I've gotten behind in my blogging. We got home from the Caledonia Fair Sunday night, Tor and Lize started school Monday morning. I leave Thursday morning for South Dakota, returning Monday night.
The Fair was good! I'd be happy to be invited back next year. I met Gino, one of the acrobats who's a 5th generation circus performer. He's of Spanish heritage and I enjoyed telling him about the Colonial Spanish Horses. He was very appreciative.
Each public event we go to there are always a few people that stand out that I'll remember for a long time. He'll be one of them. The other was an older woman who told me a hundred times how much she loved the movie Hidalgo. She was there the whole weekend helping with the Haflinger horses that did driving demo's. She heard my speil about the CS horses over a hundred times too. Then there was a little girl about 8 years old that cried when she had to leave Augustine. I let her lead him around and she kissed his nose many times and hugged him. He loves that. And a 13 year old boy named Tyler that was around all weekend too. He was such a natural with Augustine. He watched me work with him on the ground, then I gave him a few pointers and let him figure it out. He handled Augustine with such confidence and leadership. I'd welcome Tyler as an apprentice any day.
Tori and Oscar were really the stars of Lawrence Arena over the weekend. Tor signed autographs, and not always Oscars! She handles it all so well and with maturity. It was her 16th birthday on Monday. I'm very proud of her. Eliza works hard behind the scenes, enjoying that role.
We did three presentations. I talked about HIDALGO, the CS horses then seamlessly ( ha ha !) went into natural horsemanship. It's like show and tell. People were interested I think. Or they were just being polite! I'm getting much better at the public speaking thing now. I'm more confident about the information I'm sharing than I was in the past. After almost 6 years of this, it's about time I suppose. Being able to make jokes and smiling is a good thing. It's not the amount of people that bother me. I could talk in front of a coliseum full of people as long as I had a horse next to me to work with.
Augustine isn't the most exciting demo horse because he's so laid back. Nothing bothers him, there is no drama. People like drama and excitement. He really represents the CS horses well though and everyone falls in love with him.
Tuesday, August 31, 2010
Thursday, August 26, 2010
Kinda funny
After our presentation at Johnson State College yesterday Jo and I headed back to The Center along the nicely mowed paths. Jo was riding Maya who was enjoying an outing, and I was on Ringo. Feeling good about the contacts I made at the college, I loped Ringo along with a smile on my face. Next thing I knew I was pitched over Ringo's shoulder and found myself laying in a field deep of ferns! Jo was right behind me and saw the whole thing. With out losing any rhythm, I got up, asked Jo what the
@$%)! just happened, mounted back up and continued on like nothing happened. It was more like a hiccup in my ride! Still don't know what made Ringo scoot sideways. He wasn't phased by my lack of ability to stay on. Neither was I.
Later in the evening, I was carrying two bowls of Rocky Road ice cream to the couch to sit down with my husband. I tripped over a stupid TV tray (we don't even have a TV so why is it here?!) and fell knees first hard on the wood floor! OUCH. I didn't even have a chance to catch myself with my hands since I was carrying precious ice cream. The bowl broke, the dog ate the ice cream, I sat on the kitchen floor speechless and wimpering. Knowing immediately nothing was broken, I just sat there and felt the pain, silently cursing the TV tray.
After I got up off the floor I went and laid down, my body did not feel good. What ran through my mind was my little trip into the ferns with Ringo just a few hours earlier and how painless that was compared to the Rocky Road incident. I wanted to laugh at myself but was too mad. Today, I'm a little stiff, but not bad. Walking more carefully around the house now.
Then to top it off.. after telling the story to Tori today, in all of her 16 years of wisdom she said, " You know what mom? They say when you fall it's the Universe knocking stress out of you. You must be REALLY stressed!". Thanks Tor!
But it got me thinking. Yes, I know I've been wound a little tight lately and my trip off Ringo was a wake up fall. I laughed it off and gave it no thought. After the Rocky Road, I cried for a half hour. Not so much about over the physical pain really.
Kinda funny!
@$%)! just happened, mounted back up and continued on like nothing happened. It was more like a hiccup in my ride! Still don't know what made Ringo scoot sideways. He wasn't phased by my lack of ability to stay on. Neither was I.
Later in the evening, I was carrying two bowls of Rocky Road ice cream to the couch to sit down with my husband. I tripped over a stupid TV tray (we don't even have a TV so why is it here?!) and fell knees first hard on the wood floor! OUCH. I didn't even have a chance to catch myself with my hands since I was carrying precious ice cream. The bowl broke, the dog ate the ice cream, I sat on the kitchen floor speechless and wimpering. Knowing immediately nothing was broken, I just sat there and felt the pain, silently cursing the TV tray.
After I got up off the floor I went and laid down, my body did not feel good. What ran through my mind was my little trip into the ferns with Ringo just a few hours earlier and how painless that was compared to the Rocky Road incident. I wanted to laugh at myself but was too mad. Today, I'm a little stiff, but not bad. Walking more carefully around the house now.
Then to top it off.. after telling the story to Tori today, in all of her 16 years of wisdom she said, " You know what mom? They say when you fall it's the Universe knocking stress out of you. You must be REALLY stressed!". Thanks Tor!
But it got me thinking. Yes, I know I've been wound a little tight lately and my trip off Ringo was a wake up fall. I laughed it off and gave it no thought. After the Rocky Road, I cried for a half hour. Not so much about over the physical pain really.
Kinda funny!
Tuesday, August 24, 2010
Off to College
No, not the two legged kids! But the four-legged, fur covered ones! Wednesday we are bringing Oscar and two Colonial Spanish horses to Johnson State College for the first ever horse appearance on the campus!
The Center is located just one mile up the hill from JSC. Our presentation is the first of what we hope to be an ongoing collaboration with the school. A volunteer program through the school called Serve Fridays will bring students to The Center on Sept 3 for a day of community service. Tomorrows presentation will raise awareness of the work we are doing at The Center and it will get students psyched up to sign up for the volunteer day. They will be showing the movie HIDALGO to get kids familiar with who will be on their campus!
I'm really looking forward to making this great connection. Thanks so much to Krista Swann and Ellen Hill at the school for the support and coordination of this all!!! It's exciting to think of the doors this can open for the future!
The Center is located just one mile up the hill from JSC. Our presentation is the first of what we hope to be an ongoing collaboration with the school. A volunteer program through the school called Serve Fridays will bring students to The Center on Sept 3 for a day of community service. Tomorrows presentation will raise awareness of the work we are doing at The Center and it will get students psyched up to sign up for the volunteer day. They will be showing the movie HIDALGO to get kids familiar with who will be on their campus!
I'm really looking forward to making this great connection. Thanks so much to Krista Swann and Ellen Hill at the school for the support and coordination of this all!!! It's exciting to think of the doors this can open for the future!
Logo Tshirts!
Today I picked up the new Tshirts from the printers! The logo looks fantastic, thanks to an incredibly fast moving and talented artist, Adrienne Neary! www.wingspanartsintl.com They are for sale for $20 each. I have small, medium, large and XL and they run a little bit big. The shirts are a nice color--cardinal red (not really red, but not as dark as burgundy) with the black and tan logo that Adrienne designed.
To order a shirt, just email me! Vtblackpony@aol.com
To order a shirt, just email me! Vtblackpony@aol.com
Thursday, August 19, 2010
Today's schedule
Feed ponies, meet with Johnson State College about presentation on August 25th, meet to begin budget and projections for The Center, teach 4 1/2 hours of lessons in Waitsfield, pick up some hay, feed ponies, go home, cook dinner, check email and all my social networking. And it's only 10:30 pm now. The night is young!!!! (joke.)
Wednesday, August 18, 2010
Summer fun is over
Two months ago a little Morgan mare came for training. Today, her owner took her home. Summer made some huge progress. It was so rewarding to see Jenny load up her horse by herself in just a few patient minutes. Remember, two months ago, loading took over four hours! We won't soon forget that day. One month ago Jenny sat on her for the first time. Yesterday, Jenny rode Summer on a trail ride with me and Coyote.
What made this such a success? Jenny has been totally committed to her horse. She's come to watch and participate in Summer's training since day one. She's watched the progression of her horse going from unconfident to brave. She's learned some technique and philosophy. This is the way it should be.
I know I'll see more Summer to help them transition back to being home together if needed. Thanks for the memories---see you soon!
What made this such a success? Jenny has been totally committed to her horse. She's come to watch and participate in Summer's training since day one. She's watched the progression of her horse going from unconfident to brave. She's learned some technique and philosophy. This is the way it should be.
I know I'll see more Summer to help them transition back to being home together if needed. Thanks for the memories---see you soon!
Sunday, August 15, 2010
About our Open House
Saturday was the big day. It was great! The weather cooperated, it couldn't have been nicer. A group of volunteers worked all day greeting guests, the KARAVAN was shuttling people from the parking area to the party area all day. Thank you to EVERYONE who pitched in to help out in so many ways. I could not have done any of this without you all.
We had alot of people come who I had never met before. That's good news. Means that just that many more people know what a Colonial Spanish horse is. I met a group of artists from the studio school who were fascinated by the horses and asked a lot of good questions. The demo's I did were a success. I played with Morado at liberty for the first one. He was his usual wonderful self and people said they were very inspired by watching us work together. I don't know that I'm trying to inspire any one really, just trying to show them how willing the horses are to work with humans.
Lots of kids played with Ringo and Thunder. Getting pony rides, painting hand prints on them, brushing them, hugs and kisses. Oscar gave out autographs and Tori spent time with our guests answering questions about Hidalgo.
We are all very tired. I meant to take the day off (besides feeding the ponies of course) but ended up spending most of the day at the barn putting a third and fourth strand of wire on the fence due to Coyote and Maya being smarter than I am!
Our next event is our presentation at Johnson State College August 25th.
going to bed-finally.
We had alot of people come who I had never met before. That's good news. Means that just that many more people know what a Colonial Spanish horse is. I met a group of artists from the studio school who were fascinated by the horses and asked a lot of good questions. The demo's I did were a success. I played with Morado at liberty for the first one. He was his usual wonderful self and people said they were very inspired by watching us work together. I don't know that I'm trying to inspire any one really, just trying to show them how willing the horses are to work with humans.
Lots of kids played with Ringo and Thunder. Getting pony rides, painting hand prints on them, brushing them, hugs and kisses. Oscar gave out autographs and Tori spent time with our guests answering questions about Hidalgo.
We are all very tired. I meant to take the day off (besides feeding the ponies of course) but ended up spending most of the day at the barn putting a third and fourth strand of wire on the fence due to Coyote and Maya being smarter than I am!
Our next event is our presentation at Johnson State College August 25th.
going to bed-finally.
Saturday, August 7, 2010
I want to share a story about something that happened today. I just wrote a page worth and accidentally deleted it...so this is the short version.
A family from Massachusetts called me at the barn this morning, asking if they could come see the horses. They wondered if it was imposing too much! Oh my, nothing more I like to do than share my horses.
They arrived shortly after the phone call and I was still walking Shy around. Out of the van comes three girls who look teen aged, and the mom and the dad. Before I could introduce myself, or Shy, the mother tells the girls to go slow and be gentle. Then she tells me her children are special needs. My response, as I was a bit suprised right off, was that Shy has special needs too. We'll all get along fine.
Shy Shy still has some shy left in her. She's so much more friendly and outgoing but 6 hands reaching to pet her soft nose may have worried her. She handled it great! The girls had a very gentle and caring touch to them. You could see how they absolutely loved the horses and their concern for the flies on her face was so kind.
I put Shy away and brought Thunder out. I told the girls and the parents that Thunder could handle anything-go ahead and do all the petting, kissing and hugging they wanted to do-it was fine with Thunder. So they did! He got his nose kissed, arms wrapped around him tightly, petting and flies got swished off his face.
We went to each pasture and visited each horse. As we went to see "the boys" (7 geldings and one mare in a herd) they were still eating their breakfast hay and didn't pay too much attention to the guests. I went in and one by one brought each horse over to the fence where the girls were standing. Cherokee was the first one to come over on his own. He planted himself in front of the sisters and took advantage of their gentleness and fly swatting. I led Maya over, then Ringo, then Adelantado. The girls wanted to know all of their names!
As we stood there I explained about the breed and The Center and how herd dynamics work . I noticed the horses were beginning to come over to the fence on their own now. They slowly left their hay and formed a circle next to where we stood. One by one they started getting sleepy in the warm sun. Then something really interesting happened. Coyote went inside the circle of horses and laid down! Then Maya went down. It was the first time I've seen her lay down and sleep. Then Cherokee, Augustine next and Adelantado followed. Within a few minutes more than half the herd was laying down. Some of them flat out in a deep sleep. Oscar, Morado and Montego stood, yet they were asleep too.
The family knew that they had witnessed some real quality herd dynamics at work as the horses lay around us sleeping. We all stood there and watched them sleep and rotate positions. What an honor it is to know they trust us enough to do that. The love and good energy these girls gave off to the horses was enough to make me feel like shedding a tear on the spot.
Many minutes went by before the horses started to rouse themselves. They got up and walked back to their hay as we walked back to the familys van. I asked the mom what sort of medical condition her children have. They were very bright, engaging, and funny, although they did have speech challenges. She told me they have a very rare condition called Sanfilippo Syndrome. As we exchanged contact information, I invited them all back anytime they were in Vermont again. And the girls could spend more time with the horses.
All day today I've had my mind on those three wonderful girls who loved my horses. Really loved them, you could tell by the way they stroked their face and looked at them. It was a moving experience for me to see that.
When I got home tonight I googled Sanfilippo Syndrome and learned that many of the children with this do not live past their early twenties. The girls I met today were ages 16 to 22. I also learned that the parents have a foundation to raise money and awareness of this condition. There is no cure, or treatment discovered yet.
When the father left me with a small donation to The Center as they were leaving, I gratefully accepted it. Now that I know more than I did earlier today I wish I could give it back. It's not too late.
Please visit their website: http://www.jlksanfilippofoundation.com
To add a more enriching ending to this story which demonstrates to me how powerful the good energy of these girls were: As I drove away only a few minutes behind my guests, a deer lept over the driveway a safe distance ahead of me. Then seconds later I notice her two baby fawns (with spots still) nibbling grass in the arena! They were totally at ease and I got to watch them for quite awhile. They finally bounced their way back to the woods where they found mama!
A family from Massachusetts called me at the barn this morning, asking if they could come see the horses. They wondered if it was imposing too much! Oh my, nothing more I like to do than share my horses.
They arrived shortly after the phone call and I was still walking Shy around. Out of the van comes three girls who look teen aged, and the mom and the dad. Before I could introduce myself, or Shy, the mother tells the girls to go slow and be gentle. Then she tells me her children are special needs. My response, as I was a bit suprised right off, was that Shy has special needs too. We'll all get along fine.
Shy Shy still has some shy left in her. She's so much more friendly and outgoing but 6 hands reaching to pet her soft nose may have worried her. She handled it great! The girls had a very gentle and caring touch to them. You could see how they absolutely loved the horses and their concern for the flies on her face was so kind.
I put Shy away and brought Thunder out. I told the girls and the parents that Thunder could handle anything-go ahead and do all the petting, kissing and hugging they wanted to do-it was fine with Thunder. So they did! He got his nose kissed, arms wrapped around him tightly, petting and flies got swished off his face.
We went to each pasture and visited each horse. As we went to see "the boys" (7 geldings and one mare in a herd) they were still eating their breakfast hay and didn't pay too much attention to the guests. I went in and one by one brought each horse over to the fence where the girls were standing. Cherokee was the first one to come over on his own. He planted himself in front of the sisters and took advantage of their gentleness and fly swatting. I led Maya over, then Ringo, then Adelantado. The girls wanted to know all of their names!
As we stood there I explained about the breed and The Center and how herd dynamics work . I noticed the horses were beginning to come over to the fence on their own now. They slowly left their hay and formed a circle next to where we stood. One by one they started getting sleepy in the warm sun. Then something really interesting happened. Coyote went inside the circle of horses and laid down! Then Maya went down. It was the first time I've seen her lay down and sleep. Then Cherokee, Augustine next and Adelantado followed. Within a few minutes more than half the herd was laying down. Some of them flat out in a deep sleep. Oscar, Morado and Montego stood, yet they were asleep too.
The family knew that they had witnessed some real quality herd dynamics at work as the horses lay around us sleeping. We all stood there and watched them sleep and rotate positions. What an honor it is to know they trust us enough to do that. The love and good energy these girls gave off to the horses was enough to make me feel like shedding a tear on the spot.
Many minutes went by before the horses started to rouse themselves. They got up and walked back to their hay as we walked back to the familys van. I asked the mom what sort of medical condition her children have. They were very bright, engaging, and funny, although they did have speech challenges. She told me they have a very rare condition called Sanfilippo Syndrome. As we exchanged contact information, I invited them all back anytime they were in Vermont again. And the girls could spend more time with the horses.
All day today I've had my mind on those three wonderful girls who loved my horses. Really loved them, you could tell by the way they stroked their face and looked at them. It was a moving experience for me to see that.
When I got home tonight I googled Sanfilippo Syndrome and learned that many of the children with this do not live past their early twenties. The girls I met today were ages 16 to 22. I also learned that the parents have a foundation to raise money and awareness of this condition. There is no cure, or treatment discovered yet.
When the father left me with a small donation to The Center as they were leaving, I gratefully accepted it. Now that I know more than I did earlier today I wish I could give it back. It's not too late.
Please visit their website: http://www.jlksanfilippofoundation.com
To add a more enriching ending to this story which demonstrates to me how powerful the good energy of these girls were: As I drove away only a few minutes behind my guests, a deer lept over the driveway a safe distance ahead of me. Then seconds later I notice her two baby fawns (with spots still) nibbling grass in the arena! They were totally at ease and I got to watch them for quite awhile. They finally bounced their way back to the woods where they found mama!
Thursday, August 5, 2010
I've become obsessed with clearing brush! It's such an immediate gratification type of work. It's right up there with vacumming a shag carpet! I've taken out two very large chokecherry trees that had choked out some lovely old wild rose bushes along the driveway. Two truck loads of brush into the burn pile. Gotta love it!
I'm taming the property and thinking it's sort of metaphorical with development of the Center. As I get more clear on the vision I've had over the past number of years I've got to get rid of the things that have "choked" me out and let the beauty of my ideas (the roses) grow strong again.
Gosh, it feels good!
I'm taming the property and thinking it's sort of metaphorical with development of the Center. As I get more clear on the vision I've had over the past number of years I've got to get rid of the things that have "choked" me out and let the beauty of my ideas (the roses) grow strong again.
Gosh, it feels good!
Monday, August 2, 2010
\I'd be writing a novel if I recapped all that has happened over the last week. Things are moving along with planning and events.
First off, our OPEN HOUSE is less than two weeks away. The property is getting a face lift. Today, the brush hogging warrior from Three Mountain Landscape came back and spent 8 hours on the tractor. AMAZING how nice things are looking and he'll be finishing up by noon tomorrow. Eliza spent the morning with the loppers taking down brush and trimming around the trees. Tomorrow, cheap kid labor (free!) coming to do some more yard work. Reclaiming 70 acres one pair of loppers at time will keep kids busy!! hehehe
Did manage to get another trail ride in today with Tory and Eliza and a friend. The horses are so good and happy to cruise around the trails. I rode Maya who was just perfect.
Yesterday, Summer had her first outing on the trails. Considering where we were at a month ago, she's been a real star and poster horse for the Lockhart School of Equine Reform! Summer had a nice time and handled herself quite well. We did come across a 4 wheeler, a few cars, mud, ledge to cross and a small trickeling stream. Her owner has been so committed to being part of Summers training that the transition home in a few weeks should be pretty easy.
Minko, the little Choctaw, has really come around the last few weeks. He's such a character! He hangs out at the fence waiting for someone to come pet him. He's irresistable to walk by and not call him some sappy name and pet on him a few minutes.
The month ahead is full of fun and adventures with the open house, presentation at Johnson State College, the Caledonia County fair, and then preparing to leave for South Dakota on Sept. 2nd. I've picked up a few new adult students and the activity around the Center lately is really good!
First off, our OPEN HOUSE is less than two weeks away. The property is getting a face lift. Today, the brush hogging warrior from Three Mountain Landscape came back and spent 8 hours on the tractor. AMAZING how nice things are looking and he'll be finishing up by noon tomorrow. Eliza spent the morning with the loppers taking down brush and trimming around the trees. Tomorrow, cheap kid labor (free!) coming to do some more yard work. Reclaiming 70 acres one pair of loppers at time will keep kids busy!! hehehe
Did manage to get another trail ride in today with Tory and Eliza and a friend. The horses are so good and happy to cruise around the trails. I rode Maya who was just perfect.
Yesterday, Summer had her first outing on the trails. Considering where we were at a month ago, she's been a real star and poster horse for the Lockhart School of Equine Reform! Summer had a nice time and handled herself quite well. We did come across a 4 wheeler, a few cars, mud, ledge to cross and a small trickeling stream. Her owner has been so committed to being part of Summers training that the transition home in a few weeks should be pretty easy.
Minko, the little Choctaw, has really come around the last few weeks. He's such a character! He hangs out at the fence waiting for someone to come pet him. He's irresistable to walk by and not call him some sappy name and pet on him a few minutes.
The month ahead is full of fun and adventures with the open house, presentation at Johnson State College, the Caledonia County fair, and then preparing to leave for South Dakota on Sept. 2nd. I've picked up a few new adult students and the activity around the Center lately is really good!
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