Build a Bond Beyond Belief
This newsletter contains:
Shift to new venue
New Ride at Mt Lyford
Riding to do:
Natural Horsemanship Club
Riding weekends at Mt Lyford
Becoming a Horsey Parent Course
Latest in Saddle Club
Sponsoring your horse
Up Coming Events:
Horsemanship Clinics: With Bryan McVicar and Ken Faulkner
Video Night
Latest stories
Handy to know horse hint
Hello Everyone
Welcome to the Spring Newsletter. I finally have good news about our home! Following the collapse of our land purchase I have signed a lease with John and June Wilson up the Otahuna Valley (where we currently ride) to run the horse riding from there and use part of the woolshed and the farm for trails. After 5 years of temporary ground we have landed, and I am thrilled with John and June’s invitation. More about this further down. We have had some lovely rides in this fabulous warm weather. A lot of new riders are joining the Natural Horsemanship Club and having a great time learning and enjoying their time with their horses. Come and join us.
Shift to New Venue
I am so thrilled about our new place I can’t believe it. I have for all these years loved riding up and down the Otahuna Valley with its creek and secluded feel, and now we cn live there. Abi and I have been thinking haed about how best to use the space and set things up for function, safety, and flow.
We are planning to move to Otahuna Valley on 2 and 3 December. We have three working bee days on the Friday, 14 November, Sunday, 16 November and Wednesday, 26 November. Each day begins at 10.00 and there is a variety of jobs to do to help settle us in and get ready for action. If anyone has a waratah banger that would be useful to bring as there is a lot of that to do.
New Ride at Mt Lyford
Pip from Sherwood, myself and others have been working on these iconic NZ huts near Sherwood Lodge on the Lottery River over the Winter and Spring. We intend to have them finished before Xmas. They are state of the Art old huts with fire place, copper, outside shower and toilet, cabbage trees, river and bird sounds!
We are offering an overnight ride to these huts with bar b que dinner and breakfast provided by Sherwood Lodge from Mt Lyford for $395.00pp for the two days. It is a stunning 6 hour ride over and back. We take a couple of different routes for variety and there is the option to stay at the huts and do day rides from there before returning to Mt Lyford. Of course if the sandflies get too bad you can always book into the lodge and enjoy the luxury of Sherwood Lodge. Got to go for this folks, it is a “pearlerâ€.
Other Riding to do
Half day and all day rides can be enjoyed by everyone at any time. We have a great new all day ride that takes us up to the top of the summit road, where we have lunch looking over Lyttelton Harbour, and return through a fabulous established stand of native forest. Take a look on the route guide on the website, www.otahunariding.co.nz.
The Over the Top Ride is a great family ride. Our next one goes on 27 and 28 November with spaces and anyone with two or more in their party can book an Over the Top Ride.
The Natural Horsemanship Club is put together by Abi. Many new riders have joined this group recently with three groups meeting during the week. This is a regular group of riders who meet up and learn all they want about this amazing method of communicating with the horses. There is opportunity to work towards attaining levels if you wish. Anyone welcome on your horses or ours. Fee is the maxxx card.
The riding weekends at Mt Lyford are always successful. We have some mothers and daughters looking to book another group. As always anyone can book a weekend for themselves. We run them with a minimum number of three riders. $320.00pp includes accommodation, lunches and spas.
Becoming a Confident horsey Parent. Again these courses are proving to be very effective. They are simple, short, and enable parents to equip themselves to be involved in their children’s riding activities. There is a special emphasis on safe handling. Cost $145.00pp Take a look at the flyer on the Otahuna website. www.otahunariding.co.nz/parent.html
Report on Otahuna Saddle Club
This has been a record term for numbers in the saddle club with 23 young riders honing their handling and riding skills and learning new ones. The progress and good habits developing in these young riders is really impressive. We are always saying how we wished we could have started in a saddle club and where we would be now if we had. Abi is organising Russel to do some assessing soon so watch this space for riders with levels coming up. The dates for the holiday programmes will be out soon, so book now to be sure of a place and remember parents and other family members are welcome to join in. There is no excuse you can do the confident Parent Course before hand if you need to.
Horsemanship Clinics: Ken Faulkner
We have Ken Faulkner coming across from Brisbane again on 7, 8, 9 and 10 March, 2009 to run a 4 day clinic at our new venue. Keep this date free and get into this quick. Ken is one of the World’s best trainers in Natural Horsemanship, and this is always a very inspiring clinic. Again horses are available to ride in the clinic from us for $50.00 per day.
Cost $680.00pp to ride, $60.00 per day to watch.
Places are secured by a non refundable full payment paid two weeks before the clinic. A late fee of $100.00 applies for payments made after this. Download the registration form from www.otahunriding.co.nz
Video Night
Abi has set a date for the first Video Night! It is Friday, 5 December at 7.30pm. The venue will be at Abi’s house which is 7 Lyttelton Street, Lincoln.
We will watch a video/DVD on Natural Horsemanship for about 2 hours, then have a shared pot luck supper and a chance to ask questions/catch up while eating. So bring along a plate and $5 (unless you are a WFR in which case you can pay in cash or use hours worked to cover it). This is open to anyone who wants to learn about Natural Horsemanship so invite your friends and get them involved! Please let Abi know numbers before Wednesday, 3 December. Thank you. abi.ricketts@clear.net.nz
If people are keen to have another one then we can arrange a date and venue at the end of the night. If you would be willing to open up your home for these in the future please let Abi know.
Sponsoring your Horse
We have our first sponsor for our horse Jimmy, and the tee shirt with them both on is in the pipeline. There is now an opportunity for you to support your horse by setting up a sponsorship for them. You receive a two monthly update on their news, and what your money is being used for to assist your horse, a photo, and of course you get to continue to ride “your†horse whenever you ride with us. There is also the Tee shirt with “your†horse on it.
To sponsor simply e mail Kate on kate@katetapley.co.nz, and we set up a sponsorship online.
Latest stories
Please write in any of your stories to me and I can add them to the newsletter and the websites. Everyone has a story to tell around horses.
There are so many stories to tell let me see. What about the courage of some of our riders both child and adult, and the way they face such a lot of fear sometimes to go along with the idea of a horse ride after many years or following an accident or a fright previously with a horse. Whether the idea to come riding is their’s or their mate’s or friend; from somewhere they chose to go O.K. lets do it. I really admire that risk taking attitude of going into the unknown with trust. The reward at the end of freedom and competence is so much greater. Who has some of these stories for us. I along with others I am sure would love to hear more on this important subject.
Handy to know horse hint
I am beginning to understand how Leadership more than anything else is what makes us safe around our horse. Leadership will soften a horse, offer confidence, quiet, and thought to a horse. These results I think are the product of good leadership.
Be sure to look up the blog. It is full of great things. www.katetapley.co.nz/news
From the team at Kate Tapley Horse Treks
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From the Team at Kate Tapley Horse Treks