Riding at Bates Bar J

Today was another great day in the West Country of Alberta. Over the years one or the other of my nieces or nephews and even a granddaughter have attended Bates Bar J a kids camp out west of Dogpound North. Caron my oldest niece graduated from camper to counsellor and then wrangler while she was growing up. It is a beautiful spot at the Junction of Grease Creek and the Little Red Deer River and through Caron’s long tenure there we have been able to access the place for a few rides of our own.

Today was another of those days.

It was a hot one here on the Northern Ranges, and the river crossings were pretty welcome. We got up into the high 80’s here and us northerners start to melt once the thermometer goes that high. Caron was riding her new mare Quiz today and she was out of the barn on her first trail ride as a four year old and she took everything in stride like an old hand.

In the shot above you can see the Rockies peeping over the horizon up the valley but down in the meadow below is the Bates mare band and their foals enjoying a hot summer day.This is beautiful country and there are great vista’s every way you look.

When we got back to the trailer who did we find but another niece Remi clamouring for a ride on Quiz. She is staying for the week with her friend Abby and will have many days of great riding to remember.

Sadly this old ranch/camp is for sale and this year which is their 51st in business will probably be their last unless someone with the same game plan happens to buy it. However land in these parts is pretty expensive and it not likely to be used for the same program. Whoever gets it will have a beautiful spot to come home to in the summers.

Calgary Western Riders Gymkhana

I almost forgot that I write a blog from time to time. I am not sure what excuse to use but it just seems that there is always something going on here down the road from Dogpound that keeps me busy, well busy enough that I get no writing done. But I have remembered to take my camera along with me so I will dig around and see what pictures might motivate me to write.

The last Sunday of the month here in the summer is the Calgary Western Riders gymkhana at the Springbank Equestrian Centre. Long time readers will know that I have often attended that event and cheered on my niece Caron. Well after making a fool of myself at the TACC gymkhana’s down at Dogpound South I finally got up the nerve to enter here at Springbank. Now this might not seem like much but the organisation had to acquire all new equipment for the timers because of my entry. Their clocks like many time things down to the hundredth of a second but they had no settings that could deal with an actual change of date. And after my inaugural runs I am sure they are thinking about lights for the arena or maybe just an earlier start so that I can actually finish in the daylight.

The photo above has the Dogpound North team making their way to the arena on May 27th, granddaughter Madison and her pony Spanky, of course Willow and I and behind us is our ringer my niece Caron and her new pony Quiz. Below you can see this is serious business and just like at the Kentucky Derby and the Preakness the jocks get thrown into the saddle before their runs. Well at least the little ones do I had to drag myself up there.

And below are pictures of the girls runs

 

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And they set up these stakes just to see if I was actually moving.

Now here I am working the flags and I am not sure if that is the second or third girl to run, while I was completing my run, there in the background. Unlike TACC all the events here except for the barrels are run as races so there are actually two horses competing in the arena at the same time, makes it a little more exciting WHEN you actually get a horse race going.

and here we are actually in the saddle and waiting for our runs. These events are western dress also so if you are not wearing a helmet you need to have a cowboy hat on at least when you start your run.

I am not sure how we fared in the placing's but that is not what we were there for anyway. We all had a blast and it was good to see the girls having fun.

Now that is probably enough for now and I will try to be a more regular writer.