Howdy All!

Oh gosh, I was tired this morning.   It was late when I crawled into bed.  Chores come early and away we go again for another day on the road.  It was cloudy most the day and even got a downpour of rain in the afternoon.  Just enough to wash away the dirt and dust from everything.

After breakfast and chores, I snuck away for an hour long nap that was so needed.  I keep close attention to my energy levels as I get older.  It’s important, especially when we are on the road doing what we do.

If I don’t, things such as these happen, and then I may say bad words out loud.  Heaven forbid.  And yes I’m pretty sure I did just that.  Yesterday, I made a nice pot of spaghetti and sauce to go with.  It was tasting and smelling real good.  It was all prepared as I went out to help with afternoon chores, only to come back to the burner still on under the sauce!   Oh my gosh!!!  The smell of burnt food flooded the trailer, the pot had only half in it from when I left, and most of it was stuck to the bottom of the pot.  No cleaning that out.  It was on permanently stuck there forever.  Gives me good excuse to go shopping and get me another.  And what can you do?  Just laugh about it and bring out the crackers, meat and cheese and maybe some fruit for dessert.

After lunch we hosted Darla from the local Chamber of Saskatoon to come and take a look around our camp, meet the horses and get a feel for what Chuckwagon Racing is all about.  As this was her first time by, she was quite impressed with the whole operation.

Darla got a chance to pet some of the horses and sit up in the drivers seat of the Chuckwagon.  She went away with a great outlook on the world of our Western Heritage that we live.

Tammy, our Director of Partnerships & Administration of the WPCA came along as well for the tour.  She quickly made friends with our horse named Louie.  He’s such a kind friendly horse and loves lots of attention.  You will see Louie in the near future hooked on an outfit.

 

Afternoons are pretty quite around the barns.  It’s the time when a good portion of the Chuckwagon drivers get in a nap.  The barn hands do too, and the wife’s…………….well sometimes they do, but most are running for groceries, going to the laundry mat or preparing  the next meal of the day and any other odds and end that need to be done.

When the evening comes, my job is to take the outriding horses to the infield for the outriders, and return.  Our policy, is to always tend to them and never leave them when tied up.  So I do just that.  You never know when equipment could get caught up and then a problem arises.

Tonight’s hook was Sporty on the Right Lead, Spirit on the Left Lead, Glory on the Right Wheel and Cowboy on the Left Wheel.  Chance Flad rode Beau holding the leaders and Casey Knight had Ice throwing stove.  The outriders did a very good job tonight, both of them are top notch riders.

Off of barrel one, Rick had an awesome start coming around the top, but then just as he was making his way around the bottom to go to the track, the left hip of  the wheel horse Cowboy feathered the barrel and it fell down.  An automatic 5 second penalty.  Ouch!!!

You can’t afford to get one of those, because it drops you down in the standings in a hurry.  Despite that error, the horses ran very well.  The running time was a 1:20.38 which would have been an 11th on the day.  With the penalty it took us down to 30th spot.

 

After the races, the mini chuckwagon was given out.  This fine looking young lady was very happy to have received it.

Until Tomorrow

From The Travelin Trailer

Sue with Rick and “Team 23”

P.S.  Always end the day with a positive thought.  No matter how hard things were, tomorrows a fresh opportunity to make it better.

Howdy All,

Grande Prairie Stompede 2017 is in the history books.  When the dust settled, we were very happy how things turned out for “Team 23”.  Making the final dash for cash was a surprise to us as we didn’t expect it.  With having that speedy day money run the day before, it jumped us up into the top 4.  We all did the happy dance.  I always say, it’s great to make the final four and its a bonus to win the show.

We departed Grande Prairie late in the day due to truck repair issues with both the Peterbilt and the Frieghtliner.  None the less, we made it home sometime after midnight.

It was good to be home, even for one night in our own bed.  I was especially touched when I found this little note upon my pillow.  Our grandson Coy had left it for me when I returned.  He melts my heart.

In just 2 short weeks, so much had taken place at the Ranch.  Amy had gathered abandoned duck eggs, put them in an incubator to hatch.  And they did, all 10 of them.  They are pretty darn cute and they follow her and Coy everywhere.  It’s pretty amazing as they only take 28 days from the egg  being laid to hatching.  It will be interesting to see if they come back year after year.

Amy’s  little filly was born the day we left for Grande Prairie and has grown some since then.  Grandson Ryker and our daughter Kaylee came by to see us, and little Ryker was making friends with Daphne.  Kids and animals always create such a special bond.

Even after 2 weeks gone, I notice so many changes in Ryker.  He’s growing so fast.  It won’t be long he will be walking and running.

We were home only for a few short hours and it was time to hit the road again.  The ponies all got a good run, stretch and green grass to nibble on before we left.  Then it was time to say good-bye once more.

Just before departing,  I picked some wonderful aromatic lilacs off our blooming bushes to bring with us in the trucks.  It’s nice to bring just a little bit of home with me.

We had a safe and sound journey east to Saskatoon, the next stop on our circuit.   The horses traveled well and they were happy to have a fresh bed of straw, clean water and feed for the night.

Race night #1 came quickly.  The weather here today was probably close to 30 degrees.  I was loving it.  After Grande Prairie, all the drivers get reseated into new heats according to the world point standings.  We ended up in the last heat here on night one in Saskatoon  as we were 4th overall.

Our hook tonight was Nickle Left Lead,  Speedy Right Lead, Jim Left Wheel and Law on the Right Wheel.  Chance Flad held the leaders with Ed, and Casey Knight threw the stove with Stadium.  When the horn blew the horses started so hard that the wagon lifted up off the ground.  Around the barrels went, and the race was on.  Rick drove three wide the whole way around and managed to take a 16/17 split time of 1:19.70 with Mike Vigen.  We were very happy with how they ran.

Again this year, we are very excited to be giving out after each and every race, a mini chuckwagon to some lucky fan, young or old.  Tonight this little gal and her family were ecstatic to have received it.  They came back to the barns to get a photo with Rick and the real big Chuckwagon.

Until Tomorrow

Sue, with Rick and Team 23

P.S.  Be smart enough to hold on, and be brave enough to let go.