Last time for everything

My last two weeks at Horseworks basically came down to this: we lost the horses about five more times. I’m not even kidding, they kept escaping and we still don’t know how. Somehow they managed to go down the North Ridge (which is basically just a rocky cliff) and run around in the oil field. It does make for interesting rides. The second time they escaped, we looked all morning and couldn’t find them but stumbled upon them by chance on the way to the rodeo. When trying to catch them we could only get one so Alice had to chase the rest around the pasture to get them into a corral. Another time, only three of them had escaped and we all split into teams to go looking for them, saddle-bags packed with wire cutters and vet wrap, just in case. Thankfully they were just waiting for us on the other side of a gate. The last time they escaped (for now) the interns were gone so I tried to wrangle them on my own, which resulted in a mad gallop through the oil field on Spice while Rachel and MaeCile chased them in the truck. As you can probably guess, I loved that ride ;)

Even without the horses there was loads to do, we fixed fences, delivered a calf, got the cows back from the neighbours (they took a page out of the horses book and decided to escape again as well), we went to the Hotsprings during a thunderstorm and we explored old Grass Creek town. I still think the old school has a nuclear fallout shelter in the basement (maybe I’ve been watching too much tv?). We went to two beautiful lakes in the mountains of the Shoshone National Forest where Doo and I danced on a log in the middle of a lake and we had to spoon in the truck bed to keep warm on the way back, but the views were worth it. When the horses were there, we went on loads of fun rides around the area and at Wood River. Unfortunately Pirouette was still lame, despite Helen’s physio sessions with her, but that gave me a chance to ride some of the other great horses (and I still beat everyone at barrel racing ;)

The Cody riding club organised a trail competition (an obstacle course for horses) and I decided to compete with Poncho, our most chilled out horse, which seemed like a safe bet. As you can probably guess he was completely not chilled at the competition.. he was scared of everything, from flags to holes in the ground. It was fun anyway and I was really proud of him for doing the ‘seesaw’ obstacle, which I was scared of myself. Rachel came with me as my groom and we met some really nice people so it was a great day, except for that awkward moment when I hit a Pronghorn on the way there and managed to drag it a couple metres between the car and the trailer.. hunting season has started.

The past four weeks, I’ve been working with one of our young horses named Missy. With the help of MaeCile I’ve been training her to accept a saddle and to get used to weight on her back. The first time we worked with her, it took us three hours to catch her and she was scared of everything. By the time I left I was able to put my foot in the stirrup and lean over her back, I’m so happy with all the progress she’s made. She’s going to be a great horse. I’m sad I didn’t get to work with her more, but as always, the summer was over way too soon. It’s been an unforgettable experience, I’ve learned so much, met truly amazing people and laughed more than I had in ages. Thanks for the memories! It’ll be hard to get used to life back home but at least I’ve got another trip to look forward to ;)

To be continued