Local Horses Win at the Rocky Mountain International Championships Sept 8th - 12th

At the Kentucky Horse Park in Lexington, Kentucky
Article and photos by Stride Right Farms

This annual championship has Rocky Mountain horses coming from throughout the USA & Canada to compete for the titles. The world renowned Kentucky Horse Park is where the World Equestrian Games are being held Sept. 25 - Oct 10, 2010.

We are proud to announce that two of our horses that are Northwest champions have won additional championship titles at this competition. Our four-year-old mare, Tequila Afternoon (Tiki), won the Amateur Owned and Trained (AOT) Show Pleasure Grand Championship and our five-year-old stallion, Z Roc, added two more championship titles to his growing list. Z-Roc won the 5 Year Old Stallion Trail Pleasure Championship then went on to take the Reserve Championship in the Open Stallion Trail Pleasure Championship.

It is the goal at Stride Right Farms to breed the highest quality Rocky Mountain Horse possible. Winning these and other championship titles over the years, to us, is an indicator that this goal is being accomplished. Nearly all of our breeding stock have proven themselves in the show ring.

Primarily, West Coast-based customers are looking for a good, solid trail horse. Potential customers state repeatedly, "we are not looking for a show horse." What most people don't understand is that a show horse in this breed has to perform in the same manner as a trail horse. It must exhibit a calm disposition even in a stressful situation, it must exhibit an even and consistent gait from a trail walk to an intermediate speed, and then to a faster pleasure gait. The horse must then immediately return back to a relaxed walk. The horse must give to the bit, back up calmly, and must stand quietly in a side-by-side lineup. These are all the same attributes that people expect from their trail horses. The show champions produced from Stride Right Farms have received the majority of their training on mountain trails. These are the same mountain trails that are used for training the trail horses.

Letter from a Reader and Rider

As a follow-up to Karen Pickering's post last week about the NWRCHA Show in Lynden, here's a letter from a reader who was at the show. Congratulations on your win, Bill!

Hi Karen,

We met on Sunday night for the photo session at the Lynden NWRCHA Show. 

I wish to sincerely thank you and The Northwest Horse Source Magazine for sponsoring buckles in  The Beginning Reining and Beginning Boxing Classes at the Lynden Show last weekend. The buckles are gorgeous and it was an honor to win them.  Learning Reining and Cow Horse has been, and continues to be,  a truly humbling and challenging experience. It can be pretty lonely in that arena.  I have received considerable help and coaching from a number of people and in particular, recently I have been working with Jeff Parish.  He has really helped my confidence and understanding of the sport. As a result, my horse Smoke ( All about Jason) and I are working better as a team. 

Once again thank you for sponsoring the two classes and I hope to see you at another show. 

Best regards, 

Bill 

W. V. ( Bill) Rempel

Regional Director

Vancouver Real Estate

First Show of the Season

by Karen Pickering

Whew…what a weekend. I’m glad it’s done, but the Northwest Reined Cow Horse Association show was a fabulous experience! The Northwest Horse Source sponsored the Beginning Boxing and Beginning Reining buckles for this show, and the NRCHA really supported all the beginners who came out to ride.

My horse and I did much better than I expected for our first time out. Friday started off beautiful and sunny, but the weather went downhill fast. We were pretty cold for most of the weekend, but the company made up for the chill. The group of us from Coastal Equine had a fantastic time cheering each other on, helping each other get ready and calming each other's nerves.

My tension level was at an all time high, but my mare, April, was fine and handled everything like an old pro. She helped me push past the fear and make the run happen. A big thank you to Allison, my trainer, for taking care of everything and coaching me through this experience. April and I started lessons with her in November of last year, took mid-December to mid-January off and were back in the saddle and training on February first—not much time for the huge strides Allison got out of April and me! We’re hoping to box cows before the end of the season.

I invite you to watch the short video of our first pattern (below). It's nothing spectacular, but we got out there and gave it a shot. My goal was to get at least one lead change and keep my horse quiet and in the bridle. I certainly have much to work on, but a journey begins one step at a time. 

If I can do this so can you! 

NWHS Rides!

It's a little quiet around the office today as our publisher, Karen Pickering, and our Customer Service Manager, Karyn "K.C." Cowdrey are both off showing their horses.  Karen is at the NWRCHA show in Lynden, WA, along with On the Plus Side columnist Allison Trimble. If you haven't been following Karen's progress as she prepares her American Quarter Horse mare, April, to compete, catch up in our article archives with Part 1 and Part 2 of her training adventures with Allison.

KC is at the Windy Tides Open Schooling Show with her young gelding, Emmerson.  Browse through previous posts on this blog if you want to hear about KC and Emmerson's previous adventures, and check back here next week for updates on how our ladies did in both shows!

Don't forget to check out our events calendar if you're looking for "horsey" activities this weekend. We've had some last-minute additions, so click here to find out what's happening in your area!

Something New

by Karyn "K.C." Cowdrey

I was asked to do a friend a favor that is a wee bit out of my comfort zone, but I figured that in the end it might prove to be fun, it will definitely prove to be educational, and it will help my friend.

I am going to judge a show this Saturday in Lynden, WA. It is a fundraiser for a very good cause: to help Tracy Westbury compete at the Northwest Horse Fair & Expo in Albany, Oregon in the Extreme Mustang Makeover this coming March.

Tracy made the long drive down to Burns, Oregon and back, bringing the very handsome Steve Holt with her! She will be busy gentling and training him from now through March in preparation for the competition. After competing, Tracy and the other 35 competitors will bid their fine steeds farewell during an adoption auction.

If you are looking for a good time, come join the show this Saturday in Lynden, WA at the Northwest Washington Fairgrounds Horse Arena. If you see a very bundled-up judge in the center ring looking a bit...er...befuddled, that would be me. Stop by and say “Hi!” You’ll also be able to pick up copies of the December NWHS magazine!