Home from Ride The West

Andrea from Mustang Saga was kind enough to snap this shot of Sandy and me.

It was a long drive and a blistering hot weekend, but we survived!


I'd like to thank Circle A Trailers of Bellingham for loaning me one of their Morgan 2 horse trailers for the weekend. They loaned me a trailer last year as well when we brought Quiet Storm to Monroe; they're always so happy to tell anyone who's there when we pick up that "These girls are saving the wild horses!" If you live in the area and need to rent a trailer or make a purchase, stop by and visit them!

Sandy loaded into the trailer with just a wee bit of hesitation. His favorite treat being offered was the deal clincher. The drive from here to Spokane took 8 hours, although there were plenty of stops interspersed along the way to fill up with diesel and give Sandy a break. One of our stops was at the Wild Horse Monument along I-90 near Vantage in Central WA. Part of me really wanted to take Sandy out and trek up that hill to visit his iron cousins!

Sandy checks out the wild ponies.

"Creatures of this planet, behold, a Great Basket! I send this basket, bearing the gift of life, to all corners of the universe. Now take these ponies, I am cutting them loose. They will inspire a Spirit of free will. They will be a companion for work and play on this planet. This is a way for you to see how all life depends on all other life. This basket is my heart. You are at one with me. Eagle of the sky, we look to you for vision. Salmon of the water, we look to you for life-giving sustenance. Deer of the land, you provide a bountiful tranquility for our Mother Earth.

"From the center of my Basket burns the fire of our collective souls. Humans, you are responsible. You have the power of reasoning and the gift of free will. Use them wisely. Always be aware of the limitless nature of this ever expanding universe. Let us live to inspire each other."

Created by David Govedare, the sculpture has yet to be completed.

Once in Spokane, Sandy was happy to leave his little box on wheels and find a bit of grass. He got to hang out in a huge pen for awhile prior to the mustangs arriving from Burns. Once the pretty fillies began filing in around him, he became a quite content little camper!

I didn't do a whole lot with Sandy while there. He was plumb tuckered when we got there and I was so pleased with his behavior...then he woke up Saturday morning and I found I was back to a revved up pony! Not bad, and he didn't do much snorting, but his shyness was oozing from his pores. I led him out around the corrals and past small groups of people, which he was a bit reluctant to do, but not reactive in a jumpy sort of way. He was reserved and hesitant, but allowed some folks to come up and say hello and touch him. Others were a bit bold and he would back off, and everyone was polite enough to step back from him if he felt pressured.

Susan Kirk was there with Mac, her mustang from last year's EMM. She was also the trainer hired for demonstrations. Jamie Thomas was also there competing in the Trail Challenge with her boy, Monty (and she'd better get busy and post some photos!) It was great to meet both of these women. Jamie wanted me to do more with Sandy while there, but I'd promised Jay I'd babysit 'his boy' and not push him, so walking around the adoption site and working in the round pen was about it for him this weekend.

I was happy that he relaxed enough to trot along the round pen rail with a half dozen people leaning on it; that was a big step to be so close to people for this guy. He also took a liking to a man in a hat who was there with a friend. The man talked with me for several minutes and admired Sandy, talking nicely to him. He was back on Sunday morning during the adoption event and saw me across the pens. He hollered that he wanted to adopt Sandy, not any of the others, so I told him to head to Sacramento. He just smiled and waved goodbye. Sandy liked him; he'd sat at the corner of Sandy's pen for several minutes with his hand on the rail until Sandy came up to say hello.


All in all, it was a great weekend. I'll get adoption info up tomorrow for y'all!