May Practice Day at the Arena

Several members took advantage of our LARA arena on Saturday. The round pen and arena offered a "controlled environment" so we could work on our horsemanship skills. Elaine and Katrina did some nice rail work, although Katrina's pony got tired fast and laid down with her twice. Ponies are so much fun! Lisa brought Storm out, who once again impressed us with his new-found "horse sense!" Thanks again to Jennice for the hard work that she put into Storm so he would become a good riding partner for Lisa! Karen and Taj worked on steering at the canter, and only slightly frightened Traci and Onyx when they thundered toward them! This was Onyx's first time at the arena and he did great! His owner Sharon even climbed aboard and enjoyed the ride! All smiles! A nice breeze allowed us to remain at the arena thru mid-day, then we enjoyed a nice picnic lunch in the shade! Click here to see some pictures of the practice day!

Poker Ride at McCulley Farms

We had a nice long weekend at McCulley Farms. Some of us drove there on Friday and got an early start on the weekend. It was really hot, but we had a great time. Lisa, Carol and Kim arrived a little later than planned on Friday, so they spent time setting up camp and getting their horses settled. Mike and Traci brought Onyx for his first camp out and the debut of his trail riding career. He is the Fresian who thinks he is a quarter horse, so as long as nobody tells him any different, life will be good!

Saturday we struck out on a three hour ride in the woods and along the Withlachoochie River. Again it was hot, but the scenery and fellow riders made it a great day. Lisa's horse Storm, who recently returned from 90 days of boot camp behaved very well, and so did Busta, who had 30 days of concentration camp under his belt. Nobody in our group had a good enough poker hand to win any money, but Mike did find a mystery card worth $10, which he spent on raffle tickets! It was all to support a good cause, so money well spent.

Saturday night we had a big dinner and got cooled off by a quick thunderstorm. After the rain passed we enjoyed a campfire and then turned in for the night. Sunday was a beautiful day... only about 50 degrees when we awoke. The early birds headed out at 8AM to get in a ride before we went home, and others struck out a little later. Everyone had a good time and we look forward to supporting the ride next year. Click here to see pictures of our weekend!

LARA Members Enjoy Walk About Tour with Clinton Anderson

Several members of LARA traveled to Kissimmee to watch and learn at Clinton Anderson's Walkabout Tour. After getting up VERY early and surviving the several hour drive, we spent all day at the Silver Spurs arena, soaking up all the training and fun we could handle. Of course there was plenty of shopping available and we didnt miss out on any of that! Lisa, Paula and Kim all joined the No Worries Club and are looking forward to learning even more. After a long day Saturday, we had a good dinner at Outback Steak House (where else?) and then turned in at the hotel to get some rest and get ready for the next day. Sunday was more of the same, and at the end of the day, we had soaked up all the knowledge that we could. We look forward to practicing all that we learned and re-living the memories of the fun weekend that we shared! For more pictures, click here!