Strathmore Heritage Days: Day 1 (July 31)

August 1, 2015August 1, 2015 / suefraser / Leave a comment

Howdy Chuckwagon Friends,

Friday has arrived. The end of a week for most, a race day for us. What a beautiful day it was, right from morning through until the evening. Very hot midday. Not sure of the highest temperature but I sure enjoyed it.

The horses are sure feeling good. When we let them out into their pens in the mornings and the afternoons, they perform for us. They love to run, jump, and roll in the dirt. Rolling is their way to scratch their backs. It feels good!!!

Finding the perfect place to roll

Rollin’ over for a back scratch

Yee hahhhh!

Our Team 23 loves to watch them do their thing. It makes us feel good knowing they are feeling good. Once they’ve had 10 to 15 minutes to do their thing, they start to settle down and eat the grass on the ground or the hay that we feed them. Some of them even will lie down for a rest.

Gettin’ up…

…takin’ off…

…and runnin’!

We love our grey named Zorba. He’s been with us a few years now. He’s just a powerhouse kind of horse. Loves to do his job as a wheeler, either side.

Feelin’…

…GREAT!

Our chores went smoothly, as the girls got at it. Rick wanted to hook an outfit, along with cousin Troy Dorchester and neighbour Mike Vigen. Here in Strathmore, we are all parked beside one another. So the drivers and everyone in their camps help each other out when it comes to morning hooks. It sure goes pretty smooth that way.

Due to the hot weather, there is always someone bound to play in the water. And yes, Coy did just that.

Boots on

Fill ‘er up!

Both of them!

Now 1! 2! 3! JUMP!!!

He found the water hose and decided to have a little fun with it while Nana watched near by. Did I egg him on? You bet I did!!! That’s what Nana’s do.

After an enjoyable day in the heat, it was time to get at it. Day 1 of the Strathmore Heritage Day Races were just beginning. As there are four to a heat here, that means there are only nine heats in total. Rick was placed in the ninth heat, as he is sitting fourth in the world standings. Rick was hooked with Kurt Bensmiller on barrel 1, Kirk Sutherland on 2, Obrey Motowylo on 3 and Rick had 4.

Comin’ onto the track

Being on the short barrel, Rick decided to hook Air on the Right Lead, Speedy on the Left Lead, Sneakers on the Left Wheel and Law on the Right Wheel.

Team 23

The ponies were feeling great. The horn blew and away all four outfits went. Kurt got the rail, Kirk went alongside him. Obrey pulled in behind and Ricky turned out alongside Kirk. When they came around the second turn, Team 23 was starting to make a move. They were a horse length ahead and not slowing down!

Second turn challenge

What a performance all the way around. Coming down the homestretch, Rick had the others headed by two horse lengths. We all did a little celebration dance because it’s HUGE when an outfit runs three wide against his competitors and manages to win the race.

Third turn

Outriders headin’ to the race

When the dust settled, our running time was a 1:15.55, which was good enough for 12th on the day. Gary Gorst happily accepted Day Money with a posted time of 1:14.31. We’ll call him speedy!

Wonderful sponsor Terra HDD

Looking forward to another warm day tomorrow. We may even take in the parade! Well, okay, maybe not Rick. But I’m sure Coy would like to go on a date.

Promote what you love, instead of bashing what you hate.

Calgary: Night Eight (July 10)

July 11, 2015 / suefraser / Leave a comment

We’re keepin’ on, keepin’ on! One hour at a time. Three-quarters of the way through the show and we feel it. Everyone is tired from the early mornings and the late nights. This 10-day Stampede is a grind. We love to be here but it sure takes its toll when you don’t get enough sleep.

My plans were to get a mini-nap in today but…it didn’t come to fruition. It was our turn to cook the breakfast for both barns. I don’t mind doing that while Team 23 cleans the stalls and walks the horses. It all comes together quite nicely.

It didn’t take the kids long to disperse for their morning naps after they enjoyed a big breakfast meal. Rick and Cody headed around the corner to the film review room. They replay all the heats from the night before for the drivers and others to watch. Not that it can change how you did, mind you; it’s available just for one’s viewing pleasure.

With a few moments to myself, I decided to take a few photos of the quiet shed row. Once the forks and rakes are put away, the lights are shut off, and the fan is turned on the horses settle right down and rest. It’s pretty cool to see their transition from chores to quiet time. There’s just something to be said when we get to relax along with them in our shed row.

Amy, Coy and I headed out to the local Calgary Zoo. Coy was pretty excited to see all the animals. I didn’t realize just how big the zoo was. I think our kids were maybe 6, 8 and 10 when we frequented it last. There were so many animals to see. I asked Coy what was his favourite when we were all finished, and he said all of it. I do know that he sure liked the dinosaur display. He is hip on dinosaurs. And if you ask him what he’s going to be when he grows up, he will tell you a palaeontologist and an archaeologist as well. Pretty impressive, if you ask me.

Tonight’s racing was exciting for many of the drivers. It was the night where eight drivers would qualify for the semi-final run on Saturday. So many cheers and so many tears for family, friends and fans.

At the end of the evening, Kurt Bensmiller, Mike Vigen, Jamie Laboucane, Kelly Sutherland, Gary Gorst, Vern Nolin, Logan Gorst and Mark Sutherland were the top eight qualifiers. Out of those eight, Kurt Bensmiller was the one with the top aggregate time after eight nights of racing. He wins a pickup and a bronze trophy for his driving efforts. Congratulations to Kurt and his crew.

Alisha, Candice and I have been taking the outriding horses over to the infield for the races everyday. I always like to ride them over. Today Alisha did too.

Rick hooked Nickle on the Left Lead today, Speedy on the Right Lead, Sneakers on the Left Wheel and Zorba on the Right Wheel. Cole rode Ace and Chanse rode Andy. When the horn blew, Rick did his job and got around the barrels and onto the track in good condition.

Cole mounted his horse and was coming around when another outrider on the next barrel was out of control and ran into Cole. This put Cole behind getting out onto the track, which in turn made him late, then we received a one-second penalty for a late outrider. Unfortunate for us.

Tomorrow, we are reseeded again into new heats. I heard we are in the sixth heat and on barrel 1. I would include the draw but we have not gotten it yet. Looking forward to another great day tomorrow.

Strength does not come from winning. Your struggles develop your strengths. When you go through hardships and decide not to surrender, that is strength.

Calgary: Night Five (July 7)

July 8, 2015July 8, 2015 / suefraser / Leave a comment

Tuesday already. That means we are at the halfway point of the Calgary Stampede. The days go by very fast when we are here as it is such an important and busy show.

The air was pretty chilly this morning. I didn’t take a coat down when I headed to the barns but I could have used one. Once we got busy doing chores, I had warmed up.

It was laundry day for me today. Rick’s treat while here is dropping off his jeans and shirts with Cochrane’s Dry Cleaning By Dave. They come every day to the grounds from 10am until 1pm for drop-off service. Many cowboys utilize this service so they all look neat and tidy with their starched jeans and shirts.

I like it too as it lessens my load tremendously. We’re also fortunate to have a few machines donated for our use in the barns.

Once I got that all taken care of, Kaylee, Gary and I went to the Big Four to the lost and found. You see Kaylee lost her wedding band yesterday. So we wanted to report it. We’re hoping that it will be located by someone before we leave the grounds.

Out back at our barn we had some visitors that really paid us no attention. These ducks were just looking for some leftover oats to eat.

What a cute couple. I remember years ago Rick and I were discussing ducks, and I was clearly disappointed when Rick filled me in that the female duck was the dull one and pretty one was the male. He’s never let me forget it.

We have many fans abroad, and here we have Rick’s Aunty KooKoo (Sharon) with cousin Tammy and her daughter Sadie. Lots of our relatives love to get together at the cabin or their home, sit around the campfire and make bets on the races.

For the night’s races, my job (along with a couple of the girls) is to take the outriding horses over to the infield and tend to them. I have a tough time getting on the horse myself, so there’s always one of the guys to give me a boost up.

Tonight we brought over a beverage to celebrate our halfway point of the Stampede.

There’s no shortage of love for our horses in our barn. They all get number one lovin’! Ace loves to have his lip rubbed and Jesse has no trouble doing that.

Because of the redraw tonight, we got hooked with different drivers. So in turn we lost an outrider and had to hire a different one. Dustin was riding, but he had to go ride for his dad, Gary Gorst, as we were in the same heat. But not to worry as we picked up 2014 world champion outrider Chance Flad.

Rick decided to hook Spirit on the Left Lead, Ranger on the Right Lead, Sneakers on the Left Wheel and Law on the Right Wheel. Cole rode Beau again and Chance rode Stadium. They did a great job.

Rick was on 1 barrel. When he came in to park, he said he heard someone whistle and the horses jumped ahead of the barrel. Rick tried to back them up, somewhat successfully but we were still assessed a one-second penalty. The horn finally blew and away they went.

Unfortunate luck struck and the top barrel was hit, assessing us another five seconds. That one hurts. This takes us out of the running for the top eight so we will just be running for day money now.

Rick is a great skinner, and I’m proud of him and he’s done well thus far. We were also happy tonight how fast the horses ran. Tomorrow is another day and we will shoot to get a day money.

One of the happiest moments ever is when you find the courage to let go of what you can’t change.

Calgary: Night Three (July 5)

July 6, 2015July 6, 2015 / suefraser / 4 Comments

Rick and I are so very fortunate to have a Team 23 barn crew like these kids for our 2015 Calgary Stampede. We may have a lot of helpers but they have come to work, play and keep the morale up each and every day.

They keep us entertained let me tell you. For some of them, I call them my other adopted kids.

From left to right in the photo below, we have Kaylee (our daughter), Candice, Kim, Chris (our son-in-law), Cayley, Mylene, Jesse, Allie, Alisha, Me, Harold (our farrier), Rick and Cody (our son).

Morning chores have been getting completed very quickly in the mornings. The crew is very efficient. This leaves everyone a bit more time to catch up on some much-needed sleep, or to run some errands or even to get some laundry washed and dried.

Today, our relative Brace and I took our yearly trip to the Roundup Centre to check out all the booths and look at all the art displays. Was it ever crowded down on the grounds! But then again, when is it not? After all, it is the Greatest Outdoor Show on earth.

I treated myself to a nice souvenir sweater and a belt from one of the booths on the grounds. I was also craving a twist ice cream cone and so I had one. I told myself I better enjoy it, as they charged $5 for it!!! Yikes! But we crazy people pay for treats such as this. What a killing they make on the food down there.

While walking through the venue, we came upon this little jigger behind the board. I couldn’t resist taking a picture to share with you. He made me smile.

We had some guests pop by the barn before the races. First off, a little surprise from the Stampede Committee. They came and presented Rick with a beautiful halter for our horse Law. You see, Law won an equine award from last year’s stampede. They were just a little behind delivering it. But we will accept it just the same. Proud of that pony.

Our other guest was Dr. Shirley McClellan. Shirley told us stories of days gone by and how she followed the chuckwagon races, and still loves it today.

Two of our Team 23 members slipped off the grounds to help out at a pancake breakfast. Kim and Candice went to the Sunwest Church to participate by giving kids rides on horses supplied by Camp Evergreen. What a feel-good story when you can make a child smile.

Yesterday’s sponsor was Terra HDD Solutions. Scott and his clients were thrilled to watch the races from an infield suite, and then come back to the barns to meet and greet us. We like to give barn tours to give the people a sense of what it is we do and how we do it. A huge shout out to Terra HDD Solutions for the great sponsorship here at the Calgary Stampede.

It was a cool evening for races. I think my husband may have even donned on his long underwear for tonight. I know he was cold and so was I. But I didn’t have any long johns. Boy, this weather has been from one extreme to another.

Our hook tonight was Spirit on Left Lead, Ranger on Right Lead, Air on Left Wheel and Zorba on Right Wheel. They sure started hard but not quite enough to get the rail position over competitor Evan. They were running okay but coming down the homestretch they just seemed to quit. They posted a 1:11.68, which gave us a position of 13 on the day and we are also sitting 13th on the three-day average.

We have one more race tomorrow coming off the 3 barrel. Then there will be a redraw to start all over at the different barrel positions. The name of the game is to stay clean and steady. Our goal is to be standing on that stage come Sunday evening.

Keep your head up. God gives his hardest battles to his strongest soldiers.

High River: Night One (June 18)

June 19, 2015 / suefraser / Leave a comment

We arrived safely into the town of High River on Tuesday around 2pm. On the way out of Medicine Hat, there was a big truck DOT (Department of Transportation) stop. Some of the chuckwagon outfits got pulled over and checked out for different things.

We managed to bypass them, thank goodness. We don’t need any trouble there. We do get our trucks inspected before we hit the trail in the spring, so we really have nothing to worry about. It’s more of a hassle when you have livestock on because you don’t want them to have to sit too long in the trailer.

The three-hour trip here was just right. A good time for me to just sit and think. The weather was perfect when we arrived and the committee had mowed all the grass where we parked. It looked so nice. We got the pens set up in record time and unloaded the ponies to run around and eat fresh grass. It sure didn’t take long for more of the outfits to fill the grounds. I always say we are a band of travellers going from town to town doing what we love.

Yesterday the rain settled in for a good part of the day so we decided that it must be a movie/nap afternoon kind of day. First though Rick and I headed into town on a date, just the two of us…to Peavey Mart. One of my favourite stores. We were on the hunt for a “Y” for the hose. We found one.

Then we also came out with some bright orange “Colt Cosgrave” socks for Rick! He just had to have them.

And one other thing came out with us too, a new cooler for the beverages. It’s supposed to be some great item that keeps your ice frozen way longer than most others. We’ll see just how that fares for us as the summer goes by. So far, I think it was a good purchase.

From there it was back to the grounds to cuddle in to watch a movie. It was no thriller to say the least, as Rick fell asleep in the first 10 minutes. I watched it right until the bitter end, hoping it would get better but it didn’t. NEXT!

Today Greg and his right-hand man from CBC arrived to do some filming and interviewing. They wanted to put together a story on our grey wheeler Zorba. Last year, Zorba had some health issues so we had him looked after by some local vets and Renault from the university. It really was amazing what they did, how they helped him and that he is back in the so-called bullpen today. We are so thankful. They will be airing this sometime during the Calgary Stampede.

So Rick and his equine team tonight were placed in the ninth and final heat coming off the 4 barrel. Alongside were Kurt Bensmiller on 1, Obrey Motowylo on 2 and Kirk Sutherland on 3. The hook tonight was our short barrel team of Speedy on Left Lead, Nickle on Right Lead, Sneakers on Left Wheel and Law on Right Wheel.

Chanse couldn’t ride for us this time as he’s riding for Kirk. So we hired up Cole Somerville to hold the leaders on Ace and we still had Dustin throwing stove with Andy. Cole did an excellent job holding the leaders, Rick said. Cole was excited to hear that.

When the horn blew, the horses started and charged hard. They maybe didn’t get the rail but were three wide all the way around the track and managed to cross the finish line first, stopping the clock at a 1:16.99, good enough for sixth on the day.

I think he had an edge to go just that little bit faster at the end when his hat blew off. Ricky’s hat never falls off. I think I will have to get him one of those strings to tie under his chin if this keeps up.

Thank you to TerraCore Rentals for sponsoring us this race meet here in High River.

We were so happy to meet a little fan named Zack tonight, along with his little sister Ali.

You see, Zack was the lucky recipient who received our mini chuckwagon giveaway after the race. Zack showed so much excitement when he came back to the barn. He couldn’t say thank you enough. He was all smiles.

Ricky signed a poster for the kids, gave them a few candies and then they all climbed up into the wagon for a photograph. Those kids sure made our day.

I have to tell you, we learned today that a close friend’s family member passed on today. Just a young person in about their 20s. Broke our hearts to hear this, and my heart hurts for the parents. Every day is a special day and we need to live every day to the fullest with no regrets.

Be grateful for small things, big things and everything in between. Count your blessings, not your problems.

The Travelin Trailer

Thoughts from the Voice Within

horses

Strathmore Heritage Days: Day 1 (July 31)

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Calgary: Night Eight (July 10)

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Calgary: Night Five (July 7)

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Calgary: Night Three (July 5)

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High River: Night One (June 18)

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