BBCH Meeting – June 16 2014
Had a great meeting last night. Great food offered by the BBCH members at our pot luck. A pleasure to share our abundance with the local team of the Montana Conservation Corps who are working on the Lily Pad/Crater Lake trail. An enlightening presentation presented by Game Warden Paul Leupke. We welcomed the rain which makes for green grass and great mountain vistas.
Absarokee Days Parade – July 26, 2014
Pass Creek Trail – September 27, 2014
Desensitizing Clinic for the NILE Parade – October 5, 2014
First we rode the Rocky Fork Multi-Use Trail on the West Bench, which was extra-challenging for the horses as Hway 78 had been closed from H.212 to the top of Airport Rd, so the detour and all the traffic -including large tandem trailer gravel trucks- paralleled the majority of the trail.
From there we rode down the hill to the old hospital, spending a good 20 minutes exposing the horses to the interesting obstacles presented there. These included climbing up onto the helipad and an interesting tunnel-like entrance to the former physical therapy department that was covered in tarp-like screening.
From there we traversed the side streets of Red Lodge, which included passing a large ceremony of people outside the Lutheran church and the possibility of passing the moose, who had earlier in the morning attacked a Red Lodge man. The riders all dealt effectively with the issues the horses presented them with, and all the horses handled their challenges exceptionally. All the riders had the opportunity to lead the group at different times, including Little Bobby. In fact, he ended up leading the group after leaving the hospital all the way back to the rodeo grounds where the trailers had been parked.
NILE Parade – October 12, 2014
…by Roanie Pony
Another day wondering why I had to have a bath and braids in my mane and tail with abundant quantities of Cowboy Magic massaged in. And just why has my owner/feeder been stressing all this week? Oh well – probably doesn’t concern me.
Wait – what’s she doing up so early today? Hey, she’s got a halter with apple and carrot bribes! Uh-oh! Into my personal carriage I go. From the look of things, we’re going to town…
Wow! So this is the big city. I smell horses and cows and cowboys – maybe it won’t be so bad after all. Good grief! It appears there is more endless brushing and Cowboy Magic in store for me. “Hey Sally, I think I’m finally detangled! By the way, I do like the lavishness of the gold glitter on my butt!” Well, that wasn’t so bad. I see over at the next carriage are some of my trail buddies – but this sure doesn’t look like what they call “the Wilderness”!
Wonder what we’re milling around and waiting for… and waiting for… and waiting for… Humans know nothing about the real nature of time. Finally! There seems to be some interest in something happening up the street. I can even hear thundering hooves… Hmmm. I’ll just get closer to see what all the commotion is.
Holy cow!!!!! It’s a herd of stinky, horned bovines! What the —-! They must be lost! And so are those drovers! But wait – there’s more – giant horses chased by wheeled planks of wood with attached buckaroos, all hell-bent for leather! This must be the next Oklahoma Land Rush!
Why are we being made to merge in behind all these crazy fools, going where they’re going? Gotta be Armageddon! Yep, that’s it. I know because another group of giants is following us complete with clanking chains and overly serious humans. Maybe I can outrun them…
Pressing forward, I goose the horse in front of me to convince him and his girlfriend to get out of this river of insanity and escape down a side street. No interest there. I look to my trusty palomino partner for support. Oops, her eyeballs are spinning wildly, teeth gnashing, tail tucked under, ears pinned, storming at being ignored by her human, too! Up ahead is Pockets, a known ‘dude launcher’. She’ll go with me. Or maybe Rocky the Paint; he’s already prancing forward sideways. If he has a shred of sense left, I think he’ll appreciate my urging to get the heck out of here! Oh brother! His girlfriend, that cute little sorrel –I knew she was trouble the moment I saw her- isn’t too concerned about leaving, and Rocky won’t leave her. Wait! There’s still hope… I see that nice intelligent mule up ahead – surely he’ll get us out of this madness.
Yikes! Hordes and hordes of humans are closing in, blocking all chance of escape. They’re clapping, cheering, waving wildly, and pointing those supposedly “smart” phones at us. The only friendly ones appear to be the small ones with balloons, colorful clothes, and butterflies painted on their faces. Perhaps I could get one of them to go with me.
Out of the frying pan, and into the fire! We suddenly find ourselves surrounded and outnumbered on every side. Humans of every shape, color, and size, at least 10 deep, overwhelm us, insisting we stop to be inspected while some very, very, very loud person raves about how wonderful and awesome we are. Then the hundreds of humans clap, and smile, and cheer, and oh boy, meltdown… This is the end of life as we know it…
Magically, we are released to return to our carriages. And just as the giants behind us speed up into a fast trot to devour us, our leaders, the Grullas, finally hear my plea and dart down a side street, making our escape certain. Whew, that was close!
Who was that wise human troubadour who once said ‘whiskey for my men, and beer for my horses’? I’ll drink to that.