August 10 – Wollbach

All of us at the Wollbach horsemanship camp

On the last day of the last camp, the participants had the crowd in awe as they showed of their horses and everything they learned throughout the last four days. Alicia and Bri judged the novice classes and Kevin and Robin judged the advanced classes. First and second place winners received a complementary DQHA hat, and third place received a DQHA lapel pin.

After four days of intense horsemanship lessons, a few were tired but everyone was excited about all they learned. Galina started off the camp with only a handful of rides under her belt, but ended the camp right along with the rest of the group. Hans not only conquered the left lead lope this week, but is working on drills for a lead change. Melanie on her sorrel mare showed off her bronc riding skills the first day and placed second in the reining class the last day.

Irmi showed her mare in the trail.

There were 12 camps in Europe in six weeks and the camp here at the Kayser Training Stable in Wollach, Germany marks, the last of the 2008 summer AQHA horsemanship camps. We’ll be flying out of Munich bright and early Tuesday morning.

Julia took first place in western pleasure.

August 7 – Wollbach

Day 1 focused on basic horsemanship.

Last stop, Wollbach, Germany. We caught up on some well-deserved sleep before we left the camp in Prague. Hannah, one of the translators, showed us around Prague before we hit the road again. The Texas Tech team rented a van to get from one place to the next, so picture a 9-passenger van on the autobahn. Dr. Kris Wilson has been over here quite a few times with camps, clinics and judging, so he is quite a bit more confident on the European road systems. Kevin Burns sat in the front with plenty of maps handy to guide us in the right direction.

Micky Kayser, at the Kayser Training Stables in Wollbach showed us around central Germany on Wednesday before the camp started. Not far from the camp, the fence that once divided east and west Germany stood. Now, sculptures and remnants of the fence are there for all to see.  All history aside, we also visited a small amusement park and rode the toboggan track.

Melanie Ruescher and her sorrel mare.

Wednesday night before the camp, all the participants got together for a barbecue, and Texas Tech divided the groups so in the morning they could “hit the ground running.” They were a little bit nervous to do the horsemanship pattern, but by the end of the week they should all be pros. Many of the participants are clients from Micky’s barn, and some have traveled from other parts of Germany just to see their friends from Texas Tech again.

Thursday was the first official day of the camp, where the instructors broke down the basic parts of horsemanship: seat, moving away from pressure, guidance, speed control and so on. I’m guessing many of the campers might be a little bit sore the next day, but everyone was

Pieces of the fence that once divided East and West Germany.

excited about the improvements they have already made after the first day.

August 4 – Prague

Monika Rolínková

I caught up with Texas Tech University in Prague to see the grand finale. Monday was the team’s last day and time to show off everyone’s skills. Dr. Kris Wilson from Texas Tech said he had seen much improvement over the last couple days. The camp took place at the El Paso Ranch just west of Prague. It was only a couple-hour train ride from Kreuth, but the culture and language is very different.

The restaurant at the El Paso Ranch resembles something from an Old West saloon, with the buffalo head hanging over the fireplace along with Indian and Spanish vaquero replica hanging on the wall. You can order grilled chicken and fries or steak and potatoes, but when it says “beef” you might want to ask what part of the cow it comes from.

Jiři Spurný

Monika Rolínková dominated at the mock horse show. Her palomino had the crowd in awe with her sliding stops in the reining class. Dominika Horská loped around like a pro the last day, but started out the week a little leery working in the open outdoor pen. Jiři Spurný was excited to win the bronze medal in the horsemanship class.

Dominika Horská

Many of the participants had little show experience, but everyone had the chance to show off their horses in the end. To top off the horsemanship experience, the participants had the chance to watch the 2007 AQHA World Championship Show finals.

July 30, 2008 - Kreuth, Germany

Because there are so many camps in a short period of time, I have not been able to make it to all of them. I met up with the team from Sam Houston State University on the last day of their first camp in Kreuth. Dr. Matt McMillan is going to fill us in on what I missed:

Upon arriving in Munich from Vienna, we traveled by car to Kreuth for one and a half hours to begin our next camp in the Osterbayernhalle facility.  After arriving at the largest privately owned equine facility in the world, we were amazed at the size and space available to us to conduct our clinic.  That evening, we met with Rainer Maierhofer, president of the Bavarian Western Riding Association, and the 19 clinic participants.

After brief introductions, we began to make groups for the next morning.  Four groups were arranged so that two would meet early morning and afternoon and two would meet late morning and afternoon.  It worked out great so that each group only had three to five participants per session.

The first day, we worked on the fundamentals of control and riding.  On days two and three, we practiced exercises in western pleasure, horsemanship, trail, reining and working cow horse.  The participants were very excited every morning and worked hard to make progress with their horses.  Outside of the clinic, the participants took us to Regensburg for some Bavarian culture.  We ate traditional Bavarian cuisine and visited with many of the participants.  It was interesting to see the differences and similarities of our cultures.

In the end, we met many German people who are passionate about their horses and horsemanship abilities.  While we may have had some differences in language and culture, one thing was for sure that we all have a deep passion to become great horsemen and ride good horses.

August 2 – Kreuth

The youth at the second Kreuth camp were ready to work.

The Paso Finos took over the big arena, but there are plenty of other arenas to ride in. We can to take over the Osterbayernhalle on Monday and Tuesday. We all met together for dinner on Friday to try to organize the groups so they could hit the ground running Saturday morning. The Kreuth camps divide the participants into riding times so they are able to get more individual attention.

The number of paint-colored horses by far outnumbered the rest. There are spotted Tinkers, Shires and a handful of Quarter Horses. The advanced youth groups came ready to work. Many of them had show experience and were excited to work with college students from the States.

Even with the Paso Fino World show going on, there were more than enough arenas to work in.

After a short visit at the second Kreuth camp, I am headed for Prague to meet up with Texas Tech. Hopefully we will hear from SHSU and they will let us now how the Kreuth camp went.

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August 2, 2008

Samanatha Eckert from Indiana.

We are finally competing. I was here early enough to go over to the trade show hall and visit all the booths. I have been sitting here in the stands and watching the barrels. I have already made my run, and unfortunately took out the third barrel and walked my horse home to save him for the poles.

Just sitting in the stands is interesting. I have met so many neat people. I am now sitting with Samantha Eckert from Indianapolis, Indiana. She is here for hunt seat equitation and trail. Samantha is a past American Quarter Horse Journal Junior Journalist. She is enjoying her last trip to the Ford Youth World and is cheering the Indiana team on. She is going to attend McMurray in Kentucky on an equine scholarship.

I was glad to be watching when my friend from Mississippi, Shelton Headley, broke 17 seconds with a 16.9 in the barrels. I met him last year in Fort Worth and enjoyed riding around with him and couldn’t wait to see him run again. He has set the bar high for a repeat as the 2007 youth barrel racing world champion. It is fun talking to everyone around here and finding out how long it took to get here, like Samantha. She said it took her 11 hours.

I still have my pole and stakes run to come, and I am looking forward to my time back in the stands. Time to go resaddle and get ready. Enjoy the show on the Web.

August 2, 2008

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Megan McMullen from Norris, TN, Ginger Chant of Abilene, TX, and Jenny Bivins of Amarillo, TX.

My prelims pole run left a little to be desired in my book, but I am happy to say I am coming back for the finals, and that always gives me a shot to do better on my next run. To my surprise I made a clean stake run. I promise I am not exaggerating when I say I have run stakes less than five times. We finished the prelims in sixth place.

After returning to the stands I met a group of girls who show what AQHYA can do. There were three girls from all over who are good friends from competing. Megan McMullen from Norris, Tennessee, competes in performance halter and western riding, along with Texans Ginger Chant from Abilene and Jenny Bivins from Amarillo. They were taking in the excitement of the speed events.

This has been a really long day and the weather is extremely hot, and this from a Texan! I am ready to rest up for tomorrow and wish all the roping contestants good luck. Oh, and to my new Arkansas friends, some speed event competitors have nice hats, too! Sorry I didn’t get your names, but you are great fans and supporters for your state.

August 1, 2008

AQHYA contestants and moms from Illinois: Chayna DeNicolo, Anna Ricobene, Taylor Yuhas, Dawn Yuhas, Marcia Freeman, Debbie Ricobene and Carrie DeNicolo waiting to eat at On The Border.

I made it, barely. You always have to plan for the unexpected. I made great time all the way through Texas, and then we get to Oklahoma and for some reason they plan road construction: Miles and miles of bumper-to-bumper, 100-degree weather. The truck started running hot, and we had to turn the air off.

Then we had to try to make it to the Oklahoma State Fair Park. You would think that, having come here before, I would make it, no problem – wrong. I actually waved at the fairgrounds twice on my trip around. Get very detailed directions from wherever you are coming from. There were two adults and myself driving, and we still missed it.

After finally arriving, we drove all around trying to find where to unload. The AQHA office was wonderful help and got me checked in quickly, but I was at my wit’s end trying to get into my stall and get my shavings; I was wearing out.

Afterwards, we found our motel and retreated to rest and go eat. It was not very far to find On The Border. While waiting in line I finally slowed down enough to notice that there were other contestants all over. The first ones I asked were from Illinois, and they had been here since yesterday. I was curious as to how they were handling the 103-degree weather. After talking to them, and realizing that I am not the only one having a hot day, I sat down and enjoyed my cold Coke and great meal.

Now with a little rest and a few miles to the arena, I think I will be ready for the new day. There is no way to tell you how many people are here! Until tomorrow!

July 31, 2008

Today is the day – we’re on the road to Oklahoma City. We got a late start; we didn’t get in from the rodeo til after 2 a.m. When I left I was sitting in the barrels and breakaway. If I can hold on, I might have a chance for all-around cowgirl. It is a real long shot, though.

I left Henry and Willie at Lisa’s barn for the weekend. Elvis is already turned out in one of her pastures. It’s sure hard to leave Henry. I think he’s going to miss me as much as I’m going to miss him. Maybe next year he can make the trip; he deserves it. Lisa has won many awards on him through AQHA, and adding a youth title would be another jewel.

We have already made it to Ft. Worth and have another 190 miles to go. There are heat warnings out for today and the whole weekend; It’s going to be a hot time in OKC. I know they have already had the opening ceremonies, and I can’t wait to get there. I will have a lot of work to do when we get there to get the stall ready and get checked in, but I am ready. I’m glad to have Lisa with me to help; she’s another set of eyes for me. She knows Rub so well, and me, too! She will know if either one of us needs anything. She can adjust Rub if the trip or the stay in the stall has been too hard. She was with me at the open show and I am so lucky to have her here again. Well, I will see you all shortly!

July 30, 2008

Too pooped to enjoy a foot massage.

It is Wednesday, and the vacation is over. We have hit it hard, early. I had to get up and take care of the dogs before I left and finish packing for the Ford Youth World. I made sure I picked up my health certificate. I headed to my good friend Lisa Hall’s place to stay the night and go to a rodeo at Gatesville. I’m entered in the barrels and breakaway roping there tonight.

I made it to Lisa’s barn early enough to work on the horses and get them cleaned up. I brought all four horses. I’m running Henry in barrels and Willy in roping at the rodeo, and Elvis the pony came along for the ride. Rub will get the night off for the long ride tomorrow.

After we got the horses put away at Lisa’s it was off to Waco and Standard Hat Works, to get my hats cleaned and shaped for the show. Of course I was able to find a great straw hat for the summer heat. While I was waiting for the hats to get cleaned, we did a little shopping and pampering. We found a great strip mall with some sales and a book store. More importantly we found a nail shop and got a pedicure. I was exhausted and my feet hurt so badly from all the walking at Schlitterbahn.

Like I said, now the vacation is over. We are headed back to Lisa’s to eat dinner and get loaded for the rodeo. Lisa is going to make the trip to the rodeo and the show with me.

Don’t forget the electrolytes if you are coming to Oklahoma. I spoke to Dr. Marty Tanner again, and he reminded me how important it is to keep Rub hydrated while there. He should drink more than 15 gallons of water a day. Stay cool on your trip.