Our First Clinic

The sun shone on Synergy Stables in Junction City last Saturday! Yes, the sun was out, and we had a sunny, good time for our first official clinic with gaited clinician Gina Gardner. I might live through my first winter in the Willamette Valley after all!

Despite a serious hustle of work to get ready for our clinic and a power outage the night before that delayed printing out the liability releases, checking last minute emails, etc., all went smoothly on our clinic day. It was a small clinic, with only four horses/riders, plus an auditor, as we needed to make sure we fit comfortably and safely in our small, indoor arena (because we were sure it was going to rain).

Everyone arrived in good spirits, and all the horses behaved wonderfully. Gina got the group started with analyzing everyone’s horse and riding, and finding out what folks needed and wanted to work on. She changed out a bit for one horse/rider, which seemed to help immensely.

After the lunch break, the weather was still beautiful, so we moved out to our large outdoor arena.

Daughter Jerri jumped into the clinic with her leased Spanish Mustang (the one she is using to practice trotting and posting…argh!), and as the session was wrapping up, I grabbed July, one of my wonderful Paso Finos, to join the last hour of fun riding, trading horses, and chatting.

Jerri and I are excited to get our activities under way at Synergy Stables. We have both organized clinics before, and I have hosted Gina in Alaska three different times, but this was that first wonderful time to host a clinic at our own facility. We hope to promote gaited horses as well as natural horsemanship, with a real focus on education and knowledge to help us with our horses.

Thanks to Gina Gardner for another great clinic. And thanks to Meg, Sarah, Maggie, Julianna, and Harris for their participation. We look forward to seeing you again at Synergy Stables. Thanks also to our great horses at Synergy Stables. Lucero gave Maggie a nice ride and Precious helped Julianna keep learning. Without our horses, where would we be?
More sunshine to come (Did someone whisper spring?) And why are all those frogs singing at night at this time of year?

Winter Wonderland

It is snowing at Synergy Stables in Junction City, Oregon! Snow isn't big news in the general scheme of winter weather, but this part of Oregon doesn't get much snow. It rains here and rains and rains in the winter. Ugh. But today Junction City looks much like Anchorage, Alaska. The horses and I feel right at home. It is beautiful, and I celebrate all of nature's beauties. Today is our "sneak preview" open house at Synergy Stables. The weather and road conditions will probably discourage all but the most hardy, but we'll plan to have fun anyway.

When I started blogging (then fizzled out) a year ago, it was winter in Alaska, and I was inspired to share our stories of riding in the snow, winter riding tips, and all about shoes and Easy Boots with studs to help with winter riding. (See 2007 blog posts). The irony of this snow is that I probably won't be riding in it. Underneath the snow, the ground is soft, with mostly mud. We had frozen ground for a few days with quite cold temperatures by Oregon standards (20's...pipes froze briefly, but that's another story).

Yesterday, we thawed out and it rained and rained and rained (yes, I think there are always three "and it rained."). So, bottom line, trails are too muddy to ride, even with the snow, although over time, as I get to know the area, there may be places that work for winter trail riding. Paso friends up the road ride during the winter on logging roads, but they are heavy on gravel and my horses are barefoot for the winter.

So, I would love to ride in this snow, but will probably have to enjoy the snow from my vantage in front of the fire or on my walk to the barn. Either way, I feel right at home.

Alaska Paso Finos Fly South

We have been in Junction City, OR for three months and 10 days!!! But...who's counting? We have been living our new adventure, after traveling 3,200 miles from Anchorage, Alaska to Junction City, via Whidbey Island, WA, and a side trip to Paso, WA. My three Paso Fino horses, Lucero, July, and Moreno, and I made the big trip, starting on October 1, 2007 and landing at our new farm in Junction City on October 14, 2007.



I have neglected this blog for almost a year, but I hope to revive it with tales of our adventures from Alaska to Oregon and to share our new adventures at Synergy Stables where daughter Jerri and I are looking forward to many wonderful times together.