Furthering my own education

"anything forced is not beautiful"

Xenophon, The Art of Horsemanship

That particular quote has been something I've kept close in me, for my horsemanship, and for my see as a Mom and Grandma, heck, just as a person. You just can't force things.

Horsemanship has been around for ….well, forever just about. Horses have literally kept us alive. I think that years ago, people probably took much better care of their horses than they do currently. Without them, death was likely inevitable

Kind of as proof

Xenophon (Ancient Greek Ξενοφῶν, Modern Greek "Ξενοφών", "Ξενοφώντας"; ca. 431 – 355 BC), son of Gryllus, of the deme Erchia of Athens, was a soldier, mercenary and a contemporary and admirer of Socrates. He is known for his writings on the history of his own times, preserving the sayings of Socrates, and the life of ancient Greece.

There are many who claim to be the 'founder' of current day horsemanship. I won't name names, but I don't think anyone can go back as far as Xenophon

With my furthering education in mind, I had the opportunity to go to Wyoming this summer with Carolyn Hunt. We were gone about 10 days….and soooo much fun was had. I really went as 'photographer' (I thought) But Carolyn had other things in mind. I'm kind of shyish at times, But I really was just gonna photo. She had me horseback, (I did take a horse after all) And I had the time of my life. Great people from all over the country came to learn from Carolyn, and to explore the beautiful Wyoming where we stayed. Such fun! A friend of mine flew in from Georgia and was going to travel with us to Wyoming. She was going to ride Marshmallow! The following photos are some of our adventure.

This first one is me and Charlene, here in Idaho. We had to take her where we work locally!

This was the group of people that enjoyed the trail rides. We found old buildings, and so much to explore. That man there, is Frank Lamb, who gave me away in Vegas, to Wayne. He still keeps tabs on us!

I did an impromptu photo shoot, and this is the result of it. We all did the 'tub' shoot, but I'm only showing this one!

Carolyn, Charlene and I had a beautiful home to ourselves. My horses were 'lawn mowers' and they loved it! And yes, I can say it, they are DORKS!

Frank leading the way to the indoor arena. Speaking of which, Holy Cow! What an arena!

Jim Purdy is the owner of this ranch. He couldn't have been more gracious a host in any way. We all felt so welcome, and friendships were forged for a lifetime!

Diane, one of the participants and I became great friends. She came from Illinois! Jennie was from California, and she I hit it off really great too!

Somewhat to my dismay and excitement, Beamer and I were selected to show diagonals. Fun moment for us, I was very proud of him!

Somewhat to my dismay AND to my excitement, I was chosen to demonstrate diagonals. I was pretty proud of Beamer, he did a great job!

After each lesson (or sometimes before) we went on trail rides with such gorgeous scenery. I often thought "I could LIVE here!"

My "Give Away Dad' started a colt

And took him for a ride. 2nd saddling And taught him how to load nicely in the trailer.

We did some partying, and just general memory making. I NEVER had clue how many flavors of Patron there are. I'm NOT one who really likes Tequila, but there were some there that were incredible flavored. I'd have more! Jim Purdy, who owns this ranch, also owns the "Cowboy Bar" in Buffalo, so there was plenty of selection of alcohol to taste test.

This Whistle Grin and Ride Clinic/Trail Ride weekend is by invitation only. And it's an annual event. If interested, let me know!

We dressed up for dinner, just like ladies!

In summary, it was such a great time, I can't wait to do it again. What could be better than having best friends (and one who came all the way from Georgia to go with me) and my favorite horses…. and a week full of horse activities. Hmmmmmmm I can't think of much better. This is living life