Hill Work

 Today we start hill work. If you have ever been here to our farm, you know we do not have "gentle" hills. The hills here are extreme. I was not sure I could ever work Legacy even on our driveway, as it is very steep.

 Being the lady that she is, the kind and willing team member, she is tackling the hill with ease!

Coming down is nearly as difficult on her, as she must now use her bum to brake the weight of the cart and me. To accomplish the marathon phase of our local CDE, she will need to build enough muscle to carry and brake 2 people......

My friend and mentor "Virgil" came over to help work the hill, he took Legacy up and down the hill several times before I attempted it. He also stopped her on the steepest part of the hill, to see if she could hold him and the cart in place...she did!  he also brought his camera ;-)  thank you Virgil for these photos!!!  they are priceless ......and thank you Legacy for such a willing spirit and a can do attitude.

CDE playday

Legacy, and I attended a CDE playday at Teddy Bear Farms in Mead, WA in mid May. I also introduced my "Gator"  to the world, Alice D.  Alice was a superb gator, always a step ahead of me in plans!...For this shot of Alice and me,  a gentleman had stopped beside the road to snap a photo of us out in the lovely field. We asked for a photo of us, with my camera and he willingly took on the task!   He had the same camera as mine (Canon 7D) 

 We did the trails, Legacy has not done any hill work yet, so the hill was a bit of a learning experience for us. After the hill, she was gawking at a roadside pile of logs,  very intense she was!  when a butterfly flew off its roost and startled her....Funny girl !!!  big horse scared by tiny butterfly!   she was just concentrating so hard....you can not ask any more than that.

 Legacy LOVED the cones course. I swear she can not only read, she can add too...she loved the course, and hit the mid section of the cones with skill...like a jumper that does not want a rail down, she was careful to center herself...even if I did not help!  Each round of the cones course, she wanted to go faster and faster, she was sure using engaging her mind.

Good friends, lovely weather and an oh so lovely place to practice......our first CDE is in June...I HOPE we are ready ;-)

The end of an era and the start of something new

Well, over the last week I have watched my two last sales horses leave. Princess and Tekara both headed out to new homes, Princess had a short journey (of the two) to Colorado, and Tekara is in Calgary now, in quarantine, headed to Germany.  This is the end of an era for me, years of building, learning, a lot of luck, judging horseflesh good and bad, and what works with each to make better. It is a long process and looking back I am amazed at how much I really DID learn. 

Our new era starts next weekend, when I take my harness horse and attend our very first playday. I will also be introducing my "Gator" to the world over the next few weeks, I have been carefully training her to help Legacy and I on our journey. Driving allows a person to do something a ridden horse can not do. The chance to share the experience with a non rider, in a safe venue (well, as safe as horses can be)....I find this a positive thing in my life and will want to expand on that very idea. Having a navigator (gator) is required in Combined Driving events, she will also serve under different titles,  Gator, header, Groom.....we are having a blast together and I hope she might want to learn to drive someday....added bonus?  some one to snap photos of Legacy and I.

The curly world has changed in many positive ways in the last 15+ years we have been in business. IF I were to start a mare herd today, my search for quality mares would be much easier than it was years ago. Prices might be up a bit,  but the quality is way up and that is encouraging....course, you never know, I "do" own a mare, and that is how it kind of all started!