horses

Saskatoon: Night Four (June 7)

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Another day, another dollar, as they say. What beautiful weather we had today. Very hot with some wind, thank goodness, or it would have been unbearable for some. I totally love the hot weather.

Our system was changed up a bit today with the early race time. We again enjoyed a quiet morning, just Rick and I, discussing our day-to-day journey so far. Some days people get so caught up in their jobs, duties and other things that they miss the moments that count. We love what we do but when people come into our lives, with different issues that affect their life and share them with us, we come down to their level and realize that the sport we are involved in just doesn’t mean so much in the big picture of things.

Rick and I are so thankful to have met a beautiful soul, Stephanie, her friend Chantelle and her kids this weekend. As I shared in yesterday’s blog, Stephanie’s fiancé has cancer. And they have been dealing with this for a while now. We are thankful to have been able to open our “Home Away from Home” lifestyle with the both of them. It was a time for Stephanie to let go, and just be, around the horses. It was therapeutic. I totally believe that people come into our lives for a reason, and they also leave for a reason as well.

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Having 21 head of horses on the road comes with a whole lot of love and care. One of our newest horses, Vegas, was showing a bit of soreness on his left front ankle. So we ordered up the vet from the University of Saskatoon to come out and check things out. Nothing serious was found, just a bit of a bruise. We take all injuries very seriously and tend to them immediately. They are just like our babies.

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With all ages of folks enjoying the races, an elderly lady was today’s lucky recipient of our mini chuckwagon. She was very excited, to say the least. We are so glad to put a smile on someone’s face.

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With the races taking place at 2:15pm, there was little time to sit after morning chores and before the beginning of races. In no time, I was on my way to the track with Cayley and our two outriding horses. This is my job, to get them to the outriders on time. Rick was on barrel 4 today with the same hook as yesterday: Speedy – Left Leader, Nickle – Right Leader, Sneakers – Left Wheeler, Law – Right Wheeler, with Bingo ridden by Chanse V. and Trixter with a new outrider, Cole Sommerville. They both did a great job. The horses started okay, but didn’t get after it after coming around the top barrel.  They usually have a bit more charge. At any rate, at the end of the race Rick managed to come up between Kelly and Rae to post a time of 1:17.40. Good enough for seventh on the day, and sixth in the show. Mark Sutherland won the title, and it was his first win of his career. We are sitting fourth in the world standings.

We are headed to bed early as we are hoping to get a very speedy start to go south to Medicine Hat in the morning.

Travelin’ Trailer update: For those of you who still follow me mostly through my email messages, please sign up to follow this blog. I will be discontinuing my email updates in the near future, so you all need to do this to continue to get my updates. It is very simple. When you’re on this http://www.travelintrailer.com site, click the “follow this blog” button and follow the instructions from there.

In life, what sometimes appears to be the end is really a new beginning.

Saskatoon: Night One (June 4)

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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.

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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.

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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.

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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.

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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.

Grande Prairie Stompede: Night Four (May 30)

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Still cold here today. I so wanted to sleep in. I’m not getting enough hours of Zzzzzs. Cody and Rick got up and fed morning oats, and then headed out to breakfast with Cody’s sponsor. I made a pot of hot coffee and tea for the crew to enjoy before the chores. There were a few slow-going kids this morning, as they went out to the cabaret for a couple of hours last night to have some fun.

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Cody lets Myra and Lucy sit on Ace.

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Time for a minty treat.

My nephew Shawn came by today with his girls to have a little visit and meet all the horses. Cody let them sit on Ace to snap a picture. Many of the horses love to have treats and the girls fed them some mints. A favourite for many.

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During this tour stop Harold Chapin, our farrier, has been busy resetting all our horses shoes. It’s a pretty big job but he manages to get through them, a few each day. The horse is such a magnificent animal. They all are amazing and are like people, in such a way that they all have their own personalities. It’s quite interesting when you get to know each one of them. We all have our favourites for different reasons.

Well, Rick hooked one of the best teams that we have ever had tonight off of the 3 barrel. Left Lead – Speedy, Right Lead – Nickle, Left Wheel – Sneakers and Law – Right Wheel. They are such an amazing outfit. Rory rode Ace and Dustin was on Andy. Both of these teams did an awesome job. The rains came down about 6 o’clock and it was cold and muddy. I had to drag out all the rain gear just to keep dry. The track here is one of the best tracks we compete on. All four wagons came into the barrels: Kirk Sutherland on 1, Jason Glass on 2, Rick on 3 and Kurt Bensmiller on 4. The horn sounded and they were off. Rick had an amazing start coming out into his lane. Kirk was in his lane, and Jason did not quite turn with them and was slower getting out, which allowed Rick to come alongside Kirk. Rick wears a Go-Pro on his hat when he races and it allows us to see just how the horses perform. Everything looked clean—he was ahead of Jason with room to ease down. Unfortunately the judging staff didn’t agree with this move. The judges came back to say, and I quote from the WPCA Inquiry Review, that Rick received “Wagon 3 moved Wagon 2 over to rail was too close to right leader then hit Wagon 1 on first turn” and  “3-second penalty was assessed to wagon 3.”  Rick also was penalized because the judging staff believed Rick’s wagon hit Wagon 1 on first turn. Yes, the two wagons did touch on the first turn, but according to a film that we reviewed, Wagon 1 passed over a bump, which in turn moved Wagon 1 into Rick’s wagon, thus being called interference.

Tomorrow is another day, and I’m very appreciative for all our Team 23 crew for how hard they worked over these last two weeks. It’s teamwork that gets us to where we are and to where we are going. Rick and I are very fortunate to have the horses that we do, the friends that we have, the people in our lives that come to support us. And we wouldn’t have it any other way. We are champions!

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Barn babes!

Barn babes!

Do it big, do it right and do it with style.

Grande Prairie Stompede: Night Three (May 29)

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Brrrrrrr! It was chilly this morning when we arose. Good thing I put the furnace on last night or I might have opted to stay in bed a whole bunch longer. Rick fed morning oats at 6am then headed in to tidy himself up and ventured off to his old elementary school, Hillside, to see the kids at a pancake breakfast. Chad Harden and Chad Fike also went along. Throughout the summer at each of the Tour stops, all the drivers and outriders are assigned to go out into the community to different functions to promote our heritage lifestyle. Some of the places they go to are schools, UFA, a sponsor, car dealerships, seniors’ lodges and hospitals, to name a few.

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I zoomed into the city at 11 to buy some more groceries for the crew. Made it a speedy trip, and then headed to a restaurant to meet up with Rick and Ken Drysdale, our sponsor from a few years ago. Some of you may remember the company Kendal Pipeline? Yes, we carried that tarp proudly for seven years. It was a great partnership that began as business but quickly became a friendship that has lasted to today. We must say that chuckwagon racing did well for Kendal pipeline and Kendal Pipeline did well for Rick and Sue Fraser and Team 23.We had lots of great times, and together won a World Champion title in 2004 and numerous shows along the trail. So many great memories.

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A day can go by quite quickly in this lifestyle we live. After lunch, I got back to our home on wheels and rushed to get the groceries put away and supper layered into the crockpot, with just enough time to take an hour’s nap before the 4 o’clock chores began. I have a hard time falling asleep, so I think maybe only 30 minutes of that counted. Will try to shoot for a nap again for tomorrow.

Coming off of barrel 2 tonight, Rick decided to keep the exact same lineup as last night. Spirit, Speirman, Vegas and Zorba, with the same two outriders, Rory and Dustin, riding Beau and Trixter. I give those boys credit, because it’s a job that takes a lot of talent with a very fit body to boot, especially if they have seven to nine rides in a night. Just as Rick had rolled into position, our lead man Rory was having a bit of a time trying to get a hold of the crosschecks of the two leaders to steady them in place for Rick. The lead horses kept backing up just a bit, refraining Rory from handling them and pointing them in the position to which Rick asked him. Then the horn blew. They started pretty good—Rick drove them around the barrels and came out right alongside Jason Glass on barrel 1. They were running neck and neck until the second turn, then our outfit started to fall back just a bit. Rick said Vegas didn’t run quite as fast as yesterday. Not sure why, but we managed to come out with a  1:18.68, good enough for 15th on the day.

We are sitting third overall in the standings after three nights of racing. If we manage to have a nice, fast, clean run tomorrow, we could find Team 23 vying for the win on Championship Sunday. Let’s cross our fingers and our toes that this will come to fruition!!! As I always say, it’s nice to get into the final dash of the meet, and a bonus to take home the win. Hope we can make Direct Horizontal, our sponsor, very proud this show.

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Live to learn, and you will learn to live.

All Set Up in Grande Prairie

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Well, we’re off and running! It’s hard to believe we’ve been in Grande Prairie already a week now. We’re settled in and routine is in place. It’s beautiful down here at Evergreen Park. We are situated just on the south side of the city amongst very tall evergreen trees. We are protected from any winds that blow. The ground here is sandy, just like the beach. The weather has been hot and dry; not complaining about the warmth, mind you, it just makes for a very dusty trailer, that’s all. And I’m not partial to dusting but this makes me do it every day in the trailer.

Today, after our morning practice runs with the ponies, all the horses were treated to a much-needed bath. They so enjoy the freshness of this. Although when they’re done if you let them go and run around in their pens, the first thing they will do is roll in the sand. So instead they get put in their stalls with their noon oats, hay and fresh water. Takes a bit of time to bathe 27 horses. Just like having 27 babies to look after. Thanks to the help of our hired girls Kim and Caylee, along with our son Cody and his sidekick Allie, it got done in record time.

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As the kids say at Christmas, only two more sleeps…until the first race night of the 2015 World Professional Chuckwagon Association season begins. All the drivers and their crews have arrived and settled in. It’s good to see everyone again and to meet all the new wee ones on the tour, and there are a few of them. There are also a few new barn hands who have come to experience a summer like no other, I’m sure. It’s a country way of life, and it can be addictive. Many will come back year after year to help out again and again.

I would like to make all of you aware that we have a Facebook page up and running. It is titled “Rick Fraser and Team 23 Chuckwagon Racing.” Follow along for more stories and pictures from throughout our days of the season and beyond. I look forward to sharing my journey with all of you. My objective is to journal each and every race day and sometimes on off days too. The posts will be late in the evening, so some of you may not receive it until the next morning.

Until next time….

Nothing in this world is impossible to a willing heart.