Hard work and horses at Sprucelands.

Hey! Look at those new guys over there!

Our work weekend was a huge success in that seven of us worked nonstop with heart and dedication. The sun peeked through so we could open and sweep cabins, clean the green stall barn, scrub buckets, clean tack, and do a basic face lift to rings 2 and 3.

The huge beech tree that fell in one of our wind storms was cut up, brush was moved, and firewood carted up to the boys hill fire circle. All in all, we achieved a great deal and feel good about it. Many thanks to Kalayne, Courtney, Becca, Terra, Mr. and Mrs. James, and Lynne.

A highlight to our weekend was welcoming two new horses from Walworth, New York. Twiggy and Stormy arrived quietly on Sunday while Kalayne and Terra were still here. You can see from the photo above - taken during afternoon feeding - that Boomer and his chess club buddies were very interested in these new guys.

Twiggy likes hugs and he has such a kind eye.

Kalayne and Terra enjoyed putting the horses through the preliminary screening. They saw how the horses managed cross-ties during a grooming. They walked them around the barn area, let them graze, and then watched how they move in ring 4.

To see if these two are spooky at all, I started the four wheeler and dragged rings 2 and 3. No problem. Neither horse did a double-take with anything they heard or saw in the barn area. It's wonderful to know they are not going to jump into our arms whenever they see or hear something new.

Twiggy is a bay thoroughbred. He is petite and moves with a grace that catches my eye. I'm impressed that he enjoys being hugged and best of all, he likes to play.

Sunday night I put Twiggy in the indoor arena to move around. He was thoroughly entertained by an orange traffic cone and one of our black mounting blocks. If he wasn't carrying the cone around, he was rolling the mounting block from place to place and then he would wander back over to us for a 'hi' and a hug.

Meet Stormy, a new friend from Walworth, NY.

Stormy is the grey Arab. His previous owners say he has a lot of action when he moves. Sounds like he will be fun to ride. Maybe we can try him out this next weekend after we fit him to tack. I can tell as I work with Stormy that he has a lot of personality, and I love horses with personality because they make our barn and riding program so much more interesting.

By the way, for Jax lovers, he has returned to our barn and will be with us this summer. I'll make certain to get a photo of him for you. He has always been popular. Right now he is getting himself acclimated to the herd.

So things are bustling here. It is June and we are working hard to be ready for camp on the 26th. Meanwhile, there are two weekend clinics these next two weeks that will be fun. Registrations are still coming in for camp. If you haven't signed up, we can work you in. Besides we expect a wonderful summer season, especially with the Toy Story theme. Our imaginations are already working overtime.

Leave me a comment and make me smile.