Happy Birthday Krinkle Clown !!!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Gv1_qYwn06Y
This month Krinkles celebrates her 25 th birthday ! It is a great milestone in a horses life...Krinkles calendar may say "25" but according to our vet, her body and her teeth say "I'm really only 10" Krinkles came to live with us in 1997 when I was searching for a broke horse for my 11 year old son Matthew to ride. I went to look at a farm not too far from our place, with the intention of buying a gelding. The geldings I saw, were either not for sale, or way too green for a young man to enjoy...so, I took the chance and bought a mare.

Krinkles was nicely started under saddle, but she had her own opinion about how you rode. She insisted on kind, soft hands, and legs that stayed quiet unless she was being cued. I swear her and Matthew went backwards more than forwards that first year...but he eventually got the hang of riding her and him and I and our horses spent many peaceful hours out trail riding together. I do not think there was ever a moment when Matthew felt he could not handle her, she was gracious and forgiving, strict and loving all at the same time. They frequently spent time waiting for me and my gelding to catch up...Krinkles walks out faster than any horse I have ridden...big, swinging stride, that really covers the ground. There is no where on the trail she won't go, if you point her in that direction. There were moments where I thought she was going to blow up with Matthew...but over miles and miles of riding, she never did..she thought better of it, and kept him as safe as she could.

A couple years passed and we decided to raise a foal from Krinkles. We were blow away by what this mare has produced, quality every time, no matter the stallion....As we enlarged our herd, added in more broodmares, she was deemed the herd leader. Over the years there were times she was NOT boss mare, other mares got to eat first, but even those mares fell into line when Krinkles headed out. At 25 years old, she is still leading our herd, and has the current luxury of being boss mare too ;-) I think she deserves it, the luxury of being fed first!

Krinkles is a fairly opinionated horse. She has riders she likes and some she dislikes...and if she dislikes you as a rider, you will know it! She has a way of making her opinion known..without violence or bad manners...just a special way of telling you. I have spent quite a bit of time riding her in the last few years, and found we communicate quite well. She sometimes "needs" to know the reason, but if she understands what is being asked, she willingly obliges.

We have had a variety of foals out of Krinles...but one thing remains the same. No matter how much or how little they are handled at the start of their life, when time comes for weaning, halter breaking, saddle training they are kind and willing students. I can not say this of all the mares we have owned...but I can honestly say this of each and every one of her foals.

I dug through a stack of old pictures and found some of her and Matthew together, and also her and some of her foals...enjoy the slideshow/video.....

My neighbor recently asked...."What is going on when I hear the horses in the middle of the night?" oh...an easy reply..Krinkles is gathering her herd, to move grazing locations or to go to water...and believe you me...if you are ANYWHERE close, you will hear this mare..she has a rather exhuberant whinny!

I suppose our farm, someday will not be the same...but I have learned so much for this mare I will always treasure the moments and miles we have shared..enjoy the video !!!

More video is UP!

New Video of *C-C Handsome Dark Knight

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KxXwAzywgqM

Here is our video of "Darkie" He shows off his manners and his kind and willing attitude while working with Darryl....enjoy!

Kallie

as promised...LOL...my blog updates are starting....this might be old news to those who surf my website often, but I will add a bit of an update too, so it can be new news!

A couple weeks ago, we brought *C-C Hotel Kalifornia "Kallie" home from the trainers. Kallie had been in training for several weeks with Mike Kincella, a well know dressage trainer. Her training went well. Mike does an excellent job with my horses, and Kallie was no exception. Here is a link to the videos I prepared when we picked her up.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wVS8a7NB2Wo

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MAyqSkFNJGg

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pAjzj99gAQo

Since Kallie has been home, I have started her in the process of training her to harness. She has learned to accept the harness, lunge and work in harness and we will start long reining and ground driving soon.

The more I work with this filly the MORE I love her ;-) She is highly intelligent, very athletic and is very, very lovely to look at! Keep checking as we will soon start our journey in harness and hitching to a cart.....

catching up!

My oh My ! Technology is great when it works....! not so great when it does not though...for the last month, I have been on limited bandwidth, and unable to access and up date my blog! and there has been SO much going on.....so, over the next few days, I will be chattier than usual..and get all our latest news and pictures posted...stay tuned!

Taking a drive

Leah and Daisy .... ready to drive

Last Saturday I ventured out to be part of the INDS ( Inland Northwest Driving Society ) Pleasure drive at Farragut State Park, near Athol, ID. Since I do not have my own horse and carriage going yet, I was kind enough to be offered a chance to ride with Linda and Greg S. on their surrey....the surrey was pulled by their team, Leah and Dixie. I happily rode in the back seat, snapping a few pics along the way ( not so easy in the bumpy back of a surrey )...it was a lovely drive...the carriage trail at Farragut is 10 miles long..The trail winds through open areas, lovely cool forest and then back to the horse camping/staging area.


When we were fairly close to the end...My hosts for the trip, let me take the reins and do a little driving myself. WOWZERS !!!! Chances to drive a reliable team, in a lovely setting put me on the top of the world : ) .....towards the end of the drive, we got a little lost...the grass was very high, due to our very wet spring, and the signs on this trail are a little thin....we were following the cart in front of us..and I really had no clue of direction in this case....BUT...we soon broke out onto a main road in the park, and had a nice little drive the rest of the way back, albeit down the paved road....Actually, the "paved" road, with its chuck holes, gave me a great opportunity to practice my driving skills...

Other members of the INDS participate, as did members of the Selkirk Driving Society.....There were also horse back riders that tagged along too.what a wonderful day...horses, carriages, a chance to learn more and more for me....and good conversation and food back at camp......

Clinic day

Clinic day at Teddy Bear Fjords in Mead, WA

Me !!! driving the cones at Teddy Bear Fjord farm in Mead, WA...... the host of the clinicians....

The story.....

A couple weeks ago, when I emailed Warren Riddle of Teddy Bear Fjords, and asked if I could audit the upcoming clinic, I had NO idea what a day I would have. I figured I would get there early, watch folks prepare, watch and audit and learn...but I had NO idea that my day would in fact be much, much more.....

Saturday morning I headed out...it would be an hours drive to the clinic location at Teddy Bear farms, and I wanted to be on time...OK...for me, "on time" is usually a bit early.
When I arrived, I saw no one around.. but I quickly met up with Warren and he took me over to the dressage ring, dropped me at the feet of Brian Jensen the clinician, and set me to learning..right there and then!

Brain and Ursula Jensen had come to the clinic from BC where they live on their Fjord farm. They both hold judges cards for here and abroad. They raise and train a few high quality Fjords a year and compete also. These folks are well rounded in the sport of CDEs that is for sure. Brain has driven a variety of hitches, and now prefers the "four in hand" while Ursula often drives a single. As I spent the day with them, watching and learning, I do not think I have ever seen such helpful, kind clinicians....they have no "movie star" attitude about them, and the beginner is just as important to them and the advance student..lucky for me!

I got to sit next to Brain, and tabulate his markings during the dressage test....in quiet moments I got to ask my own questions, of which there were many. After the dressage test, and his comments to the drivers, we headed to the cones. I intently listed to his direction to whips for the cones, since it is something I have never seen done! After the cones, the whips and horses usually did part of the marathon course.
Here is Sylvia Riddle going through the water hazard with her Fjord team.

Part of the reason I went to the clinic was for photography...I was NOT disappointed. There were ample opportunities through out the day, and I was wishing I had planned to stay Sunday too. Many of the teams were Fjords, but there were also single horses and whips. Often there were a different breed, certainly a different color!
One of my favorite shots from the day...I call this "Fjord Faces"

Around mid morning I heard talk that there may be empty time slots that needed to be filled with students...seems one gal that booked several time slots and could not come due to a sick horse....I jumped right in and volunteered to fill one of those time slots...oh HELP !!! I have no horse or cart! Warren and Sylvia Riddle, clinic hosts were kind enough to loan me a single horse and a cart for my very own lesson with a world class whip .....WOW !!!! talk about my lucky day.
Here I am !!! with Brain Jensen, clinician......whoo hooo !!! and below..going through the cones !
WOW...I learned so much, and I found that my hands were not quite as clumsy as when I drove for the very first time a couple months ago....yeah ! and also found..cones are ALOT easier at the trot....LOL....

Don't "judge" me just yet,.I know I am a bit out of position..but dang, this is hard! Brian wants me to drive the horses head, stay in good position, have good contact, and he expects me to breath too?

At noon we had a potluck lunch, hosted by Sylvia and Warren Riddle in their lovely home. We had a few rain showers in the morning, and Warren had a roaring fire to warm us all up. Lovely homes, gracious host....what more could you ask for? I met many of the INDS ( Inland Northwest Driving Society ) members, and found them to be a fun, helpful, kind bunch of folks...all with that interest in driving...

After lunch, we headed back to the dressage arena and I watch and learned more. One of the highlights on the day was Michael and Susie and their team of tandem Fjords. I used my skills to take some of the loveliest photographs of Michael, Susie and their team, the lighting, the weather, the scenery, you would probably think they were in Norway!
As Michael drove down the centerline of the dressage arena..all you could see was one horse! That was truly an awesome sight....and very, very correct...I think many of us can appreciate the training that goes into doing this...most people find it hard with one horse, much less two.

To say I leaned alot would be an understatement....I learned about so many things, from carts, to horses, harness, what things are strictly personal preference, tradition, oh so many things, and to take the lines in MY VERY OWN HANDS.....well, lets just say that though I was already hooked on driving...I am obsessed now ;-)

My most heartfelt THANK YOU to all the INDS members that were at the clinic, to Warren and Sylvia Riddle, "Ridder" my patient driving partner, wonderful, gracious, host farm, and to Brain and Ursula Jensen....I started at the top, learning from the best..and I hope to learn under you again...THANK YOU SO MUCH !!!!

BSB pictures

"Black shadow background" pics are a type of picture taken where you see the subject ( with me, usually a horse! ) standing at the edge of a "black hole"...this black hole can be as simple as an open door, or as big as the doorway for an indoor arena..it also works doing it outside as shadows fall on the ground....the result of doing this shot correct, is good lighting on your horse, and a solid black background that needs no touch up...some arenas are better than others...some have unique benefits.

Last week I had the chance to do some BSB pics of our beloved stallion "HeartBreaker" doing these shots always takes a handler, so I stopped by my friend's place for a little practice and some help in handling...I took a class on BSB last year, and found that my friend's arena was an awesome spot for this type of photo...his arena is very dark inside, and has a door facing south, giving us good sunlight to work with...so, we worked a few minutes, got the shots I wanted and here are the results...HB was being silly, and insisted on smiling for us! enjoy !!!