Big Canyon Weekend

This past weekend was our 5th Annual Horsetales trail ride and the group headed to Big Canyon Inn. Located on Hwy 7 between Bassett and Springview, Nebraska - just north of the Niobrara River - Big Canyon is one of the deepest in Nebraska and filled with much western folklore, including stories of horse thievin', Doc Middleton. Fellow Cowgirl Weekender, Jo Schaaf of Atkinson, was our trail host, guiding us on the best trails and providing us with the history of the land.

The trails at Big Canyon are beautiful. You can follow the cow trails to the logging roads which take you deep into the canyon along a shallow clear creek and then climb to the top where there once was a family run ski operation. Everything was green and fresh smelling and if you listened closely, you could hear the sounds of the water coming down the canyon into the creek.

Some of the group arrived on Wednesday, but a majority of us traveled Thursday. There were over 30 riders throughout the weekend. I logged over 13 hours in the saddle, covering nearly 35 miles.

One of the highlights of the ride was watching a friend begin climbing a steep hill way above the rest of us. I watched in awe as his young arabian went higher and higher, picking herself along a trailless path. Soon a second horse joined the climb. I didn't think too much about whether we would get there or not, but gave Windy some leg to get her opinion on the climb and off we went. I grabbed her mane as she galloped and lunged up the side of the hill, picking her path as carefully as those above her. And before I knew it, we were there on top of the world! What a rush!

The boys had their own rush when they decided to race on the soft sand road leading back to the ranch. McCain was on Ginger, Case on Butter and John was riding Blue. Blue didn't stand a chance against these mares! Case come in second to the McCain & Ginger team. His GPS said their top speed was 40 mph! I tried to capture the race, but you quickly lose sight of them.

The sky really was as blue as in these pictures. I didn't carry my good camera with me, but kept my small Canon handy in my saddle bag and was glad I could capture it on at least a few of the shots.

I have to share a short story from the trail. Our trail host, Jo, did not arrive until Friday. John and I have been to Big Canyon before, so thought Thursday evening, we could take the group on a short ride. Surely we could remember some of the trails from our previous visit. We'd save the good stuff for when Jo arrived.

We entered the pasture and followed the cow trail into the trees and started to descend into the canyon. It had rained the night before and the very steep trail turned greasey and then boggy. Our fresh horses -- all twenty some of them -- were rushing the trails to the bottom. We all made it down safely. But from there, we weren't sure where to go. There was another trail that took us up. And it went up and up and up. It was the old ski slope! We reached the top finally! But then found there was no way out except back the way we came in. After much folly, we ended up opening a gate and riding back to the ranch down the side of the highway. Not the ride we all envisioned! My friends "gifted" me with the following poem:

"Flatlanders Lament"

by Deb, Sheila, Jan, Kristie & other cohorts!

At Big Canyon this we found

We do not like steep ups & downs

We do not like them here nor there

We do not like them anywhere
Tammy said "Sure, it's flat"

But now we know it sure ain't that!

We do not like slick mud of brown

We do not like those sucking sounds.

The horses huffed, the horses puffed.

And then we said "We've had enough!"

At last the red gate did appear

We said "Anythings better than here!"

Highway riding can be fun

When you know you're almost done.

Big Canyon is an awesome place

And yet we leave

With a smile on our face!

There are stories of the trail shared among the riders. Laughter and smiles and some "oh &#!^" moments were relived around the campfire. A few days of bonding between casual friends who got to know each other a little better. Now with common memories. And once again, our horses took us places we could never go. They never let us down.

Big Canyon Inn is owned by Edith & Roger Wentworth. They were gracious, horse friendly hosts. For information about camping and trail riding at Big Canyon, please contact them at:

Big Canyon Inn
HC 82 Box 107
Springview, Nebraska 68778
United States
402-497-3170 or 800-437-6023

Jo Schaaf is also available to provide tours to your group. You can email me for her information.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~


Sunday Stills Challenge

This week's challenge was "tri-color". The explanation was "simply the more colors in the shot the better. It would be pretty simple to shoot a landscape and have a bunch of different colors, but look beyond the ordinary, use some composition and creativity and get some unusual colors. Take a moment and set up the shot, use knick knacks, muliple types of flowers, just about anything your imagination can come up with. Just remember the more colors the better."

I took the picture of the wind sock with the challenge in mind but was worried it was too "landscapey". While on the trail at Big Canyon, I saw a lot of wild flowers that could fit the criteria, but when riding with 30-some people, its hard to get everyone to "hold their horses" for my photo op!

As I glanced through other challengers beautiful work, I decided not to hold back. I'll use the wind sock & the picture of one of my riding friends from this past weekend - unposed - just captured in the right light and a foal with it's dam -- the gorgeous blue sky above.

Horsetales - 2005

(Horsetales - The Beginning)

In August of 2004, we had 101 posts on Horsetales. A new record. I’m not sure how many members we had at that time, but looking back, some of the names are familiar today: Joni, Carol, Julie B, Jan Cz, Jamie, Sandy, Tami O, Robyn, Sam, Sherry and Shelly, to name a few. Other names I remember but they no longer post. I often wonder if they still “lurk”, got out of horses or lost interest in the day to day of Horsetales. No drama is guaranteed on our group – and it can become quite mundane at times.

On New Year’s Eve 2004, my mom was diagnosed with pancreatic and liver cancer. Anyone who has dealt with “The Big C” knows that either of those alone aren’t good and together, the condition is grave. We knew there wasn’t much time and it was important that we spend as much of it as we could together. So each weekend one of my sons and I would drive the 150 miles to her home. We would talk, reminisce, she'd play games with her grandsons. We'd take care of estate business and then go for long car rides – just be together while we could. And when she would sleep, I would dial in to Horsetales. "Talk" of horses and spring plans kept me sane during an insane time in my life. By February, there were over 1,300 posts to Horsetales. And it was Horse Expo time.

Expo 2005 was special. It was the first time many of us met face to face. Sandy hosted a small party and we were all relived to find out none of our new "invisible friends" were ax murderers, but very much like their online persona. And all horse crazy (Who has the picture from the party? I couldn’t find it?) It gave me a much needed hiatus from cancer. We buried mom later that month. And for those of you who remember, my surprise filly, GinnyBelle, was born shortly after.




After the Expo ice breaker, we started posting over 1,500 messages per month. Many of us met in early May for the annual Friday Before Mother’s Day Ride. And as the weather turned nice and plans were made for the 1st Annual Horsetales Trail Ride. We decided to go to Calamus Ranch near Burwell.

They say bad things come in threes. While on a day ride with some of the group in mid-May of that year, my horse spooked at the trailer pushing me against John's mare.  She hit the end of her rope and came back down landing on my ankle.  It was broken.  The ankle already had plates and screws from an accident a few years prior and I feared another surgery. Luckily, the hardware held but I was ‘grounded’ for another 6 weeks. Right up to the Calamus trip. And if that wasn't enough, my heart was broken a couple days later when I lost my young gelding in a pasture accident. Once again, the Horsetales group was there for me.




Buffalo burgers and spandex were the theme for the Calamus Ranch ride. It was the first horse camping trip for many. Lots of talk leading up to it fending off anxieties. I had the doctor recast my foot in one that would fit into a stirrup. We were good to go and it all worked out in the end with over 25 riders partaking in the adventure. Following that ride, posts to Horsetales increased to over 2,000 per month. It brought us all closer as friends. Our circle was widening, it was also tightening.

Spandex, Black Balls & Riding with a Cast

Horsetales - The Beginning

I’ve mentioned Horsetales many times on this blog. In case you missed it, by simply definition,

“Horsetales is an online group of 240 regional horse enthusiasts who communicate daily via the internet.”

Some of our spouses call Horsetales “our invisible friends.” While many of us have met in person and have become “real” friends, others remain behind their keyboard exchanging horse related chatter or simply just reading the posts. I started this blog several times – really just to tell you about the Horsetales upcoming horse camping trip -- but it always seems to be more about Horsetales than where we are planning to ride. So to get the real flavor of our group, you have to know who we are and how we got here. It all started with Horsetrailriders.com.

I first started trail riding about ten years ago and there was no one source for trail riding information in our state. Correction. There was NO source. People who had been riding for years knew what parks allowed horses on their trails and which ones didn’t. I would hear about organized rides after they were over. Someone needed to put the information out there so people like me who were new to horse trail riding could find out about these rides and trails. That someone ended up being me.

I knew nothing (and still know just a tad more than nothing) about web design but did enjoy dabbling on the computer. I figured Microsoft had something that could help me. So I bought some software and in 2003, I registered the name Horsetrailriders.com. Perhaps “if I build it, they will come.” Or not. It didn’t matter. It was a good winter project and at least I’d have something to show for the hours I would be spending in front of the computer. And it would take time…. I started to slowly put it together.




In 2004, shortly after the first of the year, my sons were playing in the hayloft on a cold, snowy day. Case came running into the house screaming, “McCain broke his leg!” Knowing the boys can be quite theatrical when it comes to injuries, I translated this as “McCain skinned his knee”. Then I caught sight of John carrying McCain toward the house. This was bad. Really bad. 911-worthy bad.

The ambulance whisked McCain away to the nearest local hospital then transferred him to the city for surgery. Broken femur. The thigh bone. The big one. Surgery. Then traction. Just like when a cartoon character breaks his leg. Only this was real life. If someone told me that for the next 24 days my son would be hospitalized, I would have told him we didn’t have time for that. He had school, we had jobs. But all that had to wait. And he needed us 24/7. I moved into his hospital room and slept in the bed next to his. Showered in his room and got to work whenever I could – usually whenever John or one of our moms could relieve me. After work I would return to his room. And when it all got quiet, I would pull out my laptop and plug it into the phone line. Horsetrailriders.com started to expand – to really come to life via a dial-up connection -- those long nights at the hospital.



I had a feature on the home page of Horsetrailriders.com called Stable Talk. I didn’t realize at the time that it was considered a blog – I didn’t even know what a blog was back then (I was blogging before blogging was cool.) Stable Talk was just a way for me to share information about rides or trail concerns or just talk about my horses and family. Once riders stumbled across my website, I started getting emails from other riders. Some with ride information to share but most of the time, the emails were from other riders who read Stable Talk and could relate to my stories and just wanted to “talk horse.” I had already started a Horsetales Yahoo Group as a way of staying in touch with some of my riding friends from Cowgirl Weekend, so I used that forum as a way to get riders to start talking to each other. I never realized then how much Horsetales would become a part of my horse life.


More to come...

Saddle Pals

In 1992, I moved to the country shortly after John and I moved an old farm house onto his parents’ property and began to restore it. If you have ever tackled such a project, I’m sure you would agree there is never an end in sight. There is nothing like having two small kids, preparing bottles, changing diapers and living in a cloud of drywall dust! Some days, I was ready to trade it all in for a double wide trailer just so I would have some peace!

Other than family and work, we didn’t have a large circle of close friends. We were quite a ways out of town, I was new to the area and we were too engrossed in our project and children to have much time for socializing.


Horses were truly an afterthought to the whole country living thing and the first ones we bought were most definitely on a whim! We weren’t even finished with our house, let alone have an acreage set up for livestock! But we did and now we do, but I wouldn’t recommend that be the natural order of things!

When you have children, people come out of the woodwork with advice and helpful hints – solicited or not. But other than one of my best friends, who lived in Texas, I had no one to share the horse excitement with. My work friends and family had no interest in this new hobby of mine, just mild amusement. Since we only bought one horse broke to ride, going to the end of the driveway and back was the extent of my horse activity. I wanted more.


As I started adding horses to the herd, I reached out to people I had met who were associated with horses. From those who sold me a horse and actually answered my emails after the fact (either content with the idea that the horse wouldn’t kill me or anxious to find out if perhaps it did) to those looking for volunteers to help build a horse trail in the vicinity. (We didn’t know it would take 5 years!!) The circle continued to grow.

Recently, I had lunch with some “horse friends” (why do I always have to define them as “horse friends” -- like they aren’t “real” friends) that I am pretty sure I’d have never met had we not all had horses. And we talked horses, but we also talked about other things that “real” friends talk about. Kids, family, life in general… And if I were to die tomorrow, I am pretty sure I would have a good showing at my funeral from the horse contingency.

On the same token, I’ve also met some horse people who were like the overzealous breastfeeding mothers, who wrote the book on horses, forgotten more than I will ever know AND were pretty sure I didn’t have a place in it. And that’s okay, too. They provide humor in other ways. And they’ll miss a heckuva party the fun bunch will throw after the funeral!


In addition to the face-to-face friendships, there is Horsetales Yahoo Group, a cyber network of over 200 horse riders and enthusiasts in our area, many of whom communicate daily, others who read and enjoy the daily banter. There are more than a handful of Horsetalers whose numbers are programmed in my cell phone and I consider a good friend – the kind who has my back! (You know who you are!) I’m sure I’ve said it before, but I’ll say it again – if I don’t have anyone to ride with, I never asked.

Not only did I find a hobby (obsession) I am totally committed to, but I have made some really great friendships that I cherish. I’m sure it’s true with other activities; that the world opens up just a little bit more and lets a few more into your life because of what you have in common. And all because I wanted more than the occasional ride down the drive. Pretty cool, huh?

Gray November

It’s November 12. I was going to start this blog by complaining about “Gray November” for obvious reasons. Sunless skies, cold damp days and living in what feels like perpetual darkness since the recent time change. But those who have been following Horsetrailriders.com for any amount of time will recall that every year I start to complain about this time. It’s the same song, different verse. So I looked back into the archives of Stable Talk and my Trail Time hours to see what the previous year’s offered us.

Surprisingly, last year, I never publicly complained about Gray November online but also had fewer entries on Stable Talk. So just because I didn’t moan about it, doesn’t mean we didn’t experience it. I recall our final Platte River Ride at Camp Moses was the first weekend in November and the weather was far from gray – actually, one of the most beautiful fall days that I’d experienced in a long time. So nice, that we even made plans to camp prior to Thanksgiving. But then, just when “good” November sucks us in, Gray November rears its demon head and screams “gotchya!” And that was how it was last year.

In 2006, I recall it lightly snowed at our last Platte River Ride held at Chance Ridge in late October of that year. We got a slight reprieve in November and enjoyed both Camp Moses and Two Rivers up until Thanksgiving of that year. Now that was a good November! How do we order a repeat? But we weren’t as lucky in 2005. I wrote: “It's November; Gray November. My least favorite month of the year. I know there are colder months ahead, but those cold months lead into the spring. November leads into the winter…. Although the sun is shining today …. I’ll warn you now, the gray days are coming.”

Well folks, if you haven’t looked out the window lately, the gray days are here! Can it be any more miserable? (Don’t answer that or we’ll get 30 mph winds!) Button down the hatches, rotate those tires, find the ice scraper and your Elmer Fudd wool cap, because Gray November has arrived.

I have little things I do to get me through the four long months I consider winter. Right now, I keep a watch on the weather and steal rides on any day that it looks to be sunny and above 45 (no wind, please). And that gets me to Thanksgiving. Then my family will be here. My niece will want to ride. So even if it’s gray and cold, we’ll do a quick ride around the property to get our fix. Its only 2 weeks away. And after Thanksgiving, my next goal is to get to December 21st. The official first day of winter. Why? The days start getting longer again. On December 20, the sun sets at 5:00 PM. And then, miraculously, on December 21, it doesn’t set until 5:01 PM! And by the end of December, we have sunlight until 5:07 PM! It just gets better and better from there!

Even though I am afforded a little extra daylight at the end of my day, I still have to get through January and February. I don’t know about you, but where November is the grayest, January is definitely the longest. Yeah, I know. There are only 31 days in January – same as most months. But from January 1 to January 31, time stands still! My secret is not to take any vacation days. I just work, work, work. And heck, if I can get some travel in January, that’s just icing on the cake. Time goes faster when you are busy. It gets me through the 31 days of Frozen January hell. And don’t think you can relax yet. February is just an ugly step-sister to January except she has fewer days. Thank goodness it isn’t a leap year. I can barely stand one more day in February every few years!

As we tear off Ugly February from our calendar, there is hope when March appears. There is the reunion of horse friends at our Nebraska Horse Expo. The ground is thawing; the trailer tires are no longer frozen in place. Someone brags on Horsetales that their horse is shedding and someone else spots a robin the trees. Oh, there is mud, but its happy mud. And soon it will be April and we’ll be riding again. And I don’t care what Merle Haggard says about December, for me it’s surviving Gray November.

If we make it through December
Everything's gonna be all right I know
It's the coldest time of winter
And I shiver when I see the fallin' snow

If we make it through December
I got plans of being in a warmer town come summer time
Maybe even California
If we make it through December we'll be fine

Losing Weight

I held off mentioning much about my diet and subsequent weight loss on Horsetrailriders.com. Didn’t seem horse related and didn’t want to sound like a braggart, either. But including it on my blog will not only chronicle the feat for me, but hopefully inspire others who have been wanting to make a healthy lifestyle change.

First off: Losing weight has been the hardest thing I have done with the exception of quitting smoking. It’s kind of ironic because quitting smoking a decade ago – not having children or getting old – is the sole cause of my weight gain. And I knew it would happen – but forgave myself because after all, I did quit smoking. Why not reward myself with a little dessert… following seconds of mashed potatoes and gravy!


(Photo take 2005)

Although I didn’t talk dieting on Horsetrailriders.com, every Wednesday since the first of the year, we chatted about dieting on the Yahoo Group, Horsetales. Wednesdays were our weigh in day and we could go “off-topic” with weight loss talk. Many of us set goals back in January to lose weight and collectively, as a group, we lost over 275 pounds. It was really incredible what the power of many can do for your own motivation. In addition, we were all horsewomen – and doing it for ourselves is also doing it for our horse! And you know horsewoman – if it’s good for the horse than we must do it!

I joined Weight Watchers in January, through a program offered at work. I always thought these diet plans would be hard as I am not a vegetable eater. They didn’t push the veggies, you can still eat carbs (my weakness) but more importantly, they taught me portion control. If I NEED Schwan’s Ice Cream tonight, make it one scoop and not a full bowl and skip an afternoon snack. I’m great at making deals! So this plan worked for me.


(Photo taken 2006)

I also knew that diet alone wouldn’t firm up the carrying two children and 10 years of the gravy train! I’m nearing 50 years old and other than riding, have no real exercise plan. And let’s face it, unless you ride every day, trot often (bareback!), haul 4 to 5 bales UP TO the hayloft, let’s not fool ourselves. You don’t get a lot of exercise just moseying down the trail. We have a gym at work with a bunch of machines and a set of weights, but I have no clue what I should do with them. I noticed Curves, a fitness center designed for women, was just down the street from work. They offered a plan that seemed foolproof. You go in, get on their “circuit” and rotate around their machines. They tell you when to advance. Thirty minutes and you are done. Works for me!

So after I uncovered the secret recipe for weight loss – diet and exercise – I challenged about 200 of my dearest internet friend – the Horsetales bunch – to keeping me in line & joining me, should they feel the need. And about 20% of the group got on the bandwagon!


(Photo taken 2007)

The pounds came off slowly – one to two pounds a week. We’d have set backs and gain one or two back here and there. But consistency in the plan paid off. It took about 3 months for me to lose 10% of my weight – which was about ½ of my overall goal. It took another 4 months to get to my goal.

On Horsetales, we talk about percentages and pounds, not what we weigh. I lost 37 pounds which is just shy of 20% of my starting weight – you can do the math if you want. What surprised me is I am wearing the same size clothes I wore when I graduated from high school almost 30 years ago! But weight wise I’m 20 pounds heavier. I think the reason is due to exercise. Muscle weighs more than fat, so I’m just as thin as I was then, only more fit. And I feel better than I have felt ever!

It hasn’t been easy. I am pretty sure a pack of Marlboro reds would have moved this weight loss thing along a little quicker. And there were times that I couldn’t resist a second Mike’s Hard Lemonade or Julie B’s lemon meringue pie. To lose weight you MUST cut down on the intake and balance it with the exercise. Nothing you and I haven’t heard before. But it isn’t the end of all good things. I just woofed down a pumpkin bar as I was writing this.


(Photo taken 2007)

As a horsewoman, I think I am lighter in the saddle. I have more ambition. If I drop something from the saddle, I don’t dread getting off and climbing back on. I’m more limber and I’m also stronger. I’m sure my horses appreciate carrying almost 40 pounds less on their backs.

Even though I am where I want to be, I think the challenge continues to lie ahead. To maintain. It truly is a lifestyle change. Losing weight slowly helps you adjust to those changes. I’ve had so many people eager to tell me that they lost 40 pounds, too, but just couldn’t keep it off. “It’s just too hard”, they would say. I have days that it IS just too hard! But I must commit to only having bad days – not bad weeks! To keep on task.


(Photo taken 2008)

I’ve had an incredible support system of friends and family. I’ve gotten stern looks from my sons when I’ve stolen a French fry from their plate. But have been rewarded by my youngest son hugging me around the waist and telling me how much less of me there is to hug. Or my husband telling me he’s proud of me. And I get equally as excited to see some of my Horsetales friends succeed at their weight loss plans, too.

So here ends my bragging blog. I am happy with my success, happy with how I look, and happy with the new clothes size! Short of plastic surgery to remove the wrinkles and being 28 again, I couldn’t be happier. And I thank all of those who dieting with me, supported me or patted me on the back during the last nine months. It helped and it continues to help. Lord give me strength during the holiday season!!


(Photo taken 2008)