JULY 2007
 WINNER OF JULY'S PROMOTION CONTEST IS:
LAURA KIBLER!!!
Congratulations Laura on being RAC's Best Promoter for the month of July!!!
You will be receiving your special prize in the mail shortly!!!
A SPECIAL PRIZE WILL BE GIVEN TO THE RIDER THAT DOES THE BEST JOB OF PROMOTING THIS MONTH!
Rider must post all promotions to the RAC page, to be counted. Email me!
| Note from Laura: Billy and I went out for a trail ride on Thursday evening. There was a light breeze and it was just a beautiful evening. Billy had a very difficult time getting across the bridge with the "raging, horse-eating river" below it. There were two men fishing off the bridge. One was a younger man who asked me if I was allergic to poison ivy "because when that horse throws you, you are going to be laying right in it." I guess Billy continuously backing up and doing zig-zags, refusing to go forward, was making him a bit nervous. I assured him that he was not going to "throw" me and that I could be just as stubborn as he. The other gentleman, I would say in his 80's, kept peeking around the back of his truck to see what I was up to. He did not have nothing to say, he would just flash me a smile that was almost child-like. After approximately 35 minutes, Billy finally took a few steps to begin crossing the bridge. When the older gentleman saw Billy, he jumped off the back of his truck and made a motion towards Billy. I stopped Billy. Billy's ears went right towards this man. The man took Billy by the bridle and was telling him how brave he was for coming across the river and that "everything was going to be alright now" and he walked with Billy all the way across the bridge while talking so kindly to him and stroking his nose. The man had a bit of a limp, so he was not very fast or smooth. But, Billy was patient and went just his speed and was not bothered by the jerking of his bridle. We got to the other side and the man kissed Billy on the nose and told him he was the most beautiful horse he had ever seen. The only words he spoke to me were "What kind of horse is he?" I said he is an American Curly Horse. He said "magnificent." I thanked the man for his help and we continued on the trail. About 2 1/2 hours later, we were coming home the same way and the two men were still fishing. Billy had no problem going across the river because we were going home. (At least that is what I was thinking). When the older man saw us coming, he just stood up at the end of his truck. Billy saw him and made a hard pull on the reins to get to this man. The man's face lit up, he smiled, and said "Curly Billy" and reached for his bridle again. Billy literally buried his head in his arm. It was like they were long lost buddies!! Once again, Billy got a kiss on the nose and a "your alright." I did not do much promoting on this ride, but I am certain that I made an older gentleman's day!! Or, I should say, Billy made his day!! |
| Note from Erin: (sent in by Bretta) On Saturday the 7th of July, 2007 (that is 7/7/07) Erin participated in a local NBHA Barrel race. She drew the 2nd run in 3D youth barrels, most of the girls ran a 16 or 17 second run Erin ran a 20.267 a 1 second improvement from last month. Last month she was unhappy because she missed the money by that 1 second, to place 5th in standings for 4D. Well her improvement garnished her 4th place in 3D and also a check for $7.77, a coincidence who knows. But I told her she should of played the lottery that night. How many times will a person win 7.77 on 7/7/07, and if you add the 4th place to the 3D you also get 7. Spooky. Erin was so happy she won money she almost broke her neck calling my Mom to tell her the good news. Well thanks and have a good one, we have another barrel race this weekend. Oh by the way JJ likes coffee with a little cream and sugar. Have a good week - Erin, Bretta and the fuzzy one. |
| ...p.s. I just wanted to update you on Erin's last show. The person in charge of our district e-mailed Erin and told her that she actually placed 3rd in 3D, not 4th, increasing her points and payout. With the NBHA people ranked in the top 5 within their category are invited to compete in world at the end of the year. Most of the people at our shows know Erin and the fuzzy one, we still have new people come up and ask about his breed but in the summertime he looks more like the rest of the horses. I'll be glad when it cools off again, JJ does have finger waves all over his body though. |
Note from Brie: Just wanted to let you know, after two weeks of final projects, health issues and thunderstorms, I finally got to go riding yesterday! Sage had some excess energy at first (two weeks off will do that to him, he remembers he's only five...), but we did some ground work and then I rode him bareback for a half hour or so, just at the walk. Compared to what I used to do as a teenager, that is no amazing feat, but I was on top of the world for the rest of the day! I spent maybe 10 minutes on the ground refreshing Sage's memory on reining cues, and he was fabulously light and responsive when I got on.
I should also mention that my neighborhood has lots of kids running around, and several that love to come help in my garden, or play with my dogs. Well, the whole gang found out last week that I have a horse, and boy did that cause some excitement! So July 30th I will be doing my part to promote the breed by hauling several of them out to the barn with a mom or two as well. It should be fun!!! In the meantime, here's a picture of Sage sporting his Parelli rope hackamore and western saddle(sorry I didn't take any good pictures of our bareback ride yesterday). I was so psyched that he ground-ties well enough for an easy photo shoot. I suppose riding around at a walk isn't as exciting as some of the fancier stuff I did as a teenager...but, I also know I would NEVER have ridden my non-Curly from back then bareback in a hackamore! |
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| Note from Mendy: I will share an accomplishment Emmy has achieved this month, might not sound like much to some, but maybe u all can remember way back when, LOL. When she took lessons to learn to ride, at the barn, they always used a mounting block to get on the horse, and so she never learned to mount from the ground. I agree that mounting from a block is better for a horse, but there r times, like on the trail, when you need to be able to mount from the ground, and I am very proud to say, with all the trail hours she has put in, she can now mount from the ground unassisted! WOOHOO! Go Emmy! |
| Note from Laura: I had the true pleasure of taking Billy to a fun show with Denise. My husband and both kids joined me and Denise brought Reese and Chy. None of you know this, but I have the most awful looking trailer and van (yes, they actually made a diesel van!) to haul my horses. I have often said that I need a big sticker on the back of my trailer that says "You should see my horse" or "All the money went to the horse". Anyway, this was the first time I have ever attended any kind of "show" with a horse and I swear there was music playing when I brought Billy off of that trailer!!! I was so proud to be the owner of him!!! I immediately signed myself AND my boys up for classes!! I have a hard time letting them ride at home in the round pen, yet I did not even give a second thought to them riding in the show!! I just knew Billy was going to be a gem and take care of them. And that he did!!! The first class I entered with Billy was a "serious" halter class (I think). We took 4th, which to me was like a first. I stood out in that arena with him and just felt like a million bucks in my sweatshirt and jeans. The judge said "gotta love that color". In the meantime, my husband was watching and having to deal with a lady who was telling him that Billy was NOT a curly horse!! My husband finally told her that he owns the horse and he knows what breed it is. Some people think they know it all!! After the class, I hung my 4th place ribbon on Billy's stall with great pride :-) Then it was time for the fun stuff.....my boys did the boot race, catalog race, barrells, egg and spoon race. I was right next to them the whole time. The one time I took my hand off of Billy's bridle, my youngest son Rylee, legged Billy into a canter across the arena. I was standing back at the gate in shock and fear. The other horses had temperaments of barrel horses and I could just see Rylee coming off, but Billy took care of him and led him right to his shoes. By the time I caught up, Rylee had his shoes on and was ready to get back on. Once again, Rylee legged Billy into a canter to the other end of the arena as I stood watching, this time cheering him on!!. Rylee took 1st place in that contest!! I was so proud of Rylee for being so brave and so pleased with Billy for being so cautious! Willie got to do the barrels with dad leading Billy. I will never forget the sound of Willie laughing all the way around the course! Denise did awesome with Reese and got some wonderful comments from the judge. He was very impressed with Reese and Reese seemed to enjoy the spotlight! Chy, of course, was amazing! This was old stuff to him with young Kelsey on his back. In fact, he was falling asleep in between classes. There was a lot of promoting going on, mostly by Denise. She knows all the facts, so I let her do all the talking. I felt like one of Barker's Beauties, just showing the merchandise. One lady swore that her next horse was going to be a curly and took Denise's number. The boys are already asking me when we can go to another show. I told them "not soon enough!!!" (photos below) |
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| Note from Cindi: very excited.........two great rides this past week.........one daytime ride with our riding buddies cheryl and "Blue"..........rode into town which involves crossing the highway.....went into town........and this time went into wood trails bugs not too bad as long as we trotted.....chester did really well..........hadn't ridden him in the woods too much.......he just takes all our adventures with willingness and a horse smile................ this pm my husband and i rode "into town" but went to the plaza where one of our daughters works at restaurant.......she came out to visit us. our son was at the dunkin donuts ......so he supplied donuts.........the horses loved it..........it was chester's first visit to that location...he just took it all in and "smiled". we headed back to the barn .......getting a bit dark.........so this turned out to be his first "nite" ride............( we had reflectors on)...he and i are becoming a team undersaddle ...........it is all good...........happy riding to all.......... |
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