New Digs at the Ranch

Through our business, we have been blessed to come to know some truly wonderful people. If you have yet to meet Troy and Kim Meeder of Crystal Peaks Youth Ranch, you really must. These are wonderful people on a wonderful mission. Last summer, Troy called me and told me that he, Kim, and the staff at Crystal Peaks had a baby gift for Mesa – but they wanted to surprise Clint.  Imagine his surprise upon returning from a day trip, he found his old arena with a new face!  Many thanks to Troy, Kim, the staff at Crystal Peaks, and so many others of Clint’s friends and clients who helped to make this happen!

If you have yet to visit TRUHORSEMANSHIP Ranch, feel free to drop by and see us!

It’s Not Easy Getting Him to a Wedding

I should know!  However, he was happy to participate in this one!

Meet Melisse & Colton Harper, they’re likely to show up at a clinic near you:

Punctuality-Challenged

Ever wondered why Clint is sometimes late? Being perennially late myself, I don’t wonder so much, but you might. (Actually once, before we were married, we had a competition based on our New Year’s Resolutions. Clint was resolved to be on time and I was resolved to quit Mt. Dew. If you’ve noticed either of our records on those scores, it won’t surprise you that we’ve resolved to quit making resolutions!) I have always considered that Clint’s punctuality-challenged personality had to do with trying to do as much as possible in whatever time he has and, to be honest, that is a great deal of it…but over time I’ve learned that there’s more to it.

If you’ve ever watched Clint work a horse then you know that he is a firm believer that there are times when you just cannot leave a horse where he’s at. To do so, in many situations, would be detrimental to the overall goal of progressing the horse. For instance, I have seen Clint work a horse into a positive place for stopping  beyond the time that he needed to be somewhere else – or well past the time his supper was cold on the table.

It’s not always (okay, it’s rarely) convenient to work with our horses (or our children, our spouses, our friends for that matter) on their timetable, but it is always worth it.  I don’t get to watch Clint work horses as often as I’d like, but one thing I know is that he is doggedly consistent about is not quitting a project until the time is right.  If he is loading a horse, or encouraging one encountering a  new obstacle, he never leaves the job while the horse is still adamantly refusing.  He may not have the time to take a horse all the way to the end goal during this session, but he doesn’t stop until the horse is giving a try at it.

So, the next time Clint’s late meeting you trust me, it’s not because he doesn’t value your time – he just wants to give each horse his best possible opportunity to get along.

Spring Tune Up Clinic

Like the first Crocus, frisky newborn calves, and dreaded rock chucks, it just doesn’t feel like spring to me until Clint’s Spring Tune Up Clinic.  This year the Spring Tune Up Clinic took place at Piloto Ranch and I cannot say enough about the lovely facility and the extra effort to which owners Stan and Linda Stenstavold went to make sure we were all comfortable. The goal of the Spring Tune Up Clinic is to oil off the winter rust on horse and rider to prepare for the riding season – keeping in mind that spring in Cetnral Oregon means unpredictable weather – so exposing the horses to numerous new situtations is good preparation for spring riding here.

 

 

 

As with all of Clint’s general horsemanship clinics (and with all good riding preparation), we started with groundwork.  In both groundwork sessions and the mounted sessions, flexing, moving out and bending were all emphasized – all keys to gaining Trust, Respect & Understanding (Clint’s horsemanship goals ) between horse & rider.  Since it was Easter weekend, the clinic culminated in an Easter Egg competition to help horse and rider use the skills learned in the clinic.  I think it is fair to say that a good time was had by all.

UNDER CONSTRUCTION

Thank you for visiting Clint’s blog. Right now we are working hard to get it up and running. Please check back with us in April!