Just Ride

We went for a trail ride on Labor Day. Come ride along:

Hot Hot Hot!

Nah, not the weather. Hot Machine is hot! Oliver had his second show on the Creekview circuit, and that lil' brown horse with the rainbow tail is getting noticed in the ring.

Sara called on her way home after the show and said, "You better build a bigger shelf! Oliver is bringin' home trophies!"





1st in Showmanship outta 5 horses.
1st in Western Walk Trot out of 14.
1st in both of his Western Pleasure classes with 5 horses in each class.
Then he got a 4th out of nine in his last WP class, but that was due to an unfortunately timed bathroom break. Judges have no sense of humor.

Show Teaser

Oliver's first Creekview show:
(Pardon the blurry pics)

Oh, you want the results????

1st place outta 15.

Oliver.

Rockstar.

I was taking pics and visiting with the stable owner during this class. She got a call - tornado sighted just 10 miles south. Sara and Ollie got their ribbon, I got the trailer, and we got the "truck" outta there.

Perfect

Days like this are not very common in Northeast Wisconsin in October. But when they happen, you best take advantage of it. Skies are only this color when it's fall. I don't know why and I don't care. I just like it.

The fall colors are just about at their peak. We did lose a bunch of leaves last week to some heavy winds, but the ones that hung on are giving a good show.

And you know the best way to see the fall colors is from the back of a horse....

With good friends in tow....

Vicki brought her horse Lester over and we all headed out on the Oconto River Trail, a reclaimed railroad grade. It's an easy ride, and a great way to spend an afternoon.

Vicki was a little apprehensive about the ride because Lester's wunna them there fancy schmancy "show horses". Little did Vicki know, but Lester is a super solid trail horse as well. In no time he was leading our group like he's done it a thousand times.


He made it past the killer llaammaass without a care.


And the Big Bridge over the Little River was not a problem.

And of course Oliver was a super star and gave Sara a great ride. He doesn't know it yet, but he's gonna be wunna them there fancy schmancy show horses, too.


Just like Lester. Show horse/trail horse extraordinaire.

Enjoy the fall to its fullest. Winter is just around the corner.

Then and Now

Oliver is filling out nicely. He's starting to muscle up and show definition in all the right places.

Then (August 16th):
Now (October 4th):
Then (August 16th):
Now (October 4th):

He cleans up perty good, doesn't he?

Ollie Who?

I mentioned Oliver briefly in my last post. He's our latest addition to our herd, and future Cedar View Rockstar.

We found Oliver for sale way up near Duluth, MN in a little town called Solon Springs. Knowing it was going to be a long day, we left the house at 4 am and headed west. We had a few other stops to make along the way to look at other potential buys, but nothing we looked at was "the one".

Upon arriving at Oliver's home, we met with his owner and her family. Oliver was standing quietly near the round pen, with his lead rope just draped over the rail. He's really quiet and calm and just takes things in stride. He was all brushed up nice and was curious of us strange folk pokin' and proddin' him. His ground manners are impeccable, and my hat goes off to his owner for teaching him to be a good boy.

And it helps that he's got great breeding. This is his sire:

Hot Roddin' Zip has produced a good number of world champs. His foals are sought after in these parts. You can see his website and his facebook page.

Apparently even horses have their own fb pages.

His dam is Invest in a Machine, a daughter of the great Fleet Machine:

Here's a video of Sara's first ride on him:

You can see that he's far from being finished, but Sara works better with a clean slate. He was thin and out of shape, but he did what was asked and was willing about it all.

So, as you've figured out, we brought him home with us. He loaded just fine and trailered quietly. It was a 5 hour trip home, and he never fussed.

Here he is on his first day at Cedar View:

Here's a pic of Ollie and Mater. I like this pic because it allows for a nice comparison of the two body types, and you can clearly see the muscling and overall finished look that Mater has:

But in time Ollie will be buff and as handsome as Mater. He's put together very well with a nice shoulder, a deep set hock, a decent barrel, and a short back. He really has the potential to end up to be a really nice mover.

We brought him home on August 15th and let him eat and settle in for two weeks before we did anything with him. He's a smart one, for sure. Very fun to work with on the ground. Sara does on the under saddle stuff - I haven't ridden him yet. Here's a video of those two working on trotting and pivots and backing:

And here they are working on his lope. He spooked at Cowboy the cat at 3:37. If that's his spook, we'll take it:

He sure is a wonderful boy to have around. He's filling out nicely, he's settled in with the herd - heck, he even plays with Hank. Most horses don't mess with Hank, but this Ollie is a goofball.

We've got high hopes for this fella. Follow along to see his progress.