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

new post for students

I am doing a post to show my students how easy it is to use a blog.

IT'S OFFICIAL AND IT'S RIGHT HERE IN KIRKLAND LAKE

THE RCMP MUSCIAL RIDE!

It is a great honor for Kirkland Lake to host such a prestique event and I for one, am very excited!

The ride will be Friday, May 29, 2009 at Civic Service Stadium! These talented riders will be staying at Rosegrove stables during their venture here. I plan to soak up as much of this event as I can, so you can be sure I will return to Equine North Blog with a story for those that might have missed it.

But really, you don't want to miss it! Perhaps they are in your area if you can't make it here. Check out their website for more details. http://www.rcmp-grc.gc.ca/mr-ce/index-eng.htm.

Tickets will go on sale May 1st!

See you all there!

Ride with the wind @

www.equinenorth.net

KEEPING WARM

Winter just keeps dragging and for most Equine lovers, this isn't a good thing! Although I do ride all year long, including trail rides, many of you don't because you hate to be cold. I can't stand to be cold either! However, the whole secret to staying warm is the bottom of your sole and I mean your feet, to be exact, your toes.

I don't know about the rest of you guys, but if my toes stay warm, the rest of me does! So I usually invest in a ton of toe warmers (photo at the left). A well worth investment for any outdoor winter sport!

These live savers can be purchased at Canadian Tire as well as many other stores that sell outdoor gear aren't aren't pricy either. I put on a think pair of socks, apply the toe warmer, then put another pair of thicker socks on over top and VOILA - 6 hours of toasty warm toes!

You can buy other warmers, hand warmers, full feet warmers, and bigger ones to use on your thighs etc, but I find the toe warmers enough, the rest of me is bundled up with winter clothing and away I go.

So give em a try, and let me know what you think!!

Ride with the wind @ www.equinenorth.net

HE'SSSSSSSS BACK!

Josh Lyons will be back again this summer for those of you who missed him last year, or those of you, like myself, who are addicated!

I posted a story last year on the 6 days I spent with Josh Lyons. You can refresh your memory at http://www.equinenorth.net/Josh-Lyons-Day1.html

To find out dates of Josh's arrival, visit http://www.equinenorth.net/ under the Equine/Calendar Event section.

In August, you can even complete your Accreditation with Josh Lyons! Wow, what I would do (almost) to be a part of this! Heck, I'd love to be a part of the clinic again, but when you don't own a trailer and a fat bank account, it's not so easily achieved. So, I will go to watch at least.

Anyways, any of you who may not had a chance to check this out last year, you must not miss it this time around!

It is being held at Pro-Chevalin Horse Training Center St-Bruno-de-Guigues, Québec.

If you get a chance to purchase the crooked stirrups, you won't regret it! Read my article below to learn more about the stirrups. I've been riding in them since last year and I put a lot of hours in the saddle and I hardly experience the knee problems I use to have riding long hours.

So, get "Josh Lyonsed!" haha, with Josh Lyons this coming summer!

Winter Blahs

I first have to apologize, it's been awhile since I've posted to the blog and not because I'm not riding etc, I am, even in this darn cold!

I'm not a big winter fan, never have been, HOWEVER, it is a very beautiful time to ride when the temps are 50 below with blazing winds nearly knocking you clear out of the saddle.

When the new year starts and those crazy holidays are done, and we can finally find room to breath again, we start to think of show season! YIPEEE..oh wait, it's still at least 3 months away for most of us! Oh well, it's still getting closer. And today, I noticed the daylight was lasting longer.

On a good note, I am boarding with a facility that has an indoor. I don't use it nearly as much as I should being the trail rider love I am, but I am using it and I am trying an honest attempt at being better prepared for show season. Whether it happens or not, is a different story! You can check out their website at www.rosegrovestables.com.

So www.equinenorth.net is starting to prepare for the upcoming season. If any of you have your event or clinic ect already planned, send it our way, it's FREE, so why not.

Don't forget, we take on any new and exciting or sad equine stories too!

Ride with the wind @ www.equinenorth.net