Mr. Blondie & the Beagles - Closing Hunt 14 March 2010

[Risk-Averse_Rider]

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We had PERFECT weather for today’s Closing Hunt. Clear blue skies, a bit of a breeze, cool but not cold… PERFECT. Much better than the year we got hailed on. Or the times we’ve waived coats because it was too warm.

Perfect, perfect, perfect.

The Short Bus rode in style today, graced by the presence of our hostess/landowner Denise on her roping horse, Dooley. Dooley hasn’t had much exposure to hunting, but he was wonderful on The Short Bus. We were also joined by Lisa W-B and her palomino ranch horse, Whiskey, and - of course - Mr. Blondie’s hot Peruvian chica, Ruby. (And Ruby’s rider, too :D)

We had 2 guests - one from Virginia (Shelly whose last name I have forgotten) and the director of a local therapeutic horsemanship program. Mary hunted once about 10 years ago with Red Rock, and was very excited to find a hunt so close. She came out last week, braving the rain, and had an ear-to-ear grin the entire time. The grin was still in place this morning, so it’s possible she grinned all week. Her horse, Cliffy, was a star - and a striking sight out there in his bright chestnut glory. (Cliffy is a star at the riding center, as well.)

The high point of the morning (well, except for the breakfast, of course ) was when we went over to a water source and discovered a band of loose horses. I don’t know if they are truly feral, or if someone just grazes them out there, but we see them now & then. Just usually not this close. :eek:

They were quite interested in us - not fearful at all, In fact, there was a stallion who was a little TOO interested in Ms. Ruby, so we elected to stroll away slowly and hope that they didn’t follow (they didn’t).

Other than that, nothing much exciting happened - which is how we like things on The Short Bus We did quite a bit of trotting, interspersed with walk breaks to listen for the horn or pick our way through rocks. Whiskey (22ish) kept up the entire time. He will just stop dead when he needs to catch his breath, but that didn’t happen today.

Enjoy the pictures of our PERFECT WEATHER.

[SLW]

Where is your mud?? It is DRY and SANDY and there isn’t mud up to the horses knees???

All teasing aside it looks like you all had fun together and showing the easterners your turf!

[JSwan]

@Risk-Averse Rider;4744822

Enjoy the pictures of our PERFECT WEATHER.

Rub it in, why don’t ya? :lol:

We had flooding here over the weekend. Yup - one of my pastures was under several feet of water. Now it just looks like a rice paddy - which is a great improvement over Lake Swan. And of course- the sump pump in the crawlspace died. Guess how we found out that little morsel of Important Information?

This has been the Most Funnest Winter EVAH!!! :rolleyes::rolleyes::dead::dead:

Thanks for sharing the photos - they’re great and I’m glad others had a terrific season.

[Risk-Averse_Rider]

We’ve actually had a ton of rain recently. The footing in places - especially along the edges of the washes - is quite soft.

But yesterday, I noticed that I could sometimes hear a crackling underfoot, as the ground growth starts to dry up.

People are already concerned about the wildfire danger, with so much brush.

[LisaW-B]

I’m thinking those were feral horses, unless someone would be, let’s say, unwise enough to turn their STUD loose on state land to graze near lots of homes and ranches that probably have mares (and to try to recruit new hot babes from the hunt club or random trail rides into his harem). It was neat to see them, and I’m so glad that Mr. Studly didn’t actually get to attempt making new adorable feral foals yesterday.

I have so much fun riding on the Short Bus, and my ol’ ranch gelding has a blast out there, too. I think now he thinks of us as the outriders on a cattle drive. Yesterday I did learn that if you lean too far forward in your -western- saddle while letting your horse jump up a hill out of a wash, you can catch your hunt coat button holes on the saddle horn.

I was also trying to take pictures of the camera-shy R-A-R on the sly with my phone, and dropped my phone in the desert, which meant I had climb off and to mount from the ground (something I never do on purpose). Fortunately my horse is only 14.2 (although I’m only 5’2"), and even more fortunately, with the western saddle I can grab the front and back of the saddle, leave the reins loose because I trust Mr. Whiskey, and heave-ho myself indelicately back up!

My allergies didn’t even explode with all the green out there, because the wind died down. We started off with a stirrup cup of port, and ended with tons of fantastic food, with great riding in the middle. What could be better? My horse prefers to canter along rather than trot if we’re going for a distance, so he was happily cantering for a lot of the time while the rest of the Short Bus was trotting. It was a perfect morning, indeed, to canter through the wide open spaces and hear the hounds at work!

[FatDinah]

I keep telling my husband we have got to move out to Phoenix area so I can join the Short Bus.
My soon-to-be 18 yr old Boomer (16 hand chestnut Trak cross) was born to ride with Mr. Blondie and Whiskey. And maybe I could even get some FAT off him in the desert.
Seriously, you guys are the best advertising for hunting ever.

[Beau_s_mom]

Thanks for the hunt report. We were hoping to go out sunday, but got washed out. Our closing is next Sunday, if the weather permits. We are going to miss the adventures of Mr. Blondie and the rest of the Short Bus gang while we wait for your hunt season to resume. Please keep us posted on any fun stuff happening over the summer!

[Risk-Averse_Rider]

Mr. Blondie & Whiskey are going team sorting on Saturday - that should be fun :yes:

Whiskey is, of course, an old hand at this. Blondie has done it once and shown that he’s got some cow in him The team penning was a bit much and elicited some bucking, but he seems to do well in the smaller area with fewer cows.

We will miss hunting, too.

[PVBZoE]

feral horses

I enjoy the stories from TSB!

Those horses are free-range. the person who owns them lets them loose. He used to take horses that were old enough to be “out to pasture” for the rest of the natural lives, but he got in trouble and stopped.

for one hunt, an exited young mare ran right along side me on a particularly wild run! she was clearly born to hunt! she even stopped at the check.

[Risk-Averse_Rider]

[QUOTE=PVBZoE;4748347]
Those horses are free-range. the person who owns them lets them loose. He used to take horses that were old enough to be “out to pasture” for the rest of the natural lives, but he got in trouble and stopped.

for one hunt, an exited young mare ran right along side me on a particularly wild run! she was clearly born to hunt! she even stopped at the check.[/QUOTE]

I always liked it when Warrior (Section D Welsh Cob stallion who out-whippped) would stand up on a ridge and look at those horses, then look at the hunt, clearly wondering… “Can I have them ALL???”

[whicker]

You have the MOST fun colors! I like the vests, too. Tell me about the special green saddle pads with the pouches. They look intriguingly useful. Do you have white breeches?

Are you vaguely near the Arizona State University? I think it is in the Phoenix area. My son may be out there for grad school in astro-biology. He will be bringing his 17.2 tb foxhunter with him.

[Risk-Averse_Rider]

[QUOTE=whicker;4751277]
You have the MOST fun colors! I like the vests, too. Tell me about the special green saddle pads with the pouches. They look intriguingly useful. Do you have white breeches?

Are you vaguely near the Arizona State University? I think it is in the Phoenix area. My son may be out there for grad school in astro-biology. He will be bringing his 17.2 tb foxhunter with him. :D[/QUOTE]

The green saddle pads with pockets allow us to carry bottles of water for the hounds, for when we hunt somewhere with no water (most of the time).

And, yes, white breeches. Silly idea.

ASU is in Tempe, on the south side of Phoenix. Does your son have a barn picked out yet?

[whicker]

Go West, Young Man!

Oh boy! He can still get a hunting fix!:lol:

He is still learning about the grad program, labs and gurus. When he comes out for interviews, we would like to meet you, too. He likes trail riding, dressage and might pop over a few obstacles. We live in the Warrenton and Old Dominion hunt territories in Va.

[rivenoak]

@whicker;4752143

Oh boy! He can still get a hunting fix!:lol:

He is still learning about the grad program, labs and gurus. When he comes out for interviews, we would like to meet you, too. He likes trail riding, dressage and might pop over a few obstacles. We live in the Warrenton and Old Dominion hunt territories in Va.

Total Thread Hijack Alert!!

Whicker, I live in S.Phx/Tempe about 15 minutes from ASU. My barn is probably the closest one to campus (that’s decent) & we can trail ride on South Mountain for hours merely by opening the gate. My instructor comes about 1x/month; she’s got serious eventing credentials.

I’d LOVE to have a potential trailering pal. And not be the only foxhunter in the barn. Everyone thinks I’m eccentric or nuts. :lol:

Be sure to let me know when y’all are in town.

[whicker]

Rivenoak, please

Rivenoak,

Thanks for the invitation! I am sending a p.m.

I rode upper level eventing, long format, during the Le Goff era. That style of education is how my son, Mason, has been trained by me. You will have lots in common.

[Risk-Averse_Rider]

Well, that’s settled, then!

Whicker’s son comes to ASU, boards at South Mtn (lovely trails there), and hunts with the beagles.

No need to spend money travelling to interview anywhere else - you can save that money to move the horse across the country.

Done and done.

Easy-peasy.

[whicker]

Thanks for the encouragement

Does he need to bring the horse trailer rig with him? I have to think in terms of graduation presents, right?

He going to miss our dogs, so I hope it is ok for him to play with yours. He does like to walk, so puppy walking is possible, too.