Ponoka: Night One (June 26)

June 27, 2015 / suefraser / 4 Comments

WOW! Where do I start! There are so many stories I would like to tell. Only a few days have gone by since I posted on the blog and we have been busy since.

Our home is only a short 30 minutes from the Ponoka grounds, and that can be good or bad, whichever way we want to look at it. It’s almost better to be far away from home when we are racing. Being this close causes us to make trips home for things that we may have forgotten and think we need, thus spending a lot of time traveling and away from the barn, missing out on the afternoon nap.

Yet I was very excited to be home for even just a few minutes to enjoy all my lovely planters that my daughter Amy did up for me. She’s got the knack and totally enjoys it.

I was treated to an appointment with my hairstylist Tisha in Wetaskiwin. It was time to cover up those silver slim strings that are atop my head. It always feels so good when I depart from there. She does a great job.

But I have to tell you a neat story connected with this day. Before I left my trailer that day, my gut told me to take along a $25 gift card that we were given by our new friend Chantele in Saskatoon, whom we met while we were there racing. It was a thank you gift to go have lunch or something while on the road.

After I got into my vehicle, I noticed a gal in the car parked facing me. Through her body language, she looked somewhat agitated and frustrated. I sensed that I needed to go give her this gift card.

I got out, walked to the window and asked if she was okay. She replied she was and she let me know she was waiting for her sister who was in an appointment, she had a wee one in the back seat, her boyfriend was looking for work and she was expecting a child. I handed her the $25 gift card and asked if she would take it. She was elated and said, “You just made my day!” I replied, “No! You just made my day by accepting this gift.” And away I went.

It felt good to pay it forward. It was meant to be.

Well, it was Parade Day in Ponoka, and Amy brought in her little mini for Coy to drive with his wagon and do a little advertising for her dog grooming business. It sure looked cute with her nicely cleaned puppies, the shiny wagon and the Overacker clan who came along to hand out candies and business cards.

It’s always neat to see the other entries and I was totally smitten with this cute little Native gal who won first in her category.

And you can’t have a parade without some members of our Royal Canadian Mounted Police. Don’t they look sharp?

Shortly after the parade, Rick and I were off to Bruce’s Tru Hardware in downtown Ponoka with Chad Harden and crew for the guys to meet and sign posters for the customers. This is the greatest store around. Mary Lynn, a.k.a. “Red Neck Barbie,” and Bruce have more inventory in there than you can imagine. If you need it they pretty much have it, from hardware to clothes, from giftware to food, from toys to plants, just to name a few. They are even carrying WPCA merchandise so when you have a moment go check them out.

I am very fortunate to call Mary Lynn my friend. She has the most giving heart I know. She has helped so many people in need, and continues to do so pretty much each and every day as you’ll see in the photo and article about Hope, a young lady with cancer, having some fun time with Mary Lynn.

Because Mary Lynn has been so good to so many, Rick and I gifted her with her very own “Team 23” pink pitchfork.

She loved it! Unfortunately, I don’t think it will ever get dirty but that’s okay, as she’s going to keep it on display at the store.

We are always so excited to be here in Ponoka. It’s such a fun Stampede with so many people from all over the province and from far away, coming to camp for six days or more. It’s one big camping party all coming together to watch some rodeo and chuckwagon events as well as take in some local activities too.

The crowd was pretty good tonight despite the lovely hot weather we had. It’s a cooker. Love it!

Rick and his team of Speedy on Left Lead, Nickle on Right Lead, Sneakers on Left Wheel and Law on Right Wheel were off the number 3 barrel tonight. Cole held leaders with Ace and Dustin threw stove with Andy.

The team started but didn’t come to the track quite as hard as Rick was expecting. On the inside of him was Evan Salmond on 1, Kelly Sutherland on 2 and then Chad Harden on 3. Evan was a speedster and took day money. We managed 12th for the evening, which is pretty good.

I’m thinking tomorrow will be another scorcher again. Bring on the popsicles and water guns!

I’ve learned…that just one person saying to me, “You’ve made my day!” makes my day.

High River: Night Four (June 21)

June 22, 2015June 22, 2015 / suefraser / 3 Comments

Today was a long day. When I first opened my eyes and ears for the morning, I heard rain, rain and more rain. This is really not what one wants to hear on a race day.

Rick headed out to feed morning oats. He came back a little soggy from the moisture, as I had the rain gear tucked away and his boots were also not reachable.

I put the coffee on just as a visitor arrived. Ralph Nelson popped by. His late father Lloyd drove chuckwagons years ago and Ralph used to do some outriding. We had a great chat as the rain continued to fall. The girls managed to get the chores all taken care off and came in for a breakfast of bacon, eggs and toast.

Once that was all cleared away, another local fellow named Robert stopped in. We rent a bit of pasture off of him during High River for our outriding horses. This works great for us as the pen space we have is fairly small. We prefer not to put too many horses in pens together in case they get fighting; injuries could arise.

Well, the day continued on and the skies let up for a bit of sunshine peaking through here and there. I zoomed off to town to fuel up the vehicles, reload the propane bottles and grab just a few more groceries. Once I returned, it was time to pack up the trailer before the races began at 4. Not to mention the kids were hungry again so some leftovers got used up. We did pretty good folding up one side of the liner before race time and putting away what things we could that we didn’t need, which would help us leave for Ponoka much earlier.

It turned out to be a beautiful afternoon for racing. The sun shone and it was fairly warm out too. As we were still in the ninth heat, our routine stayed pretty much the same. Our hook today was Speedy on the Left Lead, Nickle on the Right Lead, Sneakers on the Left Wheel and Law on the Right Wheel. They sure did look good out there coming off of barrel 3.

The track was heavy today so times were a bit slower than the other days. The horses started good and ran hard three wide. Our heat was a fast one, surprisingly; I thought it would be slower as the track got used more. That in turn gave us a good time, as we posted a 1:18.92, good enough for fifth on the day. So happy about that. Our outriders rode well and refrained from getting any penalties whatsoever. Cole and Dustin rode Ace and Andy. Kirk Sutherland won the day money in our heat. Once the times were calculated, Mitch Sutherland came out on top, taking home the Guy Weadick High River 2015 title. Congratulations to him.

Team 23 hustled their hineys, got things packed up in short order and was on the road by around 7:30pm. It was smooth sailing all the way to Ponoka, and we arrived close to 10pm. There was still some daylight left for setup, but not much. My little swamper Coy petered out only 20km from Ponoka. Too much playing in all that fresh air with the kids today.

We all hustled like little bumble bees setting up the pens, unloading the horses and then setting up the barn. It took us a couple of hours and then we came to the trailer for a snack before heading to bed. Oh, and I just had to sit down and write for you all. I didn’t want you to wake up and be disappointed with no blog to be had. Thanks, all, for being such faithful followers.

Well, I best get to bed. Morning comes early and I have a pile of laundry to get done.

Why do we close our eyes when we pray, cry, kiss or dream? Because the most beautiful things in life are not seen but felt by the heart.

High River: Night Three (June 20)

June 21, 2015 / suefraser / Leave a comment

Today was just a laid-back kind of day for me. Up early as usual, and as we have our grandson Coy with us I got to miss out on morning chores. The girls and Rick got the chores done and then Rick headed into Calgary to prepare the stalls for the upcoming Calgary Stampede. It’s just nicer to get it done before we arrive. Coy enjoyed the day playing with all the other chuckwagon kids nearby.

I’m not sure where the rest of the day went, although a few visitors did stop by, so we took the time to sit and chat. The weather was very sketchy today. Sometimes warm, a little downpour of rain, a cold wind and even a rainbow in the distance. Best of all, though, the rain stayed away for the races.

Rick decided to keep the same hook, but switch out Speirman for Air on the Right Lead position. Zorba was on the Right Wheel, Vegas on the Left Wheel and Spirit on the Left Lead. The same two outriders, Cole and Dustin, were again paired up with Beau and Trixtor. They continue to do their job well with no issues at all.

Just before the horn sounded Zorba jumped just a bit ahead, enough to make the wagon move forward but not enough to cause it to be ahead of the barrel. The outfit started better today than yesterday but Air didn’t turn so well on the Right Lead. Ricky came out after Kirk on 1 barrel but chose to race alongside him. The race was a good crowd-pleaser at the finish line as all four wagons were fairly close together. We posted a 1:19.47 on the day, good enough for a 19th placing, which puts us 28th in the aggregate.

Looks like we might get some rain tonight. Will be a busy day tomorrow, packing up belongings before the races to be prepared to head out to Ponoka immediately after the meet.

The optimist sees the rose and not its thorns; the pessimist stares at the thorns, oblivious to the rose.

High River: Night Two (June 19)

June 20, 2015 / suefraser / Leave a comment

It’s Friday already. Seems like we just arrived. We were up and at it early. Rick fed the ponies while I got myself dressed and ready to go out the door. We had a date! To the local Tim Hortons.

Actually Jody Seeley from Sun Country 99.7 was broadcasting live there this morning and the WPCA drivers were invited to come and join her. We were also joined by rodeo announcer Mike Labelle and rodeo clown Dennis Halstead. We had lots of laughs with the customers driving through and the guys signed some posters to give away.

One of the customers came through in a very fancy convertible. Rick, in his humour, asked if he could go for a ride. The fella obliged, Rick jumped in and they were gone! It wasn’t too long and he returned with a big grin on his face. They were flying!

Shortly thereafter one of Rick’s old schoolmates, Tim, came through in his done-up pick-up truck. Well, Rick has had the opportunity to drive this baby the last couple of years that we’ve been here. He’s fallen in love with this truck. Rick took Mike for a quick spin to show it off. I just shook my head. I say, “The only difference between men and boys is the price of their toys!”

And before we left, a local RCMP constable showed up for a coffee. The boys all sauntered over to have a chat and take a photo. They really wanted to drive his car. But no go!

Upon our return to the barn, we saw the girls had worked efficiently and had gotten all the morning chores completed. It was time for breakfast. We enjoyed a nice visit, with our meal out in the warm sunshine while the morning practice wagons began to roll. We headed over to the track to watch a few, then the girls saddled some of our outriding horses to go out for a lap or two. I ventured off to the grocery store to fill up the cupboards again.

Coy, our grandson, arrived right at supper time, just before the races. He had hitched a ride with our relative Brace to spend a couple of days with us here.

Tonight we were off the money barrel, as some may call it. But tonight it unfortunately didn’t work for us. The team of Spirit on Left Lead, Speirman on Right Lead, Vegas on Left Wheel and Zorba on Right Wheel didn’t start too badly at the sound of the horn. Rick turned the top barrel but coming to the bottom that Left Wheeler kept leaning to the left, just enough to have the barrel in our way.

I don’t usually like to post the photo of a knocked barrel but hey it happens and no one is exempt from it happening at sometime in their career. Our outriders Cole and Dustin rode Beau and Trixter tonight and both did superb jobs. They all are great athletes.

Growth means change and change involves risks, stepping from the known to the unknown.

Saskatoon: Night One (June 4)

June 5, 2015June 5, 2015 / suefraser / 2 Comments

It’s been a busy four days. Monday morning came way too fast. I thought in my mind that if we had packed up quite a lot of our belongings the day before, it would make our trip out of Grande Prairie a quick one. But it just didn’t pan out that way. When we use box stalls instead of our homemade barn system off our liner, it adds a whole bunch more work for us. Yes, the ponies get lot more room to rest but cleaning the manure out before departure takes some time. Then there is the loading and strapping down of the wagon and the Kubota.

My job, before I head out to help with the horses and barn, is to pack up our travelin’ trailer, drain all the tanks, hook it up and have it ready to go. I also make sure there are snacks, sandwiches and beverages in each vehicle for all the crew on our journey to the next stop.

The second last thing to load are the horses. As they get loaded into the liner and horse trailer, I go along and take down the electric fence and posts and tuck them away. Then we are off.

Managed to get away by 11:30am. We headed south to the Ranch back in Wetaskwin for an overnight stay. Just enough time for the horses to have a bit of a run around in their pens, reload the bin on the truck with oats, restock with hay, and…yes…plant some trees. Ricky brought some pine seedlings home and we planted them. When we talk about Team 23, this includes our crew at home that we are so thankful to have who oversee our Ranch while we are away. This includes our kids, our relatives Bruce and Bonnie, and our good friends Doug and Deb. We are thankful for all they do.

I really would have liked to stay two nights over at home. I was going into withdrawals as I missed my grandson Coy. You see, Coy and I have a special bond. We have spent a lot of time together in these past five and a half years of his life. I’m his Nana and Rick is his Papa. Amy, our daughter, is doing a great job raising a fine young man. He fills our life and those around him with so much joy. There’s nothing like being a grandparent, and you won’t really know what I mean until you become one.

As I only had a few hours to spend with him when we arrived home, I asked Coy if he wanted to run into town with me to get some supper for the crew. I told him we would be going to A & W. He replied, “Sure Nana, let’s go to ALIEN W! I’ll have chicken strips and fries please!” Oh the things kids say crack me up. Makes me forget all the things big people worry about and just enjoy life. Coy has a very good imagination when it comes to superheroes and costumes. He’s forever making things with paper and tape. This one day he was Optimus Prime. I’m really not sure who that is but he sure did do a great job in making his costume.

We received a very good magazine in the mail today, with a very special article inside that we would like to share with you. If you have not already subscribed to this magazine I would suggest you do, as it has so many great cowboy country stories in it from people and places all over Alberta and abroad. We’re excited to let you know this June/July issue has featured our home. We invite all readers to come in and join us for a nice cup of coffee, and stay and chat awhile. The magazine is called Canadian Cowboy Country. Head out to your nearest newsstand and pick up a copy for yourself. You won’t be disappointed as it is a very good read. Billy Melville, our chuckwagon historian, also features a story each issue from our chuckwagon world. You can go to their website for all the subscription information: http://www.cowboycountrymagazine.com.

What a beautiful night here in Saskatoon for chuckwagon racing: nine heats of pounding thunder making its way around the track. A very good crowd had gathered to watch the performance. I think this may have been the best we’ve had yet.

Tonight Rick was off of barrel 1 in the eighth heat alongside Rae Croteau on 2, Kelly Sutherland on 3 and Chad Harden on 4. Our hook was Left Leader – Spirit, Right Leader – Speirman, Left Wheeler – Vegas and Right Wheeler – Zorba. When the horn sounded that wheeler, Zorba hit it! What a powerhouse that horse is. Ricky drove the team around the barrel and just skimmed by the bottom barrel and charged to the track to steal the rail. The team went rail to rail to win the heat. The outriding boys, Chanse Vigen and Dustin Gorst, had to ride hard on Beau and Trixter to make the finish line to refrain from penalties. So glad they made it. Our team posted a 1:17.69, which was good enough for a sixth on the day placing. Looking forward to another beautiful day tomorrow, weather wise.

Live your life each day as you would climb a mountain. An occasional glance toward the summit keeps the goal in mind, but many beautiful scenes are to be observed from each new vantage point. Climb slowly, steadily enjoying each passing moment, and the view from the summit will prove to be astonishing.

The Travelin Trailer

Thoughts from the Voice Within

grandkids

Ponoka: Night One (June 26)

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High River: Night Four (June 21)

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High River: Night Three (June 20)

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High River: Night Two (June 19)

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Saskatoon: Night One (June 4)

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