"Prince in Paint" by Lisa Madsen

"Prince in Paint" by Lisa Madsen of Baltic, SD.
Lisa donated this painting to DoubleHP, and we will be selling raffle tickets for it.
We have booth space reserved for Hartford Jamboree Days Saturday June 20. We don't know what we will do before or after that date. More details re: the raffle coming.
and pictures of the Artist Lisa coming too!
The day she showed the painting to Prince and Paul and Amanda.

More Little Visitors

Last Sunday Prince & Princess had visitors again. Paul and Amanda and their dad Randy Antonsen came. We were missing the other half of their family but hope more will come tomorrow for their next visit! Last week, we put a saddle on Prince so they could actually move around the arena on him, with Randy leading. A light synthetic saddle donated by Donna Jensen of Arlington SD. It hardly weighs a thing, which is great for Prince and his arthritis. Amanda learned that you really don't have to kick a horse to get him to go faster. Apparantly, last summer on their Dude Ranch trip, they had to kick the trail horses to get them to go up the hill. But Prince is so responsive. He was trained quite well as a show horse before his arthritis showed up. So, no, you don't have to kick Princie to make him trot. All you have to do is say "trot!"

We had more visitors that day too. Heidi, DoubleHP Vice President, her mom, and Heidi's niece Nala (yes, it's a beautiful name from the Lion King movie). So Nala got to ride Prince too! Prince was very proud and he does seem to love his new job which he is very good at.

Rick Knobe: Radio Guy, Rancher Guy

"I am impressed with the quality of care provided to the animals. It is obvious the DoubleHP folks know how to properly love and care for them. It was a joy to be able to "work" with Darci and her staff. I am looking forward to the next time."

Rick Knobe
KSOO Radio
Lazy RRse Buffalo Ranch

Rick Knobe from KSOO Radio came to DoubleHP Horse Shelter on April 8 to do some volunteer work for us. We put him right to work! We cleaned stalls, pens, the riding arena. We put hay out. We brushed some very hairy horses. We soaked Flicka's foot (abscess) and redid her wrap/boot. Rick might be a Radio Guy to most of us, but he is definitely a Ranch Guy too! He knew just what kind of clothes to wear and trudged through the mud many times to dump the wheelbarrow in the manure pile. He knew how to start the tractor, how to handle the bales, everything!

And when we took a little break from working, he treated me to some jerky from his Lazy RRse Buffalo Ranch. It is excellent jerky! Then, we decided to ride. Rick knew how to put the saddle on and everything! And he rode very well too. It was a wonderful day and Rick is a wonderful volunteer. He was here for almost 7 hours. And then, he returned on April 10, with his granddaughter Sara. They cleaned up the riding arena and some stalls. And then we rode. Rick and Sara are both very good riders, and I hope they will come back on a regular basis.

I forgot to take horse riding pictures. We'll get them next time! but here's a tractor riding shot that's kind of cute.

New Little Visitors

Today we had visitors from Hartford SD. Deb Antonsen brought her children Gabriel, Paul, Amanda and Christina. They breifly met all of the horses and spent a lot of time with Prince. He had been seriously rolling in the mud, but he was slightly cleaner when they left. Prince loves the children. And really loved Pauls ears!

Paul has his own website. Please read his story about his special heart. And his mom Deb keeps a journal here too. Here's the link.
http://www.caringbridge.org/visit/pauljeremiahantonsen/mystory

And we took pictures and made a slideshow of the visit too. It's just below this post.

Thanks for looking. at this. and at Paul's story on his caringbridge website.

Visit from the Antonsens

iK9Kare Pet Sitting

One of our animal friends, Tanya Beckman-Compson, has a Professional Pet Sitting business. A long time ago I promised to trade links with her, and I am just now getting around to doing it.

(sorry Tanya, but thanks for your patience).

And thanks for your new business. I hope to be able to hire you this summer. Because that will mean I found time to go on a horsey vacation.

Her website is http://www.ik9kare.com/

Lassos and Legends Event March 7

photo of Lucky Trailblazers with DoubleHP Spirit on Feb. 21, 2009.

When the Clay County Lucky Trailblazers 4H Club visited us on Feb. 21, they told us about an event they are producing. And I promised you some more info. So here it is:

It is the first annual Lassos and Legends on Saturday, March 7, in the Clay County Extension Office in Vermillion SD. Doors open at 5 p.m., meal at 6 p.m.

The Lassos and Legends event is an evening to pay tribute to a legend of the horse industry in South Dakota and to host a roundtable discussion featuring a veterinarian/equine chiropractor and area breeders/ trainers.

It is an evening to share with Frances Loiseau, breeder of Kristi Peterson's famous barrel racer "Bozo."

This event is planned with the following goals:
Empower our 4-H youth with a hands-on experience in marketing/producing an event in their area of interest.
Promote 4-H by recognizing area youth for their accomplishments.
Raise funds with proceeds going to facility improvements, local charities, and club advancement.
Honor a person who has accomplished much in the equine industry.
Provide a venue for people of all ages to broaden their horizons in the equine field.

More details at this website: http://www.lassosandlegends.webs.com/