they had better stop upsetting my adorable little horse!  ha ha!

(Carol & Phantom)Gosh I have not written for such a long time!!  Phantom and I have been riding about every other day.  Austin is still teaching the Wednesday night clinic and we are still attending.  So much to learn. This week, however, something really started making sense.  Austin has said this from the start.....when you go out to ride/work with your horse have a definite plan and stick to it.  For example, if you need to work on stopping then start by refreshing yourself and the horse on all of the actions involved in that maneuver. I stop my horses with my seat and legs and then ask her to back up three to four steps, soften and drop her head, cuing her to stop backing up by putting my legs in the neutral position while keeping my hands quiet and releasing my reins.     Start on the ground by backing up your horse in a halter with a lead rope so when you get up in the saddle, he/she has already moved in that direction. Standing still and while still on the ground, bring her head to the side with your rein and hold until she softens then release immediately.  Same on the other side.  Any little thing you can do to prepare your horse for the quest at hand is to your and her advantage.  This clicked for me when I was moving Phantom from a trot to a canter.  All of sudden I heard this voice...."prepare her to canter. "  Wow, you would have thought God spoke!!!  So we collected up, I looked ahead in the direction we were going(left) I put weight in my right hip, pushed my right leg back slightly and toward her hip and my left leg forward and away from her body so we were in position for the correct lead, a kiss and we were off as smooth as silk.....no jump start here!!!  Wow, wow, wow.......amazing what preparation will do!!!  I have started the habit of thinking ahead of the tasks we will work on before I even start saddling Phantom.  Our times together have been more effective and a bunch more fun.  It is too easy to get into the "just a trail ride" routine so keep those curlies on their toes.....head out with a plan!!!

(Annette and Blue) This past weekend, I had two sets of visitors to see the horses.  Saturday late afternoon, Blue got to do his dance routine with me in the round pen for my parents, and my uncle Stephen and Aunt Mary.  He was a big hit.  I don't think most people realize how friendly and cooperative a horse can be if you spend time developing a relationship with them.  Of course, he's a Curly, so that adds lots of personality and people lovin' to the mix :).
Sunday mid morning, friends of mine brought their three grandsons ages 8, 7, and a little toddler out.  The little one's mother came along, too.  The older boy, Tanem, had been on a recent family vacation and came back talking about how he "almost got to ride a horse".  That seemed to be the main thing he remembered from the vacation, lol.  He kept talking about that, so his grandparents decided to treat him to a horse ride and asked if I could help out.  It was a surprise for the boys, and when they pulled into the driveway I could hear one of the boys saying "Oh, I bet I know why we are here!"  and then when they saw me on Blue, the two boys got so excited, "We're here to ride a horse!"
I was warming Blue up, wanted to make sure all his buttons were in working order.  They watched me ride, then I took Blue into my roundpen, where I talked to each of the boys and gave them about a ride.  I kept a leadrope on Blue, but did allow the older boy to "steer" with a set of reins attached to Blue's halter.  I had them do some exercises from the saddle, and explained about balance and position.
The boys asked so many questions, "How do you stop?" "How do you steer" "How do you get him to walk forward"  "What does 'Yee-Haw' do?"  (I quickly squelched the idea of doing any Yee-Haws!!)  I was pretty much "why this" and "why that" -ed to death, :).  Tanem asked how old Blue was, and when I said "eighteen," he said "Oh, he's a teenager!"   It was tremendously fun for me, too, and the mom and grandparents were so delighted.  They took photos and even some video, but I don't have any copies of those yet.  After the 8 and 7 year old rode, the mom asked if I would mind if she got on Blue, and then held her toddler for some photos.  She had even brought a little helmet for him.  She held her little boy up to Blue, and it was so fun to see him sniff and check the kid out while the kid was doing the same.  Blue was so soft and gentle when the mom and toddler got on, it was pretty amazing how he just seemed to know.  I led them around a bit, and you would have thought Blue was tiptoeing gently to keep from breaking eggs.
Afterwards, we walked down to visit the mares at the other end of my property.  Everyone oohed and ahhed over their curly manes, and Poca's wavy summer coat. 

( Zoe @ Top O' the Hill Farm) Life has been busy here in VT. We have been dealing with major thunderstorms almost daily making everything very wet and sloppy. Plus if a thunderstorm happens to start when I am in the indoor giving a lesson it is so loud but the horses do not even care, they just keep on doing what they are supposed to be doing. I had a new girl start a few weeks ago for lessons and assisgned her Camille, whom we purchased from Erica Frei a few years back. Well Camille is an extreme naked so some riders look at her a little funny until they actual ride her then they fall in love. This little girl did not care in a bit walked right up to her gave her a huge hug and said she was the most beautiful horse she had ever seen. Their connection was instant and nice to see. Of course while  she is loving up Camille the Mom is asking me a what is wrong with her, what happened to her tail so I got to go into my Curly speel. Well at the end of the lesson even the Mom was saying how beautiful Camille was because she is so sweet, gentle and tolerant. Other than that things have been busy, I went to a BBQ this weekend for our road. I live on a private, owner's maintain road. I spent most of the time explaining about Yemaya and why she has no main and tail. I do not care she and I are having a blast. We are still going out any chance we get which works out to be 4-5 times a week, mostly in the evenings. I am also trying to sneak in a ride here and there between lessons. Hard to do but it is worth it. Hope everyone else is doing well.

(Laurie from Heaven Sent Curlies) My dressage club put on a USDF Sport Horse Breeders Show, where you show your horse in-hand and the horse is assessed on movement, conformation, and dressage suitability.  I entered Dream, so that I could get the judge's opinion on her.  Our judge was Peter Hansen, who is a USDF "r" judge.  Later in the afternoon he had a couple slots for a riding clinic, so I had Becky ride Dream for him to help us figure out why she's so resistant at the canter.  His input was great, so it gives us another direction to go in, but what was worth the most were some on his comments.  He asked for a little bit more about her, so I told her story in a nut shell.  He was totally amazed at where she is in her training, for the length of time we've been working with her.  He also was totally amazed at her movement under saddle compared to her "in-hand" assesment, which didn't surprise us at all!  We know that.  He said that she had a fantastic mind "so you have to respect that," and "she has a fantastic attitude.  She wants to please her people."  He was amazed that the three of us (Becky, me, and Rachel) all ride her and that she is equally good for us all.  He said that he wished he had three horses just liker because he could "sell them in an instant!"  He said, "This is the kind of horse that most of my clients need, not the huge moving fancy dressage prospects.  She is light and quick, and highly responsive.  She will take the average rider a long way.  Her movement is not ever going to score in the 9's, but the average ride doesn't need that kind of movement!  The average rider can't handle a horse with that much movement."  He knew nothing about Curlies going into this, and now we have another convert!!  It was a wonderful experience for us all!!  I consider comments from a judge like that to be worth a lot!  He sees and evaluates a lot of horses!!  He LOVED Dream, her attitude, her capability, and her rideability!  It was wonderful.  For people like Paul who don't know this, I found Dream at a Rescue in March '07!  She had been mistreated, so the first 60 days were all ground work getting her to trust us, and getting her used to having her body handled by humans again.  In the beginning, to bridle her we had to take it all apart and then buckle it once we got the bit in because we could not touch her ears or put anything on ever her head.  You can see how far she has come in a short time.  The difference between other horses and Curlies is sometimes hard to articulate, which is why I wanted to share this.  It shows how they are different!  Another way that yesterday demonstrated how different she is was in her over all attitude and behavior!!  She was calm, interested, listening to us, not misbehaving...  Some of the "dressage" horses were whinnying, emotional, rearing, reacting, not listening to their handler on the triangle (I'd practiced this with Dream a lot before hand, and she thought it was a fun game!)  The ONLY time Dream whinnied was as I was waiting to go in the ring, I was walking her around.  We walked by a beautiful gray horse who she did a double-take at, and as I led her away she whinnied to HIM.  As I walked back that way I asked his owner if he was a stallion.  Sure enough!  Lusitano stallion!!  He was lovely, too, so my girl has good taste.  :-) Laurie

(Linda @ Creekside Curlies) August started off with a  bang here. We finally were done with mares/breeding here and loaded up HeartBreaker and headed to the trainer's barn. Mike Kincella was my first choice for a trainer for HB, but was unavailable last year. This year we are thrilled that circumstances have changed, and Mike was able to accept HB in for training. Mike has many students, and the day we dropped HB off, early in August, there were curious onlookers to see a unique curly stallion. A great opportunity to share a bit of the curly tale. We got him settled in, and headed home, hoping for a good match between horse and rider.
In the next couple weeks, I have had several chances to talk curlies with folks. We have 2 of our horses at the neighbors place..they are eating down the grass, to help with fire danger. Legacy and Flyer are the horses we chose for this task, still youngsters, friendly attitudes and manners were a must for this situation. Legacy and Flyer did a little excessive play last week, and Legs got a nice gouge on her hindquarter, above her hock...so, I spent the week attending to it, irrigated daily, a spray of scarlet oil, and some SWAT,,,,When the neighbors had company in, that had not been exposed to the horses before, Legacy showed off her grand manners, while being hosed down and doctored...I am so glad I taught that filly to bathe ;-)  My curly filly was being a princess, even with a painful gouge to heal.
Sunday, it dawned warm and clear as my friend Alene and I headed to Spokane for our first showing of HeartBreaker this year....I was filled with anticipation, and anxiety, Trainer Mike had only been riding HB for a day less than 2 weeks ! That is not much time to tune up a well broke horse, much less a youngster, who had not been ridden in a whole year. Dressage is not something you can fake..the movement is either there or it is not....I scanned to score table, to see how early rides went....groan...not too great of scores...57, 58,, 54...ugh!
HeartBreaker's test rides were mid day, the first ride was right after the judge takes her lunch...will she come back in a good mood? boy, we hope so! Mike was hauling HB alone, and when he arrived...they were not there yet....but...during one of the early rides Alene and I were watching...he arrived!!  You could hear him whinny, and as with many horses, his voice is certainly discernable...even from a distance.  We braiding, brushed, cornstarched the legs, and Mike tacked and hopped on....I watched the 2 of them, quiet, calm, willing attitudes as Mike mounted and rode off.....Mike rode around the show grounds, HeartBreaker relaxed...in a few minutes he was riding on a loose rein....Then the questions started...lots of folks walked up and asked questions....some were familiar with curlies..well, sort of...the Douglas family, where Trainer Mike works out of, owns 4 curlies....2 of their horses were completing also today.  In a quiet/calm manner, Mike warmed HB up....then, again on a loose rein, they toured the show grounds, Mike even studied his test a bit more while waiting....
Last year, HB's rides were Training Level,  Test 1 and Test 2.  We knew, to compete for CSI awards, he would have to ride Test 4,  more complex than Test 1 and Test 2...how would that go?  In  the Training Level Test 4 class there were 8 rides....HB went first....and last....so, we would not know any scores until both his rides were over....more waiting!  Finally, enter Trainer Mike and HB....the test looked decent..and I told Mike afterward...I know we are expecting miracles here....I watched other tests...we are SO sunk...I thought....they looked better to me...but then I am NOT a judge ( thank goodness! )   After ride 2, we took HB back to the horse trailer, untacked, feed and watered him and headed towards the scorers table to get our results....I could not bear to look, thank goodness Alene was willing to go get the score sheets...I could barely believe my eyes...she picked up the BLUE RIBBON !!!  Trainer Mike and HB had won their class....the first ride was the highest scoring ride of the class.....wow...WOW...wow...to say I was on cloud 9 would be a terrible understatement...LOL....there will be more late summer shows...and much more time for
And the bonus,  I answered SO many questions about curlies...and what a nice presentation for folks to see...in fact, those Douglas family members, riding their curlies ?  they won their classes also...wish I had taken the time to do an all curly/blue ribbon photo....here are pics from the day....

( Betsy @ Top O' the Hill Farm) The past few months we have been videoing lessons to send out to a "master" NARHA instructor for critique. We are working toward our premier center certification. The person who is viewing the video's is our area mentor and also head of the board for NAHRA certification. She had mostly all great comments, but most of all -- she had never seen a Curly before and was bowled over by their patience and kindness and incredible suitability for therapeutic riding. A quote from her comments-- "calm, accepting, nurturing, tolerant ".  When she is ready for a new mount for her family, she wants to add a Curly to the herd because of how impressed she is with them.

(Brie & Sage) Sage did really well yesterday at the Champlain Valley Fair!! He was such a ham with all the people coming through, and was definitely the crowd-pleasing horse at different points throughout the day. And I was SO PROUD of him for how calmly he handled being in the parade...he was a trouper! He handled everything so well, from being behind the marching band in the parade, and walking past all the blinky lights and strange rides that are present at a fair, to holding still when little toddlers went to pet him, to staying calm despite two Morgans in the parade freaking out right behind him.  He could not have done better. His comical horsenality really came through all day, from when he puffed himself up because an ox was walking towards him (he could take on that ox, he knew he could) to the way he had a new girlfriend all day long that he hung out with and whinnied to as he left for the parade. Needless to say, I am so proud of my boy!