Riding + Running = Ride and Tie - Are you ready?

The 4th Annual Benefit Ride and Tie for One Heart is Saturday, August 31. That folks is only 29 days away! Have you been practicing?

What is a Ride and Tie? 
It's a fast growing sport that combines elements of endurance horse riding and trail riding. A team consists of two people and one horse. The object is to cover a specified distance by having each human team member ride and run.

Our Ride and Tie has three distances: 6, 12 and 20 miles. The race will start and finish at the Heart of Iowa Trail in Maxwell, Iowa.

All the proceeds from the event help support One Heart Equestrian Therapy. You can find more information on the website or Facebook Page.

If you decide your horse (or you) aren't quite ready to tackle the race, we'd LOVE to have you volunteer and cheer on our racers! Although you could do the whole thing at a walk if you really wanted. To volunteer please send an email to Kris Lager at oneheart@netins.net with "Ride and Tie Volunteer" in the subject line. 

So far in Session One...

A HUGE thank you to all the volunteers and the Strum family for the great facilities.  It was great to see a crowd at Wednesday Workday, and we started this year off with less on our To Do list than ever. 

By the numbers for Week 1:

Shedding version... we lost count, but the ponies are less furry! :0)

•   36 volunteers signed in (we know there were more, there was a missing sign in sheet at least part of   a day)
•   3 trailer trips to move horses back (and Rosie was SO happy to see her barn again!)
•   17 horses/ponies were dewormed
•   27 clients served (normally we'll have more, so if a vol felt left out, keep coming, we will need you!)
•   40 hooves trimmed
•   11 bridlepaths/manes clipped
•   LOTS (piles!) of fur was shed, brushed, or pulled off (hey, sometimes it's just easier to use your hands on all that loose fur)
•   12 muck buckets dumped 
•   2 harnesses cleaned
•   6 carts/carriages moved
•   8 saddles cleaned
•   1.5 round bales of hay were eaten in the last 2 weeks.
•   2 bags of Senior feed for Alex
•   2.5 escapees--Jen forgot to check the pony gate latch--Peanut only made it 1/2 way out, then decided to back himself into the pen (the What, I've been inside the whole time! act).  Dandy and Spunky sampled a few bites of hay before parking themselves back in the pony pen.  I do love our minis--saved me chasing them in the rain at night!

For the start of Week 2:

• Dani taught a volunteer the Shetland Shuffle
• Thanks Tues. vols for the safe, smooth night!  It's great to see cars parked in the vol parking when I'm running late from work!
• VEISHA is coming, will there be enough vols on Sat.?
• Peanut has recovered from his tummy troubles and is back to his Nutty self.
• Thanks to my mucking buddies, we raked all the manure out from under the eaves. 
  
• And 4 minis are spending some quality time in the nice, dry arena.  After last week, I decided that it was easier to chore than for all of us to attempt to clean the soggy little mud balls.  It's hard to stay clean when your belly is inches away from the mud (that's why Kris calls them the Pasture Squeegees). So dry, fluffy ponies for the Mini Power class tomorrow!  So far it seems like they have had lots of fun playing with the hula hoops-- they were scattered around in the back of the arena tonight.  And yes, Kris, I moved the banner! : )
• And the Story City Girl Scouts made a few new arena toys--they will brighten things up! 

It's spring! Who's ready to ride?

The days are getting longer and sooner or later the snow will stop, which means it's time to head to the barn. YAY! 

Volunteer training for Session One is Thursday April 4 from 6:00-8:00pm at the Roland arena (59149 140th St. Roland).  Riders up starting Tuesday April 9. We can't wait to see you. --There's a lot of grooming to do . :0) --

Barn Update

THANK YOU 

to all of our friends that have helped fill the barn!!!

So far we've raised $2,500 but we've still got about 5 months left until the first hay cutting. Keep up the good work. The herd appreciates it!

GOAL: $6,000 or about 40 round bales
It is enough hay to feed the herd until the first cutting around June 2013. 

http://www.onehearthorses.org/donate

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