These are from December of 2003 - Bow enjoying the mud.
These are from a creek crossing in March of 2003:
There's got to be a sponsorship in here somewhere! Cath's wearing her official Powerbar T-shirt and I'm sure those are equine, carrot-flavored Powerbars she's tempting Bow with!
Here are a bunch of pictures of Bow looking studly. Or geldingly. In any case, showing off, but it looks like Cathy is, as always, on top of his teenage rebellion.
These pictures were taken as Cathy and Bow returned from their Bastille Day lesson with Ray (July 14). I didn't get out on the trail with them, but the report is that Bow conquered all trail obstacles in his path. They both look pretty happy about the turn of events!
Cathy, demonstrating her openess to all style alternatives, got Bow a new fly mask. Although the look might be a little extreme, if any horse can carry it off, it's Buckwheat. What a clothes horse!
These pictures were taken just after Buck's June lesson with Ray Berda. It started at 8 AM, so Bow had to give up breakfast for the learning experience. He's looking mature and calm in new Zilco tack, although in the last photo, you can see that he's still dreaming of breakfast.
The following couple of pictures are from Bow and Cathy taking a lesson from Ray Berda (5/18/02). It was dicey at first but, as you can see, by the end of the lesson, Cathy was smiling; and at the very end was being a smart ass to the Official Expedition Photographer - "Speak to the hand", my ass! Or maybe they were just tired of the papparazzi.
Bow Takes a Shower
Now that Buckwheat's home, Cath, Bow, Al and I rode out almost to Smith Grade. Mr. Whatever overcame all obstacles, including the creek crossing, in his usual insouciant fashion. He was so relaxed, Al almost fell asleep. The only one who had any nerves at all was Cath, but it's understandable: riding him is like climbing on the Empire State Building, then having it move. Anyhow, Cath decided The Boy needed a shower. As you can see, we've discovered yet another thing that really bothers him.
Bow left on Friday, 8 March, for Boarding School. Well, actually, he's going to Nancy Twight's for a couple of weeks to a month to get put under saddle and start some light trail work. He started out by executing a perfect trailer load and we expect his superior performance to continue. He doesn't seem nearly as concerned about it as his mom does.
Ray Berda came out for another lesson with Buckwheat and Cathy on February 16. Although rain was forecast, the day turned out nicely, so Cath had no excuses for backing out.
Ray had Cathy lead Bow away from the ranch, with friendly horses in the pasture, and at least one horse leaving - you can just see Bonnie and Vannie in the background on a couple of the pictures. Bow and Cathy's job was to walk the fence line, out and back, keeping a respectful distance from each other. Ray just laid back and coached Cathy - you can see him making himself small in the left background of several of the pictues. It was a tough battle - just look at Cath's face - but I think they got it by the end of the lesson.
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Bow and Cath showing off their Christmas finery - he almost does go to sleep while Cathy is foo-fooing with his glitter wreath; check it out.
Kevin (Cathy's husband), Jett (Cathy's son), and Juan (Kevin's partner in crime) came up to do build an addition onto the barn. Kevin instantly earned a place in my Roll of Honor by immediately recognizing the perfectly sized horse when he saw Big Al. Who said Iron Man participants were crazy? Okay, it was me and I still think they're crazy - I've just moved toward smart *and* crazy.
