Des here!
We just wrapped up the first of our two Buck clinic weeks! I look forward to this time with Buck all year long. How many people are privileged enough to spend time with their real-life heroes? At the ranch, all of us count ourselves extremely blessed.
We had about 10 days between our last 7-day clinic and the Buck weeks. And let me tell you, it was a whirlwind! We had a tall order to fill…do a deep clean on the arena, get ponies ridden and ready, SHOE 85 head, get around fences in the next cattle and horse pastures, gather cattle for the clinic—and somehow in there find time for some shuteye and a shower or two!
Of course, we killed it and got everything completed. This crew of ours is absolutely relentless and dedicated. Buck even noted that he thinks it’s the best crew we’ve ever had out here. Everyone works hard, plays hard, is compassionate, friendly and can maintain the best of attitudes no matter the circumstance. I’m a lucky ranch manager!
I made the decision to put Pard and Tucker, my former bridlehorses into the guest string. With so many youngsters and B-string horses to ride, I just can’t give them the time they deserve. And they (Pard especially) are fat as ticks. Some very fortunate guests were able to ride them in the clinic this past week and enjoy horses with a few extra buttons. Taps also made his debut in the clinic! We’ll have a couple more newbies added in this week.
The horses did fabulous. Shayne has really been bearing down this year on the flag work/cattle working skills and all of the preparation for them to make the horses get handier cutting. It’s really paying off! Several of the guests really got to feel what it means for a horse to be “hooked on” to where they could just turn them loose and let them go to work.
Buck always brings on the WOW factor with his horses. Watching him ride and seeing his horses progress really helps me as a rider to get back in balance. Shayne and I study so many nuances that ultimately make monumental differences. I told Buck that seeing him was like seeing an oasis in the desert after so many months!
Friday after our guests left, Buck, the crew and a couple stayover guests played 3 hours of laser tag with us! It was SOOOOOO much fun. Normally we go for like an hour, but our teams were really well matched and very competitive. We didn’t shut down our guns till after 10pm.
Today the crew is just wrapping up the final touches on the ranch for our incoming Week 2 clinic guests. Orientation is going to be starting pretty soon! It was great catching up with all of you.
All the best,
Des