 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
2006 ARCHIVES Winter 2006 Winter has hit and hit hard with pouring rains at times and chilling nights...and of course all the lovely accoutrements of winter like; puddles the size of lake Michigan. Of course my personal favorite...MUD!!! Beautiful, brown, knee deep MUD!!! Don't ya just love Winter? Well...you know what? the ponies really DO love MUD, especially our colts. In fact, the lighter the natural coat on the pony/Cob the more drawn to mud they become (funny how that happens). I'm not quite sure if it has to do with the dilute gene or what? I also think the colts were tipped off on the epidermal benefits of MUD from some of their upper crust, spa going friends or perhaps it was the pigs? Nonetheless, they've never turned back.
Speaking of bored...during the rainy days of winter I have had the chance to write more horsey poetry...the second in a series of I hope many "I met a horse" (Parelli inspired) and my third poem entitled "Ponies". Inspired by those fluffy little carrot crunchers, the Welsh A's.
On a more serious note, Grandma Donna is very tired at times but...is doing extremely well and even able to drive the car! She is still being treated with chemo three weeks on and one week off. Her tumor markers have stabilized and her spirit is good. We were silently thankful for much at the Thanksgiving table this year and pray for only good things to come in the near future.
....... Fall 2006 Fall is definitely in the air now, with the onset of shorter days and cooler nights, long pony beards and long flowing ear hair. Boy, I am glad fall does not effect our hair growth in that way. Just think what could happen. Especially that long wooly ear thing that seems to happen to the Cobs. … Yikes! We have some very good news to report … Grandma has moved back to her place next door and is doing very well with the aid of a quad cane. I am sure she is enjoying the solitude of her little house as compared to the daytime madness of Mini Whinny Child Care at our house. Grandma’s cancer markers have dropped and she has sprouted new hair … yes … just like the ponies! Therefore, we are keeping positive and hope things will only get better. She has had to endure much this year.
All the ponies are doing well, and I have started Rachael and Sir Prance-a-lot driving. They have taken to driving literally like a duck to water. I cannot believe how fun driving is!!! I am as much of a rookie to driving as the ponies and sometimes they look at me as if to say, “Hey Lady, what’s taking you so long with the harness thing … just put it on me and let’s get going”. Special thanks to Richard Lumsden for all your help and expertise on driving; as well as, all the other help from Pat Cochran and the Hubert family. I appreciate all the info you have shared with me.
We also are excited to announce a new product that my husband, Randy, and my friend, Kerry, helped me to develop through our Company - TRAK Equine Accessories. The product is called a Bridle Enhancer and is absolutely stunning. Each piece is painstakingly hand beaded with inset crystals. The bridle enhancers are wonderful as you can dramatically change the look of your Bridle/Halter in an instant without having to remove the Bridle/Halter from your horse. They literally wrap around your brow band/noseband and attach with a convenient Velcro closure. Now how cool is that? For more information feel free to email me through this site until our TRAK website is completed. Each piece is also custom made and each piece is slightly unique.
In Closing, Please be sure to sign on our guestbook, as we would love to hear your comments on our ponies and web site. Thanks for the visit. ....... SUMMER 2006 I apologize for taking so long to update our website but…My mother fell and broke her hip the evening of July 12th the night prior to us leaving for the Eugene, Oregon Welsh Show. Needless to say we were all very much saddened by my mother’s fall. It seems as though that’s all she needed since her diagnosis of cancer this last April. I explain it like this; It’s like being hit by a semi truck and just as you begin to get up another semi truck comes up and runs right over the top of you again. My mother concurred with my scenario. My mother is currently staying with us until she is fully recovered from the break and is able to stay safely on her own. She is tired but, doing well considering the circumstances. My mother wanted to thank everyone for all the prayers, beautiful artwork, cards and words of encouragement. Our great expectations of a big show season have come to an abrupt stop for now (life happens) . Nevertheless, we look forward to returning again next season. We did however, attend several local shows this season and ended up finishing the year HBQHA High Point Stallion (all ages and breed types) with our Section A Colt “Prairie Hawk Sir Prance A Lot”. This made us feel really good. As we are often over looked at open shows.
Due to the current circumstances with my mother’s health, I have decided to part with two of my non-Welsh horses; 1997 Registered Arabian mare “Z Cinderella” and my Registered Pinto filly “PH Tova”.
Good loving homes are a must with special preference given to Parelli Level I or above. In closing, we are praying for a speedy recovery for my mother, the arrival of Fall and the hope of a little rain to settle the dryness and dust. Take care all and look forward to chatting with you again soon. ....... On Sunday June 18, 2006, we hit the ground running again as we loaded up Prairie Hawk Sir Prance a Lot, Maple Lane Arwen and Carrick Brynn Auryn and headed to our local District Fair Show at Redwood Acres in Eureka. All ponies and cobs did an excellent job representing both the A and D sections of the Welsh. Our Section A stallion, Prairie Hawk's Sir Prance A Lot, came away with a first place stallions all ages/breeds, then pinned Grand Champion Stallion. We were thrilled once again by the spirit and movement of this elegant little pony. The crowd was captivated!
Our next stop was the OWPS Show in Albany Oregon on June 24th and 25th. We were planning on taking 1 Pony and a Cob to this show, but ... I thought I would surprise my mother by taking her Senior Mare as well! Unfortunately, she caught me before I could hide her in the trailer and I had to fess-up to my sneaky little plan. So now we had 2 Ponies; Prairie Hawk's Sir Prance A Lot (Sec. A Colt) and his Dam, Glenhaven Sweet Rachael (Sec. A Senior Mare) and our 2 year old Sec. D Cob Filly Maple Lane Arwen. Again, the ponies thrilled us with their performances ... especially Rachael. She had literally been taken from the pasture to the show. The first to show was Arwen who placed 3rd under both Judges. Next, Rachael took 1st and 2nd, then went Champion Senior Mare. Not bad for a 9 year old lady showing against 3 years and up. This was an emotional win for the entire family, as Rachael was the first Welsh pony our Ranch had shown over 7 years ago. Sir Prance A Lot (Rachael's Son) was up next and entered the ring once again with pizzazz and style. He proceeded to take 1st under both judges and Champion Colts 2 and under. We were overjoyed with the results and feel extremely fortunate to own these beautiful ponies and cobs.
Grandma Donna is handling her Chemo treatments fairly well, but she is very tired. It's strange, the ponies seem to give her a mystical energy just by being around them ... Soooo ... we're planning to keep taking grandma to the shows throughout the summer season. Check back soon, as we head to another local show, then off to Eugene Oregon for more Welsh action. ....... It has been a busy yet, fun summer for the people and ponies at Prairie Hawk Ranch.
Our next journey the following weekend took us to Albany, Oregon to see the Parelli's SAVVY 2006 Tour. What an educational, motivational and informative display for "Horse lover's only". We had a chance to chat and meet with Pat and Linda in person. I also presented Pat Parelli with my poem entitled "Listen to the Horse" which he read aloud and graciously thanked me. My daughter Taylor also had her hat and shirt autographed by Linda and Pat as well as her photo taken with them. It was sooo FUN!
We had one week of semi rest then, Prance loaded in the trailer for a parade down main street for our local McKinleyville Azalea Days Parade. This was a great experience for him as he was exposed to almost everything imaginable and I received some much needed exercise too. Prance looked beautiful and certainly lived up to his name as he literally pranced the entire parade route down Central Ave. Then, pranced all the way back to his trailer. He captured the hearts of many (young and old). Put smiles on a lot of faces. That's what makes it all worth while. Special thanks goes out to my daughter, Taylor and son, Hayden for being sports and proudly carrying the Prairie Hawk banner the entire way!
Grandma Donna is handling her chemo therapy very well and is do for her third infusion tomorrow. She has been able to attend the local show and parade. Looks forward to the long awaited mini vacation to Albany, Oregon on June 23rd. ....... We really did hit the ground running this show season as we packed up and left for Roseburg, Oregon on Friday April 28th to head for the Third Annual West Coast Welsh Spring Show. Just myself and my daughter Taylor made this trip as my mother was diagnosed with cancer earlier on in the month and was unable to attend do to complications with a blood clot. But we did our best to make grandma proud as Sir Prance A-lot came home with one first place ribbon, one second place ribbon, Reserve champion, Reserve Grand Champion and then Youngstock Champion (All sections 2 & Under) Wow! what a great win for such a young guy. Then miss Arwen brought home one third place ribbon and one fourth place ribbon SPRING 2006 |
|||||||||||||||||||||||||||
