It's been awhile..

Sorry gang, I know it's been quite some time since I've posted on the blog. Many reasons play into that factor from moving to farm (yay!) to owning another horse, work etc. Yep, that's right, I am finally in the country. Moved my QH mare out with me and even better, she's been bred to a beautiful Black/white Paint. She's due mid Jan.

THEN, 5 months ago, I purchased another horse, a black qh mare. Knew nothing about her, she came from an auction which is normally a high risk. WELL, I got pretty lucky, sure she has some quirks, but she's come a long way in just a few months. I'm looking forward to showing her next season.

Speaking of, show season is over. We didn't show much this year as I was the Western Performance Director for the http://www.tphcon.net/ club in New Liskeard. We did do some Team Penning though, which was a blast!

Anyways, gotta run.

Ride with the wind...

TPHC - TRAIL RIDING AT IT'S BEST

Show season is upon us, well not too far anyways. It's been a very long time since I've wrote anything on this blog, but here I am.

TPHC http://www.tphcon.net/ is a horse club in Northern Ontario offering both English and Western performance shows, Mounted games, Western Games and Trail riding.

If you visit the site, you can find the dates to all the above.

This year I sit on the board as the Western Performance Director so I'm looking forward to have a different perspective on the whole thing.

I have to say, my favorite area of the TPHC is the trail rides! We do roughly 15 trail rides all season. These are rides planned at certain locations in the area. Each ride can be from 3-5 hours in length, sometimes a bit shorter. After each ride, we always stop to have some lunch. Some rides, we plan BBQ's.

Although we can predict the dates and places for the rides, we can't predict the weather, so dress accordingly of course. We ride in all weather pretty well.

If you haven't joined us on a ride yet, then saddle up and ride with the wind with the TPHC trail riding group!

First ride is April 25th, 11am at Echo Lake in Earlton Ontario. Just follow the signs!

TPHC TRAIL RIDE

NOTE: Well, let me start by apologizing first. I've been a bit slow getting some stories up. I still need to get the RCMP story up, I will soon. However, for those of you on facebook, if you want to add me "Anna Sawicki" there is a ton of great shots of the RCMP Ride on there as well as many other horse related events.

TPHC TRAIL RIDE JUNE 6, 2009

We couldn't have had better weather, other then the black flies that tried to carry us away on a few occasions, mother nature actually co-operated with us. It was a sunny, warm day for the entire ride. Well, the morning did start off chilly, but for a day that rain was predicated, we prevailed!

The ride was at Club Echo, Earlton, one of the better rides of the season. This ride has miles of sandy trails. We also broke trail through a few bush trails, this allowed some of us to actually do some jumping over some logs that laid in our way. There was also a lot of limbo dancing going on as we rode under trees/branches at our eye levels.

We had a turn out of I think 10 or 12 riders, even a new membership. The ride went smoothly. Chelsea Buns was a trooper and you'd never know she was 21. She had more spunk and energy then some of the younger horses. I swear she trotted most of the ride when she wasn't sneaking in a few runs. She was so focused on being the leader and to me, this is a huge accomplishment to see her so confident. At one point, she never liked to be the leader, she was too scared and was pretty insecure about herself.

The ride ended with cooling off our horses and letting them rest as we all sat around and had lunch and discussed our ride. The door prizes were awarded and we all packed our stuff and headed home after a great ride with some great friends.

If anyone wants to see some photos from the ride and you have facebook, feel free to add me "Anna Sawicki". If not, you can email me at: annae@internetwebdezines.com and I can send you the photos.

See you all the next ride..

ride with the wind @ http://www.equinenorth.net/

RCMP Musical Ride

Well, the RCMP riders and their horses have arrived at Rosegrove Stables today. All 32 horses are now all snug and cozy in their stalls while they rest up for the big day.

Unfortunately, the weather hasn't been the best. It's wet and dirty, but come rain or shine, these 32 riders and their horses are going to put on a show that will make everyone smile from age 1 to 120.

Stay tuned to www.equinenorth.net for photos and a story of what it takes to be an RCMP officer in the musical ride!


Ride with the wind @ www.equinenorth.net

YET ANOTHER SUCCESSFUL RIDE TO TOWN

About 40 km later, Chelsea Buns and I have accomplished another great ride to Kirkland Lake from Rosegrove Stables in Otto Township.

It was a fantastic ride with great weather. I tell ya, what a perfect way to gain the trust of your horse, or lose it I guess.

I can nearly say that Chelsea Buns is bomb proof. Would she be with a different rider, honestly, I don't know.

There were several things that did frighten her and if she had her way, would of turned full tilt back home. However, with very little convincing, she went through every obstacle asked. Just amazing.

Our rides never go without stories of people stopping to touch chelsea, feed her treats and ask a gazillion questions. I love the questions and love to answer them to the best of my knowledge.

S ome of the cutest things can be heard from some of the small visitors such as "look, she has teeth" or "how many apples in a year does she eat".

I have to say my most favorite part of the ride is the smiles. Smiles from 1- 100. It doesn't matter what age you are, everyone loves a horse and especially to see one come through town. There really is something magical about what horses do for people.

I am very proud of how far I have come with my 21 year old Quarter Horse Mare Chelsea Buns. We have overcome some pretty tough obstacles over the years. Imagine, at one time, this mare wouldn't even leave the driveway and if she did, it took you hours to get 2 ft.

S o the first TPHC show is about to begin this weekend. If the weather doesn't rear it's usual head as it's calling it should be a great weekend.

So you all ride with the wind

@ http://www.equinenorth.net/

And, it gets even better this summer, as the Timiskaming District will be hosting a Lindsay Grice clinic at Rosegrove Stables June 12-13. Spectators and riders are welcome to come! Contact info below.

This coach, equine advice columnist, trainer and judge will be teaching groups of 2-4 riders throughout the day and speaking to the group about training your horse for the show ring, competition tips for novice and experienced riders, or how to train your horse to be more responsive.

For clinic info, contact Sally Reinertson, 705-544-8791 or 705-622-0850, please leave a message, or email sreinertson@hotmail.com

Who is Lindsay Grice?

Coach, judge and horse advice columnist, Lindsay Grice says her riding career got off to a rough start.
“As a hunter rider, I went off course more times than I can count. I just didn’t have the solid foundation and understanding I needed to be competing at the level I was.”

Now, in over twenty years as a professional coach and trainer, Lindsay says that her struggles as a novice rider have shaped her style today. “I love putting the complex principles of horse training and competing into simple steps that riders can understand. I equip my students with the show day game plan and course memorization skills that I never had as a junior rider.”
Lindsay draws regularly on the sports psychology training she gained through coaching education. She is a certified Equine Canada coach as well as NCCP (multi sport) coach.
“Handling show nerves, distractions, and disappointments is as much a part of a success as the technical riding skills.”

Her students have won at major shows in the United States and Canada. Lindsay continues to actively compete in both english and western events, specializing in the American Quarter Horse Association circuit, and is frequently is in the winner’s circle.

Her popular seminars take her throughout North America, creating thinking horsemen of her students by teaching the “hows” and “whys” of riding.
She says “Ideally, horses, whatever the discipline, should “play” like a musical instrument, understanding and responding to every subtle cue from the rider.”

Lindsay has often been a guest lecturer for the University of Guelph’s Equine Behavior programs and regularly teaches weekend clinics for local breed associations and 4H clubs.

For more information, visit her site www.lgrice.com.

T he perfect sport for any cowboy or cowgirl and it’s coming right your way! This June 12 and 13th at Porky and Kay Watters on Hwy 65 East will be hosting a Team Penning clinic for anyone who’s ever wanted to experience a life with cow’s and horses!

This clinic will be hosted by Jeff McCann, the president of the Eastern Ontario Team Penning Association. Jeff has 15 years of team penning experience, and has put on clinics across the province, so your sure to find out just how cow savvy you and your horse really are!

June 12th you can keep your equine friend home moooooove on down to Porky’s at 7pm to do ground work. Jeff will be showing the basic behaviour of working cattle.

June 13th, you can saddle up your horse and be ready for 9am to start learning on horse back how to move and pen cattle as a team! Yee Ha!

Cost of this clinic is only $100 for TPHC Members – what your not a member, well mosey on over to http://www.tphcon.net/ to find out how you can become a member, non-members have to pay $110.00. The first 24 paid entries will be excepted! You can audit the clinic for just 25.00!

Your probably thinking, so what, I do this clinic, I can’t go home and start penning my dogs, well your in luck cause TPHC will be hosting 4 exhibitions so you can showcase the cow talent you picked up from the clinic June 27th, July 19th, August 15th, and September 5th.

So make sure to register, grab those spurs, get on your best riding jeans and we’ll see you there!

Registration forms can be found by contacting Leo Giesen 705-647-5990 or e-mail at giesen@parolink.net