CSDEA Festival results

As one passerby commented, how could this be a horse show — it wasn't raining! No it wasn't. It was absolutely lovely, a perfect weekend to take home some ribbons. And that's what Caille Farm did:

Abby G. and Charlie Brown
Champion, Training Level, 15 and under
Reserve Champion, JR Training Level

Meredith and Callum
Champion, Second Level JR/YR
6th place, Third Level JR/YR

Hannah and Retro
5th place, Second level JR/YR

Melissa and Phoenix
Reserve Champion, Third Level JR/YR

Elsie and Schnecke
5th place, Third Level, JR/YR

Barb and Niamh
Reserve Champion, Fourth Level, Open division

All in all, a terrific way to wrap up the show season. Well done!

Time Out for a Little Vacation

Niamh, Derry and Beau might not agree, but it was definitely a nice break for Ruth and the Barbs -- the annual trek to Fort Robinson, Neb., for a few days of riding, relaxing and goofing off. We even had a fellow traveler this year, Pam Larson of Stillwater with her horse, Tajj. She, too, is a Fort Rob veteran, but her ride had fallen through, so she threw in with us, the poor woman.

As always, we left just after midnight and arrived at the park at about 3:00, full of candy, truck stop food, candy, coffee, candy, water and ... candy. We checked in, of course — yes, you have to wear a name tag! — got the horses settled and called dibs on the bathroom in our cottage, which used to be officers' quarters when the park was a military installation. This is the view from our door:


This is the view from the stalls:




Over the next few days, we caught up with old friends and made a few new ones. If you ever need some inspiration, remind yourself that there were at least three riders over the age of 70, including Carleton, who we corraled into sitting with us at dinner:


The first day was spent riding up and down hills, through water, despite Niamh's best efforts otherwise. We had lunch in the field — great soup! — before some more ups and downs and more water on the way back to the barns. That night? Team penning! Guess who had a blast:


Rain on Friday thinned out the ranks


— not Barb A. and Derry, however — and on Saturday?

Cattle drive! The ratio of riders per long horn guaranteed success. We all broke off into smaller groups, fanning out behind the 30 or so cattle, which slipped had through the net during a previous move to the winter pasture and had found themselves a tidy hiding spot among the bluffs. One group pushed them down and the rest of us — mostly the flatlanders who stayed on the easy terrain — kept them heading toward the gate and the road.

Once they were all headed in the right direction, our job became to keep them that way. Guess who had a blast:


How can you top a day like that? Breakfast on the bluffs the next morning, naturally. No pictures, unfortunately, but believe us when we say that the pancakes were enormous and the ham was smoky good. And the scenery? O ja. As breathtaking as always.

So. Everything and everyone packed up and, with the sun behind us this time, we hit the road home, chasing that big juicy moon as it rose over the South Dakota horizon.

Candy, anyone?

p.s. For pictures from the trail, click here and look through the first three albums at the top.

The Last Show of the Season

Tack clean?

Horses clean?

Tests memorized?

Good -- the CSDEA Festival is this weekend. Unlike other years, this weekend promises to be lovely, so we shouldn't have to dig out the arctic wear just yet.

Saturday's early birds: Laurel at 8:32 and Elsie at 8:34.

Sunday's early birds: Hannah at 8:40 and Meredith at 9:28.

See you there. Bring coffee.

Regionals Show Results

The weekend in Mason City was busy as always. The horses were in one of the barns instead of the covered outdoor stalls, which made hanging out a bit more pleasant but the real action, of course, was in the ring. The final standings, in no particular order:

Elizabeth and Tucker:
4th place, Third Level Test 3 MidWest Championship

Elizabeth and Capri:


9th place, Third Level USDF Regional Championship


Elsie and Schnecke:


5th place, Third Level MidWest Championship
11th place, Third Level USDF Regional Championship

Hannah and Retro:


4th place, Second Level MidWest Championship
4th place, Second Level USDF Regional Championship


Meredith and Callum:


6th place, Second Level USDF Regional Championship


Melissa and Phoenix:


7th place, Third Level MidWest Championship
7th place, Third Level USDF Regional Championship

Of course, there were a couple of pictures with Barb:





Saturday's mascot was none other than Gunnar, the EverReady Bunny dog:



... who slept like the dead all the way home. All those new smells wore him out.

Mason City, Here We Come!

The Northern Lights show at Washington County a week or so ago was a weekend of firsts: Abby's first show since coming to the barn with Charlie Brown, Laurel's first third-level rides on Derry and Meredith's first third-level rides on Callum, as well.


It was a productive and even winning weekend. A special shout-out to Leslee Baldinger, who volunteered to read, which allowed Barb the opportunity to watch the rides from the stands and beat up on whoever was sitting next to her.

Next: a bit early this year, but the Regional Championships are this weekend, already! Most everyone is heading down Thursday afternoon after school: Barb and Barb Taylor will be trailering the horses -- Phoenix, Retro, Schnecke, Callum, Capri and Tucker -- and the girls will be driving down with assorted parents and interested others. Mason City is usually:

a) windy
b) cold
c) wet
d) any combination of the above

but it's always fun. And this weekend will be no different. Now. Get packing -- and clean your tack! You know who you are.