GVN to LVN

A quick announcement to let you in on the good news! Trish just found out that she passed her State Board Exam and is now officially an LVN! She said it was the hardest test of her life!

Clay & his "Significant Other"

This photo was one of Clay's presents to us. Pictured is Clay and his favorite female companion - Kali!

Jamima Zambowski and Aunt Phyllis

One More Pict from Graduation

I wanted to be sure to add a picture of Tricia with her Grandparents. She was very excited that they were able to come for her big day!

She Did It!!!

Here is the picture of our new nurse. She is pictured with some of the other nurses from our family, and with her kiddos. It was a great weekend, and grandparents, and aunts from both sides came to help her celebrate!

A Girl and Her Horse

Some things never change! Trish will be a nurse in another few days! But she still loves those horses!

Mi Hijo

I wish I could describe how fun it is to take a ride in the cart. Mi Hijo does so good! He's such a smart little donkey!

T-N-T Varmit Control

Ty and Teryn have been putting out snares to trap coyotes. At first I didn't like it, but there are way too many coyotes, and they'll kill my goats if they get a chance! Anyway, T&T've snared 38 coyotes in about 1 month. The snares get expensive, so they've started making their own and selling the extras to a local ranch suppply store. Ty can make a snare in about a minute. In the picture he is holding a dozen snares that he made the other day.

Answer to the Riddle

If you know us very well, you know who Bacon is. Well looks like we're going to have some Bacon Bits!

Guess Who Just Turned Two

Ryanna is growing up so fast! She had a birthday the other day. Look at that smile - think she knew it was her special day?

Riddle

Who can guess what we're expecting? Your only hint is that the arrival date is 3 months, 3 weeks, and 3 days.

Solo on Mi Hijo

Today I got to go Solo on Mi Hijo - and it was a BLAST!!! He did sooo good, you'd think he's been pulling a cart all his life. He just went nice and easy - and didn't do anything scary at all!! You can see in the one photo where he was going into a little ditch and I was trying to get him to scootch over. Turning is a bit hard for him, I suspect the shaft of the cart is too long, but Teryn says it's supposed to be that way, and Mi Hijo just has to learn how to move his body so he can turn. Ty was the photographer and he couldn't resist taking the picture from the tail end of a donkey! I'm not sure why, but I really have to watch my family, they seem to get a kick out of getting behind me and Mi Hijo and taking pictures!

The Long Awaited Day

I've waited almost 5 years for what we did today!! When I got interested in donkeys, we bought Sierra, the scardest in the West! I worked with her a lot but couldn't get her over her fear. We were afraid that she would run off with me, so we wound up breeding her, and MiHijo was the result. MiHijo will be 3 in Feb., but I decided that if Ty could pull me around in the cart - which he did during the Mustang Makeover, MiHijo could! I've been ground driving him for quite a while, and today I finally took a ride in the cart (sorry the camera died so there aren't any pictures of the cart). It was GREAT!!! Now that we've done it once there will be lots of opportunities for other pictures! I won't be using MiHijo very much because he is so young, but for short little lessons, he'll be fine!

EMM Picture

I knew I'd get a picture! This one came by way of Clay. Darrell Dodds, the publisher of Western Horseman, sent it to Clay, who forwarded it to me. Thank you Clay and Darrell!

Mustang Makeover Results

We had a great time at the Mustang Makeover this weekend in Ft. Worth!!! I wish I had some pictures, but we were several miles down the road when I thought about the camera. I'm sure someone will send some pictures soon, and I'll post them when I get them.

OK, OK, the results...Rainmaker did a great job this weekend, with some beautiful sliding stops, and solid performances every time they showed! In the finals Teryn Lee opted to do some working cow horse exercises, then finished by getting his rope down in the last minute of his performance, and roping a steer.

They wound up winning 3rd overall in the Pro division. The auction was today, and Rainmaker was the 2nd highest selling horse there. A family from San Angelo bought him. This family has been to a couple of Teryn Lee's clinics, and were impressed by Rainmakers progress and easy going attitude. Teryn Lee and Holly were happy to see Rainmaker go to a good home!

In addition to everything else, Teryn Lee and Holly are coming home with a 3 year old mustang to train for someone who was at the competition.

Overall, I'd say it was a pretty good weekend! Thanks to everyone who came to support and have a good time! Be sure to check out Teryn Lee and Holly's blog and take a look at Rainmakers pictures in the beautiful west Texas 'desert!'

It's Out & It's Awesome!

The 2010 Western Horseman Calendar is out. Take a look at the following web site and see if you know the handsome guy in the 2nd picture! If you're closely related to us - DON'T buy the calendar!
http://www.bigbendsaddlery.com/calendar.html

Trish and Family

Trish and her kids are doing great! Trish is 1/2 through nursing school and going strong! We have to watch her though! She wants to give us all shots! Things have been less intense for her this summer. She has had 2 week long breaks and has enjoyed spending special time with the kids! Nursing school has been hard, but she's doing great and we are so proud of her! This is a picture of Trish and kids when we were taking a walk on the ranch. I also had to add one of the kids with their Popop because he is the center of their universe!

Another Fire

It was a busy season for the firefighters this past spring! 20000 acres were burned off during one fire, and the front entrance to this ranch was scorched! Luckily, no buildings were hurt! We're in the monsoon season now, and have had daily showers for the past couple weeks, so hopefully we're finished with the fires this year!

Ty's Remuda Grows

"Gimpy" is Ty's newest ride! He is an awesome, solid horse and Ty LOVES him! If it gets too quiet in the house, I'll look outside, and find Ty laying on Gimpy's back while Gimpy grazes in the pasture! It reminds me of when our kids were little. I loved looking out the kitchen window as I worked and watching the kids ride with wild abandon! Usually they were bareback, and often without halters or bridles!

Clays New Hobby

Look what Clay's been doing! He's braiding halters and lead ropes. A boot manufactorer saw his creations at a horse show and ordered some, then gave Clay a pair of handmade boots in exchange! These are some lead ropes that he made for a friend in Kansas!

Plan B

It doesn't look like I can keep up with the Mustang Makeover progress on a consistant basis, so be sure to check the blogs mentioned in the post below. They are both active now! Also be patient, TLee and Holly still don't have internet access. They have to blog when they come over, go to town, or climb a mountain!

TLee's Blog Site

The following is the link to Teryn Lee and Holly's blog site. www.terynmuenchperformancehorses.blogspot.com

They are still trying to link to the mustang makeover website. That address is www.extrememustangmakeover.com

MM - Day 5

Teryn Lee rode Mestano today - and they did GREAT! TLee said that Mestano is the easiest horse he's started since he moved back! Mestano just stood when TLee got on him, and then moved out at a walk, trot, and lope when Teryn asked him to! He didn't even offer to buck! Pretty amazing!!! Ty wanted to pet Mestano, so after TLee was finished with his session, Ty moved in! I think TLee may be gaining respect for Mustangs! Tomorrow Teryn Lee and Holly will be doing a clinic in Alpine. Mestano will be going along for a little lesson in socialization skills!

Destination; Mustang Makeover - 100 Trainers, 100 Mustangs, 100 Days!

I'll be archiving TLee's 100 days of training on a weekly basis. Hopefully you will be able to see the progress. Right now they're calling the mustang Mestano - which is Spanish for mustang. The naming process is going slow, so if any of you have ideas for names send them on! Holly will be blogging too. She wants to get a link on the BLM website, but hasn't figured out how to do it yet. When she gets her blog going, I'll add a link so you can see hers - I'm sure it will be more complete than this one! Mestano was caught in Nevada, and hauled to Paul's Valley OK., where Holly and TLee picked him up. By the time he got home, he was pretty well trailer trained! Mestano didn't seem too wild when he first arrived. He was very curious, and walked toward us when we went to look at him in his stall. Looking and touching were two different stories though! I'm pretty sure that the only human touch he ever had to this point has been painful! Teryn Lee gave Mestano the day off after they got home, but training started the next day. The pictures on this page are day 1 of Mestano's education. By the end of the first day, Teryn Lee was able to pony Mestano around outside the round pen.

Look Who's Nifty!

Things have been busy, and I haven't been able to blog, but I wanted to catch up and write about my surprise birthday parties. The first party was a part of our Christmas White Elephant exchange when we got together for Teryn Lee and Holly's wedding. Ivy, my sister, brought the red hat and associated gear, and we had a lovely Christmas and birthday celebration all rolled into one. Teryn Lee came in a saw me with the red hat and said, "You're not going to wear that to the wedding are you?" I was awfully tempted!

At the time I thought I was celebrating with all my favorite people, but Teryn reminded me that I had quite a few other favorites. I didn't realize it then, but I got to celebrate my birthday with my other group of favorites too.

Every Saturday evening for the past 5 or so years, Teryn and I get together with a group and study the bible. As you can imagine, the group has become pretty close knit! Anyway, Tricia arranged to have a surprise birthday party for me at our chapel meeting. It was a complete surprise! Holly and Teryn Lee, Tricia and her kids, and all the chapel group helped to celebrate the occasion. My sweet, and talented, friend Karen even wrote a very special song for me! I can't say how blessed I am to have so many people that I love, and who love me back.

Friends

We had a treat last week when Michelle and the girls came to visit. We got out our trusty saddle donk, and the girls helped me train him a while. Ivy is riding Mihijo almost all by herself in this picture. We took a walk in the creek and found a nice sandy, place to sit and talk while the girls played. It was great getting to spend time with them again!

Crock-A-Diddle-Dandy

And you thought the Croc was a bachelor! Nope, he's been married almost 30 years! I've been thinking for a while that I was married to him, but yesterday I knew for sure! Last night when the goats came in, we could tell that one of the nanny's had kidded while they were out roaming. Problem is that the ranch is huge, and the goats go where ever they want. The babies could have been anywhere! We decided to go looking for them on the off chance that we might get lucky! We headed North East bacause we saw the goats come in from that direction. Pretty soon we saw some buzzards, so 'Croc' said, "Lets go look over there." Sure enough we found 2 beautiful, healthy baby goats. On the way home, we found another Nanny hidden behind a cedar, she also had just had 2 babies, and the buzzards were beginning to circle. 'Croc' put her in the truck - the only place she would fit was the front seat between my legs, and he held the babies till we got to the pens. This morning all 4 babies and their mamas are fine! We're pretty sure that if we hadn't found them, and if the buzzards didn't get them, the coyotes would have!

The story of Croc-A-Diddle-Dandy is an old one! One of the exchange students was trying to say Crocodile Dundee, and said it wrong! It's never been the same since!

Hee or Haw???

We started driving MiHijo today, and he did sooooo good!!! We didn't have any problem at all with the saddle, the ropes, starting, turning, and stopping. The only problem is that I want to teach him voice commands and I don't know if hee is left or right! I'm looking for info from anyone who might know.

I also uploaded a picture of a dog Teryn and I saw at the grocery store the other day. The picture is a bit blurry, but the dog was so cute, we had to take his picture!

AWOL Goats

The other day, the goats got lost! They were gone for 4 days before Teryn got a friend to fly his airplane to look for them. Teryn and Ty got to go up with him. They found the goats pretty fast, about 4 miles from home. After they located the goats, they got to do some sightseeing. They saw Capote Falls and a rock castle that some people from Germany are building. After they landed, they drove back to where the goats where, and then walked and led the goats home. Amazingly none were hurt or missing. I guess Chivo protected them, but just couldn't find the way back! Anyway, we were real relieved to get them back.

TLee and Holly with the 4-H

Teryn Lee and Holly led the 4-H horse group this past weekend. They had a good turn out with 10 kids. I think they make a great team!

4-H Show

The 4-H show was this weekend, and Ty's goats made the heavy weight division. We're happy to report that we raised the top 4 goats in Ty's class, with Ty's goats winning 3rd and 4th. We were also very pleased that one of our goats won grand champion again this year. The sale was great - it was fun, and the people of the community were very generous!

More Pictures

Wedding Pictures...At Last!!!

I'll start with Friday night events. After a BIG mexican supper, most of us headed to the bowling alley. For many of us who live in rural areas, bowling was a big treat! Teryn Lee hit a strike in this picture! Saturday morning was spent helping do what needed done, as well as shopping, visiting, and watching a cutting. I thought the picture of Dad helping TLee put on his bootineer was a sweet one! Finally, the picture you've been waiting for - Mr. and Mrs. Teryn Lee Muench, ll. They're set up at the ranch, and are starting 7 horses right now. Every time we see them, they seem to be in total bliss!