Piney Creek Horse Campout

Candy and I have always wanted to take the horses camping, and the weekend of October 3rd was the weekend our dreams came true. Candy organized a weekend retreat for women & their horses!

Neither one of us wanted to tether our mares all night at the campsite, so we both hauled panels to make pens. Candy some had some brackets welded on her trailer so she could attach the panels to the side. Everyone was jealous they want a set on their trailers too!

We arrived at the Piney Creek Horse Camp around 11a and set up camp really fast so we could hit the trails. There are 54 miles of horse trails in the Davey Crockett National Forest. The woods were so beautiful, and we saw lots of deer. We had ridden 2 hours when the weather started to turn south; when we checked our map we realized we weren’t even half way along the orange trail. That’s when we made the decision to turn back. As soon as we did it started raining on us. For the most part, the forest kept the rain off us, but we still looked like drowned rats when we got back to camp. All in all we spent about four hours trail riding with some pretty amazing scenery and covered approximately 12 miles.

At the horse camp there was a small pavilion, which we had all to ourselves seeing as we were the only ones to brave the weather. Candy brought old smokey and we had hamburgers for dinner. Sheila brought out her fire pit so we could warm ourselves by the fire, and of course, make s’mores. We had our bible lesson & spent the rest of the evening enjoying good company.

When it came time to hit the sack Candy hung her hammock from the pavilion rafters, but Marissa had to help her in that night & Heidi had to unzip her & let her out in the morning!

I was the only one that actually set up a tent, in the rain I might add. I guess some of my husband’s boy scout training rubbed off on me because I managed to set it up without it leaking. It was nice to fall asleep to the sound of the rain on my tent.
Sunday we were up bright and early for breakfast & bible study. We had planned a second trail ride for Sunday, but after checking the weather radar and finding a huge storm heading our way we decided to break camp and head for home.

Best Teacher Award

Candy just won the Award for the Best Teacher at the Texas A&M College of Veterinary Medicine. It is National Veterinary Tecnician Week and all the Veterinary students at the College vote in each category for the technician of their choice.

Faxxsimile at Arabian Regionals

Cyndi Craig sent us an update on Faxxsimile. In 2009 Faxx was Reserve Champion Sporthorse Under Saddle ATR out of 15 horses. This was the largest class at the Regional Championships. This was only the second time for him to compete in a group class. Faxx was Top 5 in the Sporthorse Under Saddle Open Class, with 11 entries. He also got a Reserve Champion in Open Dressage Training Level. Faxx is just 6 points away from earning his Legion of Supreme Honor (+/). Cyndi says he is a wonderful horse and that no one can believe that he is just 4! Congratulations to them both.

Bono in Training!

Bono has now moved to College Station for Candy to start his training. This past weekend marked a new chapter in Bono’s life, he has now started working for his supper! We have been waiting for Bono to mature physically before starting him under saddle, he is still growing so we will take it easy on him. Candy is very impressed with his mind. His first working sessions have gone beautifully. He accepted a saddle pad and a surcingle without batting an eye. All he did was look around at the surcingle once it was tightened and smell it. He went to work in the round pen like it was old hat for him.

College Station Visit 9-12-09

We arrived in College Station to the first rain they have had in months. For some reason I always seem to bring the rain with me. Plan a trail ride, it will rain. Plan to video tape the youngsters, it will rain. It hasn’t rained for most of the summer and College Station has been in the middle of a severe drought. So, even though we had plans for the weekend Candy wasn’t sad to see me bring the rain yet again!

I got to visit Dr. Cliff Honnas’ new clinic, Texas Equine Hospital, opened in Jan 2009. Dr. Honnas is a diplomate of the American College of Veterinary Surgeons & is Board Certified in Equine Surgery. Dr. Honnas was an Equine Orthopedic Surgeon at Texas A&M and was a professor at Texas A&M for 18 years. Dr. Honnas was among the excellent professors that taught me as I went through vet school at Texas A&M.

In between the showers, we did dash out and try and take pictures of our mudpuppies. No video though, the ground was slick.

We took Candy’s 4 Runner mudding through the back roads and she’s still getting mud clods out of her undercarriage!

On the return trip, we passed through Madisonville and what did I see but two Painted Ponies before my eyes. Anyone that knows me, knows that I am an avid Painted Pony collector so this was a real treat for me….

Candy's visit

Candy came to visit last weekend. We had a great time catching up. It was a short trip, and we spent most of the weekend taking video of the 2 year olds. It was well worth it though, we got some good footage and some nice pictures. Saturday night my husband made his famous fajitas and we were in heaven. Cd really showed off for the camera.

Congratulations to Faxxsimile++ & Future Image++

Congratulations to Cyndi Craig of Donnerail Farm. Faxxsimile earned his Legion of Merit at Regionals. Faxx was Reserve Champion Sport Horse Under Saddle, Top 5 Sport Horse Under Saddle Open, & Reserve Champion Dressage Training Level Open. Congrats are also due to Future Image, owned by Dona Hoffman, who received his Legion of Merit to go along with the Legion of Honor he was awarded in 2008. Both geldings are by the Five star Oldenburg stallion Frohwind (Woodridge Farm), and out of our Oldenburg approved Arabian mare Flash Ofan Image. A Legion of Merit Award means that they will now have the distinction of a ++ after their names.
Below are some highlights of their accomplishments:


Faxxsimile++
2007 & 2008 Region 9 Champion Half Arabian Sport Horse In-Hand, Amateur to Handle and Open.
2009 Top Five.

Future Image++
2005 Champion Sport Horse In Hand at the Eastern Arabian Horse Show & East Coast Championships. He placed 3rd at Arabian & Half Arabian Sport Horse Nationals in the 2yr old Sport Horse in Hand Jackpot.
2007 Placed 3rd at Nationals in the Sport Horse in hand Championship
2008 Placed 1st at the Virginia Arabian & Futurity in the USDF Intro Level Tests A & B, and at the Arabian Fall Classic Training Level Tests 1&2.