Busted Dreams and Broken Promises

We can always find time to do that which we truly want and we can always find excuses for not doing that which we do not.

At our first meeting Red Feather promised that he would be forever wild and he has found time to do so. I have not yet fully trained him and I am running out of excuses for failing to do so.

Perhaps I should seek the assistance of some of my little riders. They never seem to run out of excuses.

The Shortening of Fall Days

FALL COLORS
(If Cliches Were Honest)



Bright,vibrant fall leaves
are but the color of death.

Brown woods floor covered with leaves
Are but the color of decay.

Clouds the color of gun smoke.
Dusk the color of lead.

All tend to remind one that
"It is always darkest"...always

'Um Uh Bolunteer"

That is what Lido said at about age 10 when I facetiously asked for a volunteer to be the first to mount a very wild mustang during our first clinic. I was surprised at his offer and he was surprised at how hard she was able to buck. His ride was brief, but by mounting up he demonstrated to the audience that skill without guts is worthless.

Amanda is a volunteer. She is pictured above with her wild Corolla mare, Secotan. She trained Secotan to ride and has put enough miles on her in her first season to win the Buckeroo award from the HOA. She road Secotan fifty miles on September 26 and followed up with 25 more miles the next day.

Secotan was not a simple horse to tame. For what ever reason the horse did not like me and Amanda had to do all of the gentling of this nervous mare. Secotan would buck and she put Amanda on the ground a few times, once at the beginning of a 46 mile ride.

Over the past two years she has become a skillful rider and trainer. Yesterday she got on a young stallion, Rain in the Face, within an hour of him receiving his first blanket and saddle. He never bucked. She would have never known that he would be so calm but for the fact that she had the guts to trust her skill.

None of my little riders are ever forced, coerced, or manipulated to get on unbroke and wild horses.

They all "bolunteer."

And the Winner Is

The Horse of the Americas Registry held its national meeting last weekend in Missouri. Three of my riders, Jacob, Amanda, and Sarah Lin each received the Buckaroo Award in recognition for the the number of hours they spent riding an HOA horse over the past year. Each participated in the September Big Ride. Jacob and Amanda rode 50 miles on Saturday and 25 miles on Sunday. Sarah Lin, age 9, rode 38 miles on Saturday.

The 2008 Pleasure Trail Horse of the Year is......Uncle Harley, owned and trained by Jacob. Jacob won this talented young horse in an HOA essay contest the previous year. At the time Harley was smart, gentle and athletic, but not trained to ride. Jacob and Brent took care of the last part. Most satisfying to me is Harley's lineage. Several year's ago, Tom Norush, a far sighted equine preservationist from the mid west realized that he could produce super horses by crossing western mustangs with those from the Outer Banks of North Carolina. Harley's roots trace back to that breeding program. The HOA Pleasure Trail Horse of the Year traces his roots back to the sandy beaches of Corolla.

Sarah Lin gained her award for the many hours that she spent riding two formerly wild Corolla Spanish mustangs, Porter and Croatoan. Amanda, who is not featured in a picture above, will soon be the subject of a special post on her success with her wild Corolla, Secotan.

My riders were recognized with this honor not because their parents purchased them a show horse and hired a trainer for both horse and child, but instead they were recognized because they worked long hours to become proficient horseman. Harley was recognized because he is a super horse, but Jacob's work made him shine. I am so proud of my riders this morning.

The Carol Stone Ambassador Award, which recognizes those who have done the most annually to promote, preserve, and protect the Colonial Spanish Horses, of which the Corollas are but one strain, was awarded to our program for 2008. This award is made possible not only by my riders but also by their family members who worked to assist in maintenance and improvement of our pastures, helped haul our horses to various events, and encouraged their kids to work hard for the horses.

I love team work.

Please Don't Worry About My Soul

This blog is not about religion. However, I strongly believe that there is a very strong spiritual aspect to horsemanship. I expect that God speaks to different people in different ways. I have a degree in religion from William&Mary and I am in my 25th year of teaching the high school Sunday School class at my church. With that said, I do not recall a single time in my life that I have "gotten" anything from a formal church service. Yet everytime I hear old mountain sacred songs I feel the presence of God and if I need to know what God wants me to do I get on a horse and ride alone into the woods. I do not believe, and I certainly do not insist, that those who experience God in a different way are riding on a Hell bound train.

Even more heretical to some, I believe that God made me so that I am responsible for my actions that are wrong, but that He will cut me some slack if my beliefs are wrong. If God wanted me to be theologically flawless He should have made me smarter. When it comes to grand thoughts, I am doing the best with what I have to work with.

Once again, this blog is not about religion but I will close this with a thought from Plenty-Coups, perhaps the most infuential of all of the Crow chiefs.

"The white man, who is almost a god, yet still a child, says that a horse has no soul! How can that be? Many times I have looked into the eye of my horse and have seen his soul."

Again, I do not seek to foist my views on anyone else, but if you have not found God in a church service go take a look in the pasture. He likes to hang out there.