Suz, Blackjac and our new horse
Honey P just got back from a trip to Ocala, Florida
(sunny, 78 degrees and beautiful) where our Wind Rider
Equestrian Challenge premiered in a big way. Tigger
was still under the weather and stayed home, but he's
doing better now. Next we're off to Maine for the Northeast
Horsemen's Conference and Trade Show (nhcts.com) in
January, followed by the PA Horse World Expo Feb, 21-24
in Harrisburg, PA. We hope you'll join us, and even
ride in the next Wind Rider Challenge in PA; we'd love
to see you!
Bob's Training
Tip In these cold Northeast
winter months it's important when working your horses
to remember to warm them up before doing anything strenuous.
Just as important, however, is to make sure that you
give them an equal amount of time to cool down before
putting them up.
We've
had an incredible 2007, and hope that your year of horsemanship
has been rewarding and fun. Even though the year isn't
over yet Bob and I would like to thank all of you for
making this year, once again, the most exciting, successful
year for Two as One Horsemanship yet! Read on for details
about our new events, as well as programs for horse
lovers and those who want to work with horses professionally.
On a more personal note, as some of you may know my
very special horse Tigger, the palomino I ride in many
of our DVDs and expo appearances, has been very ill
for about 3-4 months. While he seems to be on the mend
now, we still don't know exactly what caused his illness,
despite the best of veterinary care. Not knowing how
to help him heal has been perhaps the most distressing
part of this experience for me, and my heart goes out
to any of you who have been or are currently in the
same frustrating, upsetting situation. Tigger's symptoms
included weight loss, loss of appetite, general dullness,
a high fever on some days, lack of desire to get up
on other days, some colic symptoms, occasional lameness,
etc. We tested for Lymes, EPM, cancer, and much more.
Nothing conclusive was ever found, but the consensus
is that he had either a secum problem, an inflamed colon,
or that something in the hind gut that was problematic.
The good news is that he is now well enough to get back
into training again, and I expect him to be back to
top form by our first 2008 mounted appearances at the
PA Horse World Expo. We're taking it slow and steady,
but it is a real joy to be able to do even something
as basic as groundwork and walk/trot.
Suzanne's
Riding Tip
Never give up! No matter what!
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Horsecity.com/RFDTV
Bob and I are going to be appearing on the RFDTV
show, Horsecity.comTV in early '08… we'll keep
you posted as details develop!
Bob
& Suzanne's Wind Rider Equestrian Challenge™
The hottest new cross disciplinary competition in the
US!
The premiere
Wind Rider Challenge in Ocala, Florida was fantastic!
Tthe participating clinicians, Josh Lyons, Matt McLaughlin,
Tommie Turvey and Stacy Westfall, did an amazing job
of judging, as well as riding in the finals, teaming
up with the top four point earners. Between the challenge
courses and the team freestyles it was a blast! The
judges awarded points to the horse/rider teams for each
challenge in the course based on accuracy, horsemanship,
equitation, and the horse's willingness. Congrats to
our Wind Rider Champion, Heather Caudill, our Wind Rider
Reserve Champion Peggy Black, and our two Wind Rider
Runners up, Cori Hickling and Poppy Moe. Special thanks
to Acie Johnson, president of Ortho-Flex Saddlery, who
donated a $1000 Ortho-Flex shopping spree to the winner!
Be sure to join us for the next Wind Rider Challenge
at the PA Horse World Expo Feb. 21-24, where Matt McLaughlin,
Julie Goodnight and Liz Graves will be our star clinicians,
and Lynn Palm and Scot Hansen will be our judges. The
Grand Prize is a free custom made saddle by Dave Genadek
of About the Horse.Learn more about other prizes, rules,
and see a video clip of the finals in Florida on our
website. We'll also be coming to Tennesssee, Arkansas,
Illinois and other states in 2008… keep checking
for more details!
HEC/ProTrack
We
had an extraordinary group attend our Horsemanship Ed
Courses and ProTrack™ Trainer Certification Program
this year! Congratulations to all for your hard work and
dedication! A special congrats to our ProTrack Certified
Trainers: Martha "Ninja Lady" Davis, Meghan
"Mecate" O'Brien and Lucy "Everready"
vanSummern. These three excellent horsewomen passed our
strenuous testing standards with flying colors! You'll
be hearing more about each of these fine trainers soon!
We were lucky enough to have Scot Holmes of ABI Equine
to come all the way from corporate headquarters in Indiana
to give a seminar about the importance of safe footing
and it's relation to soundness and performance. Thanks,
Scot! We all learned a lot, and had a great time! For
more info about the TR3 Rake and the other excellent arena
grooming tools and consultation services available please
visit ABIEquine.com.
Be sure to take advantage of our Early Bird Discount on
our Horsemanship Ed Courses and ProTrack Trainer Certification
Program, and save up to 10%. Visit our website to get
info and to register!
Legacy
Saddlery
We'd
like to welcome Dave Allen and Donna Tillman of Legacy
Saddlery as our newest sponsors! These dedicated Master
Saddle Makers hand build historically correct Western
saddles that can be custom made for you and your horse.
Each saddle is truly a masterpiece of form and function,
and gorgeous, too! They even drove all the way up from
Virginia to teach our ProTrack students about saddle fit.
For more info or to order please visit their website,
www.legacysaddles.com
.
Travel
Smart and Safe
Bob and
I have teamed up with Soundhoof Media Group to produce
our newest DVD series, Travel Smart and Safe: The Horse
Lover's Guide. If you've always dreamed of traveling
with your horses, but find the prospect intimidating,
learn the secrets of experienced haulers so you can
haul like a pro the first time out!
With Volume 1, How to Choose and Use What's Best
for You, get the right information and avoid costly,
dangerous mistakes!
Topics include
· The Right Horse Trailer to Suit Your Needs
and Budget
· The Right Tow Vehicle to Pull Your Trailer
· Driving Exercises for Safe Hauling
In Volume 2, Training Your Horse to Travel Safely,
topics include
Your horse will learn to:
· Adapt easily to changes in his daily routine
without stress
· Stand tied calmly and safely for an extended
period of time
· Have excellent ground manners
· Respect your space
· Be brave...go over, between, and through
obstacles
· Put each foot exactly where you want it,
one step at a time
· Load and unload onto both step-up and ramp-load
trailers with no drams, trauma or fuss
You'll learn:
· Rope handling-how to mangage leads and ropes
safely and effectively
· Learn which ropes are right for the job
· How to make it easy for your horse to succeed
· How to recognize rider/handler error
· Which three body parts a pushy horse will
crowd you with and how to stop this behavior
· Effective leading
· Basic lungeing in circles and straight lines
These are available in our e-tack shop!
AQHA
Professional Horsemen
Bob and I are delighted to officially belong to the
American Quarter Horse Association's Professional Horsemen.
We share the AQHA's goal to educate and promote good
horsemanship, and have really enjoyed working with everyone
on the AQHA team. Be sure to check out our column, "Is
it My Horse or is it Me?" in the AQHA monthly magazine,
America's Horse!
Equine
Affaire & our Special Demo team
This
year at Equine Affaire Massachusetts, we not only got
to visit with lots of our friends and students who came
by the booth or attended our clinics and demos; we also
got to meet a lot of people who really care about becoming
the best horsepeople they can be. And we had a special
team of demo riders with us: our own Meghan Mecate, Mike
"Squire" VanBlargan (both are ProTrack grads,
and Meghan has joined Mike on our training staff at Two
as One Ranch), and Judy Freudberg, a long time student
and friend, with her Icelandic mare, Lukka! They did a
great job demonstrating exercises to successfully troubleshoot
and resolve problems that many trail riders experience
with their horses. Thanks everyone!
