Back in the Saddle Again

In the picture is CGH Flair for Fury. She is a three year old and has burned up the show ring every year she has shown. This is a post mark to my blog this time. I just rode Flair at last week ends show. Not as a competitor but practicing for another time out. Thanks to S T for this nice picture of Flair and me just after she won the CTP class at the Gaited Jubilee.

I can't wait to ride again. I still haven't gotten to ride. We have been busy getting the hay crop in for next winter. It is always a struggle. Our equipment always seems to break down when we need it most. Thank God for David, Bob and Mike that are keeping things going. I am pretty much the gofer. Go for this part and go for that part. The bush hog is a constant struggle. But we are making progress.

I was at the Doctor's office about a week ago and he said, "You can ride but BE CAREFUL". I really think he thinks I am accident prone. Why would he think that? I was dismissed from rehab last Wednesday with the caution to not come back.

Anyway it feels good to know that I can ride again and I know that Blue Jean is waiting for me. She is really a sweet mare. She is so calm and willing. She sometimes has a little stubborn streak such as when she wanted to keep taking Kailey to the gate. Kailey wasn't willing or able to get her to stay on the track.

Maybe the best horse I have for the children is Rosie. Her name is actually Blooming Rose but we call her Rosie. My grandchildren from Mississippi always want to ride Rosie when they come to see me. She is very willing to take care of the little ones. I trust her with them.

I have bought a lot of horses and we have several that have been born on the farm. Sometimes people will ask me what is my favorite horse. I try not to play favorites. I always like the one I am with at the time the most. Each one is a favorite for different reasons. Satin is so beautiful. She loves Bob and most of the time will work for him really well. Recently was an exception. She started out with a bang on trail obstacles but her performance soon fell apart. She was on her maiden run in the show obstacle class but has done exceptionally well in the Rocky Mountain Rated Trail Program. She also does well in the ACTHA CTC rides.

I love SC Code of Honor. He is really beautiful with a great conformation. He has been winning a lot in conformation classes. He has such a presence about him. His demeanor says "Look at me." And the judges do.

Flair for Fury is another conformation horse that has really done well under saddle. She thinks when they announce the winner in a class, she should be heading to get her picture taken with the blue ribbon. She is often right.

But honestly, the second horse I bought is probably my favorite. Her name is VBF Butterfly Kisses. I bought her as a weanling. Three weeks later she showed in the UMH World Show in my name and won everything she entered except for trail obstacles and she came in a close second.

I sold her at the end of the show on Friday night that year and have loved her and followed her scanty career ever since. I often thought I shouldn't have sold her but I did and I have tried not to look back. I really loved that filly. She was sweet and had a wonderful conformation as a weanling.

The next time I saw her was at the World Show. I think she was a yearling. She won third but had some of the other exhibitors looking a little worried. She still had a great conformation.

Recently Larry Patterson called me and told me he was with Butterfly Kisses. I thought he meant he was in Missouri but he said that he had her on his horse trailer heading to Kentucky. He asked if I wanted to buy her back. He was willing to meet me on I-64 and load her on my trailer.

I bought her on the spot. I also ask him to take her on back to their stable and put her back in training with them.

I got to see Butterfly Kisses the next day. Larry put a halter on her and she parked out like she had done it everyday of her life. He threw the rope over her neck and walked away. I hurried up to her and put my arms around her neck and loved on her and she stood there like she knew that she was not to move until Larry told her to move.

She is the same sweet horse that she was when she was a weanling in 2007. She has grown out with that same wonderful conformation. She has several months of training and S T tells me that she has a very nice gait. I am so excited to have her back.

I love every one of my horses. I am excited when they do well. I worry over them when they are sick or injured. My vets loves me because they know I will take care of my horses like they were my babies. It is not that I won't or can't sell them but as long as they are in my care, I think I should do the very best I can by them.

Our Heavenly Father entrusted animals to our care. He gave them to us for our use. He did not give them to us to abuse them or mistreat them. I think that as long as I own an animal it is my duty given to me by God to care for them and treat them well just as we care for and love our children. Of course, our children are much more important than any animal.

I read the sad story of a child that was locked in the truck of a car recently and died. Initially the grandmother, the aunt and uncle told the police that she was playing in the truck of the car and they didn't know she was there until it was too late. Later the story came out that they locked her in the truck to punish her. What did she do so wrong? She got a Popsicle out of the freezer without permission.

More and more we hear and read of children and animals that are mistreated and abused. It is unthinkable that people could be so evil as to take that which God has entrusted to us and misuse it in such tragic ways.

I suppose that I have really strayed from the main subject of how Butterfly Kisses has come back into my life but often I start thinking of one thing and my thoughts trail off in a direction that I often wonder "How did I get here from there". I suppose that many people do the same thing.

My point today is that we who have been entrusted by our Lord with much, have a duty to Him to care for what we have and do the best we can with our resources. Whether those resources is land, animals or goods. The Bible tells us that we are stewards of the land. It doesn't mean we should put animals over people but that we take care of it. It is our God given duty and right to use it for the benefit of people.

May the God who formed you in your mother's womb bless and keep you in his loving care.

Regards

Mary Lipginski

Trail Riding

The first picture is of S T and Code of Honor. They were in the practice arena. S T had been giving him a work out and he had dismounted to let my niece ride him. She loved the ride.

It is just one week until I will have the official word from my Orthopedic Surgeon that I can get back into the saddle. Then I will be riding Blue Jean.

This is my horse Blue Jean with Vanessa Crowe as she gets ready to give my daughter Mary Engle her first riding lesson.

Here it is once again time for the horse shows in White Pine Tennessee and I will not be going again. I have not been since 2008. I really like the White Pine show. It is fun. The facilities are really nice. I especially like the practice arena.

In 2009 my son, Steve and his family were here from Mississippi so I did not get to go to Tn. In 2010 I was still recovering from a broken arm and this year I will be going to Lawrenceburg to take Bob and Leigh to the KMSHA State Show. It is a good show but I will miss going to Tn. I will really miss seeing my stallion, SC Code of Honor and Flair for Fury showing. I love watching the two of them show. I will really miss seeing all of the people I know from showing with UMH.

I really like seeing all the horses, owners and trainers. I will miss getting to cheer on my favorite horse that isn't mine, Mercy Me. And of course watch H T and that beautiful stallion that he rides.

Once again I am nursing a broken bone. When I first noticed the stable name, Broken Bones Farms, I got the wrong idea about how the name came about. Of course, now I know it is owned by an Orthopedic Surgeon and thus the name Broken Bones Farm. I can surely relate to that.

My Orthopedic Surgeon sees too much of me. Or rather, I see too much of him. I always think that my doctor must like people who ride horses and those who are accident prone. I believe he thinks I am in the latter category. Really I am not accident prone. I don't think he will believe that however. He tells me very seriously every time I see him, "Be careful" as he finishes his examination of my latest injury. Then again as he walks out the door, he turns around and says, "Be careful".

Actually the last time I was at the Tn show, I had decided I would ride Mt Girl in a novice class. I was in the practice arena and having a really good ride. Mt Girl was giving me the best ride I had ever had on her. All of the sudden, she spooked at something. I don't know what. She jumped sideways and she went one way and I went the other. Some say the hardest thing about riding a horse is the ground. I can relate to that. However, that day the ground wasn't hard in the arena.

The footing in the arena was very fine rock and it was very wet. It was a soft landing. When I got up, I was pretty much covered with wet rocks. Jamie helped me up and walked me to the wash bay where they wash the horses and hosed me off. I then got into my truck, went to the motel and took a good shower. I had to wash my hair and of course put on a whole new outfit because I was pretty well covered from head to toe with that fine gravel.

So I watched from the spectator chairs as the rest of the show went on without me participating. It has been a struggle to get where I have enough confidence to ride and enjoy the ride. I am always thinking I will get thrown off again. And I have had an unscheduled dismount on three more occasions since then.

The next dismount was from my mare, Blooming Rose. Now, the children can get on Rosie and have the best ride ever. My grandson Stephen loves to ride Rosie and I think when he gets just a little older he will get to leave the arena and ride the trails. Right now he is only seven and really doesn't ride very much but he sits good on a horse and he is very confident. I am very proud of him.

That same year, 2010, I was riding J R, my sister's horse. I had been riding him in the winter and had a wonderful time on him. We rode a lot of days in the snow and it was really fun. I was getting more confident. I had ridden him on the trails through the woods as well. Sometimes he would do little crow hops and scare me some but all in all I was more confident on him than any of the other horses. I knew what to expect from him.

We participated in the trail ride on the Van Bert Farm last fall just after I was able to ride again after my broken arm. Which by the way was not from falling from a horse. There was a mud hole the horses had to walk through to continue on the trail. I was the last to go through with J R. Poor J R was struggling to get through the hole that had been churned up all day by horse after horse going through it. It was too much for him and he went down.

Of course, I went off once again and this time it was in a mud puddle. I was wet and muddy but I got up and got back on J R with Doug Spier's help and finished the ride.

I said at the beginning of the ride I had two goals for the ride. One was to stay warm and the other was to finish the ride. I am proud to say, I finished the ride and my score wasn't too bad. I had by passed one obstacle and I did come in dead last on the scores but I had pretty good scores on the obstacles I did complete.

My last unscheduled dismount was from Blue Jean. It happened like this. We had all gone out to supper after the last Van Bert CTC. There was about 15 of us and it was agreed that there would be a trail ride in the mountains the next day. Everyone was very excited about the prospect of riding in the mountains. Jamie ask me if I would be going and I said, "No I don't have a horse to ride." Jamie ask me if I would go I had a horse that was bomb proof. I don't believe such a horse exists but he offered me Blue Jean and I do know she is a very good horse.

So I somewhat reluctantly agreed to go. But as I got on Blue Jean and we started riding in the mountains I was glad I had agreed to go. The mountain ride was spectacular and scary all at the same time. We rode down some trails that was uncomfortable for me but all in all the ride was really good.

All went well until the very late in the ride. I could tell Blue Jean was getting tired. After all I am heavier than the children who had been getting riding lessons on her. She had been on a longer ride than she had been on in a long time. We were within fifteen minutes of being back at the trucks and trailers when Blue Jean went down on her front knees. I didn't know she was going down until I felt myself land on the hard ground.

Vicky, another rider, was off of her horse in a flash and telling me not to move. I looked up and there stood Blue Jean, patiently waiting for me to get back on her. What a sweet mare. Vicky checked me over and finally allowed me to get up. I didn't feel like I had any bad injuries but to make my brother happy and set his mind at ease, I went to the hospital emergency room on Monday, Memorial Day, and was xrayed. I had a broken collar bone.

So in just seven more days, I can once again get on Blue Jean and ride the trails. I have had a lot of suggestions. Bubble wrap, training wheels, an air bag and stay off of all horses are just some of them. I am really looking forward to getting back on a horse for the first time in a long time. It has been a struggle to get my confidence back but I know Blue Jean to be a horse that will not run off with me and I know what to expect from her. But thinking about it, bubble wrap does not sound like such a bad idea.

It is all about trust and confidence. I have not had those feelings on a horse since I was 18 years old but I have wanted to have them and ride like I couldn't possibly fall off. I can relate that to my spiritual life. I believe that I have that kind of faith and trust in God. I know I can fall and I can fail but God will never let me go through anything without his being there with me. I can fail but God has already forgiven me for my failures.

I have trusted Jesus as my Lord and Savior and thus I can never fail. Do you have that kind of relationship with Christ? If you don't, why not?

May the Lord bless and keep you in his loving care.

Regards,

Mary

I hope Vera will forgive me for lifting her picture from her blog but I am so impressed with H T and Blue on Black. I am thrilled I have a colt by Blue on Black in my herd. He is a yearling now and beautiful with a great conformation.

Blue on Black has recently been to Texas where he and H T competed in the ACTHA greatest trail horse competition. This September we will have a chance to see and voter for our favorite of the 100 competitors and their horses that competed for the title of America's greatest trail horse. I am so pleased that three of those horses and riders are people I know from showing in the UMH shows. Besides H T, there is Judy Brummer riding Legendary Lady and Mike Butler riding MX Wrangler. All three are Mountain Horses.

Why are the Rocky Mountain horses becoming so popular, you may ask? Think of the baby boomers that are starting to retire and many who are either thinking of an easier horse to ride or just now starting or going back to riding.

When I started thinking about buying a horse, I started doing research on the Rocky Mountain breed of horses. The first time I ever knew about that particular breed was reading a horse magazine. There was a nice article about Rocky Mountain horses and all the wonderful attributes they have. The article mentioned in detail about their smooth ride. They do not get to be overly large. 16hh is usually the tallest a Mountain Horse gets. Their wonderful disposition is another of their great attributes. They are intelligent and willing to please their riders. They are eager to learn.

I am what you may call vertically challenged (short). I do not want a horse that I have to hire a cherry picker to get on it's back. I do not want to bounce up and down, aka post. I do not have the energy for such things. I have old bones and old muscles and don't think I could ever get the hang of that posting thing.

So pretty soon I was looking for a stable that trained and sold Rocky Mountain horses. I googled the term and started looking. The first thing I knew I was on the Van Bert web site looking at their beautiful horses. Soon I was on the way to Stanton Kentucky to check out those horses. As it happened, the Stanton horse show was being held the very day I was at the farm. There I saw the most beautiful horse I have ever seen in my whole like. Her name is VBF Blue Ridge Mt Girl. I was hooked and it didn't take me many days to make up my mind that I wanted to own that horse.

I was taking riding lessons at a stable near home and my instructor was trying to teach me how to post. Ever once in awhile I would get in time with the horse and would actually post for a few steps but invariably I would get into the horse's mouth and he would slow down or stop. I never did get the hang of that posting but it was not for lack of Lisa trying.

One day I went to my riding lesson and told Lisa I had bought a horse. She had been looking for me a nice Quarter Horse so she was disappointed that I went out on my own and bought a horse. When I told her my new horse was two years old, I thought she would have a heart attack. She told me I was crazy and I actually thought she might contact my family to have me committed. I suppose I did pick up some helpful hints through my riding lessons with Lisa but I'm not sure. She was committed to teaching me to post and I was committed to riding a gaited horse.

So we parted ways after it became clear it was not going to work out. She and I didn't have the same goals in mind for my riding experience.

Mt Girl won trophies two years in a row as the High Point Country Trail Pleasure horse for the year in the UMH show circuit. I still love that horse as much as any horse I own. I have now had two foals from her and they are both really nice. The first was a colt by Venture's Black Fury and this year's filly was by my stallion SC Code of Honor. She is a black filly with very little white on her anywhere.

Mt Girl and I have had some pretty cool adventures together. She spooked when Chris (her trainer) nearly fell over the fence in front of her and she went one way and I went the other. It was a young horse thing. She spooked in the practice arena in Tennessee during my practice on her and she went one way and I went the other. I landed in some really soft rock. It was all wet and mushy and Jamie helped me wash a lot of it off at the wash bay they have for the horses.

I quit riding Mt Girl for a couple of years and last year I was determined I wanted to ride her again. So I did. We didn't go out of the arena but I rode her. She was just as sweet as ever and didn't do anything foolish. She had grown up and raised a colt and had matured. She is a wonderful horse and beautiful too. I always say the most beautiful horse in the world. Michael Brummer disagrees with me.

My new horse is a 19 year old gray mare called Blue Jean. She was Al Pruitt's favorite riding horse. I came to appreciate her when I rode the mountains on her back at the end of May. Now many of you may remember that is about the time I broke my collar bone. Well, I was riding Blue Jean when that happened.

I felt no concern that she would do something foolish and get me hurt. I did have a anxious moment on the trail when we encountered a switchback. I did dismount and walk down. But Blue Jean did nothing at all foolish. I do not count it her fault that later in the ride she went down and I fell off. She is a very sweet mare that took such good care of me. She tiptoed down the steep hills and picked her way up the hills. She was gaiting like a show horse and was kind and gentle all the four hours we rode.

Blue Jean has been giving lessons to young riders lately and she was not accustomed to carrying people that weight over a hundred pounds. I am not saying how much over. She was also not accustomed to being out on that long of a ride. So it was not her fault and it wasn't my fault that I lost my balance and fell. I can hardly wait to get back on Blue Jean. She has completely restored my confidence. I have a saddle that has a deep seat and I feel good about riding her.

God certainly does answer prayers. I have been praying for, God has given me. I have been praying I would have the courage to ride and not be afraid. I sort of got cornered into riding in the mountains. Not really but in a way I did too if that makes any sense.

Sometimes God has to corner me into doing what I should be doing anyway. The times I do not listen to his voice, I regret it but I do know he is with me through whatever trials that I may encounter. I know he will bring me to the other side of trouble, even that of my own making, a better and wiser person.

I know that God is with me throughout whatever comes in my life. He promised that in his word. He told us to go and make disciples of all nations and that he is with us always. I believe that is not only a promise that he gives when we are out in strange lands preaching the gospel, but where ever we are living by his promises to us as believers.

May God bless and keep you in his loving care and may you learn as I have that he is with you in all the things in your life. I asked Bill one time if he thought God cared about the little things in our life. He told me that of course he is. Our lives are mostly made up of little things.

May all the little things in your life bring blessings to you and may you be blessed beyond all measure.

Regards

Mary

Horse Shows

The first picture is of Chester Hale on his pony named Jocko. He has participated in the ACTHA trail rides we have hosted and rides we have been a part of. The second is of Melissa riding Blue Jean. Blue Jean's actual registered name is Tennessee Revelation but Connor started calling her Blue Jean and it has stuck.

My horses, Code of Honor, Flair for Fury, Ann's Mt Treasure and Rockin Andi are off to the show in Prestonburg this week end. I am at home once again. Broken bones and this year the hay has interferred with my fun at horse shows.

As of this morning the hay is baled. We have had a hundred different issues it seems. It is never easy to get the crops in without having a break down of some sort. It seems like we have had more than our share. The tie rod on the White, blades on the mower, a flat tire, and tractors that won't start. The level of frustration rises with every new problem. But yet the men here have perservered and the hay is baled. Praise the Lord God.

Even the man who does my custom baling has had his share of problems with his baler. But as of this morning we have about 150 big round bales of hay ready for winter. God is good and God is faithful to provide.

My mother, Lucy Rogers, used to always say, "God provides for the birds of the air but he doesn't throw it in their nests". She was telling her children that God provides but we must do our part.

Just a little wrap up. I started this blog last week end and didn't get it finished. My horses did pretty well at the horse show last week end. I would have liked them to do better but I thank God for what he blesses me with.

My sister, Eleanor who was here through her air conditioner crisis is home once again and seems to have her affairs in order for a while right now. I have my own bed back. Hurray. I do miss my bed after a week or so. I don't mind giving it up for a little while but I begin to hate the couch after about a week.

The hay is all moved off of the ground and the grass is growing again for the next crop. We had a nice rain this morning although it could have rained longer and it would have been appreciated.

So that is how it all is on the home front. We are getting ready for the next horse show tomorrow night. Bob is riding Satin today and getting her ready.

Until next time, God bless and keep you in his loving care.

Regards,

Mary

A New Rider in the Family

This is my oldest daughter, Mary Engle rider the gray mare, Blue Jean and in the first picture the other rider on the chestnut mare is my other daughter, Debbie Zinsius. This is the first time Mary has been on a horse that she has actually ridden. Debbie grew up riding a sweet little pony named Tony. She and her brother Steve who rode a painted pony named Chico loved riding those ponies together. They rode all over the farm on those two ponies.

They showed them in the 4-H shows at the Spencer County Fair. We didn't have a fancy trailer to load them on so we put the cattle racks on the pick up truck and put both of them on the truck and off we went to the horse and pony club meetings and the fairs. They were not fancy but the children had more fun than you could imagine.

The Rocky Mountain Horses the farm owns these days are very nice horses with pedigrees that trace back to the original horses in the breed. They are beautiful slick animals that get shots on a regular basis, get wormed and seen by the vet on a regular basis.

God has blessed me and my farm with these wonderful horses. He has blessed the world with horses that are easy to be around and easy to handle. They are sweet and kind hearted.

I thank the Lord for all the blessing of this day.

May God bless and keep you in his loving care.

Regards

Mary

Blue Jean and Melissa

Melissa is riding the new horse I recently bought. Her name is Blue Jean. When I told her that I bought Blue Jean, she gave me the biggest hug I have ever had from Melissa. Sometimes she is a little stingy with her hugs but she was thrilled with Blue Jean. She had ridden her for a lesson with Vanessa.

Vanessa is like everyone else a Van Berts. She is very generous with her time and yesterday was really a busy day for all of them. They are not only getting ready for the big show in Prestonburg but they are also entertaining clients that come every day to buy horses. It is a wonderful vacation for the girls and me.

Today we are getting ready to go to the Stable. Guess who is taking a riding lesson today? The girl who said she would never get on a horse ever. It is Melissa's Granny aka known as my daughter Mary Engle.

I will write more on that later. There will be pictures to follow.

May the Lord bless and keep you in his loving care.

Regards

Mary

The first picture is my dog Erica and she is the ultimate trail riding dog. She loves to go on every trail ride with anyone that mounts a horse on the farm.

The second is of WOF Saga of Snowy River. He is a yearling colt that is really showing up his beautiful color. This was one of his first bathes in a 7 months and it was no problem for him.

Just some thoughts for the day. we are hanging out at the Van Bert Farm in Stanton Kentucky. Do not worry, I am not riding. We are having the family girls vacation. We got as many as could get off from work for a couple of days and we are staying in the Van Bert cottage. It is beautiful. It is peaceful and I love being here with my girls. I wish Natalie and Chrissy could have been here with us.

I hope you are able to get your family together for such a time together.

Regards,

Mary