Saying Good-bye

It was an amazing week. Almost life changing. Bonding with a horse and learning to trust one another changes a person. One of the other mom's said she left last year, quit her job and found something that inspired her. I left thinking how I'd love nothing more than to run my own horse camp. Nick could run the tractor and I could oversee the business aspect. Far fetched dream, but we have to dream to succeed.

It was hard to say good-bye to Renegade, to the ranch in general. I just wanted to stay. We'll be back next year, you can count on that.

 

International Wolf Center

On our trip to Ely, we stopped at the International Wolf Center.

It's a pretty cool place with beautiful wolves.

Dance Night

On Friday night there is a dance held in the barn. The kids dressed up, the mom's got ready for karaoke at a local bar down the road with the few counselors who were of age, while the other counselors stayed back to run the dance.

We had a lot of fun. Sam broke out of her shell and moved into the center of the circle to show off some moves of her own. She was cheered on by all.

Making new friends

We met a lot of great friends while there. We are all on Facebook which allows us to stay connected easier.

Sam is getting an early good-bye hug from Hannah Landberg who is a model in LA was leaving a day early.

Sam and her new friend, Evelyn, were sitting be the tack barn waiting for the counselors to come down and catch horses.

Our Wagon Campout

Midweek we loaded up the wagons with mattresses from the bed and clothes for the next day. We were heading off for a night under the stars. We rode our horses there while the wagons were pulled by the John Deere tractor. They cooked up burgers for dinner and we sat in the circle around the campfire for some songs and stories. What a beautiful night!

The next morning, we caught our horses, tacked up and headed back to Circle R Ranch.

On an earlier day, we took the wagons to a nearby lake where we were given the opportunity to go tubing behind the speed boat (which Sam and I did a few times), swim out to the floating dock or just bask in the sun to watch all of the fun. We had BBQ chicken, watermelon and a few other sides at the beach. Yet about her fun day on our vacation.

Bareback & Barrels

Two if the days we had free time to swim, play on the bumper boats, go bare back riding, or practice barrel racing. Sam wanted to swim, but I reminded her why we were here. If there is ever an opportunity to be with the horses, that is what we'd do. We both hopped on a horse and did some bareback riding. I was nervous but with the right horse, you feel more secure and the horse's spine is less of a pain.

When Sam would go, I'd walk along side the horse to make sure she felt safe. Lets trot mom. Ok, ready? You would have thought she'd done this before. She looked so graceful on the horse.

The moms were given the opportunity to barrel race if they so chose. Absolutely I said! By that time Revlon lost her halter in the main pasture (80 acres) and being a free spirit, she is HARD to catch, so I was given Renegade. She was more like a work horse and preferred to be double reined for steering purposes. She was definitely a challenge for me, and I loved that.

Good Morning

There isn't anything better than waking up in the morning, walking down to the pasture and losing yourself in the horses. Each morning we woke eager for what the day would hold for us.