Ridin', Reinin' and Writin'

Last weekend (and extending into today) was a long weekend. As I read Facebook posts about camping, trail riding and water sports, and saw trucks pulling boats, campers and motor homes heading down highway 20, I admit I felt a twinge of envy, especially since the weather was perfect for those kind of holidays.  My holiday of choice would have been a trail ride but instead of that or water sports and evenings by the campfire, I spent the weekend by myself at home doing what I do almost every day - caring for and riding horses. 

I guess my "holiday" was the previous weekend, July 27-29, when Wildwood Reining Horses hosted a three-day Vern Sapergia horsemanship/reining clinic. My house and yard was filled with people and horses . . . and an old friend.

Vern demonstrating to Donna and I

Vern and I go back a long way - back to the hills of Saskatchewan, reining shows, working in Italy, clinics and many, many soul-searching heart-to-hearts. Although 'time for talking' was limited last weekend, we still managed to have a couple of in-depth discussions.  One topic was about time off - holidays - of which neither of us gets much. Vern told me he had plans to "holiday" a little after the clinic before he returns to Austria. His family, he said, told him he never took a real holiday. Vern disagreed.

"Don't you remember?" he said to his son-in-law. And he reminded him of a one-day outing they had once had. His son-in-law disagreed, saying it was nothing but a spur-of-the-moment little adventure.

"Yes, it was a holiday!" Vern said. "Any time I'm not wearing spurs it's a holiday!"

So that's the 'holiday' criteria for horse trainers... Although I somewhat agree, I can have a holiday even if I am wearing spurs, like last weekend.

Vern's clinic, as always, was fabulous - informative and fun! I know of no other clinician who could and would give more of themselves to each and every student. He loves to teach.

"I will never retire," said Vern, "As long as I have something to teach and someone wants to learn."

The clinic, however, was not for anyone who wanted to be stroked or coddled. Vern tells it like it is! He also pushes everyone to the limits of their capabilities. He has an innate sense of how far is too far, though, and riders come away from the clinic with the wonderful realization that they (and/or their horse) have accomplished  more than they thought possible!

Shannon getting spurs on - guess the holiday is over!

I think Vern might have to admit the trip to the Chilcotin was a little bit of a holiday even if he didn't take off his spurs. Evenings around the firepit, a visit with a long-lost cousin, lots of good food and laughter counts for something. Good horses doing good things does too. Sliding my stallion, Walking With Wolves, sure brought a smile to his face!

Vern and Walking With Wolves (Photo by Jordan Grier)

And when the clinic was over Sunday evening, Vern was the first to say, "Let's go!" when we were invited to Chilco Ranch for an impromptu team roping and didn't hesitate when Jordan offered him Maverick, a rope and a glove.

Vern on Maverick getting the job done. (Photo by Crystal Grier)

Check out that smile! (Photo by Crystal Grier)

He still had his spurs on so maybe even these moments didn't qualify as a holiday but I'm pretty sure he loved every minute of it.

So I am not going to cry any tears about not being able to take time off for the long weekend. I strapped on spurs just like I do almost every day and rode some fine horses.

Wildwood Mistral and I (Photo by Jordan Grier)

“Reasons to Quit” is the title of a Merle Haggard/Willie Nelson song and that phrase (not the song) has been running through my mind for days now – long enough for me to pay attention. What possible connection could the words of that song have to me? Merle and Willie are talking about quitting smoking and drinking. That doesn’t make any sense. It has to be another line in the song:  “The reasons to quit don’t outnumber all the reasons why.”

Having just welcomed a new year and celebrated another birthday (they do keep happening, don’t they?), the reality of my decision to retire from the reining show pen is starting to sink in. Usually I would be planning for my show year – which horses to show, which shows to haul to, etc. – the absence of which leaves me a little lost. I didn’t make that decision to retire without thought – there were valid reasons – but now there’s a hole in my life plan that begs to be filled.

Way back in May 2010, my blog post was titled, "The Stars are Aligned". With great confidence, I listed the following upcoming 2011 events in my horse world:

And so, in 2011, Prima's three sons would compete against each other in a Derby (how cool is that!), her granddaughter would enter the reining pen for the first time and she would have a Wimpys Little Step foal at her side. And...Walking With Wolves, sire of the sixth generation of The Dynasty, could win the British Columbia Reining Association Saddle Series. As I stated in The Stars Are Aligned, 2011 was lining up to be a stellar year. Did I really believe ALL of these landmark events would bless my world? No, I didn't . . . but some small part of me believed they might. After all, it was my time . . .

“Congratulations on your retirement,” were the first words out the man's mouth when I answered the knock on the my door.

Retired? Not that I knew . . . and I didn’t even like the sound of it.

I had not seen Dave in many years and it was by pure chance that he stood at my door now. I was pretty surprised to see him and even more that he should think I was retired. I decided he had heard I had quit competing and, with a weak protest, left it at that. After he left, though, I thought about what he had said and why it was such a shock that he should think I was retired. When I decided to end my reining career (at least in the pen), I never once thought of it as retirement. Although I believed that I was ready to quit hauling to reining shows, I did not believe that I was ready to “retire”, at least not in my sense of the word. I am not “over the hill” yet.

I have been climbing that hill all my life, especially in the horse training world. From the time I was a child, I strived to be better. I knew I could improve all facets of my life and I embraced the challenges. I liked to learn, so learning became part of life. I don’t want that to change. I may not compete again but I will still ride, still train my horses, still reach for that goal that may always be just out of reach – to train the perfect horse to the highest level possible with the least effort. That means I will still study my breeding program and breed for better Quarter Horses every year. I will still ride some of those horses and critique my training methods, study others and always, always strive to do a better job. That being said, I am training my own horses in my riding arena every day. I have a two-year-old in training and I'm fine-tuning maneuvers on my four-year-old stallion. As I said, I like to learn so I am dabbling in something a little different. I heard about a new, mostly-exhibition event called Cowboy/Western Dressage and Walking With Wolves is my guinea pig for that - reining horse turned dressage. I don't pretend to know anything about dressage but I can learn - right? Here is a video of Little Wolf's first efforts (combined with reining maneuvers).

Besides my horse business, I intend to pursue my “hobby” – creative writing. That’s what this blog is about – to keep the juices flowing. I have lots to learn and, like horse training, will never know it all!

As far as retirement goes, it doesn't feel much like I am retired. Looking after my  herd of horses, training them, hauling hay, fixing fence, putting in posts, cleaning pens and generally maintaining my property is more like WORK. Retirement may never happen. Over the hill? No. I may be approaching the top, but I prefer to think I am still climbing...

“Nothing in the world is permanent and we’re foolish when we ask anything to last, but surely we’re still more foolish not to take delight in it while we have it. If change is of the essence of existence one would have thought it only sensible to make it the premise of our philosophy.” ~ W. Somerset Maugham

Nope. Nothing is the world is permanent . . . and I am changing one element of my life that had become almost permanent. As of August 1, 2011, I am no longer showing reining horses.

For most of my life, I have competed in the horse world, first barrel racing, then, for the last 31 years, reining.Now it's time – time to slow down, time to do other things with my horses, time to see more of my family, time to quit hauling to reining shows. Not a decision to be made lightly but a decision that had to be made just the same. This is how it all went down…

For the last three years, I have considered stepping down but, with two stallions to promote and (I must admit) a love of the sport, I continued to haul to three or four shows a year. Living alone as I do, with full responsibility of the entire operation – breeding, training, caring for and managing the horses – the actual execution of packing up for a show had become a little overwhelming. Still, because it is what I do, I planned for two reining shows in 2011 and told my friends I did not know if I would compete at any others. I hauled both stallions to Prince George the end of June for the show there. A month later, I loaded the boys again for Armstrong, arriving safely but tired.

On the second day of the show, I knew that show would be my last. I still was one of the last to leave the arena at night and one of the first in the morning, but reduced sleep and unforgiving heat was taking its toll. I was not in my best “show mode”. I lost my appetite and leg cramps hampered me in the first run on Walking With Wolves in the Derby.

Working out the cramp, I mounted Running With Wolves for his Derby run and ran reining pattern #9 with all the determination and drive I could muster. After the final stop, I leaned down and stroked Wolf"s neck and whispered "thank you" even though he had incurred a major penalty. Wolf, as he always does, strode to the judges, ears up and eager. As I dismounted for the bit check, I looked at them and said, “I have something to tell you.” They looked a little confused.

“That was my last competitive run,” I explained, “ and you, Morgan (Morgan Lybbert was one of the judges) competed in the same class as I did in my first reining show at Saskatchewan Stakes and Futurities in 1980! This is somehow fitting…”



Competing has always been a struggle for me, but somehow I kept doing it. Most of this time, I trained and travelled by myself; most of those years, I didn't have an indoor arena so I rode in the wind, rain and snow; I trained reining horses without benefit of sliding ground a large percentage of time! But I brought many three-year-olds to their first futurity and, although I seldom won, they didn't disappoint me either . . . and they were around for many years, sound of mind and body, to pack others around the pen. One rather interesting fact only just occurred to me: In 31 years of reining, I never showed a horse trained by someone else! I think I am rather proud of that!

I know one thing for sure - I must find something to fill the void. I need excitement in my life and I need to do something exciting with my horses! I'm thinking more trail riding (Ididn't have enough time to trail ride when I showed!) but I have a few other ideas too. I'll still be riding, breeding quality reining horses (4 coming next spring) and still training. I've just taken competing out of my schedule.

Saying it makes it real. Yes, I love to rein and I love to show my reining horses (See Somerset Maughn's quote re: "...foolish not to take delight..."). Will I miss the reining pen? Of course. Was it hard to quit? Unbelievably difficult. And scary… But, in the words of Erica Jong,

“I have accepted fear as a part of life - specifically the fear of change... I have gone ahead despite the pounding in the heart that says: turn back...”

It's not written in stone...

It's been an eventful week – the weather changed from spring to “winter” to spring in a day or two (sort of "wonder" ful) and new lives entered my world (truly "wonder"ful!).

At this time of the year, my life has revolves around my broodmares. Four mares, heavy in foal, are my life. I bred them and cared for them. Now I ask that they deliver strong, healthy foals and I promise I will be there for them when they do. I was.

Last Tuesday (only six days ago), a spring snow storm swept through the Chilcotin, covering my property with a chilling, icy blanket. I had penned three of my mares across from the house where I could watch them closely, only guessing which would be the first to foal. Now, in swirling snow, they clearly were begging to be taken to the barn. I got the camera out and the montage below is the result.

That night, two hours past her 18th birthday, in a warm stall in the barn, Destiny delivered a stunning bay colt, the first for my young stallion, Walking With Wolves. I was sleeping in the tack room only steps away and I was there when Wildwood N Whiskey entered the world into my arms. 

“This never gets old and it is always, always a miracle,” I thought.

Whiskey wanted to get up right away. He had no time for me at all. He just wanted to rise and run. Destiny whinnied softly to him a few times, then struggled to her feet, turned and licked him. Soon, though, she lay down again, uncomfortable until she expelled the afterbirth. This was Whiskey’s chance. As his mom rested in the straw, he tried out his new legs – popping up in one move,  then trying to run and jump - a little awkwardly, of course. I laughed at him.

Since I wanted to stay up until Destiny had cleaned and Whiskey had sucked, I made a quick trip to the house… and came back with a glass of wine! There, in the stillness of night, I sat on a salt block in the corner of the stall, sipped wine and marveled at the pureness and wonder of what I had, again, witnessed.

“It just doesn’t get any better than this,” I said out loud.

I thought Easter was going to foal the next night. She stopped eating, stood uncomfortably in the corner of her pen and showed all the signs of being in the first stage of labour, but no foal that night nor the next day or the next night. At 7:00 AM on Friday morning, after hour checks all night, when I went to get her from her stall, I could see she was going to foal. As I led her to a grassy area, her water broke. I waited. Nothing. Knowing a little about mares foaling, I knew this was not good. When a half hour had passed, I phoned Louise, another horse person a few minutes away.

“I think I have a problem,” I told her. We discussed the situation and decided I would call back in 15 minutes.

“I know I have a problem,” I told Louise 15 minutes later. “Can you come over?”

We knew what we had to do. We had to see what was going on inside because there was absolutely no sign of a baby nor was she trying to foal on her own. What we found out was not good – the foal was upside down!

I had seen movement so I knew the baby was still alive, but since I am 100 km from a vet, the best approach (if it worked) was for us to try to pull the foal. It was not easy, but after close to an hour, we did. Wildwood Timber Wolf arrived into our laps from the womb of his exhausted mother. I cried – with relief, with raw emotion. I was fully prepared to lose this foal, yet there he was! Not only alive but strong and raring to go. He was up before his mother, touring the round pen with all the courage he had used to enter the world. Easter, Louise and I had a higher power helping because, against all odds, mother and baby are doing well. And Timber was born on Easter’s birthday!

His name should have been Wonder. It's a wonder he's alive, a series of wonder-ful, lucky breaks that helped Louise and I deliver him. It could have turned out very differently but, after all, it was a week of wonders.

No – not Christmas. The most wonderful time of the year for me is foaling time. And that time is now! Four of my mares are preparing to add to my herd. A year of planning, breeding and waiting is coming to fruition in the next few weeks.

For me, time almost stops as I wait it out for the new babies. I go through the motions of feeding, riding and spring work, but only one thing is on my mind – new foals, new life. Although it’s a waiting game now, things could get pretty busy – downright hectic – really fast. The first three mares – Destiny, Prima and Easter – were bred to foal about ten days apart but it looks like they are going to be very close together. Only time will tell of course, but Destiny (due tomorrow) doesn’t appear to be on time while Prima looks close to “on time” and Easter looks like she will be early.

Wildwood Destiny

Prima (Peppy Del Cielo)

Poco Easter Lena

Wildwood Soul O Silk

 There’s a variety of sires this year. Easter and Silk are bred to Running With Wolves, Destiny is bred to Walking With Wolves (first foal for him) and Prima, my Gallo Del Cielo mare, is bred to Wimpys Little Step. There is also a possibility of four different colours – my grey mare, Easter, could have a grey, Destiny has the best chance to produce a bay (since sire and dam are bay), Silk’s almost certainly will be sorrel (she and sire are sorrel) and Prima could produce a palomino (if she does, it will be the first palomino foal I have ever had!). We’ll have to see how this plays out.

Fillies or colts? I always want fillies but in Prima’s case it doesn’t matter because she has produced some fantastic stallions. I do know if it’s a filly, I will have a hard time selling, so business-wise, it should be a colt. I would like Destiny to produce a filly since it’s Little Wolf’s first but, again, I would hate to sell Destiny’s filly by Walking With Wolves. Easter has had three fillies in a row crossed with Running With Wolves. Is it her turn for a colt? And Silk, foaling in May? I’m betting on a colt for her since she has had a filly, Wildwood Sapphire, already. Again, I’ll just have to wait and see. It’s a done deal now and the most important thing is four healthy foals.

Yes, it’s the most wonderful time of the year and I intend to reap all the rewards. I can look forward to sleepless nights and four little miracles arriving soon. It doesn’t get much better.

I'm just putting the first few rides on my two-year-old filly, Wildwood Mistral. Is she a futurity prospect? Absolutely. Will she be great? Possibly. With a good training program and three older brothers performing opening numbers for her (Running With Wolves, Wildwood Liberty and Walking With Wolves - all futurity horses), she has every chance of excelling, but I don't know for sure 'cause, as my friend says, "Futurity horses might just happen."

Feb 3, 2011 -Wildwood Mistral trying out the saddle and bride.

Having just followed the 2010 NRHA Futurity (with Facebook posts by Canadian friends before they left, then en route to Oklahoma City with their horses and live score and web casts on the NRHA web site), one fact I already knew was never more clear - expectations and reality can be a long way apart! Reiners probably already know that. Spectators and fans may not.

Most of the horses shown in the Futurity, I had not seen in person. Most of them I had not even heard of. But there were also some I had competed against and several I had read about before that big event - horses that had already won a big futurity somewhere or a horse the breeder was promoting. And I pre-judged the performance of some just because of who was showing him or her. I'm pretty sure others did the same, maybe even owners and riders. Certainly, Shawn Flarida's stellar record commands attention, so of course, expectations were higher for his mounts. After all, he usually qualified all three of his entries for the finals and, for the past few years, he has won all the major events.

But Mr. Flarida did not bring one of his entries back to the finals. "One of the other two will win," I thought. Quistator had been advertised as a strong contender all fall. Shine Chic Shine's composite score led the field into the finals.

Then there was Duane Latimer, a past Champion, who qualified Whiz N Tag Chex horses, brothers to my own Walking With Wolves. I wanted him to win . . . There was Andrea Fappani, another past Champion, who won the $100,000 Shoot Out and whose wife won the Non Pro Futurity the day before the Open Finals. He was on a roll! Tim McQuay, Craig Schmersal, also fan favourites.

But when the last rider completed pattern #5, it was not any one of these favourites that posted the highest score. It was Spooks Gotta Whiz, ridden by Jordan Larson. Did he expect to win that day? I don't know, but the reality is that he did. It was the prettiest, softest run I have seen for a long time, the horse at all time willing and striving to please.

Tanya Jenkins, who trained Spooks Gotta Whiz, experienced her own reality. She expected to be showing Spooks Gotta Whiz in Oklahoma City at the NRHA Futurity (I found documentation of this on the internet and she had shown him in other futurities) but the reality is - she did not. It reminds me a little of Zenyatta's race at the Breeders Cup Classic - it didn't play out the way it was supposed to. If it had, a woman could have won the NRHA Futurity for the first time!

Expectations and reality - sometimes the same thing, but more often, not. Never more true than in the horse business, especially with three- year-old reining horses.

The Canadian Finals Rodeo is just over. I tried in vain to find coverage on television but, since I could not, contented myself with whatever news I could find on the computer . . . and memories. I have fond memories of CFR - Duchess and I competed at the first one in 1974. I will never forget that week . . . or that great mare.

After the CFR, I took Duchess to Saskatoon to have her knee x-ayed. The x-rays revealed bone chips and calcium deposits. I had to lay her off. I turned her out for a year and she came back sound. Although I barrel raced her lightly for one more season, I feared heavy competition might damage the knee permanently. In 1977, I bred her and she went on to found a dynasty of quality Quarter Horses. The photo below, taken in 1999, shows Duchess with her daughter, Mahogany, granddaughter Tamarac and Tamarac's first six fillies.

After Duchess retired from raising foals, she babysat the broodmares and their babies. She always told us when a mare's time was near. She also taught my grandchildren to ride. Below is a photo of Kendra on Duchess when she was 32.

When she was 35 years old, I threw a birthday party for her. She was still sound. The photo below is taken on that day.

In 2002, four descendent generations of Duchess lived with me - Wildwood Mahogany, Wildwood Tamarac, Wildwood Destiny and Wildwood Magic Miss, all mares I had trained and shown. For her 36th birthday present that year I made her a memory box and stored Duchess memorablia inside. It's covered inside and out with a collage of photos and clippings. She died later that year, but what a dynasty she has founded. The photo below, taken in 1999, shows some of her family. Duchess and Mahogany are at the back.

In the spring of 2011, the next generation will arrive. Her great-great granddaughter, Wildwood Legacy Lace is in foal to Walking With Wolves. God willing, I will ride another descendent of probably the best mare I ever owned. I can't wait.

"How happy are you about that?" my friend asked me as I stepped off of Walking With Wolves (aka Little Wolf) after the NRHA approved three-year-old Futurity at Prince George Fall Slide.

It was a rhetorical question. She knew I was happy because she knew what I expected of him, but she may not have guessed how emotional I was as well. As I backed Little Wolf up, the last maneuver of reining pattern #5, I had leaned forward, wrapped my arms around his neck and hugged him. I had felt tears welling up - this three-year-old, this playful, mischievous, not-always-fun-to-ride stallion, had just given me 100% of his attention for the past five minutes. He was "with me" every step of the way - he waited when I wanted to wait, he loped into clean lead departures when I asked, he circled, he changed leads, he spun and he stopped - exactly when I asked. My heart had swelled when I ran down for the last stop. My Little Wolf, my 'let's see what I can get away with', immature colt, had executed a really pretty reining pattern just because (no other reason) I asked him to!

It's no secret I love my horses, but Little Wolf was a little harder to love than most. He is a stallion, which makes disciplining mandatory, and he tested me - every day. After months of training and coping with his pranks, I finally figured out he likes to test me. He's smart, almost too smart, and he tests me just to see if I am paying attention. He pulls blankets off of racks when I walk him through the barn; he reaches around and grabs the end of the rein in his mouth if I stand in the arena teaching off of him; he unseated three times when he was two by laying down to roll (the first time he just forgot I was on him and rolling in the snow seemed like a good idea. After that he thought it was fun to lose me.) For many months, Little Wolf was not fun to ride because I never knew what he would do next ( Thank goodness he didn't learn bucking worked!) . . . and I never had anywhere near all of his attention! One day, though, well into his three-year-old year, I realized I loved this animal - in spite of, and maybe because of, his quirky personality.

What I hadn't learned about Little Wolf was that he would like the show pen - that, even thought he rarely blessed me with all of his attention in a schooling session, he was happy to do that at a show. Who would have guessed? Certainly not me...

And that is why I almost cried at the end of my run on Little Wolf at Prince George. My pretty bay stallion did not win anything that day, but he gave me exactly the run I asked him for. How happy was I about that? I was thrilled!

It all started last fall. My friend, Jill, and I had planned to attend the NRHA Futurity in Oklahoma City since spring. As the date of departure neared, I checked the draws for the Futurity, which led to checking out stallions for my Gallo Del Cielo mare, Peppy Del Cielo aka "Prima". Prima is the dam of both my stallions - Running With Wolves and Walking With Wolves. She is also the dam of a Wildwood Liberty that is no longer owned by me but who competed successfully in futurities in 2009. I had not bred Prima in 2009 so that I could afford a breeding in 2010 (I will only breed her to proven stallions).

After I got home and for a couple of months I weighed the pros and cons. This was a big step, a huge financial commitment! In the end, after multiple emails, I booked Prima to Wimpy. In April, I hauled her to Deep Creek Veterinary Services in Salmon Arm. She had been bred there several times. The vets knew the mare and Prima knew the facility. I was going to have the best chance to get this done. She cycled (as she was supposed to) and checked back in foal 16 days later (as she was supposed to!). Jill was with me when I got the call. She said, "I think we should drive to Alexis Creek for a lottery ticket and you're buying!" I'm generally not a lucky person, but I'm feeling very blessed right now.

Could it get any better? Maybe. Here is how 2011 is stacking up - Prima's three stallions are all eligible for Derbies. Running With Wolves, Wildwood Liberty and Walking With Wolves - four, five and six year olds out of the same mare - will compete against each other in reining derbies - the same year that their dam, Prima, drops a Wimpys Little Step! If that isn't enough, Prima's first grand babies will enter the pen! The stars are aligned for 2011. Let's hope I can keep them that way!

Yesterday was Mother's Day. Mom has been gone for many years now and my children are far away, so I spent the day as any other - with my animals. I have only one new foal this year, but in my yard are many "mothers", mares who have had foals in other years. There is no miracle any better than the miracle of birth... unless it is the miracle of the instant bonding of mother and child. Without books or counciling or advice from their moms, the mares by instinct alone mother their babes. Here are some of my favourite photo moments in years past:

I had hauled my broodmare to the vet clinic for breeding. In a once-in-a-lifetime decision, I booked her to Wimpys Little Step, the #1 NRHA reining stallion in 2009. Prima, a daughter of Gallo Del Cielo (another leading sire of reining horses), is the dam of my two stallions, Running With Wolves and Walking With Wolves. She is also the dam of Wildwood Liberty, successfully shown last year as a three year old. The prospective offspring of this mating was a hot topic of conversation over coffee, in the barns and during a night out in a local restaurant. What else did we talk about? We talked about horses we owned, horses we had once owned, horse accidents we had, training methods, clinics we had attended and, most importantly, the connection we felt to our horses.

I hauled my 3 year old stallion and a yearling colt with me to Armstrong. The colt (sired by Running With Wolves) was hitching a ride to the coast to the barn of a Working Cowhorse trainer. When I dropped him off for the next leg of his journey, the young mother and I talked at length about breeding, cowhorses, barrel racing for at least an hour. She is a barrel racer - or so I thought - that is now riding Working Cowhorse. I asked her if she has given up barrel racing.

"Not really," she said, "because my kids are going to barrel race. We are going all directions now." Her husband ropes...

I drove back to my friend's place to unhitch the trailer and check on my young stallion in a stall in her barn. He had already buddied a little with the senior Arabian mare of my friend's, a mare she had raised and of course felt a deep affection for.

"She still misses PJ," Mae said (She lost PJ last winter.) Mae  misses PJ too...

"I'll be back to ride Little Wolf before we go out to dinner," I told Mae, and I was. After a whirlwind tour of a garden center, a fabric center (for show shirt material!), and two western stores, more "horse talk" with a sales girl who reins and a quick ride on Little Wolf, four of us met for dinner. What a great evening spent with women who love their horses!

The next day I drove to Mandy's farm to teach a lesson and see the Running With Wolves two year olds she had bought as weanlings. How wonderful to have sold to such a loving home! (Sable is pictured with Mandy at the beginning of this blog.) Mandy was preparing for a clinic at her place and was unbelievably busy - but not too busy to talk horses! We definitely understand each other's affection for these four legged animals!

At 2:00 PM I met Rick and Cindy from the south Okanagan, who had driven up to visit with me ... and watch me ride Little Wolf. After the ride Mae called us in for coffee. For the next two hours, we chatted about our horses, past horse experiences and plans for a "horsey" future.

"I thought I could live without horses," Rick said, "but I was wrong." A serious heart attack and a change of lifestyle had not deterred him. He was back riding and he asked me to send him photos of a yearling.

The last evening in Armstrong I spent with Mae and Leslie (who is recovering from a horse wreck - a broken collar bone and four ribs!) We watched two DVDs I had brought - Wildwood promotional tape and a joyful short film of new foals I had made from footage I had gathered over the years.

The next morning, I picked up a mare to take back with me for breeding and started the long drive home. I had lots to think about - all those conversations with people with like interests.

"I have a lot of really good friends who love their horses, " I thought. "That's the way it should be."

This blog is titled, "Reinin', Ridin', and Writin'". There was lots of riding and reining this past weekend, but not a bit of writing. Consequently, I am a day behind on my blog. Here's how the weekend went:

My broodmare, Easter, was due to foal, actually due on April 25th, but since she has had all three of her foals early, I expected this one to be too. She also traditionally does not give me much notice. I attended two of the three births, but I may have been lucky. Since I had to cut the umbilical cord on one, I really wanted to be there when she foaled, so I slept in the tackroom of the barn Thursday night and intended to sleep there every night until the foal arrived.

Easter had picked a busy weekend to keep me up watching her - I was hosting a Vern Sapergia clinic at my facility on Saturday and Sunday, which meant I had to pick up Vern on Friday evening in Williams Lake 100 km away, ready the house for guests and ready the barn and pens for horses. No problem, I thought. It's all about preparation. I cooked ahead, planned ahead, arranged for someone to watch Easter while I made the trip to the airport. Vern and I arrived back (no foal), visited a bit and I walked to barn to spend the night there.

The next morning (no foal), the clinic started and ran nonstop until 7:00 PM. I rode in the clinic of course - that's one thing I was totally prepared for - and checked Easter at regular intervals. Since she was stalled behind the barn, she could have surprised me with a foal at any time, but she didn't. That night I again slept in the barn.

I was seriously sleep deprived by Sunday, but I showed up at 10:30 on Little Wolf for my class of course. Vern had promised to ride him at some point, but we had had such a good ride the day before that I thought maybe I would just let him step on him at the end of the day. I had pulled my mare, Legacy, out of the field so Vern could have a horse to teach on. Apparently, for Little Wolf (3 year old stallion), that changed the dynamics of everything. He saw right away that Vern was not on Wolf, my 5 year old stallion, as he had been the day before. He also remembered Legacy had been cycling only a few days before ... and he turned into a bundle of testosterone! I corrected him, worked him out, corrected him again, but he was stirred up now. A mare on the hill squealed, the yearlings ran down to feed, all things he was used to, but his attention was no longer on me. Worse yet, I was tired enough that I did not have it in me to cope. "This would be a good time to ride him," I said to Vern and he did.

Of course Little Wolf settled down eventually and the ride ended on a good note. For the last ride of the day, I saddled my five year old stallion, Wolf, for Vern and we traded back and forth during the lesson, ending the day with a fabulous sliding stop on Wolf. (Sorry - no photo - my camera girl said she was too busy watching!)

Still no foal of course and I had decided Easter was waiting until the clinic was over and it was once again quiet. By now, she was waxed and not eating. This time, unlike the others, she was giving notice of her intentions! After dinner, hashing over the weekend's events over wine (with multiple checks on Easter) I walked to the barn at 12:45, dead tired. I set the alarm for 3:00 AM in case I didn't wake up and looked through the window again - she was rolling, positioning the baby. She was going to foal!

So tired I could hardly keep my eyes open and knowing I had to rise at 5:00 to get Vern to the airport, I laid down on the bed to wait it out. I was falling asleep even knowing I would have a foal soon! To keep myself awake, I started visualizing some of the exercises Vern had shown me. I still wanted to doze off! "Hurry up," I thought, "because I need to get a couple of hours of sleep!"

Just before 2:00 AM, the filly arrived, strong and healthy and cute as a button! Her daddy is Wolf the stallion who had laid down the incredible slide in my arena a few hours before. It was another hour before I could sleep. By then baby was up and Easter had dropped the after birth. I left baby and mother alone to work out the logistics of getting something to eat. At 5:00. I watched the filly suck and left for the airport with Vern. What a weekend! I am still recovering.

Although I believe that the only one who motivates me must be me, sometimes my focus slips a little. Working by myself as I do, preparing three year old futurity horses in less than ideal conditions then competing against reiners with indoor arenas, it's possible to get discouraged. Then I need a push to get on track again.

Early in the winter of 2009, in my snow blanketed arena, I started riding my two year old stallion, Walking With Wolves. I knew I must start him if he was to be ready for 2010 futuries. Schooling was sporadic and somewhat dangerous to both of us in the icy outdoors but, by spring, he had a few rides on him. He was a handful, though - a young stallion with a mind of his own! I struggled through bratty behaviour until, by fall, he had leaped ahead in his training to a point where I thought he had caught up to those who had had the advantage of indoor arenas. Then winter arrived in December (Boy! Did it ever!) and he had a whole month off. "Not a problem." I thought. "One month off is okay."

In January I started riding him again. He had regressed, mostly in the "attention span" area and now I could not do as much with him. Since I was using only one end of the arena, I was restricted to one big circle and everything I could do on that circle (I can be very inventive!). Still not discouraged when the circle got icy, I changed to the snowy end of the arena. Of course sliding plates were out of the question, so my now-three-year-old reining prospect had not yet stopped - really stopped and slid - and he wouldn't for some time. That's the way training continued for January and half of February, when riding came to an abrupt halt. Unusually warm weather had melted enough snow that water ran across my arena . . . and froze the next day and stayed that way for two weeks. Now I could not ride at all.

In March, my arena still not usable, I started riding the young stud down my sandy road, which had bared off. Of course I was more limited than ever on what I could do, but at least he was back under saddle. But how was I going to have him ready for reining futurities five months away? My confidence and, along with it, my focus and motivation, slipped a little... That's when an unexpected push in the right direction came from a reconnection with an old friend. Vern Sapergia, my mentor of years past, agreed to teach a clinic at my place! It was exactly what I needed.

One day I was frustrated; the next I was pumped and ready. What a difference a day makes! With renewed hope for my extremely talented, but woefully behind-in-his-training futurity prospect, I am again motivated to be the best we can be when we enter the pen for the first time in August.

Vern's clinic is slated for April 16-18 at Wildwood Reining Horses. It will be like old times, riding all day and chewing over the day's events in the evening. I can't wait.

In 2002, I wrote a short article about Duchess, a mare I had just lost. I called it "One Good Mare". One good mare had founded a dynasty of good horses. One good mare had been with me 34 of her 36 years on this earth. One good mare had left an impression on me that would last a lifetime. When I penned that little piece, I thought the phrase would apply to only one mare in my life. I might have to rethink that.

I bought Peppy Del Cielo in 2000 as a yearling and promptly named her Prima (She would always be first!). She was a untamed little thing and we had a few arguments. She didn't want to be caught and she had no intentions of letting me pick up her feet. Several days and mutiple patient lessons later, I could do anything with her.

Everything about Prima screamed reining - her breeding, her conformation, her willingness to please. I had great plans for her . . . but it was not to be. In the fall of her yearling year, she developed a neurological condition caused by a parasite. Thankfully, with drug treatments and many hours of my own brand of physical therapy, she regained her coordination and I trained and rode her but, after careful consideration, I decided not to show her. She had not made a complete recovery and I was not confident that she could stand up to the rigor of reining shows. I turned her into a broodmare. She would take the long way to prove herself. She would have to produce horses that perform. No problem.

In my barn now are two stallions: Running With Wolves and Walking With Wolves. In another barn in Alberta, is another - Wildwood Liberty. All three are extremely talented, good-looking reining horses, two proven and one a promising prospect. Running With Wolves has a 2008/2009 performance record; Wildwood Liberty entered the pen last year to earn a performance record; Walking With Wolves will be competing in reining futurities this year. Paired with three different sires, Prima produced all three. All three are extremely talented. All three will be showing this year. Next year, all three will be eligible for reining derbies. Picture it. Three stallions out of my mare competing in 4,5,6 year old Derbies in the same year! Can it get any better? It might...

If statistics mean anything, Prima's 2009 filly, Wildwood Mistral, has a 100% chance of excelling in the reining pen. I hope she sells to someone who will promote her. But then again, why wouldn't they?

I didn't breed Prima last year (go figure...), but in 2011, with three of her progeny competing in reining derbies, she will drop yet another well-bred, drop dead gorgeous, athletic foal. She deserves the same tribute as Duchess because . . . she is one good mare.

In 1987, a grey filly is orphaned. She is feisty, though, and thrives in spite of a shaky beginning. Her name is Two T Whiskey Royal. When the orphan is two, someone starts riding her. She bucks – a lot! Enter Doug Milholland. He likes her, deals with the bucking problem and becomes co-owner. He puts her on a training program and starts making payments into the 1990 NRHA Futurity. He changes her name to Silver Anniversary – because that year is the 25th anniversary of the NRHA Futurity.

In late November, in Oklahoma City, Silver Anniversary runs the first two go-arounds of the futurity with Doug Milholland in the saddle. They do not qualify for the finals. They are, however, within one point of the qualifying total and eligible for the consolation round. If Silver Anniversary can win the consolation, she can compete with the other finalists for the championship. She wins the consolation round.

In the meantime, Doug competes in the Freestyle Reining on another horse. What music does he choose? He selects Run ForThe Roses, the song that will be playing when the Futurity Champion enters the arena for award presentations on the final night of the show. He wins the Freestyle.

As winner of the consolation round, Silver Anniversary must compete first in the finals (a distinct disadvantage) and she has already run one more reining pattern than the rest, but the pretty little grey mare delivers and scores a sweet 219. Many years, that score, though good, would not hold up for the championship, but as horse after horse finishes pattern number 5, no one tops 219. Silver Anniversary wins the Silver Anniversary running of the NRHA Futurity!

Follow along with me:
1. Doug changes the name of his futurity mare to Silver Anniversary because the year she will be competing in the NRHA Futurity is the 25th anniversary of the show.
2. Doug rides his Freestyle at the same show to Run For the Roses, the music that will be played for the Futurity Champion.
3. Silver Anniversary and Doug Milholland win the NRHA Futurity.

It seems to me Doug Milholand never lost his focus.

…or how about this?

In the spring of 2006, a sorrel colt sired by Dual Rey out of Boon San Kitty is born on the Rockin W Ranch in Millsap, Texas. Alice Walton names the new baby "Rockin W" (the only time she named one of her colts after the ranch). For three years, as Rockin W grew up, the ranch funnels “Rockin W Ranch energy” through the sorrel stallion and plans for the 2009 National Cutting Horse Association Futurity.

In December of 2008, Tony Piggott starts working as resident trainer on the ranch ... and riding Rockin W, now a long two-year-old. Piggott continues the horse's training with the goal still the NCHA Futurity in December of 2009. Though the stallion's former trainer is given first chance to ride Rockin W at the Futurity, he turns the offer down. (Bet he's re-thinking that decision!) so Piggott shows Rockin W not only to the finals (first time ever for Piggot) but to the 2009 NCHA Futurity Championship!

Now Rockin W Ranch stands a NCHA Futurity stallion named Rockin W. Can it get any better?

…and closer to home…

A man is choosing a stallion for his mare. He searches the internet for stallions he likes. He finds several but he cannot make up his mind. Thinking about his options, mulling over the pros and cons of each, he goes for a walk up the mountain behind his property. Suddenly, he knows. He knows because, there in front of him, is the answer - wolf tracks! He is walking with wolves . . . and he books his mare to Walking With Wolves!

It's no accident that Silver Anniversary won the 25th Anniversary of the NRHA Futurity. It's probably not a fluke that Rockin W won the 2009 NCHA Futurity. And it's not coincidence that the mare owner was given a sign indicating the best stallion choice for his mare.

The logo for Wildwood Reining Horses is the combination of a horse and wolf. I named my two stallions Running With Wolves and Walking With Wolves. There's a reason for that. The wolf lives his life with integrity. He protects his own. He is gentle-hearted but not cowardly. Best of all, he is loyal. That's Positive Power.