Well today is day 75 here at Pony Boot Camp. Camp mother has been very busy and doesn't let me use the computer very often. So I am sorry that putting hoof to paper has been so sporadic. To catch up on the last few weeks. Here are some more fun shots of me from the Napa Mustang Days Festival. These are of the arena parade showing lots of famous and infamous BLM Mustangs including Janet Titus second place winner from last years Contest. Sue and I want to thank Tim Bertolini for taking these and getting them to me thru Nancy who is not only the event promoter, manager, designer, she is an avid adopter and promoter of BLM mustangs and she is the excellent webmaster of the Kigers de los Californios website.!!!

Camp Mother really enjoyed showing me off to all the visitors at the festival. She thinks showing off my excellent ground manners will help get me a good home. She is so consistent with her timing and release it is easy to know what I did right that is why I am so well adjusted and stand quiet. And I am just a real easy going kinda horse. No wild mustang horror stories on this blog!!

I had my feet trimmed again before the festival, that was my third trimming because my feet were so long to start with. Camp Mother has worked hard to get them shaped up.

Here is a shot of Grant a BLM Litchfield Corrals Wrangler with Sue and I in the Mustang demo at the Napa Mustang Days Festival. Jason and Videll were also there from the BLM, they are very helpful knowledgeable folks that y'all can look up at the Western States Horse Expo BLM booth for more information on how to adopt a cool horse like me!

I have a cool new sponsor Lee's Feed in Placerville was very kind to make my transition from cool Spring to Summer FLY season mush easier with a new fly mask, fly spray, shavings and fly wipe! man does that help me sleep like a foal, especially after a super duper dinner of Elk Grove Milling Stable Mix pellets and Bar Ale Feed, Inc, Distance Plus and 101 feed supplement. I hope you all can take the time to thank these cool folks when shopping at their stores for helping turn me into the very pleasant well rounded horse I have become. Sue could not have done it with out the help of these generous folks and all of her friends, students and faithful supporters.

I have made so many friends while here at Pony Boot Camp and learned so much I can't believe it will all change in 3 weeks. Of course I only said that for the human readers benefit, we horses have no concept of time, so I really don't know how long I have been here or how long 3 weeks away is....... But I do know my life today is good and when I am adopted by my forever home my life will be full.

"It is truly amazing how much horses are willing to give to humans for no other reason but they asked".

Ima the trick riding horse!!!

Hey ya'lllll, check out my first Youtube video...... Thanks a million to Jan Mendoza who runs The Radical Riders Trick Riding Team out of Wheatland CA. They performed at the Napa Mustang Days and felt I was a perfect candidate to be a trick riding horse.

So here is my first attempt at a possible new profession. Please send in your votes on whether this is the right profession for me????? We also dressed me up as a Dr. Seuss character but couldn't decide what my Seussical name should be. Any suggestions????

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8Q4VDIjluaA

If Camp Mother was as good a computer trainer as she is horse trainer she would have the video playing here in my diary, but pasting the link is the best she can do......poor humans, they have no feel, no timing, no rhythm and just aren't real bright, no wonder we have such a hard time training them.
More Napa Mustang Days pictures to come.......

Remember to "fix it up and let em find it" Ray Hunt...... May he ride in peace.

Napa Mustang Days

Well we had a blast at the Napa Mustang Days..... It was over 100 degrees so everything moved a little slow, but spirits were high, the horses wonderful and a good time was had by all. Here is a picture of Camp Mother and I with one of her good friends Natalie from Petaluma. Sue and Natalie met at a Richard Winters Clinic a few years ago and became fast friends...... and not just because Natalie owns a 1/2 Kiger named Wylie or because she baked Camp Mother a batch of cookies!!! She is just a really super person. But yum, yum thanks a million!!!!

Sue was still not supposed to be riding due to her previous injuries, so she and I just did a simple demo of what I know how to do so far, walk trot, canter, halt, back and a few tricks. I never once got stage fright from the announcer stand or audience under all the easy up tents for shade, not even when they all applauded loudly!! I am so awesome!! And I even did a perfect job carrying a flag with 3 other riders also with flags! Our rehearsal was flawless. One of the other riders was Janet Titus the 2nd place winner from last years Western States Mustang Makeover with her MMO horse. She is way cool and a good rider. Unfortunately the presentation got out of order and the flag routine was scratched from the performance. So I didn't get to do it in front of the audience, but I still did an awesome job..... even Walley said so... I wonder if that was just a come on?????

I even stood motionless for almost an hour while Sue used me as her "Vanna" to give a talk on tack fit and safety. Luck for me she parked Walley right next to me so I was able to just practice my dreamy eye at him. He gets embarrassed easily and even thought he is always hobbled he tries to slip away. Lots more to tell ya all about soon....

Day 62 at Pony Boot Camp.

It has been a relaxing lazy 2 weeks for me here at Camp but it has been hell week for Camp Mother. She sells Lemonade to buy hay for us... Now that is a weird trade! So she is wearing her traveling gypsy hat on the weekends going to county fairs and horse shows selling just possibly the best lemonade in the known universe.

Some of the other campers have been having authority issues and the round pen looks more like an extreme UFC contest. cage fighting has nothing on spoiled, unruly horse training!! Unfortunately Camp Mother is getting 'a little long in the tooth' and can't move like she used to. Unable to 'float like a butterfly' anymore she has a large hemotomia her her leg, a large bump on her head, whiplash and a hyper extended shoulder. All from different horses, different wrecks!! Add to this numerous biopsies and other medical procedures..... needless to say my training has been on ice (along with half her body) for a few weeks. What I know now is just about all I will get to learn by show time. As Sue's ability to ride will be reserved for the outside horses in training. Hoping she holds together to make it to the finals. I did learn to carry the American Flag last week which I am very proud to do!!!

This Friday Camp Mother, Walley and I will be traveling to Napa for the Napa Mustangs Days celebration where Sue is a guest clinician . WOW just me and Walley alone...., the hunk,... camping...., together, ........ a dream come true....... **POP** Oh yea and Camp Mother...... Dream just changed to a nightmare..... Well it is going to be great fun and very educational, anyway. Ya'll come ya hear!!!

Day 55 at Pony Boot Camp

Well the days are really flying by here at Pony Boot Camp. I am already homesick thinking about leaving this place in another 35 days. And especially leaving Wally... He is such a hunk. I have gotten used to my fancy private bedroom.... apparently called a "stall" and I see why. I stall going into it just thinking about living without seeing the stars at night. I wonder if people ever really realize what we horses actually give up for them. Our freedom, our herd, many times our soft feel, cadence, our reason for being, life out of doors and especially the stars watching us while we sleep.

Camp Mother and I played dress up, trying to decide what to wear next month at the Horse Expo. This old parade set as way cool, but did not fit, so guess it is back to our everyday look of Working Ranch Horse Buckaroo.

Hope you all try to have your horses enjoy you as much as you enjoy them. Whistle, Grin and Ride. Ima Your Horse signing off

Trip to the Doc.

Camp Mother took me to a veteeer..., vataneeer, or forget it I went to a horse doctor. As always I was the perfect camper, I just wish my butt wasn't so big so I could see what they are doing back there!

My temperature was normal. They inspected the tear that happened when I had a baby last year, which creates a problem when I go to the bathroom. It is all healed and scared over, but still needs to be fixed someday by plastic surgery. The doc says he is never able to inspect a horse this thoroughly with out tranquilizer. I stood quiet as a mouse thru the whole thing. I got a gold star for the camper of the week and another testament to my trainabliity and excellent personality.

I came home to an excellent meal of Elk Grove Milling Stable Mix, but was too embarrassed to tell the boys what they did when I went to the Doc.

April Showers and May Flowers

Good Evening horsepersons and welcome to Sunday evening. It is very busy around here. Spring means the Lemon is on the road again and lots of other horse campers are coming in for Camp Mother's magic touch. Last week Sue went to the Californios Show in Red Bluff and had the pleasure of meeting fellow MMO Trainer Destry Campbell who conducted the Cowboy Church service Sunday Morning. Sue got to visit with lots of good horsey folk including Buck Brannaman, Dave and Gwynn Weaver who put the entire event on. Chance Gee, David Joost, Ernie Morse, Ralph Pavey, Merlin, Greg, and the list goes on.

Here is another cute photo of us at the Buck Clinic. This week I have moved up to having my own room. Camp Mother says it is an honor to have the only Box Stall on the place and that I need to learn how to sleep alone. I say Neyh!! I don't like sleeping in a box. I can't even see the stars!!! I have never in my life not fallen asleep looking up at the stars. I think people would sleep a lot better too if they could see the stars!

It rained hard here this weekend, so we all get to play in the mud instead of be ridden!!!! Awesome! The food here is still great. Stable mix pellets from Elk Grove Milling, Distance Plus and 101 feed from Bar Ale Feeds makes meals 5 star around here!!

Hope you all had a super weekend and try to remember to let the horses be your teacher.