It's been at least six months since we have produced an update for our followers. We have been very busy this year, and it seems to take longer to do everything these days! Summer at the ranch flew by as we kept busy placing the remainder of our 2016 Arizona winter/spring string with clients, selling five geldings over the summer and holding several private clinics here at the Home Ranch.
We managed to get away for two weeks in August to visit friends and horse clients in Jackson, Wyoming, Bob Bradley & Suzanne Grottendorfer, who are the owners of Wil's last personal horse, Woody. The two were gracious hosts at their gorgeous Hoback River Ranch, located at the mouth of Willow Creek Canyon, for our four-day Foundation to Finished Bridle-Horsemanship Clinic August 8-14. We had a dedicated and enthusiastic group of students eager to apply the Wil Howe Way to their horses. Several were long time polo friends of Suzanne and Bob, and they appreciated the performance cowhorse handle we put on our mountain horses as well. We stayed on for a few extra days and were able to sneak away and hit the trails with Suzanne and see some breathtaking Wyoming high mountain back country. We also traveled to Pinedale to catch up with our cowboy buddies, Kent and Boone Snidecor. The trip included a birthday party for Wil, who turned 75 in style on August 16th. With repeat clinic requests mounting, we have committed to return to the Hoback River Ranch next summer to hold another clinic. We hope to stay a while to train our WHR geldings in the cooler Wyo ming high country and punch cows in the Pinedale/Daniel, Wyoming, area as well. Life doesn't get better than that ...we graciously & humbly give God the glory for all those blessings.
As we continue to resist the pull of "Spacebook", as our preacher frien d Steve Friskup from Muleshoe Cowboy Fellowship calls it, we struggle to keep y'all informed of our happenings here at the WHR. Just remember, we are all about helping others and great riding geldings; always have been and always will be at some level. It's been our ministry, and we are able to reach people through the connection God has given us with horses.
Realizing Goals that Matter...
We would like to acknowledge some women who have worked hard to achieve their personal goals with their horses. One is Kelly Dixon of Los Olivos,California, who had another successful year of showing her WHR versatility gelding Dunnit, winning SYVEA High Point Championship. Now she has her eyes on another WHR gelding to continue expanding her horsemanship skills.
Another woman I am fondly proud of is Diane Nelson of Deer Park, Washington, whom we met this summer when she came to purchase her Dream Horse. Surviving and fighting, holding strong to her faith in Jesus Christ, Diane is in a battle for her life against cancer. Her joy and gratitude is a lesson for us all, and she is empowered to live the life she's been given to the fullest and glorify the Lord in doing so, even on the back of a buckskin gelding. Our horse Big Country was a blessing to her and she, a blessing to us. My prayers and love continue to flow to her.
Yet another is Linne' Dodge, owner of the Pendleton Whiskey Co. in Hood River, Oregon, and her grand buckskin horse, Everest. She proudly used him this year at the Pendleton Round Up Rodeo, running roping cattle out. Her summer started with a tune-up at my Cowgirls Only class in June, working cattle, included a trip to the Pendleton Round Up, and culminated with a backcountry trip with her husband and his WHR buckskin gelding, Timber. Squeezing precious horse time into their hectic business schedule, she knows horses are their priority and salvation to sanity. Anyone trying to keep it all together these days with demanding jobs and still make time for horses in their lives knows the importance of a "good one" and the joy a sweet-minded, well- trained horse can bring. Whether you are still working at a job or are retired and cramming a lot of "life" into your schedule, horses are a commitment, but they are well worth it because they can bring a grounding to your lifestyle and slow you to accept the moment as it is.
Being in the present moment and one with your horse, in the round pen, on the trail, or face-to-face with a cow, it's all the same and always will be; Horses never change. The world does, but they don't. They are available any day you need a lesson in humility, leadership. or facing fears. Change is what a horse requires from us; our mood, our actions, or intentions. With the right intention, you get the right response. As you think, so you are...what you put out is what you get back, with life and with horses...as you sow, so shall you reap. It's easy but hard, simple yet complex, and necessary for growth as an individual. That is the underlying attraction and affect that horses, as well as God, have on us. We challenge anyone who comes in contact with us to seek that refinement in life and their horsemanship; it runs hand-in-hand and must be lived to attain. So we encourage all, not to weaken, but to continue the journey with their horses and their life...we are.
With that said, we too are taking inventory on life, and for the first time in 16 years we won't be heading south to our Arizona winter OutPost. We have decided to stay at the home ranch and stoke the wood stove, work the horses here, and tend to some over-due ranch projects. Being in perpetual movement with our annual migration, moving 8-12 head of horses, our household, and living in the RV for six months, we hardly know if we're coming or going anymore. So we have postponed our winter sessions for now. We may make a trip later, but not with the whole herd. We are still available by appointment for private clinics, and will keep you all posted if we do end up heading south later and when our spring schedule of class dates firm up.
This fall, as Thanksgiving weekend draws to a close, we have so much to be thankful for, and Wil and I are especially excited as we celebrated our 40th anniversary. Although we officially ran off together in the spring of 1977, we always call Thanksgiving our anniversary because we knew when we met in the fall of 1976 that God had brought us together and that it was a love for life. Wow is all we can say...it's been quite a ride! Thank you too, for being a part of our wild and full life with horses.
May your days be blessed, Beverly & Wil
Upcoming New Fall/Winter WHR Geldings ...
Since we're staying at our Oregon Home Ranch, taking it easy this winter, we are sitting on a pretty fancy string of geldings that we are spending our time with. Here's a sneak preview of this outstanding fall/winter WHR gelding line-up that we're currently finishing in our WHR Foundation to Finished bridle horse versatility program, extreme trail training, and cow work. Bear with us and check in with Wil on their current status and progress over the winter, as a few already have deposits on them and they often sell before we get them posted to the main gelding page of our website. Mornings are best, Pacific time, 541-893-6535.
2010 Bay Roan "Big-Little Package" 14.2 hands 1100 lbs Here's a cute all-around cow horse. Top cutting horse bloodlines, including High Brow Cat, and talent to match. Gentle, big-hearted, and handy, he's been used as a turnback horse and handles nice in and out of the arena. He also loves the trails and is fun to ride. He's a willing traveler and boldly goes where asked, cool as a cucumber in trail obstacles, tarps, bridges, and rough terrain, bogs, and timber. He's been started at heeling and is an ideal rope horse prospect with a big hip for good stops. This guy has all the makings of a super versatility, ranch riding cowhorse for showing or to just take to the hills for trails or punching cows. He makes you grin!
2007 Big Stout Buttermilk Buckskin Trail & Rope Horse 15.1½ hands 1200 lbs Gritz is a bright-eyed, kind, big, gentle, for-anyone horse. Handsome looks and rides just as nice; he's a fun, go do anything horse. Great on the trails in the desert or mountains. Eager walker, he can cover the country. Willing-minded and works hard to please. In addition, he's a finished head & heel rope horse. Good practice and jackpot horse. Take him to the ranch versatility shows...or better yet, back to the high country! Gritz has the grit...and is sweet to be around!
Classy "Head Turning" Pretty Bay All-Around Cadillac! 15 hands 1200 lbs Levi is a cool horse. At eight, he's a solid and grounded individual. He has worn a lot of hats, having done a variety of jobs. He's a talented reiner with a ground-eating stop; a smooth, composed loper that enjoys his arena work but really shines out on the trail. Ears up, unflappable personality, been extensively trail ridden, crosses water, bogs, bridges and tarps, etc. He's been ridden around bon fires, downtown parades, ranch-sorted, and shown in ranch riding as well. The ideal versatility horse, started at heeling too, cowy and athletic yet a calm and cool-headed babysitter as well. He's everything we hoped for and more, taking to our WHR training program and acid tests with ease...he stands as one of our premier picks of the year.
2010 Tall Short-Backed Buckskin Trail Horse Deluxe 15.2 hands 1100 lbs Grasshopper is a people friendly, run-to-you kind of horse. He's gentle as a pet pig and willing minded to work, been used for trail riding and drill team; a really nice young horse that could go on in lots of directions. He moves nice enough for dressage yet has a big stop, enjoys cattle, and travels eagerly on the trail. Loves trail obstacles--nothing bothers him! He's perfect for the mountain trail trials or is the real deal in the back country. Still to come, a few more teasers in the making... the WHR way:
2010 Gorgeous & Solid Bay Gelding Gray's Starlight bred Quiet, cute, super nice individual
2006 Buckskin Gelding "Handsome Hunk" Very special & reliable trail horse deluxe
2006 Strawberry Roan Gelding Boonwhite Dancer bred Super Cowhorse Sort, rein, ranch