Getting Ready for Winchester

I was remiss in wishing my granddaughter, Andrea Engle a happy birthday by blog on April 17. Ok Andi, I won't mention you were 24 that day. We went to Texas Roadhouse to have supper with Andi on the occasion of her birthday. The food is always good there. And I especially enjoyed being with Andi and the crowd to celebrate her special occasion.

I have noticed I have a new follower that has signed onto my blog. I don't think I know Dolly but I sure thank you for joining. I hope you are enjoying my blog. Dolly and everyone else can also go to my web site at http://www.whisperingoaksfarm-mary.com/ to see more pictures of my horses and to learn about our farm. My family and I are proud of our farm. It has been in the family over 107 years now. It is certainly not the oldest continually owned farm but there are fewer all the time that can boast that it has been in the same family for that long. I hope my family will own and enjoy this farm for many more years to come.

Bill and I bought the farm from my father and the estate of my uncle in 1971. We raised our children here and farmed here until Bill retired in 1996. Since then few crops have been raised here. The internal fences have been taken down. No domesticated animals have grazed the land and no one has really taken care of the farm. Bill mowed it every summer as long as he was able. But as he became more incapacitated by his lung disease, he was less and less able to mow the fields. In the meantime we had moved to a house near Taylorsville.

So the fields grew up in weeds and seedling trees began to spring up all over the farm. We had allowed someone to rent our farm house. After Bill died, I ask them to move, remodeled the house and moved back to the farm. We have had a monumental task of cleaning up all the trash left by the "renters". There was also a trailer on the farm and between the two the trash was allowed to accumulate around the barns, in the barns, in and around the house and shop area. For those of you who have ever had that experience, you know how maddening it is to constantly be picking up after people who are already long gone. My children have been wonderful to help with all the work around here. It is obvious they love the farm too with the hard work they have invested in it.

But enough of that.

We are looking forward to the upcoming show this week-end at the new equine facility in Winchester. I know that most of you who read my blog have been to the facility at one time or the other. It was wonderful having the World Show there last year. It is a first class facility. And it is improving all the time. I have seen plans for the expansions and it is awesome.

It is a place that Rocky Mountain lovers and horse lovers will enjoy showing for a long time in the future. The barns are first class and the surface on the outdoor arena got better everyday of the World Show as it was watered and groomed frequently during the week of the show. Congratulations to all who have worked so hard, donated time and money to make this a facility something of which we can be proud.

I rode in one class during the Ky State Show last year. It was the first show there. The view of the mountains is spectacular. It is easy to forget the competition if one is not careful and just enjoy the ride and look at the mountains in the distance. Of course part of showing is enjoying the ride. But I don't think it is a good thing to get totally distracted by the awesome view.

This show our farm will be represented by 5 horses. Our farm is sending two horses trained by Chris and Stacie Tipton of Cool Shade Mountain Horses. They are WOFs Dock's Velvet and Chocolate Amigo. Amigo is a chocolate gelding. He will be showing in trail pleasure classes. This will be his second time in the show arena. He was shown once last year at the Kentucky Horse Park.

Representing our farm from the Van Bert Farm and their trainers will be Rocky Top Rebel shown and trained by Jamie Derickson and Rockin Andi shown and trained by S T Tipton. I am excited about both of them.

Also making her first appearance under our farm name is a yearling filly that will be showing in conformation, Flair for Fury. She is a Venture's Black Fury filly. The Fury babies all do their Daddy proud in the show ring. I am hoping Flair for Fury will be no exception.

I will looking forward to seeing everyone at the Spring Premier in Winchester this coming week end. I am always happy to see new (old friends) that I have met since joining the Rocky Mountain Horse crowd. I wish all the exhibitors the best of luck and pray for the safety of horses and especially riders as well as all who participate.

Later everyone.

God bless and keep you in his loving care.

A Visit to Van Berts Farm

First I want to offer my condolenses to H T and his family over the loss of his sister. I know they were very close and by all accounts she was a wonderful woman. So the lose is not only personal to the Dericksons but to her Church and community as well. Our thoughts and prayers are with you all at this time.

It had been 10 days since I had seen our new foal so Eleanor, my sister, and I loaded into the truck and headed for Stanton yesterday. I was eager to see if Blazin Star still remembered me. He did. We headed out to the field behind Larry and Vera's house to see Magic Rhythm and Blazin Star so we could see for ourselves just how much he had grown. We were not disappointed.

Magic Rhythm and Blazin Star were on the far side of the pasture when we drove up. Larry rattled the feed bucket and I gave a whistle and they came running up to find the feed. She was disappointed and walked away to go back to eating. I walked near to where they were but of course the colt walked closer toward his mother. At that point I used one of the oldest tricks in the book. I acted totally uninterested. I even turned away from him.

Before long I felt him nursling up to my back to check me out. I slowly turned toward him and started scratching all those spots that horses love to be scratched. I scratched his shoulders and then along down his back and finally around his tail. He was loving it. He stood there a long time letting me rub and scratch him all over and pick up his feet. Larry was quietly giving me instructions when he thought I needed them. After several minutes I turned and walked away. He turned and walked back to his mother. Our session was finished. I wanted to stop before he became tired and bored. It was awsome.

There is always a lot to catch my attention when we are at Van Berts. When we walked into the barn we were greeted with riders on three horses. On two of the horses were Chris and Stacie Tipton. Stacie was on Velvet and Chris was on Chocolate Amigo. He also belongs to me and he is in training for Melissa to ride as soon as they are both ready. Also in the alley way of the barn was Rocky Top Rebel with Jamie aboard. We were soon joined by Rockin Andi. So we had quiet a show with the four horses gaiting around in the barn. I was invited to the outdoor arena to see the four horses train but before I got there, Larry had brought Spirit out for me to work.

We walked out of the barn where there were plenty of distractions for Spirit. There will be no less in the show ring. He will be exposed to other horses, crowds and other noises when he steps off of the horse van to attend his first show. So Larry had me walking him around and keeping his attention focused on me. Then he brought a yearling filly out to simulate him being shown with other yearlings. Next we practiced lining up and parking out for the judges to get their look at each horse. I am not good at this but Larry has patience and the heart of a teacher so I kept practicing and he kept patiencely instructing me on how to achieve the perfect park. And very importantly when to stop working with him.

Then we walked our yearling to the arena. I was practicing staying in line this time. Then more practice for the parking out. That is not easy for me. But it takes practice. Larry and the rest of the trainers at Van Berts have been doing it for years. Even Spirit has more practice than I have and he is getting rather good at it. He is ready for showing training wise but he needs to fill out more before he goes into the show ring.

I am in a constant state of learning. I didn't realize that my yearlings were somewhat under weight coming out of the winter. So I have been throwing the feed to them now. Spirit is getting extra feed at Van Berts. They are all looking better but not show ready. So much to learn about the fine art of horsemanship. I will not take a horse into the show arena that doesn't look its best. We are not there yet with Spirit but we will know when it is time.

Next Eleanor and I went to Cool Shade to visit Chris and Stacie's stable. There we ran into Judy Brummer. Judy, Chris and Stacie are getting ready for the three phase event to be held in Winchester tomorrow and Sunday. I will not be attending that one but will see them all next week end for the Spring Premier that will also be held at the Equine Facility in Winchester.

We checked out Mountain Girl to see how she was doing. I whistled and she and Velvet came running up to the fence for their just due. A good thorough rubbing and scratching around those itchy spots. We gladly gave them the attention they were craving. Each was trying to get the most attention. They are fun to be around.

As usual it was another great day at Van Berts. It is always an instructive day. I am glad to be able to be a part of all of this.

Hope you all have a great week end.

God bless each of you and keep you in his loving care.

Show Season

I finally got a picture to load. I don't know what I had been doing wrong but this time it worked. So now you get to see one of my horses.

We are very excited about this young filly. Her name is WOF Dock's Velvet. She just turned two years old last month. As you can see she is a very beautiful blood bay filly. She won the 2-3 Country Trail Pleasure class in the recent Al Prewitt show in North Carolina. Velvet is a Choco Dock daughter. I bought her from Van Bert Farms when she was just a weanling in the summer of 2007.

As is the practice at Van Bert Farms, Velvet had early training under halter. When I brought her home, she was already loading easily, leading, picking up her feet and just in general a very nice filly to work with.

She is trained by the Cool Shade Mountain Horse and Equine Dental Facility. The owners of this facility is Chris and Stacie Tipton. Chris is the grandson of H T and Wilda Derickson and the son of Vera and Larry Patterson. Chris and Stacy had worked at the Van Bert Farms until just last fall when they set up their own training and equine dental facility.

When I took Velvet to Cool Shade, she was 20 months old and had been on pasture for most of her life. She had a lot of handling however. I had continued to lead her and she had been saddled and even had people laying on her back. So when she got to Cool Shade, Chris was surprised and pleased to find that she was a friendly easy to catch horse. He was Stacie were also pleased to note that she was not a spoiled back yard pet.

I remember their first experience of letting her out of the stall. They related that they had constructed a plan to catch her if she would not let them walk up to her. They let her out for a run and after some time went back to see if they could catch her. They laughed about how she ran up to them at full speed. It was no longer an issue as to whether she would be caught. In fact she loves to be around people and loves to have an interaction with them.

It did not take Stacie and Chris long to put a blanket and saddle on her after her arrival at Cool Shade. Stacie rode her first. As they related the experience to me I could almost see Stacie easing herself into the saddle and not sure how Velvet would react to someone on her back in a sitting position for the first time in her life. Soon after Stacie started riding her, Chris was on the phone with me asking me to come down to see Velvet. They were so excited about her and the fast progress she was making.

I could see a difference in her when I walked up to her stall. Stacie opened the door and led her to the tie rings in the wash bay. She had put on weight, was losing some of the coarse hair and was starting to take on a shine that you can see now from the picture.

My sister, Eleanor, and I have continued to visit the stables over the winter and each time I am more amazed at what I see when I get to Cool Shade. My hat is certainly off to Chris and Stacie Tipton for the training and for the condition of this filly. I was pleased and amazed when I was there early on in her training and Chris got on her and rode her up and down the road. Previously she had been ridden in an enclosed arena. They also told me they had been riding across the fields to the Van Bert Stable and Velvet was just as willing to do that as anything they ask of her.

Velvet may have ruined me. It is like having your first child. Our first was our daughter whom we call Mary Beth. She was the best baby ever. she had no colic, soon slept through the night and seldom cried. A year later we had our oldest son. Mike had colic and of course cried a lot. Poor baby, his belly hurt and he couldn't help it.

But back to the horses. This first one has worked out so well that I may be expecting the same from my yearling class that is coming along now. I don't take much credit for how Velvet has turned out as a two year old. I didn't have any special skill or insight on how to handle a young horse coming up. I did know I needed to teach her to accept new things. I threw ropes over her back. I taught her to be ok with things coming at her. I taught her to let me walk up to her in the field. I continued her training under halter. But I think it is her gentle disposition that has made the difference in her. She has all the best attributes of the Rocky Mountain Horses.

And she is a Rocky Mountain horse after all. So maybe the yearlings coming along now will be just the same. They are also Rocky Mountain horses. And I already see the promise in them too.

Later and may God bless each of you in whatever way that pleases him.

One of My Favorite Things-NOT

Among all of the good and exciting things I get to do everyday, I do have to do things that are not so much fun. Today was one of those things. The Dentist. 'Nuff said. Except that I did have to schedule another appointment. This visit was for cleaning and x rays. Next will be for drilling and I don't mean for oil.

I seem to have more followers on my blog than I had thought. My daughter reads it faithfully, "So I know what Mom has been up to." she says. She actually checking to see if I have bought any new horses since the last one I told her about. My brother reads it too, I have learned. Now I read today that Vera also reads it. Thanks one and all for following my blogs and for the kind words in response to them.

I have been working with one of my yearling colts here on the farm. He had been shown last summer and he really is a beautiful well grown colt. I keep reminding myself that I have a goal in mind by choosing Spirit to show instead of Lucky. Lucky is the colt here on the farm and he is chestnut. I have had chestnuts shown for me that have done exceptionally well and for whom the judges seem to have no bias based on color. Having said that, I think the bias comes from owners on color more than from judges. Everyone wants the chocolate with the white or flaxen mane and tail. Of course that is not the only thing they look for in a Mountain Horse but it seem to be the trump card.

To me it is more about the ride than the color. I have several black mares that would turn any head in the crowd. And my blood bay mare is a real standout in the crowd. I think my chestnut colt, Lucky, is an eye catcher too, though. He is people friendly and the first one to meet me at the gate. He is fairly easy to work with and has a sweet disposition. You know all the qualities we have come to expect from Mountain Horses. I have allowed him to become spoiled and he doesn't respect my space. But thanks to Larry, I have learned how to work on that fault. And he is getting better.

My first chestnut was a weanling filly named Butterfly Kisses. Those of you who know me, also know the "Butterfly Kisses story". I bought her and S T Tipton was assigned to train her for showing in both Conformation and Breeder's Cup. Three weeks later, she walked out with the blue in both classes and then walked out with the Grand Championship Ribbon in the Championship Class. S T did a fantastic job training her. As an encore, S T showed her in Trail Obstacles and placed second beaten only by another weanling he had trained. I sold her at the show that year. But I still like to see her and follow her career. Last year as a yearling she placed 3rd in Conformation at the World Show and had other owners holding their breath for fear she would beat them out of first place. She is a Choco Dock daughter. And she always looks like a Champion like her sire. I am eager to see her under saddle this year. I now own a half sister to Butterfly Kisses. Her name is WOF Dock's Velvet. She was a winner in North Carolina in the 2-3 Country Trail Pleasure Class. More of that Championship Blood from Choco Dock. "Cream," they say, "always comes to the top" and at the top is where you often find the Choco Dock colts and fillies.

The Butterfly Kisses story had a new chapter last year when I bought her mother. She is a mare named Magic Rhythm. Now if you had read my blogs recently, you remember that Magic Rhythm just had a new foal. I now own two babies out of this mare. Kailey's Magic is a black yearling filly and is beautiful and her little brother, just born, is Stephen's Blazin Star. So in my herd I am trying to continue the tradition that the Van Bert's have set forth for the Rocky Mountain Horse industry. A tradition of outstanding breeding, good training and first rate care.

I try to follow in the winning tradition of the Van Bert Farm, by asking lots of questions and learning as much as I can. The Dericksons, Tiptons and Pattersons are very patient with me and seem to enjoy sharing the knowledge they have acquired through their years of working with horses. As I am fond of saying, they have forgotten more about horses than most people will ever know. But they don't forget very much. And what I appreciate about them is they all have the heart of a teacher.

To illustrate their skill and knowledge, let's go back in time to the recently completed North Carolina show. The Van Bert Farm and the Cool Shade Mountain Horse Stable won a line full of ribbons. There was almost no class that their horses or in many cases horses didn't leave with ribbons. And that also included Championship Classes.

It is a testament to their skills as trainers and riders. In the show ring you can see the competition between their riders and horses. I think the horses sense and enjoy the competition as much as the riders do. Often you will see H T or Wilda, the grandparents, Jamie, the Uncle and one or two of the Tipton sons competing against each other. Then there is Chris's wife Stacie who rides and trains as well and she is often in a class against one or more of them. When the class is over there is still the friendly feelings one has in close knit families. That is another reason I enjoy them so much.

I am know whether they go on the rail or on the trail the horses that are trained by these two stables are trained to a highest of standards. The welfare of the horse is always near the top of the list on training next to the safety of the riders.

Later everyone

I hope everyone had a great Easter and remembered why Easter is so important.

Every Day Something New

We are back to the usual routine on the farm. Feed the animals, watch the cows for calves, watch the mare for signs of impending birth etc. But as a break from the routine of the day to day work, I paid a visit to the Van Bert Farm and Cool Shade Mountain Horses this past Monday. I was delivering two mares for breeding. One mare will be bred to an exciting young stallion, Blue on Black. He gave a great performance in the show ring in North Carolina. He has good conformation and a steady gait and personality plus.

The other mare, Mt Girl which was my first horse, will be bred to Ventures Black Fury. He walked out of the Championship Class as Grand Champion Stallion. in North Carolina and had a great season in the show ring in 2008. He has a wonderful personality and an awsome gait. Judy Brummer always gets that "Fury grin" when she rides him and he has show winning offspring on the ground. So we are excited to get to breed our mares to such fine stallions.

This time next year will be exciting as we watch our new foals running in the green pastures of our farm in Kentucky.

But there was also work involved during my visit to Van Bert's. Larry Patterson is teaching me to handle my yearling colt for conformation classes. He is a hard task master but also very patient with me. The Dericksons, Tiptons and Pattersons make it look so easy when they are in the show ring in conformation classes. The colt, Spirit is showing what good training he has had. I on the other hand have much to learn. So I will be in the show ring with WOFs Mountain Spirit. We will see how well I do. I know he will do fine. But the trick is getting us to work together as a team.

I always learn so much when I am at the farms in Stanton. Recently, H T gave a clinic for my sister and me on riding and training. He went through his training session with the mare he was riding and explained why he did each thing and what he was going to accomplish. From the results at the North Carolina show and his rides on Dressed for Success he accomplished all of his goals in an outstanding way.

This past visit, Larry gave us a clinic on showmanship at halter. He went through each step of how he trained to set up for conformation judging. How to get the results he wanted and when to stop asking. When to start asking. And then as a grand finale, he ask Spirit to walk from one end of the barn with him to the other end with the lead line across Spirit's neck instead of in Larry's hand. As an encore, he ask him to walk through the plastic curtains to the assistant who would take him back to his stall. Spirit responded correctly to each thing Larry ask of him.

I hope to do that good when I start actually showing him. This was my second lesson on showing in hand. Larry showed me how to lead Spirit. And always gave me the whys of the way I ask Spirit. By the end of my lesson, I was understanding and trying to make my mind and body work together. In the previous lesson, I learned how to lead him through obstacles.

I am really excited about the obstacle training. I believe that is one of the best tools used to get a horse ready for trail riding. And most of the Mountain Horses that show are also partners on the trail. It is fun to show. But the whole purpose of all of it is to make a great trail partner that one can trust and have fun on. I am now in my late 60s but I hope I never stop learning new things and wanting to do new things. To me that is how the mind stays young and how to slow down the aging of the body.

Later everyone. God Bless you and keep you in his loving care.

Happy Easter. Christ Jesus is risen.

First Horse Show

Hi everybody. I am really pumped. So much has been happening this past week. We had our new foal just a week ago today. It is a beautiful chocolate stud colt with a blaze on his face. He has hooked ears and a pretty dish face. He is a son of Sam I Am and a full brother to our yearling filly, WOFs Kailey's Magic. She was named after my Granddaughter Kailey Lipginski. Kailey is a year older than her brother, Stephen. So this colt's name will be WOFs Stephen's Blazin Star. We are so excited here on the farm to have our very first foal born on our farm. And to have such a beautiful foal is a blessing from God. We are so thankful for this wonderful blessing.

Thursday came and we, my Granddaughter Andrea and Great Granddaughter Melissa, headed out to North Carolina and the first horse show of the season. Our farm had two fillies going to the show. On Friday our mare Rocky Top Rebel made her first appearance. On Saturday Rebel went in for her second class and walked out with a ribbon. She did really well. That same day, our two year old filly, Velvet, went in for her first class. She walked away with the first place ribbon. She was steady and relaxed and made a great entrance into the show ring.

Thanks to Stacie & Chris Tipton of Cool Shade Mountain Horses and Equine dentist for an job well done with Velvet. She has just turned two years old and has only been under saddle since late November. We are seeing a great future for Velvet.

Also thanks to Jamie Derickson of Van Bert Farms for his good work with Rocky Top Rebel. She is calm and steady under saddle and she too has a great outlook for this show season.

Both stables came home with a really good show behind them that once again proves the quality of the horses produced on their farms and their innovative training that produces the top quality trail and show horses. We their clients appreciate the quality of training they have given our horses.

I went to visit the foal and his momma as soon as I got home. I could not believe how much he had already grown. He was running around the stall making his legs stronger. When I left home on Thursday, he was still trying to figure out what to do with those long legs.

So it has been a great week. It has been an exciting week. And this is just Tuesday

Heading to North Carolina

I will be heading out to North Carolina tomorrow. I am pleased to have my granddaughter, Andrea and great granddaughter Melissa traveling with me. I am excited to be going to the first horse show of the season. I have two new horses in the show this year.

I am excited to be there when Stacie Tipton shows my two year old mare, WOF Dock's Velvet. She is a blood bay that has us excited for her prospects for the upcoming show season. She is a daughter of the great stallion Choco Dock.

Also showing with Jamie Derickson aboard will be Rocky Top Rebel. She is a three year old Country Trail Pleasure Mare and has a lot of style. She is black and when she goes by it is hard not to notice her. I am excited about both of them and what a pleasure it is to be watching with my two of my granddaughters.

Today was another new day with our little Colt. As yet he is unnamed. We are taking suggestions for names. He is Chocolate with a white blaze down his face. Today I was in the stall with him and his Momma again. He was all over me. He is showing no fear at all of being handled. But he doesn't like his ears touched and didn't the first time I touched them. I can touch him everywhere else with no problems. He lets me pick up his feet and tap on them lightly. I can rub him all over and even lift his tail.

He has a stout looking neck. And funny ears that turn up just a little on the ends. His mother is comfortable with me being in the stall with them although she doesn't like the other horses coming up to the gate to look at them. She pins her ears back and runs at them by the gate. That is her baby and no one else need get close to him. I am happy she doesn't mind my being in there with them.

These are the little things in life that we are blessed with each day. I get to touch and train the new colt. I watch the new calves in the field running and playing together. I watched as the cows came together and ran buzzards away from the new calves a while back. I am in awe of nature. My farm is my little piece of heaven on earth that God has blessed me with. Every day is new all over and the small things add up to a great life. The troubles make us stronger and appreciate the blessings all the more.

Today I had the pleasure of climbing on the tractor and going out to bush hog some fields that I didn't get done last fall. It was a great feeling to look back where the bush hog had run and see the field being groomed and ready for the coming hay crop. The satisfication of knowing I am preparing the way for the mower and the baler to do their jobs is a lot of reward. Often when on the tractor I see a herd of deer or wild turkeys. Today I did not see deer or turkeys but I did see weeds coming down and it was good. Just a little thing maybe but then aren't most of our lives made up of the little things. If we wait for pleasure from the really big things then we miss the best part of life.

I will give a report from the horse show in North Carolina. Hopefully it will involve a lot of blues for Van Bert Farms and Cool Shade Mountian Horses as well as the horses they train for me.

Later everyone. God bless you and keep you in his care.