ColliesHorsesArtLove

Merry Christmas (& 7 More Months to Tevis!!!!)

My favorite day of the year ~ Christmas Eve!! No more dilly dallying with Ali'i. I'm so excited!!!!

Love to All My Blog Stalker Friends!!!!

The Smooshy Arabians

I knew the horses were wanting to eat because they were making their way towards the house. Ali'i then just stood by the fence staring into our house. Sabi came up a little later and they started their chewing on each other's muzzles. They do it every morning and evening and it drives Squishy crazy!!

 

Janine told me if I ever wanted to get rid of Ali'i she'd take him and make him into a house pet!! That would be an interesting blog post!!

The Snow Is STILL Here!!

I blogged all day. What a bum. Then I went out and took more pictures to blog. So here ya go!!

Aura. She looks a lot happier with the sun out.

 

Tirzah and Soleil. They love playing, but really seem pretty wild about the snow!

Zoe was a little slower than the young dogs.

I love this picture of Ty. I put him in this next picture, even though it's really kind of odd looking for a variety of reasons. I like the halo around him!

This is real! Squishy!!!

Tahoe eating some grass that finally surfaced. He's so pretty!

Tahoe & Ali'i. Sabi is in the background.

Zoe & Soleil ~ You gotta think if they were wolves my horses would be much more scared!! Actually I make sure my dogs are afraid of the horses. I usually don't let them get this close when everyone is out loose.

This photo was taken earlier today as the sun was trying to peek out. 

This photo was seriously Photoshopped as it was almost black when I opened it up. We went for a drive thru our neighborhood and as we drove home there was a lot of "fog" around the streams and ponds. You can kind of see it behind the trees, but this picture doesn't do it justice. Really intense!!!            

It Really Snowed Here Jolene!!!!

 

I thought I'd go tracking today........

Ty & Soleil slept in the garage all night. I didn't see them til early this morning. In the middle of the night I saw the horses moving across the property really slow. It's amazing how easy it is to see them when they're surrounded by white! Tony was on the phone with several people this am telling them there was 2' of snow.....Of course I'm more anal than he is about certain things and measured....7". It must be an Italian thing.

 

Here's Parker. I think he thought he went to a very cold version of H E L L. He wasn't out very long.

 

T & the collies. 

 

Freezing Lana. Poor girl has no undercoat. She's inside now.

Zoe's foot was probably frozen so she wasn't complaining.

SeaB & Soleil.   

 

 

 

   
Blondie. The fluffy dogs had a LOT of snow stuck to their coats. Why wasn't I informed of this (Jolene???). I never saw pictures of Tate & Kort with snowballs glued to their coats like this!! Geeeezzzzzzzzzzz!!!!!!!!!

 

Tirzah was so bound up with snowballs she couldn't move!!! Poor Licky Licky!! This is crazy!!

 

 

Aaaawwwwwwhhhhhhhhhh........Squishy........

 

He was also stuck in the snow!

This is what my dogs look like when I chalk them for the shows. Gotta make sure you bulk up those legs.

 

Oh, and don't forget the Ducky White on the nose!

 

I went out to feed the horses. They were a little cranky. I don't know if Aura's ever seen the snow. And, don't ask me again why Ali'i has a blanket on. He's fluffy like a burro!

Feed ME!!!!! And, BTW I hate that Ali'i!!!

 

Sabi. He looks a little shell-shocked.

After I fed the horses I noticed the cows making their way towards our hay. The hotwire is half under the snow so I'm not so sure they won't just step over and have some free hay. 

T went over to herd them back where they came from. 

After 3 years he's become quite trainable!!! "Go By! No, Away to me!!!". He's the man.

 

All this excitement PLUS we put up our Christmas tree last night. 

All the retired dogs are in the house. SeaB had gone in a crate. Parker in the bedroom. The fluffy punkies in the garage with the snowballs still attached to them! What a life.

The 54th Running of the Tevis Cup

Wowzeeeeee......what a weekend! I love this race and I live all of it in my head. Some romantic idea of the whole thing. A dream to accomplish one day. The closest I've gotten to it is to ride 3 50's and a few 25's. I'm a real novice when it comes to endurance but except for the one race Donna and I got off course, my horses finished in time and sound. I'm good with that.

Tevis is another story. I know that, having read and seen the statistics. I was lucky to help crew for Carl Bruno 2 years ago at Foresthill for a French rider named Phillipe Tomas on a horse named OSO Denmark. They came in 11th place and probably could have finished in the Top 10 had Phillipe known the trail into Auburn. The two other riders, Ed Spitzer and Carl Bruno (who's horse Phillipe was riding) did not make it that far. Ed's horse found a rock and was pulled at Red Star and Carl got stepped on by his horse before the start and had a broken foot. He pulled himself at Robinson. What they call "Rider Option". He was in pain. Ed has started this race some 5 times and never finished. That is not uncommon.

This year we offered to crew for Janine Esler, Diana Lundy, Tom Guise and James "Scott" Griffin. Our job was to feed the riders at Foresthill, so Tony and I made a huge pot of spagetti, salad and watermelon. Then we drove up to Foresthill, found the rest of the crew and waited. But, before then, I went to Robie Park on Friday with Tirzah to watch the vet checks (I didn't), Garrett Ford glue on EasyBoot Gloves on some 17 or more Tevis competitors and met up with Ed, my most favorite farrier from So. Calif.

Ed was my link to Tevis years ago when he would shoe Sabi & Tahoe. I always enjoyed when he came to do the horses, because it was such a pleasure to spend time with him and hear all about endurance. If I still put on steel shoes and lived down south, he would still be coming over. He's got such a great attitude about everything and I don't think I've ever heard him complain. Last year he got punched by a client horse and had broken several ribs. This was about 6 weeks before Tevis and he was going to ride, but the ride got canceled due to forest fires. He's planning on riding in 2010. 

BTW, my favorite vendor!!!! Australian Connection!!

Garrett Ford caused quite a crowd with his gluing on boots. There were two in the Top 10 that I could tell. Everyone I saw come in had all four boots still on. Smart guy, doing this! His blog is: http://easycareinc.typepad.com/from_the_horses_mouth/

Beautiful barefoot hoof!

I think this is Goober Glue on the bottoms.

Vettec Adhere on the insides of the boot and the outside edges.

Fronts complete!

Sue Walz and Raven. Raven is a barefoot 100 Miler Kentucky Mountain Horse.

Sue's 11 year old Standard Poodle with Tirzah. Standards are on my "could own" list. I love the whites and cream colored in a puppy cut.

Dave Rabe checking in on the action. He finished in 33rd place with glued on Gloves. He is a high-mileage EasyBoot rider and probably no one has seen him ride in anything different than what he's wearing. I don't personally know him but he is a well-loved guy!

Here's the one horse I watched vetted at Robie. I was just so enthralled with the glueing of the boots. What I love about this sport is this rider isn't 20 years old (and if he is OOPS ~ please forgive me!!). This is a sport that virtually any age competes in and there seems to me a high percentage of riders (men & women equal) who are easily over 40 years old. Finishers in their 60's and 70's is very common. You can't say that about a lot of sports. Especially this kind that taxes everything you have for up to 24 hours of riding (not to mention the lack of sleep before and after the actual ride). The oldest rider to complete Tevis was 80 years old. The youngest was 11 years old. For more interesting trivia go to http://www.teviscup.org/stat_pages/historic_inline.html

There are, I think 15 vet checks thru-out this whole process not counting Best Conditon. Your horse has to pass the first one at Robie Park, prior to the ride. There are two one hour mandatory holds where your horse must pass a certain criteria. The horses are heavily monitored. You....that's another story.

On to Foresthill, which is the 70 mile mark. Janine and the 3 others weren't expected til after 5:30 pm. We got there around 3 pm and watched the first horses come in. 

I believe this was the first horse in Foresthill ridden by Jeanette Mero, DVM. "Maksymillian". This team looked incredible and we all thought they would finish first. They were pulled at Lower Quarry (reason undetermined). Lower Quarry is 94 miles in. Ouch.

Gotta love your crew. I think without a good one, your chances of finishing in time probably drop a huge percent.

Here is the eventual winner K-Zar Emmanuel, ridden by Sarah Engsberg. This horse actually looked wiped coming into Foresthill, but apparently you never know, as each horse is so individual. 

Marcia Smith on AM Sands of Time. She won Tevis (in a tie with Shellie Hatfield) in 1992, then again in 1997 and 2001. She came in 3rd this year.

You can tell Janine from a mile away. Diana is behind her. Her horse must have been whisked away to the water trough.

Here is Linda Morelli and Leaf with strap-on Renegades which I use. They are a great boot. For more of her story you can read it at: http://renegadehoofboots.com/renegade-news/2009/08/03/history-shelf-hoof-boot-barefoot-horse-finishes-tevis-cup-100-mile-ride/

P & R's before we're off to feed and take care of horses and riders. Foresthill is the second mandatory 1 hour hold. Janine's friend Kathy is a vet, who's taking Kumait's pulse. Good crew member to have!

Yummy spagetti!!! It looks like Janine's crop is still attached to her wrist. I wonder if she showered with it! Here is proof that she does wear long riding pants. Apparently I wasn't the only one to question it, as I heard someone say something to her on the way out.

Kumait getting tacked up again. (Already????) He looks like such a nice horse. His call name is Predator. I understand he's crazy at the beginning and no amount of training has gotten him under control. Janine doesn't even own this horse. The owner is terrified of him. Yeah...my kind of horse! Not!!

Glow sticks on the breastplate. From Foresthill to Auburn is dark unless you are in the top couple of horses. Tevis is usually run on the full moon, but this year is was only about 85% full and there was some cloud cover. Horses do see great in the dark, but for some people riding in the dark can cause extreme nauseousness. (This is my fear, not the cliffs!) For people who live and train in the area, they have an advantage because they know where they are going, as do the horses. Hal Hall who has many buckles lives at the end of the trail in Auburn Overlook so his horse always knows the way home. This year he didn't finish, but I understand he wasn't riding his usual horse. (??) I wouldn't want to have my house in Foresthill and have my horse say "Enough!" and not want to go the final 30 miles.

Here is Kumait on the way out to leave Foresthill with Kathy leading.

Here's T flingin' Janine up on her horse. She weighs about 90 lbs. with zero body fat. He almost tossed her on the other side. Mr. Muscley Man!! Good thing Kathy was on the other side! That would be a screwed reason to have to pull!!

Waiting for the timer to tell her she can go.

One final goodbye! I had a good feeling about our riders finishing. The weather was awesome and that really helps with the percentage of riders finishing.

Diana waiting for the call to go. 

Two more riders to feed. Scott (#89), got pulled at Franciscos which is at 85 miles. 

Tom (#92) finished at 4:56 am, 19 minutes before the cut-off. I might not feel very good, but I'd be happy with a finish that close. (9 riders finished after him.)

Here is the ceremonial finish line at the Gold Country Fairgrounds. The official finish is actually at the end of the trail at Auburn Overlook where you also take your horse for his nearly final vet check. From there, you go over to the stadium to make your final round where you're lucky if anyone waits up for you. Janine came in at 3:11 a.m. Tony and I had gone home from Foresthill to take care of the dogs, shower, then sleep. We got back just minutes before her and Diana came up out of the dark. Pretty cool.

Kumait and Janine. They came in 26th and Diana 27th.

Kumait and Janine. Look at those stands with one person looking on! Kumait looked amazing. I know Janine sobbed after she was done. These horses are real athletes and I know I felt so close to my horses having ridden my few races. There's nothing like that feeling and I can't even imagine how a Tevis rider feels about their horse after such an event.

If you aren't lucky enough to have access to the internet, this is the next best thing!

Potato Richardson making his final ride around the stadium. He received his 20th buckle and 2000 Mile Buckle this year. He won Tevis in 1998 on a tiny mare named Fille de Cailana, then again 2002 on SMR Fayette de Cameo. If someone knows how to ride and finish Tevis, he'd be the one!

Garrett Ford with his Glove'd horse Tahos Thunder. They finished 29th.

Dave Rabe finished 33rd on Double Zell. See....same outfit!!

Another horse with EasyBoot Gloves. So sorry I don't know who. Maybe Duncan McLaughlin or Kevin Myers? Garrett's glued on Gloves finished at 72% (13 out of 18 riders. What a great day for barefoot horses!!

This is EZ Silver Dollar, ridden by Matt Scribner. This is the horse that Janine and I tried to get Tony to buy this last year. Nice, nice horse. I asked T if he was sad and he said he was. They finished in 36th place.

I don't know who this horse is, but he just was very pretty to me. I imagine he's a part-arab, seeing as he's a palomino. 

On to the Awards Ceremony.

Julie Suhr gave out the buckles to all the finishers. What an icon. I have her book "Ten Feet Tall, Still" listed in my favorite books section. She has 22 buckles. Her daughter, Barbara White just completed her 29th Tevis. Wow. I had to take a picture with her. As a woman who has lived life to the fullest and has written a wonderful book of which all the proceeds go to the Western States Trails she is easily an idol of mine.

Photo Op!

Tom's hard earned buckle. Someone like Potato or Barbara White, do they have 20 plus belts for all of their buckles? Or are there just so many you start finding them in the bathroom drawers or your tack box? They're bigger than life than the gizillion .29 cent dog show ribbons I have, so I suppose I'd have a special place for each and every one. If I ever get a Tevis buckle I will wear it. That's a given.

Janine, Tom and Diana with their buckles. This is Janine's 6th buckle.

A side note and a note of merit. Diana just ran and finished the Western States Run and came in 137 out of 238 finishers.http://ws100.com/home.html  Apparently this is a first in the same year for someone to finish the run, then a month later, finish Tevis. She was feeling pretty peuky here and during the ride. Someone later told her she should have taken anti-nausea meds as she was a-peukin' for about 30 of the 100 miles. What a girl! I would have just fell off and died....Good job Diana!!

Diana's official Tevis picture.

Janine's official picture. 

Here is 10th place, Mark Engemann with PR Comet.

9th Place, Jennifer Nice and BA Bearcat.

8th Place with Megan Doyle and Kanga Roo wearing EasyBoot Gloves.

7th Place, Christopher Baker and Zoltaan, who I believe is Potato's horse.

6th place, Tennessee Mahoney and Salty with EasyBoot Gloves. 

5th Place, with Kathie Perry and Inkhogneto.

4th Place Bronwyn Swan without her horse Splashees Maskrade.

3rd Place, Marcia Smith and AM Sands of Time.

2nd Place Melissa Ribley DVM and LD Monique.

1st Place, Sarah Engsberg and K-Bar Emmanuel. 

Sarah had a very touching story about riding this horse. Apparently he is owned by someone else, and the husband had died recently, but on his bucket list was to have this horse be ridden in Tevis. All he wanted was a finish for the horse. To hear the story and win the race brought tears to mine and everyone's eyes. He is a beautiful animal.

Love this horse!

The Haggin Cup is probably the most coveted award of this race next to winning it. Best Condition and most riders want that award. It is given to the horse with the best condition out of the Top 10 Finishers and not judged til Sunday. The basic criteria for all the vets who judge the horses is which horse is most fit to continue. Truly a great honor.

The winner of the Haggin Cup was Melissa Ribley, DVM and LD Monique. Congratulations to everyone!!

And, because Tirzah was there at the start.....Woof!!

What I Love About Auburn ~ The Tevis Cup

The Endurance Capital of the World!!! This banner is right across from the Courthouse & the AERC (American Endurance Ride Conference) office. I get all choked up every year when I see it flying in the wind. What amazing horses and riders to start this race, much less finish the 100 miles of which less than 50% will...

Gold Country 30/50 Miler

T & I joined an endurance club a few months back and I happily volunteered to help at their 30/50 mile race yesterday, much to the annoyance of Tony......(or was that Tevis in 2 weeks that freaked him out???) Anyway, our job was to do a road crossing from 10-noon which I ended up doing with the help of someone else. T had to work in the am, but helped from noon to 1:30 pm. Good thing ride management sent this other individual to help me because there was a curve in the road that was scary and I didn't want to be the loser Crossing Guard that let a big rig slam into a bunch of endurance riders. All was well and it was very fun. I missed riding though and could smack myself for not having Ali'i in condition. We did this race two years ago....in a round about way as Donna and I got lost in the start. It is a beautiful ride and this particular ride is a class act. 

Smooch smooch smooch.....kiss kiss kiss!!!!!

Smooch smooch smooch smooch smooch smooch.....kiss kiss kiss scratch scatch scatch!!!!!

Little Ma got to be with us on Sat. Blondie went on Friday evening. Numerous people asked where I got my dog groomed.....cracks me up. Like I'm amazing because I do it myself!! (I'm a little amazing, except Tirzah AGAIN, has PET FEET in this photo!)

Here's the final vet check in camp. Most of the horses looked really good after the 50 miles. One older man got bucked off of his horse in the first 30 miles and the horse was missing for several hours. I just got an email that the horse was found and was fine. What excitement. Just like a rodeo!! Or maybe he thought it was just like a rodeo!!!!

The other incident was a friend of mine who is usually very competitive. She finished dead last in the 50 and was quite ill. I ended up driving her home, literally picking her up at the finish line and flinging her in T's H2, then T drove her horses home. Luckily she didn't live too far from the race, so she was home within a couple of hours. This is part of why they call it endurance. She was sitting in a chair about 3" from the white lime finish line and looked pretty peuky ~ but she finished!! I just love that!!!

The Horse Expo ~ Funna Funna

This is the third year T and I have gone to the Horse Expo in Sacramento. I didn't have any burning need to purchase anything for my horsies, but artwork, if I feel like I can't live without it, I will buy.

I am a serious art snob of mega proportions so things really need to make my heart soar. This artist by the name of Denise R. Banda stopped me very quickly. Her website is www.mountainfeatheroriginals.com.

I bought these tiles for our new tiny guest house. I'll figure out where I'm putting them later, but either in the bathrooms, or in the entry...??? I didn't take them out of the protective covering so forgive me for the bad photos. They gotta stay nice till I unveil them for their permanent homes.

I was making my purchase when I saw this next piece on a shelf standing in beautiful red sand. I thought I was going to cry I love it so much! The woman even gave me some sand when I find my spot for her. 

I love artists who create from their souls and not to try and please a general public. That's my goal...if and when I get back to work. Denise is an inspiration.

After that, and on the way out, we stopped by the Saddlelights booth www.saddlelights.com. The woman Annie Kelly and her sweet mom Margaret (who gave me banana bread and told me she would be my mom too!) remembered Tony & I from last year. I decided to buy one of these saddlelights for when I ever do a race (or train) at night. They attach to the breast collar. VERY COOL!!! 

I debated last year for an hour, so when the price had gone up this year, I decided it was time to make my big purchase. Annie is adorable and I told her she can come up and visit us anytime!!

We saved the best for last....going thru all the living quarters horse trailers because last year we saw the ultimate trailer from Lakota Horse Trailers. We were so disappointed because they weren't there this year and the other manufacturers didn't have what we are dreaming to get one day. Besides that, and the one beautiful chestnut arabian gelding down from Bey Shah in the sale barn.....like, we need another horse.....we had a great time.

Trimming with the Angle Grinder

T and I went to a Phil Morarre clinic last weekend to learn how to use an angle grinder on the horses feet. It was an awesome clinic and Tony was a kick to watch. It must be something with power tools that get some men all buff and tuff!! He read Pete Ramey's book a few months ago (must REALLY LOVE ME 'cause Tony is NOT a reader!) so he had a nice idea of how a barefoot hoof should look. 

Well, at the seminar, he jumped right in and was able to do a beautiful job on the hoof he worked on, then he just couldn't help himself; when Phil was distracted with whatever and T saw a student having issues with either the trim or the grinder, Tony would offer his expert help! I was cracking up, because he told me a while back he didn't think horses should go barefoot. Life is ever-changing and evolving! It is good and I am glad he can go with the flow ~ especially when it comes to my unconventional care of my animals.

Anyway, this weekend we trimmed the 3 other horses. I would clean the hoof and then he would trim, and then we would consult on each step. I've never seen my horses feet look so beautiful and Sabi who has had horrible contracted feet all his life actually is getting better on the land, so his trim wasn't as drastic as I had envisioned. I love my horses and my strong, handsome ever-changing and evolving boyfriend! 

Tour de Washooo

Donna and I rode a 25 miler last weekend in the Washoe Valley. It was in sagebrush land, possibly my favorite scent in the entire world. We got there Friday afternoon and vetted our horses in. Ali'i was calm and his pulse was 34 at the check. Nice. I was thinking he was going to be a joy to ride, like he usually is.

Ali'i has a "B" on his butt (for Beautiful, but I think later it really just meant "Butt"), Vinita's meant "Cute"

I was going to glue on his EasyBoot Epics prior to leaving, but wasn't able, so I did it when we got there. I had some trouble with the procedure and just figured it'd be easier the next time. It was messy, the glue wasn't setting in the pad material I wanted to put in the boots and I finally just glued on the rears w/ no gators. The fronts were not glued on, but I had the gators and was hoping for the best. At midnight when I should have been sleeping I realized the error of my ways. I didn't use this "straw" attachment that mixes the glue as it comes out of the tubes AND makes it easier to apply. Somehow I managed to go back to sleep and figured losing a hind wasn't the worst thing to happen.

The next morning Donna and I were up at 4:30, got coffee from her friends we were staying with and we were good. On the way to the race, she pulled in to a 7-11 and announced in her sweet (and panicked) way that we just drank decaf! Aaaagggghhhhhh!!!!!!!!! I was as horrified as she was so off we were to get the real stuff. I drank mine down quickly ~ I didn't want to waste any time to open veins in my head ~ she lost hers in the horse trailer w/o a sip. Poor Donna. Thank God there was coffee at the race, but she was not very happy til she got the third cup...I just didn't think it was a good idea to ride with her w/o that caffeine....she is a coffeeaholic!!!!

Donna and Vinita. This is before the real coffee. She looks like she's ok, but she really isn't. She's a good faker.

At the start of the race, Ali'i was perking up, but calmed down with some work. I thought I'd stay on him, but it was a bad idea. He saw the other 25 milers take off and couldn't contain himself. So we had a little bucking, rearing fit that didn't go away for a while. I got off of him for more than a few miles and eventually was able to ride him. By this time Donna and I were at the end and very determined to only pass people, not the other way around even thou 25 milers aren't considered races, but training rides.

Here is a view from the top of a big hill. Ali'i was starting to calm down enough for a picture. I love the desert. That is Washoe Lake in the background. A slice of heaven.

We came into our 1 hour hold & vetted our horses out with great scores. When our time was up we were out again and finished the last 7 miles in just under an hour. Too much fun! Our horses final vet check was excellent so we were happy.

Here's Ali'i after about 16 miles. He was quite concerned about a man standing in the middle of the desert with a big camera in front of his face. Luckily the photographer took 3 pictures because he actually looks normal. Ali'i already lost one hind boot here.

This was our last 7 miles. We had so much fun trotting and cantering (and walking in the deep sand). Donna and I laughed a whole bunch. We didn't want anyone to catch us, but the pathetic thing is we only passed one person ~ we got such a kick out of leaving her in the dust....like she cared....

From the race, I was off to Lone Pine to meet family and friends for a ceremony of sorts for Pierre. On the way down I had to take a picture of the "devil horse". Everytime I drive past it I crack up. I thought he looked alot like Ali'i early that morning....