Bogs trap trucks AND!! a Horse Trailer ONE MILE IN on West Bragg equestrian trail - different!

Here's another report emailed in from a regular and adventurous couple riding backcountry, who encountered this interesting situation at West Bragg the other week. The recent heavy rainfall has some serious bogs and muskeg here, even on the extremely extensive 'new' trail plan being developed and this combination of a truck and horse trailer adventurously up past say three boggy areas and a good mile and a half, say, along an equestrian trail were all up to their axles.

Be interesting to listen to what K-Country conservation officers and the trail building specialists have to say on this one, eh - ??! Here are the comments from the riders' email: "Here are the pictures we took yesterday while on a day ride at West Bragg. You can choose whichever one you want. I believe the sighting of the trucks and horse trailer is on the “Iron Springs Trail”. You would reach the site before you reach the man made gate. I’m guessing the gate would be about 1 kilometre further south."

Feedback on the TOM SNOW TRAIL.........

This entry will be posted on 'Trail Updates' at www.pamasheton.ca in a day or two but for those of you heading to the foothills here's a report emailed in from a backcountry rider rated on the Intrepid-Plus scale (!).

Here goes: "We rode Tom Snow from Dawson last fall (Sept and Oct) and it was lovely. All the deadfall removed, some new sections of trail and we really motored. I love that trail. If you want to ride it fast I’m in, but walking that thing would kill me [see what I mean? - the Queen-of-Speed, grin]. On Tuesday last week we rode Tom Snow from Station Flats and again it was in good shape.

And for the blog, the bridge on Wildhorse has been repaired (by Howard Creek) and is highly recommended. We tried the old alternate way to the west of the bridge on the way back and the bog is really nasty now. Whoops, judgement error on my part. Did I mention the moose????"

Good Trainers are Goldust

Back during the five years I crafted the Equestrian Diary column for my local newspaper the Cochrane EAGLE beginning in 2002, I wrote just about everything related to horses. Blanket repairs, shelters (a unexpected favourite that one!), horse behaviour…….and clinicians.

A LOT of clinicians. The horse ‘whisperers’ known across North America, Canadian home-bred versions, specialists, generalists ……. in the end I just about out-clinicianed (not proper or correct English but it’s the most apt way I can think of describing the situation!) and many of them near talked-you-to-death.

I can remember interviewing participants on a couple on those Master World Talkers' courses who, frankly, went into mental hypnosis overload by the end of day two. Oops, when you’re dishing out fairly serious $$$, eh - ?

Many clinicians were amazing, some had moments, most were superb horseman, others were superb horseman but lousy teachers (I can remember attending a British clinic given by an Olympian I had waited, dreamed of for months and she couldn’t have taught a donkey to trot – an unbelievably disappointing day where I had anticipated all my cross-country questions would be answered succinctly, like before breakfast).

There are born teachers, as there are rare naturally gifted athletes, and those you can teach to teach, or to ride who have to work, work, work to find all the right tools, muscles and independent balance (right up to Olympic, I know, I’ve taught that deal).

And, last weekend, B.C. based Jonathan Field breezed through five blisteringly hot days with humour, very real interest in every single individual human and horse during both Horsemanship 101 and then 102….. and then Jonathan atop a chance ride on a big bay gelding with just a tad of attitude showed me three very neat techniques that went into my mental “could be useful” drawer.

They were, too, just a mere two days later! Isn’t ‘coincidence’ just wonderful - ?!

Jonathan was teaching at Patty Martin’s Twin Springs Ranch (tel 403-932-7817 or www.twinspringsranch.ca - the website’s still developing). The ranch’s atmosphere’s positive plus here and they specialize in competent pasture boarding, with both indoor and outdoor arenas – plus immediate access to wonderful backcountry trails.

Patty and Jonathan, I know, were talking about the possibility of another clinic later this year