Spring went well and we had a lot of successful camps. Our parent/child camps were very well attended with many repeat families, as were the Women’s Weekend Getaways. We also hosted a 2 week clinic for Robin Hood and Peggy Cummings (Ttouch and Connected Riding) which saw clients from all over the world. As our horses are such great school masters, some were used in this clinic. Fall saw a couple of weekend camps as well as the Salmon Arm 4-H club. This is their 3rd year and we always enjoy having them. If anyone of you belong to a club or organization, I just want to let you know that we do cater to private functions on our off season.
Our summer camp programs were very well attended and we were filled to capacity and had to turn some late registries away. Angie and Erica once again, did a wonderful job instructing and we had many compliments regarding the great instruction and wonderful safe school horses. Jenn did her usual great job teaching Stable Management. I would also like to take this time to thank all the staff including the barn workers which included Melissa (barn manager) Amber, Riley, Claire, Andrea, Leia, Taylor, Amelie, Kathryn, for a job well done. Also thanks to Katrina and Jeanine and Jessica, who helped out the last week. Jenn is presently at school at Olds College in Alberta, Amber is taking her Level 1 certification at Unicorn Stables in Surrey, and Melissa is working at the tack store in Penticton and is going to pursue her farrier apprenticeship. Erica is surfing in California and will be back for the 2006 season and Angie is still living down the road and helping with winter chores. Also a big thanks to Donna, my kitchen helper, since year 2.
Angie has been busy this fall with clinics. Right now she is at Thunderbird in Langley attending a coaching symposium hosted by such great names as George Morris, Lynne Larson, Claudia Cojocar, Jody Sloper, Geoff Teall, Leslie Law, and Dr. David Paton, DVM . I am sure she will be returning with a wealth of knowledge to share with all of us. She also took Lucifer to Kamloops to attend a jumping clinic with Eddie Macken, the show jumping legend originally from Ireland. He most recently was the chef d’equipe for the Irish team for last summer’s Olympic Games in Athens and is now based out of Langley. She got a lot of good tips which she will be implementing for some of the more advanced riders in the upcoming summer of 2006
Horse news. Since my last update we purchased even more horses. Kenley, we used in our summer camp program and worked out well and loved by all those who road him. We recently purchased a 16’2 hand Thoroughbred gelding named Dusty to be used for the more advanced groups next year as well as a large chestnut gelding named Newman. Winnie and Tommy were sold. Dodge and Flash were given away to a retirement home for minimal riding. Amber has found a new home for Beau and is taking Sierra with her to Langley to ride when she leaves for Unicorn Stables in November. Half lingers – Fancy was used numerous times this summer and is turning out to be a gem. As she is still very young and immature, we have to keep everything chewable from her mouth, example, reins, ropes, halters etc and do not want to overwork her. Duchess was not used by students yet, but I’m sure she will be ready for the upcoming season.
We are looking for a couple of horses for our more advanced riders as well as a couple of small ponies for beginners. If you know of anything that might work, please let me know.
Horses for sale. We are selling Tia and Austin as well as Niko. I will post more information on them in a separate section on my web site.
An update on the rest of the farm animals. Timmy, the resident pest goat is settling in nicely for the winter. He has a huge coat and has joined the horses in the paddocks, sharing their food. Wilma, the pot belly pig, is still growing her belly daily. She seems to be always hungry. Apparently that is typical for pigs. She seems to be a bit bored now that all the action and feeding grain to the horses has stopped. She managed to clean up every granule of grain that the horses missed. Now she is uprooting the barn grass area. She is so destructive that they even named a hurricane after her. We moved the chicken coop into her pen and remodeled it into a new house for her. It is going to be a duplex and will make room for the spring lamb which hopefully we will be acquiring next year. As mentioned in my last update, Rudy, the old faithful black lab passed away from old age on Mother’s Day. We purchased a new black lab and after much discussion named her Sadie. We just had her spayed and she is now 6 months old and pretty much the same size as Kelsey and still growing. She is your typical puppy, up to mischief all the time and chewing, chewing and more chewing. I keep forgetting what puppies are all about, but I think this one is certainly the worst I have ever had. Barkley is still out hunting for rodents and coyotes and Purdy is still walking around with the ball in mouth waiting for some unsuspecting visitor to throw it. And then it starts, non stop.
Hopefully everyone received an invitation from Kodak Gallery to view the pictures Jenn took this summer. We uploaded 3.5 GB to the Kodak site and then sent invites to view or download or purchase the prints. Unfortunately we had camera problems during week 5, so no pictures were taken while we waited for a replacement. Sorry some of you may have been missed. Some invitations were returned as undeliverable due to incorrect email addresses. If you didn’t get an invitation, please contact us at Hilda@aspengrovebc.com . We are also curious about your views of this format, the site, its access etc. Please give us your imput so we can make changes for next year if needed. If you know of a better site or format or have some pictures you would like to add, let us know. Next year we will do this again, only assign more staff so we can make sure we get lots of pictures of everyone, so their will be lots to choose from.
As I go through reading the all the horse publications it gives me great pleasure to see and recognize all the names of the students who attended Aspengrove and are doing extremely well in the show circuit. Some got their start here, while others had already been riding and came to camp to enhance their skills and join in the camp atmosphere and mingle with other children sharing the same interest in horses. Approaching our 16th year in business I am now getting contacted by past students who are interested in sending their children, and some summer camp students are now attending the adult camps. Guess it is almost time for retirement. Speaking of, I suppose you have all heard the rumors about my retirement. I am planning to retire within the next 3 – 4 years, so am getting my thoughts together. If you know of anyone who might be interested in taking over the business, let me know. I would still be interested in helping out but not having the whole business on my shoulders.
We are just in the process of sending out our 2006 registration forms and as usual we are offering the $100. early registration discount.This discount is offered for all registrations received and paid in full by December 1st. There will only be a $50. discount for the week of Aug. 27 – Sept. 1 as this week is already discounted. As some of the weeks filled very quickly last year, we recommend you book your weeks soon, if you require a certain session. For those that have not yet finalized your summer plans, you can still register and leave the dates blank and still get the discount. Contact us once you know what sessions you want.
I am sorry to be so late in announcing the winner of the stuffed Aspengrove horse. The winner was Izzy Monroe from McBride. Congratulations to Izzy. You will get your horse shortly, once I find a big enough box. The draw for the horse included all the winners of the cleanest cabin. Good work.
If you have changed your email address, please contact us so we can update our files. Thanks to all who write. If you have not yet done so, please complete the evaluation and let us know your thoughts. Hope to hear from you all soon.
Cheers,