Ridin', Reinin' and Writin'

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.

Although late morning, the air holds a chill - after all it is still March - and the rails I lean on are slippery with frost. Not a breathe of breeze stirs the towering tops of the Douglas firs but I can hear the soft twitterings of a few birds in the branches. I look down at the river, frozen yet, so still now, so swift in the summer. I turn my face to the sun to soak up the welcome warmth.

Is the deep sense of tranquillity I am feeling born of these surroundings? I ponder that for a moment ... until I look into the eyes of my favourite mare, Silk, standing in the sun on the other side of those slippery, frosty rails. I know then that the peace settling into my body emanates from her and the other two other mares beside her. One by one, all three come to the fence; one by one, they each gently touch me with their nose. I look around me - all my horses, in pens around the yard, emit off that same quiet energy.

I've often said that I love where I live because it is so peaceful, but in fact, it probably doesn't matter where I call home. Since I have always had and always will have horses living with me, I will always know that serenity if I am aware because it is they who provide that. Of course I have always known that but this morning I felt the shroud of peace - as real and tangible as the horses themselves.

"It's simple enough," I think. "There is peace in their presence." 

I am the mother of three children - Shayne, Cindy and Lana. Although my children have told me I am not a typical grandmother (whatever that is!), I love spending time with my grandchildren. I have four - Kendra, Adara, Larissa and Jaden. Little known fact: I worked as a nanny for a few months one winter in Saskatchewan.









I love music.

I play violin and once played second violin with an orchestra. I also sang in a large choir. I also play guitar just well enough to accompany myself singing and I play the piano mostly by ear, although I can read music and sometimes try to play that way. I still pick up the violin once in a while but it is one of those instruments that one needs to play often to play well!



Junior Orchestra 1957 Oliver BC (I am third from outside second row left)



Junior Orchestra 1958 Oliver BC (I am outside second row on right)

I played basketball.

Kyle Composte Basketball Team

I absolutely loved basketball and I played center for the high school team. We had an excellent coach - Mr Johnson. I remember one game that was going badly because the opposing girls were getting rough. He took a couple of us off the floor and I asked why. "Because even if they are not acting like ladies you are going to," he replied.

I made the   University of Saskatchewan team but quit before I ever played a game because I thought I could not keep my grades up, a decision I regretted...

My husband was the one who got me started in archery and I enjoyed practicing and going to archery shoots (where we competed walking a course and shooting at "animals" in different positions and different distances. Although I never won anything (that wasn't the point anyway), I did shoot a "robin hood" at the range - one arrow in the center of the target and another splitting that arrow. My husband was impressed, but I didn't even know it was a good thing. I complained that I wrecked two arrows!

I love to swim.

1994 - Swimming Hawaii

I only put on a bathing suit to hot tub these days, but I used to swim as much as I could. I loved the water and tried diving, water skiing and even surfing! The dive I remember is one off of a very high cliff into Gallager Lake - I know now I should never have been diving into rocks but what convinced me not to do it again was the huge belly flop I did! I only water skiied once (ony because I did not have access to skis or boat) and I couldn't get up - kept pushing myself backwards. (The guy driving the boat wanted me to give up but I kept trying) The surfing happened on my 50th birthday in Hawaii. I wish I had a photo but the only one I could find is this one taken on the same holiday. (I hated this pic at the time - funny how it's all relative - wouldn't allow a photo now!)

I am a fisherwoman!

My first catch!

Well, not really but I did fish a few times. Mostly I liked sitting in the boat in tanning weather, but it was more interesting if I caught a fish. First time was with my boyfriend in Lake of the Woods, Ontario where this photo was taken. That's the first fish I caught - a pickeral. One time there, I thought I snagged a log - turned out to be a huge jackfish. I reeled him in like a pro.


I love to cook.

I've always said I am sorry for a woman who does not like to cook because she has to do so much of it. Fortunately for me, that was not the case. I learned to cook at an early age from my mother, who was an excellent cook. I have always made my own bread, prepare most dishes from scratch and once in a while I experiment with a complicated new recipe.

I am an avid gardener.

I don't believe I have ever not had a garden since the first year I was married in 1964. Sometimes, when I moved it meant digging up a small plot and fighting weeks and quack grass for the first year, but I always had my own garden vegetables. I still do. I also grow stawberries and raspberries - don't know what I would do without my own fruit. Flowers, too, I like, especially roses. I miss the wonderful rose garden I had in Armstrong, but still manage to brighten my home in the Chilcotin with petunias, pansies and various perennials.

Dancing is a little like swimming - I don't do it anymore - but there was a time when I wouldn't miss a chance to dance. I like all dances (even square danced the first winter I was married) - waltz, polka, two step, schottische and jive. I remember at a horse show dance in Swan River, Manitoba a girlfriend and I just about cleared the floor jiving! We had waited a while for someone to ask us to dance and when no one did (that we wanted to dance with), we chose each other. What fun!

In Saskatchewan, a friend and I drove 100 miles once a week to learn to line dance. Later, in BC, I taught line dancing for a couple of winters.

So there you have it - a little information about me outside my passion for horses. I suppose I am the sum of all these parts.

This past week I was contacted by a prospective buyer for one of my horses. I talked with her on the phone, answered her questions, then spent a few hours looking through my videos and posting one for her to view on YouTube. Do I think this could be a good fit for her? Yes. Will she buy? I don’t know. Is she looking at other horses? She would be foolish not to. As a matter of fact, I am looking for her. I emailed a friend about a horse she has for sale because, you see, I want this lady to be really satisfied if she buys my horse.

I’ve been thinking a lot about the whole process of selling horses. It's not as open as I would like it to be. I know many trainers do not refer prospective buyers to other trainers or other horses, but I think it’s good for the business in general. Certainly it speaks well of us all if we can, with good intentions and affable spirit, send a prospective buyer to someone else. The way I look at it is this: if that buyer comes back to me, it's because he really wants my horse!

The longer I’m in this business, the more disenchanted I am with some of the “politics” involved selling horses. As a friend of mine said many years ago, “I don’t see why it’s so hard.” (He was actually talking about relationships and marriages, but that’s a whole other topic...) Maybe why it’s hard is because there’s money involved, but it might be more about power and prestige. It’s a little like “Who has the most toys?” only it’s “Who can sell the most horses?” I have personally experienced a real reluctance to refer buyers to me and jealousy (to the point of “scooping” the sale) when a prospective buyer approaches me. Three things happen to Wildwood Reining Horses because of this: I lose a few prospective buyers when they are snatched by another trainer, I do not get many referrals and someone's missing an opportunity to own a well-bred, raised-and-trained-with-love-and-care horse!

And then there is the question of commission. If someone refers a buyer, is commission payable? I think it is – both ways! I learned this the hard way. Several years ago, I referred a buyer to a friend who I knew had a mare that might be suitable. I did not intend to charge commission since no previous arrangement had been made and she was a friend. Two weeks later my farrier told me she had sold the mare to that the person I referred to her! I had not only not been offered commission (which I would not have accepted), I didn’t even get a phone call and a “thank you” (which was all I expected)! After that experience, I have made it my policy to make it clear to everyone (no exeptions) that I expect a commission if I sell their horse. It’s fair. I have a well-established business that took a life time to build and, most of all, this is my business. Selling horses, whether mine or not, is part of my livelihood.

Another, rather sticky, issue that rears its head is how to deal with a sale that goes wrong - the horse goes unsound, the buyer does not do well with the horse or, for some reason is not satisfied. My first impulse is to buy the horse back. I don't want one of my horses with an owner that does not want him. That's the sentimental side of me talking; the business side knows I need to weigh each case individually. If the buyer has had the horse for some time, has trained, ridden and showed, then it is not my responsiblity or in my best interest, to buy back. I would not be getting the same horse back that I sold. If the horse is lame, how long after the sale did it show up? (This has never happened to me, but I have heard of plenty of cases!) I always recommend a vet check for trained reining horses - it protects both the buyer and me. Not everyone does. A vet check is an option for prospects as well, but I've never known a buyer to request one. The bottom line is this: If the buyer has had every opportunity to look at other horses, ride mine, and get an approval from a veterinarian, then I should not feel a responsibility to buy the horse back - even if I want to.

Maybe I don’t fight hard enough for business - after all, that’s the way the business world works - but, at this stage in my life, it’s highly unlikely I will change. I take great pride in the horses I raise and train and I'm as honest as I know how to be when I advertise them for sale. I feel a tremendous responsibility, especially when I sell a trained reiner and, of course, I love all my horses. It's hard to see them leave in another trailer. I want my customers to be absolutely sure before they buy.

“It’s my dream to own a Wildwood," a lady wrote to me in an email. Comments like that make selling horses a pleasure - my pleasure.