Top O' The Hill Farm

Making History Once Again !

2011-02-01T18:16:00.002-05:00

Here is OYY Elektra's certificate and gorgeous ribbon from the Curly Sporthorse International registry for her show efforts in 2010 !! She is Reserve champion ... beat out by who ?
Her DAD !! As a breeder trying to find time to compete, I am up against my own kids ...

OYY The Mighty Quinn - sired by Mead's Chocolate Chip and out of our tried and true mare - Lilly scored better than Zoe and Elektra did , earning the 2010 Champ Title

This is definitely a record setter in the Curly Horse world -- Sire and Daughter competing and Sire and Daughter winning !!

Stefanie is Quinn's third owner (counting Top O' The Hill Farm). Before his sale, Quinn bred 3 mares - he has 2 sons and 1 daughter.. Elektra. I am SO proud of Stefanie and Quinn - they put forth a lot of effort and attending quite a few shows. As those who do it -- it's a lot of work ! What a beautiful couple they make. You can see his score history here -

The Curly Sporthorse International has done a superb job helping us as breeders track our wins and there by helping to prove our breeding goals, furthering the future of the Curly Sporthorse, earning credibility and supporting quality and enhancing the over all image of the Curly haired sporthorse. I love it !!

Top O' The Hill Farm is always the trend setter in the American Curly Horse breeding game. Proving bloodlines since our start in 1985 - we have continually trained our horses and entered as many shows and local riding competitions possible while maintaining the farm. When it was the norm to have herds of broodmares and stallions running in pastures producing foals - untouched and wild..... it was our goal to imprint every foal from the start and have most, or all, our stallions and broodmares under saddle or in harness. After all -- these were originally touted as the USING horse -- how else to illustrate that but to USE them ?

Here on the farm we have used the horses to pull logs, sleds full of hay at feeding time, pleasure trail rides with friends and family, countless judged trail rides (and not to brag but BOXES of ribbons ! ) along with the annual Battle of the Breeds - where one horse does every class, with change of tack each time and change of rider outfit too -- along with driving. We always had at least 2 horses entered every year. Our horses rode many miles raising money for various charities -- and we annually hosted ride-a-thons here at the farm as well, saddling up a dozen or more of our own Curlies for those wanting to ride but had no mount.

I am proud of my herd of generations of using Curly horses - over the years foals and grand-foals and even some great grand foals out there performing - in the show ring, hacking around for pleasure on trail and roads, driving and somewhat new to the mix - therapy horses. Top O' The Hill Farm has third generation therapeutic lesson horses currently being used in programs. Mom, daughter and grand-daughter giving lessons !

Sometimes I think- perhaps my web site is a bit confusing.. so many links to follow. But I love to be able to show the families and relatives... what they have done, where they are, etc. When choosing out a horse for whatever discipline, for whatever goal you might have in mind for yourself and/or your family -- full knowledge of the horses in the pedigree is important and useful. The horses at Top O' The Hill Farm have been selectively bred so that each foal's strengths, disposition and potential can be fairly well predicted. Horses are only used as breeding stock if they demonstrate trainability, tractability, basic soundness and perfect health. For me -- the family history of my Curly horse herd is paramount. When I sell a horse - I sell the story of a group of genes that have been personally worked with, trained, ridden or at least in the case of foals sold at weaning -- first hand news and knowledge of that off spring. We know what it feels like to ride the gaits of the related horses, have had the pleasure of seeing and experiencing the potential of each one being reached and perhaps exceeded.

Top O' The Hill Farm hosted the ICHO convention in 2004 and was the site of the first ICHO Curly horse inspection - providing 7 of my own horses for a trial run of an inspection.

Top O' The Hill Farm hosted the First Annual Curly get Together on the east coast (Tall Trees Curlies does one in the western part of the country). We all had a blast and it will definitely be an annual affair from now on. At the Get Together we saddled up 15 Curly horses and harnessed two Curlies -- perhaps the largest group of Curly horses at one time carrying riders and passengers on a trail ride !

This year - 2011 - in July Top O' The Hill Farm will be the site of the ABC convention.

It's been a very gratifying 26 years of breeding American Curly horses.. We began with some quality horses and continue to make quality horses. The game is a bit more competitive now - but we are keeping up.

Our pony program is the best in the 12.2 hh - 13.2 hh range - offering ponies with several generations of riding and driving behind their breeding.

Our trail horse focus has always been outstanding - all our horses ride rough trail and complete the challenging obstacle course from a young age on up. They show the aptitude and the build and the heart for this activity. We have competed in the past in 15 and 25 mile Competitive trail rides and drives.

Our Sporthorse program is developing and growing.. both mounted and driven. Top O' The Hill Farm has some really special Sport Curlies competing and coming up in training.

We are especially pleased with the addition of BCF Splash Dancer bred by Lisa Wytiaz of Bashcurl Farm in Georgia !! He'll be in the show ring this summer along with Elektra again ! And one more candidate for driving -- which we are working on this winter and spring.

Splash has bred a few mares for 2011.. can't wait !!

(photo courtesy of Lisa Wytiaz )

Top O' The Hill Farm has perhaps the largest population of driving horses and ponies - Of all my projects - other than riding the trail as often as I can -- driving is my passion.. I love a decent driving horse and it is most definitely genetic -

Lots of hard work is paying off .. and I have enjoyed
every minute of it !

I have been working on my web site - attempting to give it a fresh face -- only half way there.. it's a big job and tedious. for February I am running a small sale - discounting some of my favorite horses..
WHY you ask???

I believe in my breeding program and the results of that work -- My daughter and I have worked diligently to PROVE our horses and their breeding by USING ..... You - the buyer - can help me with that. Purchase a horse - stay in touch... train, trail ride, show, harness and drive.... I will pay for registering in curly Sporthorse International if you plan to do serious competition (and I hope you do) and also pay for nomination in Horse of the Year awards. Your work with one of my horses will help me continue to prove my reputation..

so take a look at the "sale" page ... or for that matter -- the entire sales list -

Now it's been awhile since I have blogged regularly.. I guess it's time to get on track - we've been riding and sleighing so come back for frequent visits.. and I'll try to stay current and entertaining !

Enjoy ~

Christmas Tour with a side errand or two

2010-12-23T06:54:00.000-05:00

Today we woke up to a lovely morning -- excited about our planned Christmas Tour ride to Chester Green. Ended up, I had a few things to do in Chester - so I decided to run those errands on horseback while I was there. We dressed for the holiday -- Gabby transported us to a location from which we started our tour. He snapped a few photo's of us - which is great since there are so few photo's of Zoe and I together as a portrait on horseback. When we went to halter up the horses and bring them to the barn -- when Keri saw she was trotting out with Mister T- she was dancing :)

I have known Gabby for quite awhile and he's so patient with our plans and ideas- no matter how off the wall they might seem. Once we unloaded, we began to decorate. Keri wore a Santa hat -- Teasel had antlers.

We are both pretty well bundled -- I felt a bit like a snowman perched in the saddle.. but I was cozy.

What the heck are these two saying to one another ?

We're off to ride through the Chester Green.... hopefully spreading some holiday cheer.

There goes Gabby - off to his next stop.

Green is coming up.... but wait --
pit stop for a hat fix !!

Mister T sporting his hasidic looking ribbon/garland sideburns. His antlers are laying too flat -- we'll have to perform a bit of surgery on those when we get home.

even with the decorations - without the snow, it just does not really seem like the holiday yet.

The Inn which was built in 1840's

Misty Valley bookstore

Now you have witnessed most of the Chester Green first hand.

We are off to run an errand. Trot down Main Street -- cross over past the Jiffy Mart

to the bank -- My Dad sent me money to purchase the GPS that I have had my eyes on.. since I am already in Chester, I figured I may as well make a deposit. My Dad is so supportive of my rides :)

The far left lane is strictly for drive up ATM... we need to stay in the right lane and use the pneumatic tube... that will take a bit of maneuvering - easier if we could trot up to the window.

But, if Nimue could do it -- Keri should be able to also.

Now I have to twist that little tube open -- all these bulky winter layers are hampering my dexterity.

Meantime -- the tellers are snapping their cameras through the window.

Here's a good shot of the antlers doing what they are supposed to do. We are just waiting for our deposit slip.

I can't wait to use the GPS on the trail... it's going to be outrageously awesome :)

One example of how it's going to aid us in our journeys -- one day we were on a long loop.. headed down Baltimore Road. We spotted a little dead end road off to the left - Bemis Road. In Vermont so many dead ends turn into trail. In 2006, the Vermont Legislature passed a law regarding old roads. Towns had to add the elusive roads to official town maps, ensuring that they remain public, or turn them over to owners of adjoining land.

At any rate - we spent a hour or so traipsing through the woods atop Old Shincracker mountain to find a possible access to somewhere-- I guess there was no old road.. at least that we could find. With the GPS - we'll know that ahead of time.

OK -- I grab my deposit slip and it's off to the next destination. Trot up through Chester Depot and off to Stone Village to visit our neighbors at work to wish them some Holiday Greetings.

Probably the most colorful house in Chester. They have several artificial Christmas trees on the porch -- also in many varying hues.

Some of the garden statues have Christmas hats on

I didn't even remember snapping this photo until I went to edit the pictures.. Is Teasel smiling or grimacing ? Whazzup Mister T ?

Passing by Pinske's -- where there is always something to catch the eye.

Barre Pinske is a local chainsaw carver/artist who is quite famous world wide.

Most days when we trot by, he is out working - perhaps it's too cold today. He donated a nice piece to the riding center a few years back for a fundraiser.

Trotting down the sidewalk - into the Depot.

Perched directly next to the railroad tracks and the Depot Station -- a handy store that carries nearly anything and everything. If they don't have it - you don't need it.

The Yosemite Fire Station - volunteer fire department of Chester. It was built in 1879.

We reach Stone Village -- I am surprised there are not more decorations.

I have featured a tour of the Stone Village before on the blog .. it's listed in the National Register of Historic Places. All the houses were built from a near-by quarry. Many of the homes have secret rooms and tunnels which were part of the Underground Railway for slaves.

Their unique construction dates back to 1838, when the cost for a stone house was five dollars a week plus a jug of good rum.

All the homes were constructed by two brothers using what's called the “sneckled ashlar” technique which required stones ranging in size from 4 x 6 inches to 3 x 4 feet to be laid end to end, with cross stones placed horizontally every few feet for added stability. The resulting walls, which could be up to 24-inches thick, were then internally reinforced with moss and horsehair. Pretty neat.

Just outside of the Village - on Route 103 is the Stone Village Farmer's Market owned and operated by my neighbors. We thought it would be fun to drop in to say hi -- but it looks as though no one is here.

For those of you who attended my Curly Horse Get Together this past summer --- this is where Denise and Deb drove to pick up the sweet corn for the grill. We rode on the long and round-a-bout route to get here so we could include the entire "tour".

Gone Fishin' ??? !!! If you want a tree or a wreath -- you'll have to slip the money under the door, so states the sign.

I guess with the extreme cold we've experience the ice fishing should be a booming venture.

Well - time to head home... we trot back to Flamstead Road to trot homeward. Here's someone who procrastinated a bit on the whole lighting thing -- he's just putting them up today.

It's starting to snow now .. a perfect day !

whoops -- fly-away hat SOS.

Here's a few little video snippets of our tour .... ending with a nice canter up the hill of Flamstead Road. We had loads of fun on our trip... Keri and Teasel make a very special team.

We hope to get out on Christmas Eve for a quick trot out ... but in case we don't -- Happy Holidays from the dynamic duo and their riders.

Enjoy ~

We Work and Play or Look Dick Look ~ See Jane Splash !

2010-12-20T16:52:00.004-05:00

I am dating myself gain :) Anyone remember the readers from kindergarten and first grade starring the infamous Dick and Jane ? In mid-November, one of my favorite large pony mares OYY Beltane's Lady Jane finally had her chance to get out on the trail for the first time.

This could have been hard work, but she's such an imp -- it became playtime for her ! Here is Jane just mounted and headed out... she is sired by our Mead's Chocolate Chip and out of ChesterBelle Honey - with some old time Curly bloodlines. I have retained Jane for a future lesson pony.. I think she's going to be a perfect therapeutic lesson mount.

Out on the back dirt roads, Jane is feeling sassy and confident -- in the lead -- Keri is along as nursemaid and to show Jane how it's done properly :) In the pasture, Jane has had issues with crossing water - we are headed onto a trail which has many water crossings.. we'll see how it goes.

Jane has completed the obstacle course a few times.. but here -- she balks a bit.. leave the road ? walk between the two trees ? It looks a bit rough in there.

Keri waits patiently while Zoe urges Jane on.

She gets this close a few times and backs off.. but this time -- she goes ! One of Jane's positive attributes -- she never reacts with any dangerous or iffy behavior when she refuses.. and once she does it -- she's good to go.

The swamps and little ponds have just a skim of ice today -- it's still mid November and although cold .. not as cold as usual at this time of year.

In the woods, on the trail -- this is easy !

Just ahead is Jane's first big downhill. Keri went first .. Jane did great.

Uh-oh water ahead ! You can see Jane leaves the trail momentarily to re-group. Keri is thinking an Eeyore thought -- harrumph.

To quote another ...
Keri assumes the Simba attitude ~

Danger? Hah! I walk on the wild side... I laugh in the face of danger... except instead of laughing, Keri pretends to drink instead.

Come on Jane - you can do it ! Admittedly this is a large puddle... but this is what brave trail horses do.

Silly Jane... !!

We exit the trail out into the open field -- Jane says -- Finally... !!

This little trail is perfect for beginner horses as it offers just about everything they need to learn and is not too long of a loop. Road, walking between trees and around obstacles, downhill, uphill, narrow spots, mud, brush and water !

Jane had a successful initiation and graduation.

OYY Hollis brown left for his new home.. he'll be living in New York state with another Top O' The Hill Farm "baby" OYY Abraham - who is being ridden and driven. Abraham is out of our Sudie Bee - and he is around 10 now. Hollis just turned 3 in the spring. He is a full brother to OYY Little "Z" who departed for Georgia in the beginning of the summer this year. He is maternal brother to Elektra. Nice family !

Here is a short little video of Hollis we made right before he left.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yqCQ-qyhbK4

Speaking of OYY Little "Z" -- here are some photo's of her at her new home. Her new owner was riding her days after her arrival -- even though she was just about ready to deliver her third daughter !

This is one of those homes that you dream of for your offspring... the perfect sale into a very loving family. Z was 4 when she made this trip south. By the way -- she did the same trail that Jane completed.. but she did hesitated at nothing -- just trotted along good as gold.

Here she is being nosey with the two older girls.

Zoe and I have discovered, being nosey runs in the family as Elektra also likes to poke stuff with her nose and Mom Ahmet uses her nose as an investigatory tool often -- twice she got quills in the muzzle for her troubles !

Since it's nearly the end of the year -- I am going to throw in some left over photo's and news to use it up before twenty eleven arrives -- here is my farm fox playing around. Foxes are a bit homely in the summer... but I guess they are built for quick and sly.

These rocks are good hunting ground for mice and such.

I received an e-mail kind of out of the blue from an owner - this family purchased a lovely colt sired by Colonel's Pasqualie Kid, out of our old gal Dream Curl --- I named the colt Wildest Dreams... in keeping with the tradition of using the word Dream in all of the "dream babies". I called him Wilder.. which fit him nicely as when he was born he reminded me of Gene Wilder anyway.

It's been ages since I have had contact with the family -- the young daughter has grown up quite a bit - and look how gorgeous this colt is now !!

While I am on the subject of my "babies" -- here is news from the Ray family in New Hampshire. They own two of my horses -- one of them is currently a member of the equestrian team at Colby-Sawyer College. Daffodil is sired by Colonel's Pasqualie Kid also and out of the old mare, Honeybee Gal ~ so she is related to silly Jane... Jane's dam is a full sister to Daffodil. This photo is taken at IHSA at Colby-Sawyer. Daffodil is a large pony mare.. she also drives. I rode Dilly quite a few times and had a blast.

Sometimes I forget how many "kids" I have
out there ! It's so great when they are out there making names for themselves (and me too :) ) Everyone is impressed with this mare -- she has done well in pony club for years with her young owner - who is growing up fast now.

Lately the weather has been quite raw, windy and bitterly COLD... we've managed to get a few short rides in. Now the much talked about hunting season is over -- and we can get back on the trails. Today, in fact, we are planning a trot out... more news on that in a later post !

Enjoy ~

Rides, Drives, and all stuff in between

2010-12-12T09:00:00.000-05:00

Per usual, there's much to report after a lengthy hiatus from blogging. In addition to the untimely demise of my computer - We've been riding and driving -- working with horses and every day .. getting closer to being prepared for winter. Hunting season has kept us from the trail for the most part... this weekend is the last of that.Zoe and I have been making plans excitedly for some new trail loops and of course our Christmas ride.

There were a few days during which there was no hunting - while the transition was made from rifle to muzzle loader.... we took advantage and headed out with the Keri-T team... off onto some trail we have not been on in some time. I snapped a quick photo of our new gear. I bought an Equi-pedic saddle pad - which both Keri and I love... it is not quite long enough for the flaps of my London which is mildly disappointing, but the pad itself is super ! So much nicer and better than my Skito pad.
Plus the memory foam inserts are guaranteed for life AND Keri looks lovely in that rich burgundy. !! I also purchased a backpack for snacks and serendipitous trail finds. Such as this awesome item I spotted alongside the road as I was trotting -- a candelabra made of deer antler !! just sitting alongside the road ! It did not fit into the carrier so I had to tie it to the back of my saddle.

This trip we head up my property into the pine woods- Moving in and out of sun and shadow.

Amazingly, when we took this trot out, the ground had not even frozen yet. After our long summer drought, fall deluge has created rivers out of forest trails.

We river walk up the mountain - out at the top to pass down past Zoe's house on the other side, Where we have to cross the highway.

Trotting across the highway, up Fletcher Hill Road - and onto the maze of trails where we are hoping we remember the turns we need to take to arrive at our destination.

We took a couple of wrong turns, but finally found the one which led to the far side of the beaver pond - which has grown tremendously since the last time we were here.

There's a more narrow dam up ahead... right where the trail used to be. Last time we were over here.. we were able to walk through the water and over the dam to continue on down this opening. Now, there is a long wide dam to the left -- the water is considerably deeper - Keri says - No way. :) We can hear a beaver gnawing down a tree somewhere pretty close. Keri has never been fond of beavers.

We have to peck our way through the forest to find an alternate route .. there is sun, but it's still brrrrr cold !

I have missed the trail with all this hunting foolishness.

Zoe and I are investigating GPS systems for trail. I have read quite a few reviews and am saving up for one. Snowmobilers and ATV'ers use them to find trail and also keep track of their voyages.... with the right model, you can see how fast you travel, how many miles you have been and find all kinds of ways through the brush.

We exit out onto Pleasant Valley, trot up to Breezy Hill Road - where we find the road is iced over as it's so shaded and "breezy" :) Back into the woods - cross the mountain for home ... always fun with Teasel and Keri.

The last few weeks, Keri has a new 'favorite' riding partner -- not that Teasel will ever be replaced.. but Keri loves to go out with Elektra. The one advantage of trotting out with Elektra is - she moves out with huge strides and loves to go fast... so it's easy to 'spur' Missy Keri into long canters and some gallops. If you are banned from the woods - and have to repeat the same old 6, 8, 10, 12 mile loops - it's better if you can do it fast and furious :)

Nimue has gotten out a few times also -- to keep her in shape. She loves to drive out with us.. and now I have her on the sales list so it's good to get her out and about on a fairly regular schedule.

Yesterday -- I grabbed her out of the pasture and did the 6 mile loop as part of the Ride A Curly "Ride With Me" ... we had a blast !

I had purchased some jingle bells at the local dollar store with the idea of having Keri and teasel wear them for our traditional Christmas eve ride. These bells are for hanging on your doorknobs around the house and NOT made for the rigorous trotting motion... we left a bell about every half mile or so along the loop, arriving home with 3 bells still attached. So much for that idea. :)

This fall - keeping with my usual practice of having several (many) projects going at once... I have a new shed in the works and am enclosing the outdoor wood boiler room more adequately. The shed -- this is an idea using something very different than any other shelter I have built in the past. I chose to put it in an area I knew was going to be nearly impossible to dig (by hand anyway) for a pole style building.. with many roots and large rocks.

I used telephone poles as the base and built up from there. I notched the base poles.

When the building is erected -- the notches will be on the inside facing each other.

Like so ! There will be a pole the horses will have to step over to enter the shed .. as shown here - but at some point I am going to fill the shelter with some sort of material as a base. To be honest ... I am pretty pleased with the outcome of my attempts.

I was not completely a purist with the whole post and beam style structure -- I did use very long lag bolts to keep everything together at the junctions instead of the old fashioned wooden pegs.

While I was turning the lag bolts into the wood, there was quite a bit of screech and scritch sounds of the metal biting into the old wood -- the pileated woodpecker who lives out in the orchard evidently was aroused in some way over the sounds created.. and flew back and forth overhead answering every screech I made with the socket wrench... silly. Wish I had had my camera for that :)

Here's the inside of the roof almost done -- and the siding partly on. I am happy to report this shed was made with all materials that were hanging around somewhere on the farm -- recycled from another job... except I had to buy the lag bolts.

Quite a few people have advised me that I would use a lot less wood if I would only better enclose my outdoor wood boiler room. SO --- FINALLY.. I started that project as well. Again... I tried to only use materials laying around stacked in this building and that. I took off what little existing front there was and started somewhat "fresh"... This is a very old carriage shed... it is sagging a bit.. I jacked up one of the corners a little.. but really didn't want the job of making the entire building plumb and level so was happy with the 3 inches I got.

I put a new sill in that section of bay.

There are two plexiglass windows overhead -- all that is missing now is the door... which is assembled but still waiting to be hinged on. The whole inside now is lined with plastic, roofing felt and insulation.... NOW-- to see if there will be any difference in efficiency. It will be super if there is, but regardless - it was a fun project and looks a bit nicer. You can notice my roadside find -- the antler art -- sitting in the little window.

So -- we've been busy at the farm with this and that.... more to follow as I try to catch up blogging before the year ends !!

Enjoy ~

Views From the TOP

2010-11-04T07:03:00.002-04:00

Monday, we awoke to frosty weather.... we layered up for this ride. Keri and Teasel took their time warming up at the start and we could sense neither of them were truly excited about going out on such a chilly Monday morning. We strolled down the road and swung left into the woods to get on the trail that would take us up to some nice views.

Just exiting the woods -- here's a hint of the view along the ridge.

Still working our way out of the shadows of forest.

Friday, we were riding the "beeches" and now we are riding to the top of the world !

I know -- I went a little crazy with the photo's but it was so beautiful !!

it does seem as though we are at the top of the world when we can gaze out on the mountain tops.. in the far distance I think is New Hampshire.

zooming in a few close up views

I just keep snapping as we move along the ridgetop.

lots more sun here.. a nice spot to stop and soak in the heat.

Here's the last lookout view, we head back into the woods and down onto the road to trot off to the next trail.

We stop for a brief visit where my Number 1 son works -- Mitchell's Auto Body. It's so cold I guess, everyone is shut inside all cozy, hammering out dents and painting cars.

Back on the trail... we squeeze past the closed gate which is only open for snowmobiles and canter up some nice forest lanes.

OK -- which way here ? we choose the right.

Hmmmnnn.... this is new. But when on horseback there is not many places we can't go.

As we get closer to the top again... we see evidence of overgrown fields with lots of new growth trees.

Here's that old well I took a photo of last year when we were up here. I love the way it blends right in with its surroundings.

As we move down into the valley, we are back at a different shoreline of beeches.

The horses are so lazy... we spend quite a bit of time just strolling. I don't blame them for moving slowly today.. with the sudden bitter cold.

We exit out onto the road and trot home on the back roads. Another beautiful ride !!

My fall filly, OYY Lovely Rita (named after the Beatles' meter maid), is growing well and learning her manners. What a wonderful surprise to find as she is shedding out her foal coat that she is turning
BLACK !! I know, a horse is never the wrong color.. but I do love a nice black Curly. When I matched Rita's dam OYY Cosette to our old man Chip -- I had it in the back of my mind that I might get a black - as Chip has thrown black once and Cosette's sire is black.. I was not at all disappointed to get what I thought was a nice rich bay gorgeous filly !!

I think this is one of the Curliest foal manes I have ever seen.

I told Zoe yesterday, I love this filly -- she's so smart and has just the right amount of 'Spice' :) And her conformation is lovely... what a great combination of genes.

She is a true beauty !!

Here's Mom -- OYY Cosette.

She's a smooth coated mare

Cosette is a nice sporty pony at 13.3 hh.

She is a nice riding mount -- quiet and sweet. The so called cards in this deck are all stacked right for Rita to become a real winner !!

Top O' The Hill Farm is working toward the goal of producing some fine performance Curly ponies and these are two are examples of that work !

Enjoy ~

End of October Beech Trails

2010-10-31T08:15:00.005-04:00

Wednesday, Zoe and I went for a quick trot out down to the 4 corners, up Trebo Road and back along the Scott Trail. It had just rained (yet again!) the sun was beginning to peek from behind the clouds -- and the leaves and the forest floor were glistening and shimmering with vibrant color. I did not tote my camera along that trip-- and bemoaned the fact. However, it was already planned that on Friday - due to a scheduling change in lessons, our volunteer Kelli -- who you might remember from last year's "Jelly rides" -- was going to join us on a ride. Great ! we can take that route and snap some beautiful photo's.

I snapped these photo's for two reasons -- one to show how nicely Yemaya stands for mounting :) AND drat -- to show the light pelting cold rain that started up just as we were mounting ! Well we are headed anyway... it might clear and hopefully it will not progress into a nasty fall rainstorm. Dancer LOVES Kelli - and I know she has been looking forward to getting out.

Our last "Jelly Ride" was 2009 - and Kelli rode out on OYY Ivan, who is enjoying his new home across the river.

As I said -- Dancer is SO thrilled to be ridden and does truly love Kelli... she is even up in the lead for the first mile or so.

The neighborhood Ghoul is back !!

he's got some new duds and a different weapon this year.

This year there are always turkey flocks wherever you turn. What a banner year for turkeys. I can remember trotting by this family when the chicks were barely visible above the grass tips.

We duck into the Trebo end of the Scott Trail.

OYY Yemaya recently returned to the farm. We love her BUT she is for sale again. What a wonderful sweet mare- with potential for anything. She's 10 -- so right at the prime age ! She loves to get out for ring work or trail... does not need much maintenance - but definitely needs her own owner !

Alas, Thursday's high winds have not left much for leaves on the trail trees. Where is that color and glimmer I saw 2 days ago ?

After a parched and Sahara like summer -- the brooks are back in the woods babbling away. Dancer does not balk at anything..
what a good mare :)

A bunch of birches down -- looks like a little tornado touched down on that one circle.

We reach the section of forest that is mostly Beech -- one of my most favorite trees. Remembering back to my good friend's ride along the shores of the ocean in Maine .. this is as close to a Beech ride I guess I'll ever get :)

I suggest to Zoe and Kelli that we take a short detour into the pond spot for some glamor shots of Yemaya and Dancer ! Both mares are for sale so perhaps we'll get something for an ad. Plus -- it's a nice bypass from the trail.

A few years back, Zoe and I rode in here with Keri and Teasel to find a busy beaver swimming.

Pretty Yemaya.

With her deep rich red coloring, she's the ideal Autumn mount !

Winter Dancer -- a beautiful head. You can see she's working hard. She does not get the opportunity to get out much on the trail or road -- it's been months for her -- but she is perfect still.

Keri is antsy and decides she is not going to stand much longer for this foolishness of posing and photographing other horses ! So it's back to the trail.

We find a nice stretch of color.

See how beautiful Beech leaves can be ?

We are approaching the section of trail which has grown up with white pine over the years.

Here's my favorite shot.

fun maze of white pine.

The rain did cease after all so thankfully, we did not cancel the ride. Short but fun and wonderful to see Dancer having a blast getting out.

It's been awhile - we all enjoyed our "Jelly Ride".

A few weeks ago, we had the pleasure of a visit from some folks in Maine who own a rescue curly mare and also are starting up a therapeutic center. Two moms, two horse loving daughters .... They all took turns with OYY Pal's Job and OYY Yemaya.. in the indoor, with some obstacles, and down in the big ring. We had some mighty winds that day -- the horses were great... all in all they were out entertaining for maybe 4 hours.

Job -- the perfect anything pony gelding !

While Job was in the indoor -- Yemaya is out being led around by Grace.

They tried all the obstacles.

Then saddled up.

Time to move to the big ring ~

Everyone took turns... like musical chairs.

Here's a short video of Yemaya, Grace and her Mom.

The list of fall chores is a long one -- the usual readying for winter time... heaven forbid I become like the grasshopper.. ill prepared for short cold days. So I am trying to be the ant -- organized and busy.

However -- I'd rather be riding :)

Enjoy ~

October Colors

2010-10-28T07:16:00.000-04:00

A lovely scenic trot out from about two weeks ago. Zoe and I discussed - Where to go ? On the days we are working within a time frame, we want to have nice trot AND a nice view. Also -- Keri and Teasel like a challenging trek. I suggested returning to find the stone work we came upon one day while searching for something else entirely. Sounds good..... Several choices for approach. We trotted along a trail that comes out onto Pleasant Valley... down onto a dirt road that leads up into Mount Ephraim from another side. Here is the view as we near the mountain trail entrance.

This is a photo of the same mountain above - in July. I remembered Zoe and I had spotted that cabin and have added that to our list of places to investigate. I'd like to get over there and snap a photo from that side looking this way :)

The trail at the end of the road... leading up onto the mountain.

We are on the 'new' trail - one we rarely travel. Keri and I are thinking... Geezum crow - steep embankment.

We reach our destination... we came by here once a month ago looking for another trail that has since disappeared and spied this stonework. At that time -- no camera -- so we just had to return to get photo's. Keri and I are on the other side of the stream -- I wonder if those are root cellars ?

There are two bridges for crossing the brook -- we are on one of them in order to get this of the prettier of the two.

This is all newer work -- steps leading down the bank.

Not much in the way of waterfall here this day but there were several tiers -- and this odd water valve off to the side ??? was there a piping system here at one time that one could turn off and on ? Curious.
Well as you can imagine - I took loads of stonework photo's -- but it's time to head out to our second objective of the trip.

Trotting down another one of those fabulous dead end dirt roads of Vermont that lead to more trail.... this is all part of the old Boedtker farm from long ago.

Very beautiful along this little road. This is about the end of it -- as a bit further it becomes private with a huge estate.

We are headed off to the right however -- to investigate the Boedtker family plot :)

I have only visited here a few times - but I love it. An opening surrounding by forest.. it's peaceful with a fabulous view.
There are a few more recent burials here but most are very old .. dates from the end of the Eighteenth Century. The earliest interment
recorded on a surviving headstone is that of Philarmon Robertson, who died in 1795, aged 7 years.

Keri and I investigate the stones and lettering. These are all slate markers.

I read somewhere that these stones face west which is opposite most English and Christian practice. No surprise given the historical time period of the burial plot -- most of the stones are memorializing children.

There are two revolutionary war soldiers buried here.

Now - on to the next destination.. which seems to change as we trot along.

We follow a trail which leads out behind the cemetary .. a huge beautiful field with lots of views.

OK -- where now ? Probably time to pick a route and trot toward home.

We trot and canter up Boedtker Road toward Pleasant Valley Road... is this the quintessential Vermont country lane or what ??

This is a gorgeous autumn day !

Zoe and I decide to take Whitney Road home. Last time we were trotting this back road it was in the cart with Nimue in harness.

More beautiful views - we look over at the mountain side we were just traversing.

We have just passed the Rhoman-Wai farm which can be a feat in itself. This dairy is enormous with many, many, many dairy cows lined along the narrow winding dirt road -- all in stanchions eating and clanging and moo-ing. Quite a sight ! We are presented with more options for return routes. We decide to take Roach Road which turns to trail and leads out onto Poppe Road.

This is a pleasant trail with excellent cantering opportunities. We always comment how we MUST get back in here and explore some more. There are off-shoots from the main trail that may or may not lead anywhere --

As we trot down the other side -- where the trail comes out onto Poppe Road - we are startled to find .. someone has excavated a large piece of woodlands .. and closed the road from the Poppe side. Drat !! Luckily for us - horses can inch by almost anything. But we are nosey enough to ride around the future building site. Someone is going to have a gorgeous view from their eventual home. Not that long ago - this was all heavily forested property.

Here we find the best color of the month ! Time to trot home as we have been out a very long time zig-zagging our way through the countryside. We canter up Pleasant Valley Road and meander our way through the trail behind the Church to home base quite satisfied with our journey :)

We just received these certificates and ribbons recently even though they are an award for last year's riding time and miles for ICHO. Zoe and Teasel came in second place.... Of course Zoe rides as much as I do -- and more.. but not always on her beloved Mister "T" --

Keri and I earn first place which I am thrilled about :)

She and I traveled a lot of miles together and experienced many adventures.

How often do I - as an aging trail rider get to be CHAMPION ??? And Keri as a sometimes silly mare who is also getting up there in years... great Job Keri !

BUT -- keep in mind that both these horses make an awesome team :) Zoe and I are so lucky to be a part of that team !

There will be more news of rides and farm stuff soon -- as I try to catch up on the posting.

Enjoy ~

A Long Awaited Trip

2010-10-19T07:22:00.000-04:00

The big day arrives -- Every time we are in South Woodstock at GMHA for a show, I say... we need to get dropped off up here and ride home. This past Sunday we had the opportunity to do just that.

Keri donned her rhythm beads to scare the hunters away (it is hunting season here in Vermont)

We all took a ride in Gabby's truck and trailer - parking at the firehouse around the corner form GMHA show grounds.

We trot by many beautiful South Woodstock homes and farms.

Back roads make for beautiful scenery. The recent downpour eradicated most of the really colorful leaves - but I love the yellow beech leaves.

I love the old Vermont cemeteries.

Caretaker house on a big horse farm available in case anyone loves the photo's and wants to move here :)

More beautiful sights and fields.

Most of this area is tidy and well kept.. love this old derelict shed :)

We follow the stream the entire time -- it's either on our right or left depending on the route.

These are very large oxen... I am glad they did not feel as though they needed to get up and greet us.

We had dark clouds in the distance.. intermittent rain drops.

I have mentioned before -- one of my dreams is to ride my horse across every covered bridge in Vermont... here's another one to add to my 'done it' list :) This is Bests covered Bridge in Brownsville or West Windsor. We traveled through a lot of towns on our winding route south.

Here we ducked into the snowmobile trail. Keri is waiting for Teasel to cross the little bridge.

We ride the trail which follows along the base of the mountain.

An old beaver gnawed tree.

We exit the trail out into a beautiful field at the base of Ascutney Mountain. I think this might be called the Ascutney Mountain Basin.

So many times I drive my car along the highway and look across at this Little Ascutney Mountain side and think... I want to ride my horse along there !! and here we are doing just that.

Zoom in on the rocky craggy mountain side.

This tent caused me to look twice !

Snowmobile trail turns into powerline.

We stop to look back at where we have already traveled.

Somewhat redundant -- but it seemed so pretty at the time I snapped more than one photo.

No more drought in our area !!! In the last 4 rainstorms, my pond level increased by 2 and a half feet !! A lot of rain in just 4 storms.

We got back out on the roads, pecked our way around and over... Here's the Fuller Farm -- big dairy on both sides of the road. The cows here are quite friendly and wanted to visit with us -- running along the fenceline.

Entering the floodplains -- almost home now. We are right below Stoughton Pond.

We ride the 'high' trail along the river... our river crossing spot is quite deep -- I know our horses would have crossed.. but who wants to trot home another 10 miles with squishy saddles and clothes ?

The views are exceptional -- I love this trail along the river.

One raindrop

We come out into the North Springfield reservoir and Dam area.

From here - we trot briskly homeward through North Springfield and onto the back roads to the farm.

What a great ride !! The foliage was not at its peak but still beautiful Vermont countryside and best of all -- riding with Keri and Teasel is the best :)

Since I did mention I am going to try to catch up on my posts... there are more fall rides and photo's coming soon.

Enjoy ~

Making History

2010-10-16T16:45:00.000-04:00

Wow, it's been ages since my last blog post

computer challenges and loads of work on the farm add up to ... too tired to even write on the blog. I am having some of my property logged off- some of the trees going for chips, some for firewood, some for logs. I have been rolling fence up and then rolling it back, moving horses, etc to accommodate the big skidders. It will be nice to extend my pastures.. but of course every project started leads to even more work - as all this will now have to be planted.
Our area of Vermont spent the summer months in the midst of a distressing drought. Ponds everywhere were dry and the turkey vultures are flocking to the empty pond beds for dying and dead fish and other water residents.

As Zoe and I ride and drive the loops, we watch as each day as the water levels are lower - until one day .. none at all. If it is true that it can't snow until the ponds fill up, then we are going to have a heck of a rainy fall. And I guess I will not complain once about it. I am fortunate my well is still giving water - as many in the area have lost theirs. We did finally get our rains -- pretty much all at once. My own pond gained a few feet with 3 rains... wow !! With yesterday's cold rain - the pond only needs a few inches to be topped off... than I guess snow will fly !?

On a cheerier note--back in August- I hosted the First Annual Curly Get Together. Modeled a bit after Marlene Tilson's Curly Camp out at Tall Trees Curly Farm -- I invited any and all Curly owners, dreamers, wannabe owners to come spend the weekend at Top O' The Hill Farm. We all had lots of fun. Curly people are all generous and helpful -- so this weekend was not any work at all.

The most noteworthy part of the weekend was --- I am pretty sure that on Saturday, we saddled up and harnessed up the largest number of trained Curly horses at one time, in one place, for one trail ride EVER IN THE WORLD !! WOW ~ It took a bit of jockeying to fit people to horse to saddle/tack.. but we accomplished it and everyone claimed they had the BEST time !! Some of the horses are lesson horses and rarely get out on the road.. their life is mainly giving lessons in the indoor. We only traveled 8 miles but had loads of fun.

One of our volunteers, Cassie, rides out with OYY Arcus (12.2 hh curly pony) and Susan Lejonhud - curly owner from Maine - is on OYY Pal's Job.
They are waiting for the rest of the group to saddle up and trot out.

And what is a blog post without a photo of my beautiful Keri ? here she is with her rider to be on Saturday.

Now here's another special fun and unique situation ~ Deb, curly owner from NH, rides out with her daughter -- Deb on Sudie Bee, her daughter on Sudie's daughter -- OYY Sweet Bee. Mother/Daughter, mother/daughter ! :)

Deb, from NH, brought along her own tack and I must say -- it complimented Sudie and her figure perfectly !!

Along with the 12 or 15 saddled horses ( I don't even remember now what the number was !) Zoe drove OYY Fiona with Laurie Lee from Maine as a passenger in the cart. Laurie owns another Chocolate Chip daughter - A Kurlee Dream .. so paternal sister to Fiona. I drove OYY Nimue - with our own delightful RAC Leader Denise Conroy and another Curly owner from NH Laurie Bryan (owner and rider of Pyewacket, mare born and trained here- who is co-incidentally a maternal sister to Fiona !!) So off we went -- creating history in the Curly horse world !! 8 miles of country roads -

Here is Zoe preparing OYY Fiona - who brought up the rear of the pack. Laurie Lee from Maine rode with Zoe. She owns a Curly mare who came from Top O' The Hill Farm stock. Her mare and Fiona are paternal sisters.

Fellow RAC'er Laurie Bryan from NH - also owner of a wonderful Curly mare from Top O' The Hill Farm (maternal sister to OYY Fiona) holds OYY Nimue while we organize -- Nimue pulled a cart with me, Denise Conroy, and Laurie Bryan.

Denise, Laurie B and Laurie L watch and chat while Brie - another curly owner/ RAC'er from Vermont prepares OYY My Keri Luna to join the curly queue.

As we all roll in after our ride/drive... we begin to realize how hungry we all are !! Now -- we still have to un-tack, feed, clean up --- More people are arriving for Saturday night under the tent.

Not the most flattering photo of Nimue -- but here we are ... first back from the trip out.

Because we are still waiting for a few riders to return home, Nimue and I go back out with new passengers -- Bernice from CT (curly owner and RAC'er) and Brie.

OK- time for serious business... FOOD !! It's getting chilly as the sun sets.. we start a little bonfire and also the fire for roasting the corn. Last night we had lasagna for east -- Saturday night it's hamburgers and hot dogs on the grill -- with delicious roasted corn -- with Laurie Lee's Sangria and her HUGE trifle for dessert. Everyone brought something -- so we had plenty to eat !!

There were a few brave souls who slept in tents on the lawn -- most stayed in the house.

Deb turns the corn while it roasts -- yummy

Chef-Boy-Ar-Deb McGahie !! Great job !! :)

Sunday breakfast -- bacon, Maine blueberry pancakes, waffles with this season's Vermont maple syrup.

Susan modeling the blueberry pancakes !
At breakfast, everyone decided they all wanted to go out again for a ride.

Again -- we mentally make a list of riders, horses, tack --- some people left Saturday night to get home to their own chores... some new people arrived. I offer up my lovely Keri to Michelle..

Michelle is from CT-- also owner of some Curlies and an RAC'er.

Mandy is slated to go out on OYY My Keri Luna -- so once again we have a mother daughter pairing ~ Michelle (mom) on Keri (mom) and Mandy (daughter) on Luna (daughter). Zoe's Day Dream is behind Mandy actually was the mare Mandy returned on ! On this 6 mile trot out -- almost all the riders returned on a different mount !

Bernice, from CT (curly owner/RAC'er), rode out on Sudie Bee and returned on Job.

A few remained behind to learn more about harnessing a horse and driving pointers. OYY Nimue came up to show all how to harness -- and those who wanted had a chance to try ground driving

Dennis did a pretty great job considering Nimue hates ground driving.

We hitched Nimue up and took her down to the big ring to try some circles... I didn't take many photo's as I was busy helping those in the driver's seat. Dennis was a natural at this --

Here's an exciting event ~ a fall filly born. Sired by our big man -- Mead's Chocolate Chip and out of OYY Cosette (WCC Benjamin X Anniva M) This filly is just what I hoped for and more !! Beautiful, smart and athletic !!

Cosette has always been one of our favorite mares - she was trained under saddle as a 3 year old -- time off, now a mom.

Here are links to her video's

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LeQgTH3R8Gs
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5ZMkqwVc_To

Watch for news of this wonderful filly as she grows

OYY Lovely Rita

There is much news that has not been posted -- OYY Elektra and Zoe had quite a successful show season - ending the summer with lots of ribbons, some good scores and a High Point Champion ribbon for Training Level Adult Amateur ! We've been out for some superb rides... a mare we sold has come back to us.. more news on that at a later date. Stay tuned and I will hopefully be posting now on a fairly regular basis... most of my computer issues have been surmounted or at the very least circumvented :)

Enjoy ~

Heat Wave !

2010-07-09T06:09:00.168-04:00

We've had a bit of a stretch of heat here in Vermont... and no water for quite some time. Ponds and rivers are down.. it's so hot even my silk flowers appear wilted !! I have not minded the heat so much, but I hate to see this lack of water. I like my pastures green and lush. However, farmers are making hay like crazy.

On Wednesday, Zoe and I -- Keri and Teasel - finally got in our trip up along Skyline Drive, trotting around Weathersfield and exploring some new areas and sights. We got down into the Bow briefly and then back up onto Skyline.

Here we see, round bales that must have tumbled down from the steep hilly hay field across from here. I would not have wanted to be passing by on the road when they came racing by down the hill !

Skyline Drive is a lovely winding back road with outstanding views. Today -- the mountains are hazy with heat. Generally, you can see towns and landmarks as you gaze across. Today-- just the shadowy blue outlines of mountains in New Hampshire. Generally, I hate to admit a beautiful New Hampshire view - because I always say.. Vermont is a far prettier state. If I remember correctly, Robert Frost was once quoted saying something similar... He moved from New Hampshire to Vermont "to seek a better place to farm and especially grow apples." For the next four decades, Frost lived principally in Vermont, becoming the official poet laureate of the Green Mountain State. Frost wrote much of his verse in a log cabin in Ripton in central Vermont. He ended his Pulitzer Prize-winning poem, "New Hampshire," with the ironic words, "At present I am living in Vermont." and once said he much preferred the sights of Vermont over New Hampshire.

Due to the haze -- these mountains appear like clouds.

On days like this -- the deerflies are relentless. I remember my friend's suggestion of slipping a hemlock branch under the horse's bridle for relief. For some of the ride -- we carry maple branches and swat the flies away from Keri and Teasel's ears. There are no hemlock along Skyline.

Once we turn onto Cook's Pond Road, we find it lined with hemlock.. so we snatch a couple of nice branches to test the theory.

Teasel did not love his hemlock hat - but it gave him some relief.

Keri on the other hand felt quite special with her headgear.

At the end of Cook's Pond Road - we find trail, which should cut over to the Center Road in Weathersfield.

We reach the pond -- and see there are lots of possibilities for further exploration in this area. We'll absolutely return to spend some time poking around on the offshooot trails.

Here's the old Weathersfield Meeting House.

And one of my favorite old houses which stands along the Center Road. Weathersfield is full of history and the roads are named after people who came over to settle a long time ago.
In 1811 Consul Jarvis brought from Spain to his farm in Weathersfield Bow the prized Merino sheep, whose longer fiber revolutionized the woolen industry and stimulated sheep raising throughout the East. In the 1830's, Merinos were the state's principal livestock. Vermont is largely woods now, but at one time - tens of thousands of sheep dotted the hillsides. By 1837, there were 1,000,000 sheep in the state ! Hard to imagine as we trot through rough woods.

More views -- from Center Road.

We trot down Cady Hill Road onto Reservoir Road ... which is dry and dusty. But just a little ways down - is the gate to the trail we have decided to take home.

We enter the floodplains -- further down than where we generally ride. To the right here is Stoughton Pond -- a medium sized pond built by the Army Corps of Engineers as part of the whole North Springfield Dam project.

It's lush down here -- but hardly flooded.

You can see the heat gathered here ...

Had to snap these lovely wood lilies which lined the path.

We reach our cooling destination !! The river. Teasel is especially pleased to be in the river - where he drinks and snorts and blows bubbles -- splashing water with his front leg.

Deep water was difficult to find... Teasel found this spot and was content to stand. Keri and I walked up and down the river exploring a bit. We stayed and played in the river for about an hour. Both Zoe and I wanted so badly to dismount and lay out in the water ourselves.

Here are the still waters that don't run all that deep today.

Reluctantly -- it's time to head home... we take the high trail - as it's much more shady. We follow the river and admire the views.

We reach the North Springfield Dam -- where on so many of our river rides we enter from this side. We took the LONG way around today -- doing the ride essentially backwards form the furthest point out possible... and really enjoyed it.

From here, we wind around and up -- out onto the road - through North Springfield on the sidewalks and home on the shady back roads. Keri and Teasel had a nice bath when we returned to the farm -- a big treat -- what a great ride ! It's wonderful to get out in the saddle for fun after worrying over shows and spending all day roasting ringside. :)

Now -- if you can remember back to May and our RAC mini challenge -- where I rode OYY Fiona all month and Zoe worked with OYY Queen Jane Approximately... perhaps you might have wondered about the outcome of that little contest.

in case you feel the need to travel back to the month of May and see a little of my experience riding a young green horse who is NOT Keri :)

http://topothehillfarm.blogspot.com/2010/05/tributes-passages-and-challenges.html

http://topothehillfarm.blogspot.com/2010/06/mad-month-of-may.html

Zoe and I were pleased and surprised to find out we were winners in each of our categories.

We finally had the opportunity to get some photo's of each other and our horses- wearing our award shirts and the horses with their outstanding Champion sashes !! WOW. Denise outdid herself with this !!

Two very beautiful girls....

Queen has been backed - maybe if she is not sold, Zoe will take her into some shows in the future.

perhaps I am a bit biased.. but Fiona is such a gorgeous mare :) She looks SO pretty with her sash. Doesn't it just compliment her perfectly ?

Very soon - Fiona will be back in driving training and perhaps even take Nimue's place ..

To end the day's report -- I also snapped a few photo's of OYY Elektra and her ribbons from the past weekend's show.

Elektra is a niece to Queen Jane. I am not sure yet where she inherited those big ears.. :)

Top O' The Hill Farm has planned a Curly Folks Get Together for the weekend of August 14th... Friday mid morning till Sunday whenever.. hopefully lots of Curly owners, lovers and dreamers will gather here for fun and socializing. We have a trail ride in the works -- which -- if enough people attend -- should be the largest group of Curly horses out on the trail at one time !! and hopefully also - we can encourage those who cannot attend.. they will go out on a "ride-with-me" curly trail ride along side us on cyber space trails. Other activities are still in the planning stages -- but it's going to be fun -- and the start of an ANNUAL tradition here at Top O' The Hill Farm !! I know it's rather late for announcement - but if any of you out there can mange it .. there are others who are flying in for it .. e-mail me and I can help to organize you all to travel together perhaps. I have some beds still available, floor space for those young enough to tolerate that... tents can be set up on the large lawn.... people can travel with campers with ample space for parking.

Today is raining -- and while I did have tasks planned for today -- I am thrilled to hear the sometimes gentle, sometimes downpour rainfall -- nourishing our poor parched ground and brook beds.

Enjoy the day ~

A Busy and Rewarding Independence Day Weekend

2010-07-05T09:16:00.124-04:00

I am the proverbial broken record here.. I am so far behind on my news reports from here on the farm and already -- jeezum crow -- June is GONE !! and it's July now ~~ unbelievable. We had some great rides and drives in June.. and some super horses were backed for the first time. However.. this news will have to wait till another day. We just finished a big show weekend in Tunbridge Vermont where OYY Elektra had her first show of the season.. and big news.. OYY Nimue and Zoe made their debut as a driving team !!

Friday, the third - was a super day weather wise... blue skies, nice breeze in the mountains of Tunbridge.. which is a very scenic spot. Elektra did well.. but the judging seemed harsh -- the highest score of the day was a 62%. Still Elektra managed to bring home two fourths and 2 reds. Each test showed improvement in scores and the judges were impressed that Zoe and Elektra made those improvements over the course of the day. Zoe rode Training Level Tests 1, 2, 3, and 4 (but not in that order).

Schooling with Morgan stallions and flags.. Elektra is very well behaved for a young girl.

Zoe's first ride time was 12:04... made for an easy morning getting ready BUT a longer day in the end. One horse leaves and Elektra enters on deck... the bell will ring in a second.

The 4 tests are on You Tube if you are curious to watch. The order that Zoe rode them:

test 4 - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uqi7Q75mMko

test 3 - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=spEmFSG9nZw

test 1 - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1Vbex0O4glU

test 2 - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZkgCRdClE64

All in all - we were pleased and ready to make the needed improvements. Zoe knows now where her focus lies with silly Elektra. She got some nice comments with mostly 7's on her gait and trot - a nice 8 here and there-- she definitely needs work with her canter and transitions. But that's what it is all about.. learning and improving. The judges did also comment on how obviously Zoe was studying her score results as they could see those little improvements with each performance.

Not that we are making excuses -- we have not had the time to school and practice much in June -- with all our activities and our lesson schedule... Zoe and Elektra have a big day coming up in July at GMHA and she hopes she can find more time to ride for that one. Last week.. in order to get both Elektra and Nimue in the ring.. we had to go together.. me driving and Zoe riding. In past years, I have set up a dressage ring with white rope and letters. This year - with both driving and riding - the size of the dressage rings is different -- so no real marked boundaries. Luckily, Zoe has a mathematical/geometrical brain and can ride a pretty perfect test with no letters or chain. We were still crossing paths in the ring and dodging raindrops :)

Well, it's nice to know if we ever wanted to go out together for a drive/ride -- these two would go side by side no problem.

Saturday, the 3rd -- in preparation for the first big show day on the 4th -- we harnessed up Nimue and took her out for a quick 6 mile trot as a treat. Zoe's daughter Rena accompanied us for the first time... she is a bit scared of the cart but also really wanted to try it out. I think due to her handicap - CP - she is a bit more concerned of a fall than some people. She had a great time though and felt very safe on our quick 6 mile trot. Nimue is an outstanding pony !! We met a few obstacles out on the back roads... Rena felt safe the entire drive.

Nimue's head went up for a second when this passed us...
but no hesitation or spooks... just a look.

We stopped in the big ring on the way home so Zoe could get in her first and only practice time with the cones course. We did not have enough cones really to make a good course -- but some practice is better than none I guess. First time through -- they knocked a few down.. second was much better -- this is very rough ground -- so you really have to work to stay in the cart and also steer with precision !! Kind of fun :)

Here's Rena and me coming up the driveway -- my dogs are always happy to see me - and act like I have been gone a very long time !

Time to give Nimue and bath and pack the car for tomorrow. Our ride time is 9:30 in the morning which is early for us with the distance of the drive north. I guess Nimue is as ready as she is ever going to be... but I am nervous anyway -- I can be a total worrywart pre-show. We have a cheap cart, cheap whip, cheap harness, homemade apron -- yikes.. Nimue walks her diagonal sloppily and is iffy in her backing.. sometimes OK , sometimes not. Oh well... after packing the car I am too tired to care.

These fairgrounds are beautiful - we arrive in the early morning.. the fog has not quite lifted out of the valley and it's BRRRR cold... reports for weather in the 90's but right now it's only around 40 something.

We take a slow trot around the perimeter of the grounds ... I am a passenger with the camera today... first time for me :)

When we arrive - Zoe realizes that we have brought the wrong tests to study... so we go in search of someone who can lend us the printed test to memorize.

The cones course is being set up. The cones are placed at a distance just a bit wider than the widest cart at the show. That gives the more narrow carts a little advantage. Tennis balls are placed atop each cone - there are 30 cones.

Early morning sun on Nimue's back. We are still chilly -- but in an hour from now, we swelter -- and Zoe bakes up well done in her flannel apron (material we found hiding in a box in the attic that matched the seat of the cart nicely) - her long sleeved shirt and black blazer.

This show gives us the opportunity to study outfits and carts. Candids of some of the rigs, horses and whips.

Handsome pony with lovely feathers just entering the start gate for cones.

most carts were a Meadow brook type.

This is a unique cart - I am going to have to study up on the advantages of this shaft arrangement.

The only other easy entry there at the show -- but this horse is entered in the race in the afternoon.

With a wooden cart -- the harness can still be black apparently - but the lines must be brown leather.

Our neighbor's sister.. both of these sisters are driving girls.

The only team at the show.

Later in the day -- we watched the cart and dog class.

This dog followed behind on a leash which is acceptable as an entry along with the little dogs riding up on the seat. Dogs following have to be quite well trained to be in the right spot always and change gaits and direction in the ring. I immediately thought of Heather Keller and her dogs ! (Skygazer Curlies)

I don't think my dogs would be so obediant and quiet. My vet is a driving man (he has a big team) and on a competitive drive, his dog went along as he always does -- and he bounced right out of the cart, emded up running back t the trailer and waiting there for the end of the drive. :)

This couple entered every class with their horse.. either the husband or the wife as whip -- all the driven dressage tests, the cones, the dog class and the your way-my way. Adorable.

As I said -- Zoe was roasted well done waiting for the various classes. Nimue was the model pony. Her first time traveling off the farm to drive, her first show... she was so well behaved.
In her tests - Nimue outdid herself... we worried needlessly about her free walk across the diagonal as it was perfect with great comments from the judge) Her lengthened trot was -- quote-- nice nice nice... (big smile) Nimue received all 6's and 7's with a few 8's thrown in. Her backing (as you will see on the video) was needing more work. She ended up with scores of 64.5 % in the Training Level test 2 and a 67.6% for the Preliminary Level test 3. There were 25 horses entered; Nimue did not place but she did rank 7th and 10th -- not bad.. I am very proud of my pony and very proud of my daughter !!

Nimue is a home bred Curly mare, as is her dam and dam's sire.

At the end of each test, the judge came out and gave comments verbally -- very helpful. Afterwards, I thanked the judge personally for being so great and also commented on how friendly the driving crowd is in general -- and how much fun we had at the show. She replied that she likes to help out the beginners hoping they will stay with it and become the returning old drivers of the future. Also adding, in her opinion, a driving show is the only place you can show up with only your horse or pony and borrow everything else. I found this to be so true !! She was encouraging in all her remarks and suggestions... reminding us to focus on the horse's performance and worry about our presentation (outift and cart) later, as we progressed. AHHHH sound advice :) So remember all of the rest of you who think perhaps to wait until you have the "right" equipment" to try your first driving show.... go ahead and do it !! :)

What a super experience !!! We got so many compliments on Nimue -- everyone thought she was just lovely.

The last competition we watched before we left was the race -
everyone was encouraging us to enter Nimue as after they saw her timed cones and Zoe letting her trot out on the track for fun... they felt she could win :) We passed on that -- but perhaps another time.

here is Zoe and Nimue at the cones course-- unfortunately, Zoe oversteered Nu=imue into a cone - so she did not get a winning time. Practice Practice !! but still fun.

Nimue's tests are here on You Tube -

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MXyiPu2bQt8

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Mdm2yr_rgr4

here's a photo of a nice surprise I received From Bunny Reveglia in New Mexico. I sent her boxes of Curly hair this spring... including quite a bit of the yearling first shed.. which according to her is the nicest. Here is a scarf made from Curly fiber and Merino wool mix spun on a drop spindle and crocheted. Pretty cool !!

Here's the curly hair on the hoof last fall -- and this spring after fully shedding. OYY Piccolo.. who by the way is a wonderful little pony colt for sale- presently under 11 hands.

Hope you all had a Happy Fourth... today is catch up day for chores ..
Enjoy ~

Diva of Driving ~ and other various news

2010-06-20T16:52:00.225-04:00

Nimue has had lots of adventures in the last few weeks. I am planning on doing a VERDA competitive drive in the fall with her ( I believe that will be a 30 miler.. but not sure) -- plus we have been dreaming up some challenging routes for the fun of it. Zoe will try out some driven dressage and the cones in July .. so they have been practicing together in the big ring when ever they have the time to spare. I had a photo of Zoe's father driving a hackney pony in the show ring at Madison Square Garden which I thought would be fun to scan and post next to one of her learning to drive... but I cannot find it anymore ! Oh well.. got misplaced and will turn up someday.

Zoe and I started June out with the wonder cart pony Nimue -- we had a couple of ideas for our drive... and settled on heading over to the floodplains, driving through Baltimore, over the trail to Quarry Road and then down to the boat landing.. and on. The weather was perfect and as usual Nimue was in the mood to trot !! I had to change both wheels out on the cart as the bearings wore out... I try to keep several spare wheels ready to go since we do drive a lot.

We did not take any photo's for the first 10 miles or so... since it was all pretty well traveled roads and scenery. Once we got over into Baltimore.. Zoe began snapping and video'ing. Still on back country dirt roads... the llamas run over to say hello. Keri does not like these guys -- Nimue does not even glance -- she's on a mission :)

My favorite little Baltimore Town Hall. Many times when we trot by here, there are cows loose in the road - but not today.

As we trot further down this back road -- the trees open up and we are rewarded with some beautiful views.

One of these dirt roads dead ends into a trail which connects onto Quarry Road - leading into Perkinsville - where we cross the highway and head down toward the boat landing and the floodplains to follow the river. Here's the quarry for which the road was named.

We head down toward the boat landing to follow the floodplains and the river.

As we wind our way in and out of the woods along the river and the floodplains - we come to a gate which we had forgotten was there. Not a problem when on horseback -- but we have to unhitch Nimue to get past this obstacle.

Lately we've been doing this a lot -- since we've been traveling on much more challenging trail.. there are spots we have to unhitch -- doesn't take long. Zoe always gets stuck dragging the cart through anywhere it fits.

We can peek at the river through the foliage along the way --- we fly through the trail here and eventually come out next to the airport.

And guess what -- I wish we had been readier with the video -- a plane takes up a glider and lets it go .. right on the other side of the fence as we trot by.

I like doing my gliding right in my cart behind my pony thank you :)

This route is a snowmobile trail in the winter.. it's pretty well groomed and a fun trot in the cart.

We exit out near the North Springfield dam -- which you have all seen photo's of from previous rides. Up to the left is the reservoir..

We cross the highway and trot home !

Through North Springfield ~

We took a slightly different route - over French Meadow Road to avoid back tracking... and stopped in at the auto body shop where my number 1 son works. Naturally, we shared a few jokes about front end alignment and some transmission work :)

What a fun trip !! Anyone who wants to watch an extended version of our trip on you tube -- here's the link

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sxG3yv8UsW4

Our next big adventure with this driving Diva was a few days ago.. we trotted into Baltimore again, turned onto Dean Brook Road -- which is a lovely back country road for riding or driving. That day it turned out to be chillier than we anticipated -- we were ill prepared.. and despite a terrific drive in the cart -- we ended up getting quite wet, it rained, the wind blew and the trip was a long one over Hawk's Mountain ! We met our first big obstacle of the journey right on my road -- the town decided to replace the culvert today !!

We trotted down Route 10 for a bit.. before getting on the dirt roads heading over to Cavendish.

We pass an old farmstead -- the barns and sheds remain.. the house is long gone.

Nimue was excited to trot down new and different back roads.. when we reached the first trestle bridge.. silly girl spooked a bit at the grate in the road :)

We trot past a few very old farmhouses built in the early 1800's... we are traveling some long ago horse and cart routes here :)

We are approaching the town of Cavendish now. We cross the bridge, pass Mack Moulding and trot through the town proper- swing around on the back roads to make a big loop in order to head home over the mountain on trail.

From now on -- we vow we are bringing cash with us for snacks.... these long drives work up quite an appetite ! We could have flagged the Schwann's man down for a sweet treat.

Cavendish Town Hall -- much more modern than the one in Baltimore.

More beautiful old farmhouses ...

We are now crossing the last of the town roadways... just up here is the start of the trail over the mountain. We reach the trail opening and find it to be a LOT steeper than we remember from riding it last year. I am glad we are entering it from this side.. and not coming down it from the Baltimore side.

For a short while we trot the powerlines. Zoe's son Dominic - who loves to travel in the cart with us- spotted a big doe before anyone else did. I never realized deer could make so much snorting noise... she was scared of us and perhaps protecting a fawn... Nimue paid no mind and kept trotting.

Head back into the woods on the trail.. it's a steady upward climb but not as steep as the first part.

couple of bridges to cross along the way.

and we reach MUD.... each puddle bigger and deeper than the previous one --

One puddle was quite deep and smushy.. the cart tipped, I fell onto the floorboard, Zoe fell out into the mud... I was urging Nimue on so we would not be stuck in the sinking mud.. I ran over Zoe's leg ! It was actually her leg that helped us get up and out... and I asked why she didn't video that part of the trip !? because it was kind of funny.. but now we are still far from home , wet and cold and it's raining.

The camera is just about losing power.. we save what's left for the view ! Up this final bit of trail and there is a spot that is open for viewing out across the mountains.

Still awesome even with the raindrops... We still have some steep downhill trail and then it's back onto Baltimore Road and homeward bound... as fast as possible.. BRRRRRR.. chilly passengers and one tired pony :)

BCF Splash Dancer is continuing his baby steps toward becoming the Big Man on the hill. I video'd his first trip down the driveway -- mares on both sides excited to meet and greet. Splash is always more interested in the young colts and geldings -- asserting his manliness by talking to them. Silly boy. Zoe warmed him up in the big ring and practiced the Intro test A.

You can see at first, Splash likes to pretend he's tired.. or the mud in the corner is tricky to walk on... he yawns a lot during the first part of his warm up session.. then he settles in and performs. Of course, he's still the new boy on the block so -- he does need to test and try.

Splash tries out Intro Test A

Hasn't he got the most handsome kind face and eye ?

After the ring work, they went for a nice trot down the dirt roads, where Splash found out he can open up the throttle and trot BIG.... he loves this and Zoe treats him to this as often as possible. He did not even know he was capable of that motion-- and as I viewed it I am thinking.. MAN.. he's going to be a stupendous CART HORSE !! What a great way to show him off.. so this winter for sure -- Mister Splash Dancer will be driving.

Look at this nice video of OYY HummingBird at Bashcurl Farm -- what a darling pony !! We will miss her http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v4Uq3u9pnwI

But obviously she is making several young riders happy !!

Much more news than this -- but enough for now :)

Enjoy ~

Mad Month of May

2010-06-03T16:38:00.202-04:00

Whew.. I think I am glad it's June !! What a busy month of May... between celebrations and work -- a very full 31 days !!

May is the month for fence repair full time... and keeping our fingers crossed for growth in the pastures so some of the horses can leave the farm to spend summers out on lush grass doing what horses do during their leisure time. Eat and run...

The mares and foals are the first to go out - and the foals grow strong with many acres in which to frolic and explore.

Shedding time is just about over -- coats become sleek and shiny. This spring we made great efforts to collect most of our shedding curly hair and sent if off to Bunny R. in New Mexico. She e-mailed pretty excited about the bags and bags of hair... and couldn't wait to get at it, spinning and making other curly hair projects ! She commented that even the hair from the older mares ( over 14 years ) was still quite soft and spinnable. Apparently, with age the hair tends to grow coarse. In addition to the horses being talented on the trail and in the show ring -- I am happy to report-- they all are super fiber animals as well :)

May was also the month of the big RAC 'mini-challenge' ... which I already wrote a bit about. On top of all that goes on during this month.. I am riding a "new" mount... OYY Fiona. We've been working up to more and more miles -- trying to get in good shape for longer trips. We had a list of challenges and tasks... some for trail, some to be accomplished in the ring. We were awarded extra points for video and photo documentation.. so I had the camera pointed in my direction more this month than my entire life ! Anything for points :)

One of the suggested tasks was riding with a flag...

Riding in the rain earned points ..

Lunch with our horse on the trail (this was new to me .. once I am in the saddle, I am not dismounting till I return home )

Phone three other friends who are also out riding !

Some of the ring work required for points was sensible training tasks... like stepping over, backing nicely, moving haunches.. pivoting on the front and hind -- but my favorites were the activities such as popping balloons :)

Gotta love a steadfast mount !! :)

The most fun challenge of the month was finding some deep water. Fiona and I had already found a bit of deep water in a brook along side the 6 mile loop at the beginning of the challenge month... but, I still had my birthday ride to complete and more deep water sounded like fun to me. Zoe and I and Teasel and Fiona headed down toward the Bartonsville Covered Bridge... crossing a bridge was on the list of things to do and we also intended to walk a few miles downstream in the Williams River.

Maybe I have mentioned this before - but one of my dream ideas is someday to ride across and though every covered bridge in Vermont (plus the Cornish covered bridge which is technically in New Hampshire ) That will be a big job... Fiona was a bit nervous to step into the dark corridor but with Teasel as a buddy.. she ventured in and was fine the rest of the way.

Here we are just getting in the river below the bridge -- we had to step down a very steep bank.. now for our river walk. The water varies from deep to shallow, slow moving and rushing... the rocks all rounded and slippery. The horses were well behaved and careful. This is a big day for Fiona !

The covered bridge we just crossed in the background.

Fiona's Excellent Adventure !! Instead of Bill and Ted .. it's Fee and Tee.

The scenery was beautiful along the river.. the weather vacillated from warm to windy and cold.. so we were shedding sweatshirts and putting them back on throughout the trip.

Both Zoe and I had cameras - so we have different perspectives of the same ride :)

Here's where Fiona and I find out just how deep that water really is ... COLD and DEEP !! The water was over my saddle.. and we both were thoroughly soaked.

Zoe's video of Fiona impersonating a hippopotamus

Too much FUN - we had to repeat :)

The entire ride down the river was just this -- in and out of shallow and deep... one of our best rides to date !! We went under the Covered bridge by McDermott's and up the steep bank onto the road -- This bridge has been under repair for a year now.

Under the bridge (deep water again ) and up the bank...

It was last year with Keri and Teasel that we found this bridge was out.. and we did our first walk up Williams River in order to get home. The river was not as deep then. This ride certainly deserves a blog of its own.. but I am so far behind on my entries now !! I need to just finish May up and get into June already ! :)

The ride home over the mountain was a chilly with water in our boots, wet seats and damp clothes. So worth it :)
A great birthday ride and what a super experience for Fiona. She's every bit the great mare I wanted her to be :)

In addition to riding -- We are also driving my outstanding cart pony Nimue (she has had her excellent adventures too !! ) I must devote a blog post to Nimue's journeys out and about. SOON.

During this busy spring time month we had 3 mares leave .. traveling south. Co-incidentally, they all headed to Georgia !

OYY Little "Z" left to live with a woman who wanted a nice Curly trail horse and happened to fall in love with "Z" through photo's.

This young mare has not disappointed me one bit with her training and accomplishments. "Z" has done all our scarey obstacles, trots beautifully in the big ring and what an outstanding trail horse !!

"Z" went out on the trail for the first time bravely and quietly, riding on the buckle the entire time. Nice soft mouth and eye... I hope her full brother OYY Hollis Brown ends up as nice of a mount as she is. Of course, her maternal sister is Elektra.. who is talented in many arenas... from dressage, trail, highway, sidewalks - to her own deep water crossings !

Congratulations to Geri and I hope you and "Z" always have fun together !!

A Curly sporthorse breeder in Georgia (Lisa W. ) was looking for ponies ! Top O' The Hill Farm is THE curly pony place :) so we worked out a nice north-south exchange since she happened to have a horse Zoe and I have been drooling for ---

two pony mares rode south along side "Z" to live at Bashcurl Farm.

OYY HummingBird - out of a wonderful grade ride/drive pony named Sugar and our special Big Man -- Mead's Chocolate Chip. HummingBird got her name from a BB King song..

"I’m talking about that hummingbird ~oh she’s little and she loves me too much for words to say, when I see her in the morning sleeping, she’s little and she loves me to my lucky day, hummingbird don’t fly away "

This little girl has always been a favorite of mine.. she's smart and beautiful, forward like her Mom -- and focused like her Dad.

She's a fabulous driving pony.. easy to train and quiet out on the road. She is full sister to OYY Arcus -- who is more like his Dad in temperament than HummingBird.

What a delightful pony with so much potential ! I hope Lisa W. is happy with her :)

OYY Niobe also traveled to Georgia to live at Bashcurl Farm. She's another favorite of mine... out of our extreme pony mare Biscuit and a gorgeous black 14 hh Morgan ride/drive stallion.

I chose her name Niobe mainly because it was a beautiful sounding name.. even though it carries a 'tearful' history. Niobe was a goddess full of hubris who was severly punished by the gods -- all her children murdered and her life doomed to eternal tears. This lovely Niobe, however, is humble and full of try... ready to please in any way possible.

This is a comfortable riding mare -- who will make a nice western pony as well as English. She has a promising future... one of her maternal sisters is my driving diva -- OYY Nimue. She has another maternal sister in Canada (OYY Rosalee) and a new maternal brother just born this year -- OYY Day Tripper.

Just a short peek at her trail abilities and her lovely canter depart :)

Now -- most exciting -- is our new stallion !! We are pretty pleased to announce BCF Splash Dancer has come to live with us in Vermont -- Zoe will enter him in some shows and he will breed some mares. He's settling in nicely -- his life has changed a lot from Georgia !! but he's learning his new routines and dealing with a lot of mares calling to him. So far, Mister Dancer has only visited with a phantom for collection. So he is trained for that -- if any of you breeders are interested in introducing his bloodline into your program !! Splash Dancer was bred by Lisa Wytiaz at her sporthorse farm and is out of BCF Spartacular Splashes (by Spartacus) and BCF Sparkling Sherry (by Spartacus).

quite a lovely man... plus that perfect pinto coloring is defintely in his favor -- not too much white - just enough. He has a gorgeous foal in Georgia... BCF Spontaneous Combustion.

He's a perfect blend of sweet boy and clown -- with a nice personality all of his own. I can tell he misses Lisa but is curious about his new home and life. Splash Dancer has excellent manners - he's a blast to ride.. floaty and comfy. He's nervous still about the pot bellied pigs.... and they tease him terribly .. brats.

Both Zoe and I rode him the first day out.. This week was his first time down to the big ring.... that was a long distracting trip for him at first with mares on either side wanting to visit and chat. Zoe has great plans for him and is excited about taking him to some shows. This summer I think we will concentrate on getting him off the farm and pleasantly relaxed at shows with some intro classes.

Elektra and Zoe are moving up to training level this summer and practicing a few tests in the next levels for fun. In her 'spare time' Zoe has been working with Elektra to do flying lead changes.. very cool !!

We have had a bit of trouble with saddle fit... so for the last few months Elektra has been riding out with Zoe in the Cashel soft saddle.. works great on the trail and the in the ring-- We did finally figure out a good fit with Elektra and Zoe's saddle.. now the saddle is staying where it belongs... and not a single broken hair.

A very windy day -- a saddle which is basically a piece of foam with stirrups... Elektra learning a new speedy skill and feeling a tad bit racy about it .. not bad ! :) Pretty good job Zoe ~

Now.. I have posted most of May.. time to get with the program and announce some of June's news !

Enjoy ~

The Gathering

2010-05-15T06:07:00.085-04:00

Finally - it's lilac time.. I've been talking about them for some weeks now... just about open here with a fairly warm and beautiful spring time in Vermont.

And anyone who reads my blog with regularity knows what these lilacs represent -- my Dad's birthday, Mother's Day and my birthday too !! (along with a bunch of my very good friends also extra special May babies). What a great month !! :)

I used to be a big Highlander fan, in the movie the Gathering was the reunion of the last few... but on Saturday May 8th... we all attended a Gathering of a different kind and it was not only of a few - but many.

Everyone headed to my home state ~ Rhode Island ~ for a party for my Dad and Grampa to a horde, Great Grampa to even more !

When I was quite young, I was a follower of Charlie Brown comic strips and saved nearly every one. In one - Charlie Brown was quoted as saying -- You can't go home again... Too young to grasp this concept, I asked my dad who tried his best to explain but I did not truly understand until I matured.... So that home -- It’s definitely a part of me. Much of what or who I am has been shaped by that place. But, I’ve changed a lot since then. I don't get home sick much - as my home is in Vermont where my new nest clings steadfastly to its cozy perch... but this birthday Gathering was a perfect visit and a great moment. Old homes can be re-visited and enjoyed.. from a new perspective everytime you alight there.

The weather was perfection... the get together was held at my younger brother's house in Portsmouth. Even though my Dad was the central star of the day -- I was thrilled to experience the opportunity to have all my own children and grand-children assembled in one location for the day !

Two cuties - Olivia and Molly telling my son Nick something important.

All 5 sons and my daughter were present with their children -- an equal number of 5 boys and 5 girls !!

The newest grand-child (great grand-child for my Dad) is Caliope.. a chubby little bird always chirping for her nourishment. Surely she will live up to her name and make lots of music in her lifetime.

Caliope's older sister Beylah who is an adorable young woman who knows everything !

I did not snap many photo's of the boys -- they were off running and hiding and exploring... Patrick and Kyle -- two brothers who are like Lewis and Clark... ever on an expedition... Jebediah- off with the boys -- he has the tough job of being older brother to two sisters, Olivia and Molly. Owen also is the older brother of two sisters (Beylah and Caliope) .... Zoe's children.. Rena and Dominic.

Number 1 son, Number 4 son (number 5 child) and Number 2 son along the back row.

Kids will always gather 'round when it's present opening time.

it's time for the big family portrait -- gather up everyone !

We all returned to the scene the following morning for my brother's famous Mickey Mouse waffles... one batch gluten free for those of us who are intolerant :)

Before everyone left .. I snapped these of my sister and two of her daughters with my Dad.

A Gathering to remember for sure.

And unlike Stevie Winwood and Eric Clapton -- I can always find my way home :) ~ as we all know it rests in our hearts.

Now -- back in Vermont.. it's time to don my work harness as usual -- get some spring time chores done, Attack my to do list and get to riding ! There is lease pasture fence to mend... horses to move out to pasture, and don't forget -- the many tasks on the RAC May mini contest to attend to with my new mount Fiona --

Enjoy ~

Tributes, Passages and Challenges

2010-05-05T05:10:00.129-04:00

May is traditionally a 'mini-contest' month for the Ride-A-Curly . In past years it has been obstacle month (one of my favorites). The founder and organizer of this super group of Curly riders announced the spring challenge would be something new and different. None of were made aware of any details, but we all had to choose our mounts and sign on ahead of time... making that big leap of faith so to speak. A few of us attempted to sneak in some questions hoping for some advance clue of expectations.... Denise's mouth was zipped up tight.

I originally signed on to 'perform' with my sweet Keri -- but as April progressed, I had second thoughts about using Keri. I knew at the very least this little contest was going to entail growth and bonding... (just a feeling I had) -- and I felt a bit as though going through the paces with Keri would be almost cheating in that department.

My sweet Keri lately has been struggling with the intense pace of most of our trips. We cover a lot of ground and only have certain time frames to complete our trips. Sometimes, this year, she's not fast enough. We are so much alike - Keri and I -- two post menopausal crones riding through life with foggy brain cells and sagging bodies :) She's carried me through imbalance and accompanied me through much healing. Photo of us above is quite an old one... I have not ridden in that grey saddle in a LONG time !

I have been saying and planning for years -- 2 years anyway -- I need to start her replacement ... EEEEKS. Every time, I would say -- OK tomorrow I am going to ride Luna (her daughter) or Fiona .. but I LOVE Keri. This challenge came at just the right time for me ... to kickstart me out of my comfortable Keri box.

at the very LAST minute I made the choice to use OYY Fiona as my contest mount and learn to bond with her as we ride and complete the many tasks on the challenge list. Fiona was expressly bred for a possible replacement for Keri. She is out of our Chip - and a wonderful very much loved mare Teena - who the entire family rode and had fun with. We all loved Teena, she was absolutely a member of the family... and Fiona is a curly replica. She will be a lesson horse someday also - but this year, she still seems a bit immature for the demands of therapeutic lessons. She's had some training (minimal as she was never for sale) and she has been out on the road a few times. I had myself pretty well worked up (YES... like all of us -- I have anxieties about my safety.. .) -- am I going to love her ? Is she going to be good to me ? How much am I going to miss Keri ? Is this going to be a chore or a delight ? BIG SIGH... I'm committed.. I already signed on for this.. it's going to be fine :)

First things first ~ the day the challenge begins... Keri and I and Zoe and Teasel take a trot up and over Mount Ephraim. My last big ride on a horse that is not green and is an extension of myself-- our main reason for trotting this particular trail is to check it out for suitability for a trot with Nimue -- Queen of Carts. The beginning section of trail is pretty well washed out with a cobblestone effect - so we may have to walk behind the cart for a mile or so.. but for the most part, the trail is passable by cart and pony.

And look at this !! Leafy trail ! :) It's changing... We descend down into Dutton District and get on paved road for a bit -- where the views are beautiful. On this side of town, the apple blossoms are in full bloom (they are not out yet on my side of the mountain)-- and I said to Zoe.. wouldn't it be great if we could get that wonderful apple blossom aroma on video ? Yummy.

This padlocked gate will pose a small problem.. we'll have to un-hitch Nimue and drag the cart through somehow -- then re-hitch and go :) But -- we are determined !

I love this barn. Great cupola !

Plenty of views

Look closely, you will see those windmills in Lempster, NH.

Keri and Teasel canter up Grover Road together. :) Am I going to miss this once I start riding Fiona ?

At the end of Grover Road - we get on the trail I am really anticipating with the cart -- this is going to be SO much FUN !! :)

A refreshing trot through the woods --- is it possible to ever replace this feeling created by me and Keri together with another horse ? eeeeeeks...

BUT - I arrive back at the farm and before I change out of my riding clothes- I grab Fiona to give her my first try... a deep breath for me ... camera for Zoe -- I am mounting my new horse of the month and going for it. My first goal is the big ring and the figure 8's. Fiona has never done a figure 8-- she's not particularly well schooled in ring work .. She serpentines down the driveway (you know how green horses won't travel in a straight line ? ) Enters the ring and I can feel her hesitation and I know a lot of it is coming from me as well. Looking at this photo - I think I am feeling too serious... this is supposed to be fun . Fiona looks beautiful here though --

I give myself a big girl scolding.... and as we warm up - I'm loving the way the saddle fits Fee.. and she's listening to my leg (pretty well) .. On the bottom half of the 8.. she does try to dash out the gate. :) Typically little girl green horse stuff.

As I canter up the driveway.. I am breathing normally and feeling well rooted into the saddle and the horse :) and although I am not completely immersed in this new mount as mine -- I am OK with it. I do love Fiona, and she's a great ride- it's my baggage of CHANGE and TRANSITION.

Sunday morning, Zoe and I ride the 6 mile loop - this will be Fiona's 5 miles (one of the tasks on the challenge list) . Poor thing- she gave it her all but the day woke up already hot and humid and she was tired for the last mile for sure. I don't know how to document a 5 mile ride on video (hey.. I love earning points ) The first mile she had to look around at everything -- trot, stop, trot, stop... I learned just how much I could push her and by mid-trip I was using the crop rather freely with a tappity tap. (wow is she her mother or what ? ) We had some nice canters.. I encouraged her to walk out without having to break into a trot. That was a bit tricky for her. Zoe was astride the "T" man .. and half way out - Fiona and he were trotting and walking aside each other -- that's great .. they'll make super trotting partners. Did I miss Keri -- surprisingly NO.. yikes I should feel guilty about that. Just abandon my wonderful mare because of her age and limitations.. what will I do when I have to experience that ? When I get left behind because I am too old ?

3/4 of the way into the journey, we try the brook. It's quite a steep incline from the road down to the brook and Fiona was a champ-- sitting right down on her butt and bracing carefully. She has never been on a brook walk before.

Here's where I begin to really feel Fiona as mine... what a good girl ! :)

I am feeling so proud of her, I don't have time to feel any nervousness. She hesitates but listens to my asking. And as we stroll down the opposite end -- eureka... we find deep water !! I intend to bring Fiona over to the river crossing that we just did with Keri and Elektra -- but that's a LONG trip for her -- so not sure she'll be in shape by the end of May for that. What a fortunate discovery.. a bit of deep water close to home :) We go back and forth through the deep water several times. Teasel takes a turn after his photo duty -- refreshing after a hot trot. :)

So all in all -- this has been quite a journey.. a swift 2 day break loose from habit.. establishing a new mount for me !! Would I have ever switched off... tried a new mount ? Stepped out of my comfortable Keri box ? without this little RAC challenge.. I'd like to think I am mature and brave enough ... but I so love Keri -- and do have insecurities about my safety .... in all honesty.. it would not have happened so quickly without the MAY contest. I feel so successful and accomplished... I am proud of Fiona and -- bashfully proud of myself. :) The real crux of the issue is .. habits and patterns - grabbing the easy first.. and the BIG emotional piece of riding someone other than Keri. With my beginning passage into the elderly years... I struggle with those issues as well... can you teach an old dog new tricks ??

Finally -- And like the Pointer Sisters -- " I'm so excited and I just can't hide it " Isn't it so great when we surprise ourselves with our capabilities and meet a new goal ? Thank you Denise -- and don't forget my gift of a daughter who is always supporting and encouraging me too.. who does not have a clue what it is like to reach 60 years of age (soon anyway) and still put aside your worries AND carries the camera and records my new baby steps. :)

here's "Fee" and me... you'll see more of us this month... challenge month, my birthday month -- wow .. still learning, still changing... passaging through life - now with a new friend :) Even at my age - I can still learn to fly :)

Enjoy ~

the eternal return

2010-04-23T06:29:00.140-04:00

Monday, I had a late afternoon chiropractor appointment... so I was rushing around getting all my end of the day stuff completed. 2 of the pony mares had already foaled... still watching OYY Demeter - who has presented us with some false alarms over the past 2 weeks.

Here is a nice photo of her from last summer.

As I looked over at her in the paddock - wondering.. should I bring her in or leave her out ? I decided I may as well bring her in once again just in case. I tied her at the hitchrail to give her a good brushing, which might make her feel more comfortable in her late waddle fat stage of pregnancy. Yikes - I barely had the safety knot tied and my brush out -- her water broke just as a big wind swirled up and blew the gushing birth fluid all over me !! Wow, this is a new and different experience. Demeter could barely toddle to her waiting birthing room --- once there - she plopped down and pushed out a nice curly colt !! All day, she appeared quiet and relaxed so I did not suspect much from her. She must have been holding it in for me to put her in the stall ? I was also was present for her 2009 foal .. lovely OYY Matisse, but that day she paced and rolled, laying down, getting up all day long.

Here is that classic photo of Mom meeting baby... when mares rest a bit after those BIG contractions. The foal's hind legs still inside the birth canal and the life cord unbroken. At this point, they remain one.. As I was snapping this photo - I was reminded of the oroboros -- the universal symbol of constant creation -- cyclicality.

The oroboros is represented in every ancient culture. To me, it illustrates how observant and 'in-tune' humans once were. Along the side of my blog page is a photo I took of the placenta -- the perfect Tree of life depicted in the physical design. It's no wonder that people revered these symbols and incorporated these motifs into all into their belief systems.

Patterns born in such ancient times re-creating themselves every day in the mundane universe around us -- for us to enjoy and celebrate, a reminder of the eternal return.

Here's the little fellow the following day - soaking up some sunshine. I have been calling him OYY Rizzoli.... my chiropractor's name is Dr Rizzo :)

I think he's a dun palomino (dunalino ? ) as he does have a dark dorsal stripe. He's a handsome young man for sure !

What a cutie !! His sire is OYY Finnegan.. so he's full brother to last year's OYY Matisse. He'll make someone an outstanding medium pony mount or perhaps a little stud pony !

This past week has been vacation week - so Zoe's children were at the farm all week. They had fun playing with the pups and running around the yard -- BUT this meant no riding for Zoe and me -- eeeek. Saturday arrived with perfect weather -- Zoe was itching for saddle time, I wanted to drive my Nimue !! We had opportunity to do both actually - since Nimue can cover so much ground in such speedy time... we had a super drive - trotting the 12 mile loop in under 2 hours with time to chat with neighbors, and also detour off into the woods to do some 4-wheelin' ! I just LOVE the way Nimue flies :)

Past Hidden Valley pond - where the two geese glide lazily through the water.

We had to stop and stand quietly for Zoe to capture a close up of the painted turtles who sun themselves on this rotting trunk. She's becoming quite the photographer as I have mentioned before-- now if I give the camera over to her - I end up with infinite photo's to sift through and edit :) That's a good thing -- as it proves she is noticing the world.

Lots of ponds on our trip - Mineral Springs pond is one of my favorites. I have not seen nor heard the kingfisher here this year -- I wonder if he moved to another location ?

Beautiful views and scenery along the way.

I love the video's of our road trotting -- Nimue just moves out with such joy and enthusiasm !

on our approach to homebase - we decided to detour into woods for a trail drive. This is FUN ! We met up with a couple of large trees down across the trial .. with deep water filled ditch along the right side -- not sure if I could make it through with the cart - I asked Zoe to try to move one of the trees.... not possible - so here we go.

Nimue is completely unfazed by this obstacle.

Here's a video of her on the trail.

When we arrived home - Zoe satisfied her saddle urge by schooling Elektra in the big ring... in preparation for a June show. I had little jobs to take care of (like cleaning up Nimue's harness !) .. but next time I will go down and video them together. OYY Elektra is performing her flying lead changes like a pro --- these two have come a long way together !

Then -- Zoe rode OYY Little "Z" for a bit -- Elektra's maternal sister. They resemble one another some .. "Z" is perhaps the more beautiful of the two (don't tell Miss Elektra). "Z" is a bit more naturally forward with a wonderful big walk.

I love it when both rider and horse are smiling :) Are they a happy couple or what ?

"Z" loves getting out of the small arena.. next time she's going down the trail ! She has a very comfy sitting trot -- what a great horse. She is wearing her sister's old bridle, since Elektra earned a new one.

If this gorgeous girl has not sold - I think she will do a few intro classes in the fall. She'll be a nice Curly representative in the show ring.

We often use the ATV to pony our horses down the road or move them in groups from field to field. It's fun to see how fast they can trot alongside the 4-wheeler. Here are OYY Iko Iko and OYY Buster Brown -- trotting over to the wooded pasture across the street.

Iko is a pony stallion still... he's staying smaller than I thought he would so perhaps he'll have a mare or two one spring. For now, he hangs out with his pal Buster - who is a handsome gelding just waiting for us to have the time to ride him !

Iko is a nice dunskin color - an extreme colt out of Tall Trees Sassie and Classic Dreams Cherokee Storm (our cremello stallion). I hope soon he will be a driving pony... he's been introduced to ground driving already but for now -- he's going to have to deal with some time off.

Busy week -- full of wonderment and fun :)

Enjoy ~

Friends and Milestones

2010-04-16T05:51:00.071-04:00

Up until today, it's been totally springtime ! This morning it's snowing !! But -- to be expected at this time of year - as I have seen snow on my birthday (mid-may) several times in my lifetime.

OYY Little 'Z' has been making so much progress in her training ! What a gal--- curly, beautiful and smart. She walks out on loose rein if so desired... loves the bridge - which goes to prove she'll be an awesome trail mount. She's got a good hind end that she knows how to use.

She has begun trotting some smaller circles and figure 8's.. and her big milestone -- 'Z' has trotted down to the big ring by herself to work there ! Quiet, steady, and fun to ride.. 'Z' will make someone an awesome show horse or trail mount... at 15 hands now, she's just the right size.

Good breeding + solid training = super best friend !!

Video collection of 'Z' s work this week.

'Z' has a full brother - OYY Hollis Brown. Hollis - a 14.2 hand 3 year old gelding - has had ground work here and there during his short life - now full time preparations for saddle training. He's a handsome loving fellow - ready to please.

Is he a handsome boy or what ?

Just like his sister - he also loves the bridge.

'Z' and Hollis are maternal siblings to OYY Elektra. Nice family **

I have been remiss in posting any news of the wonderful Top O' The Hill Farm Labradoodle puppies !! The litter was born in March -- 2 born March 1st, 6 born March 2nd. They are growing fast -- incredibly intelligent... Mom - OYY India (full blood champion line poodle) is an excellent mother. First born, they are a squirming mass of legs and tails.

Yesterday -- they were exploring the yard... Their big milestone was running all the way from the house to the barn and back.

Now here is the ultimate in best friend :)

Dad is yellow Labrador with OFA hip clearance 'good' and champ lines for pointing.... OYY Sokokis Valley Nicodemus is a natural retriever and what an outstanding temperament.

Speaking of best friends -- Susan Lejonhud from Maine (also owner/rider of a curly) was here a few weeks back with her female yellow Labrador for breeding to Nicodemus. I am hoping we'll have little Nic-labs in Maine soon :) Susan is also a board member of Dream On Curls Riding Center and one of our greatest supporters and helpers at various fund-raising functions. I always say - with a friend like Susan -- you don't need much else ! :) Her son was taking a photo of us, but accidentally took a video instead..... now we have a little souvenir of our friendship.

The snow has now turned over to rain -- but it's still off to work....

Enjoy ~