The Ice Princess Cometh

Tuesday March 8 2011

Lock your doors. Get those winter coats and boots and hats back out. Turn on your heaters. Fire up the hot tub.

Winter's not over yet. Snow follows the Ice Princess to Arizona, to Montana, to Arizona, and back to Idaho.

An Owyhee morning comes and a blanket of white covers the ground.

Snow gloms on horse tails and forelocks and backs and manes.


Cold wet bodies shiver. Horses huddle around the feeder, butts to the wind, eating hay for warmth.


Horses plow forward into the wind, noses down, heads cocked sideways against the stinging spitting snow...



...as The Ice Princess dances in the snow.

Death Valley National Park II

Monday March 7 2011

Unforgiving heat. Punishing dryness. Rugged mountains. Spectacular scenery. Sound inviting?

Those are just a few of Death Valley National Park's claims to fame. Death Valley supposedly got its name when the Bennett-Arcane wagon train party bound for California finally staggered out of the valley on foot in December of 1849, after being unable to find their way out for weeks, and having burned their wagons for fuel to cook their oxen they had to eat to survive. After they made it out, a woman purportedly looked back at the valley, and said, "Goodbye, Death Valley." Had they stumbled into this valley in the summer, it's likely nobody would have been left to name anything.

William Lewis Manley was part of the wagon train who found a way out through the Panamint Valley and the Slate Range through Fish Canyon, returning the same way with supplies for the stranded wagon party and leading them out. The 4-day Death Valley Encounter Endurance ride used to follow this route. You can't help but think of the pioneers who stumbled through here - and the Indians that survived in and around here - long ago. The 20-Mule Team endurance ride, held in Ridgecrest, California, not far from here, is named after the 20-mule wagon teams that pulled the borax-laden wagons from the Death Valley mines in the late 1800's.

Death Valley became a National Monument in 1933, and in 1994 became a National Park, widening its borders. You can hike anywhere in the 5,262 square miles, from 262 feet below sea level in the Badwater Basin all the way to the top of Telescope Peak, at 11,049 feet. Mt Whitney, the highest peak in the lower 48 states, is less than 80 miles away and can be seen from Telescope Peak on a clear day. In fact, crazy people compete in the Badwater Ultramarathon Run, 'The World's Toughest Foot Race', 135 miles from Badwater to Mt Whitney portal at 8000' - in JULY.

You can find warnings everywhere about the extreme temperatures and dangers of the heat in summer which can easily hit 120* and above (record was 134* in 1913). Even the names of some of the features are formidable: Funeral Mountains, Furnace Creek, Devil's Golf Course, Badwater.

I did an easy 4-mile hike near Badwater, hiking up Golden Canyon to the base of the dramatic Red Cathedral cliffs, climbing up and over into the next big wash, Gower Gulch, passing old Borax mines, spectacular canyons and colorful badlands. The colors that Mother Nature has concocted and blended together make a dazzling portrait of a fascinating landscape.

Already the temperature was reaching the 80's in parts of the canyons - just about time for me to leave Death Valley. It's one of America's most magnificent parks - just spend your time there in the winter.

(Slide show here:)

Death Valley National Park I

Saturday March 5 2011

Passing through Death Valley I found an excuse to camp overnight, and to hike in the evening. Winter really is the only time to visit, when you can appreciate it without cooking, or dying, in the 100-plus, often 120* heat.

It's stunning country. More to come.

(Slide show here:)

'Toons: Redford the Endurance Horse Goes to the Scottsdale Arabian Show

Monday February 28 2011

2011 Scottsdale Arabian Show - "Look at those Hairy Horses!"

Sunday February 27 2011

Mouths agape, the teenaged girls-used-to-show-horses stared at Rusty and the hairy Redford as they trotted around the arena in the Scottsdale Arabian Show Parade of Champions. "Look at those hairy horses!" It's the first time (we believe) that endurance horses have ever appeared in the Scottsdale Arabian Show Parade of Champions. (Aileen Baca also rode in the Parade of Champions, on her horse R Star Ghostdancer). It was definitely the first time that horses have appeared at the Scottsdale Arabian Show that have not had every excess hair clipped from their bodies.


Rusty and Redford had won the 50 miler, and Aileen and R Star Ghostdancer had won the 25 miler at the AAHA Halloween endurance ride in October in Scottsdale, and were included in this Parade of Champions.


Various Championship winners from the 2011 SAS rode in the Parade (English pleasure, Western pleasure, working cow horse, mounted native costume, and others), all perfectly manicured and polished and clipped. The two hairy endurance horses - especially Redford - looked like shaggy bears compared to the other slick and sleek horses - but they showed off just as well and they looked just as good (better, in my biased eye). And they were most approachable: Redford was constantly surrounded by kids who came up to touch him, pet him, and hug him, because he was so quiet and well-mannered.


Redford did get scared a few times before the Parade, by not only the WooWooing people and the popping whips and the shaking trash bag and the hands banging on banners and fences, but by the startled wide-eyed horses that were rearing and spooking and snorting and being chased into the arena. Rusty had to walk Redford far away from the Madding Crowd every time that happened.


This year's Parade of Champions was an historic event where, as Kevin put it, "The Two Worlds Meet," and indeed they did. Redford had never been so primped on (and still managed to look wooly and rugged), and some show people surely had never seen such an endurance Arabian before.

Many more photos at:
http://www.endurance.net/international/USA/2011SAS/

2011 Scottsdale Arabian Show: The Athlete and The Adored

Saturday February 25 2011

On one side of the Scottsdale Arabian Show venue, the Athletes took the stage in their Championships and showed off their agility. The working cow horses do it all - combining "the thrill of cutting and the finesse of reining." The working cow horse does a bit of cutting, spinning, rolling back, wheeling, sprinting, flying lead changes, sliding stops - and a bit of thinking. You can see some of them change horsenalities when their cow steps in the arena - their whole body shifts forward, all attention on that cow.

You can see some of them eyeballing the cow as they are turning it. **(There were also reined cow horse classes... are these two the same thing?)


I lusted after one of them (#880! More pictures of him in the slide show and photo galleries from today). He won his class. I bet he'd make an outstanding endurance horse, as would many of these physically fit, sturdy and well-built horses.

Near as I can figure from the prize money listings, first place in the Championship classes receive from $125 to $1600.


On the other side of the venue, the Adored took center stage in their Halter classes.


These finely chiseled, delicate, fine-legged, wide-eyed, head-tossing, shampooed and shined and greased two-year-olds showed off their looks. Winners of the Championship classes took home $12,483.33, Reserve Champion $6,241.66. (Yearling Champions received nearly $40,000.)

At higher levels of Hunt Seat Equitation, riders sometimes switch horses as part of their test, and are judged on how well they ride a horse other than their own. Wouldn't it would be quite interesting to turn the tables on these two classes of Arabians? They are the same breed but oh so different in every way. Stick the Working Cow Horse in the Halter arena and let them show off their looks, and stick the Halter Horse under a Western saddle and point them at a cow.

Now, that would be a show to see!

Slide show here:


Many more photos here:
http://www.endurance.net/international/USA/2011SAS/

2011 Scottsdale Arabian Show: So Many Championships, So Little Time

Friday February 25 2011

The pace is picking up for the final weekend of the Scottsdale Arabian Show.


Today included championships in three different arenas in (among others) hunter pleasure and english and western pleasure, western side-saddle, older stallions and mares halter horses, show hack, and reining. Many classes have both Arabian, and half-Arabian/Anglo-Arabian divisions; most have amateur and pro divisions; some also have age divisions.


The hunting over fences continued all day in another arena (some girls so small they could practically walk under the horses on which they fearlessly flew over fences with);

the cutting horses started their classes today in still another arena.


Today's highlight was the half-Arabian/anglo-Arabian mounted native costume class with a dozen entries. Finally, this class took place in the main outdoor arena! The sun was hiding behind clouds, so the costumes didn't sparkle, but they were still dazzling! Green, red, royal blue, gold and silver, the high stepping horses sashayed around the arena to the Lawrence of Arabia music. I'm glad I wasn't a judge because I couldn't have picked my favorite.

Occasionally an organization or barn will throw a party for everybody. Yesterday the Modern Arabian Horse magazine threw a party because they received the 2010 Pegasus Media Award from the United States Equestrian Federation in the Association Publication category.

Today Royal Arabians, of Mesa, Arizona, served catered food and had an open bar while they showed off some of their horses.


This happened during the Native Costume class... so many horses to see, so little time! I made it back to their barn after the costume class to see NW Siensational, a handsome bay who was the 2010 US National Champion Gelding in Hand.

Two more days of this year's show are left, and some of the championship riders and horses will have some of the Southwest's wild winter weather of 2011 to deal with. A 'cold and wet winter storm and associated cold front' is moving in tomorrow afternoon, with a 100% chance of rain Saturday night. They're usually right about rain around here when it's predicted, so when the outdoor arenas turn to slush, it will be interesting to see how and where all the championship classes will be squeezed into, with the crowds who would normally be sitting outside watching them.

Included in Sunday afternoon's festivities is the Parade of Champions, in which two local endurance riders are schedule to ride: Clydea Hastie, and Rusty Toth on Redford!

Slide show here:


Many more photos (including lots of the gorgeous Native Costumes) here:
http://www.endurance.net/international/USA/2011SAS/