Out West Blog

OutWest 2010 Sorting Leagues

It’s that time of year again where Spring is just around the corner and everyone is itching to get out and do some riding.  Check out OutWest’s 2010 schedule, now posted on our events page, where we are offering three sorting league seasons – Spring, Summer and Fall.  Like last year, we will be having three different time slots beginning at 6pm, 7pm and 8pm for each season on Wednesday evenings here at OutWest Arena. 

You can now sign up for our leagues through our Contact us page, email us at outwestarena@aol.com or call us at 763.477.6629.  The cost per league is $150 for the first time slot, $275 for two and $400 for three.  The Spring leagues are filling up extremely fast, so contact us today if you would like to sign up.  We are also taking sign ups for all three seasons (Spring, Summer and Fall) if you know that you would like to join us now.  Once you are signed up, please mail all checks to our office at:    

We look forward to seeing you at OutWest this year! 

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Congratulations to Wright County Fair Ranch Sort Winners!

The rain couldn’t dampen spirits at the Wright County Fair in Howard Lake Saturday, August 15th, where over 80 teams competed for buckles and cash in the OutWest Ranch Sorting competition.

First place went to Joe White and Grant Lindaman, with a combined time of 1:13.73.

Second place went to Paul Grosser and Joe White, with a combined time of 1:18.00.

Third place team was Grant Lindaman and Brandon Arndt, with a combined time of 1:19.41.

Fourth place team was Angie Gebhart and Scott Lambrecht, with a combined time of 1:21.51.

Fifth place team was Maynard Arndt and Brandon Arndt, with a combined time of 1:26.28.

Thanks to Ron Denn, the Wright County Fair Board, and to all of you for coming out!

Lloyd, Melissa, Jacob, Noah and the OutWest Team

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OutWest Summer Ranch Sorting League Winners

We couldn’t have asked for better weather or more fun this summer during our Ranch Sorting league!  Thanks to everyone for their participation, and congratulations to our winners in each time slot.  First place winners took home OutWest Champion buckles, second place won an OutWest jacket and third place had their choice of OutWest hat or Tshirt.

At 6pm, first place went to Kirk Hawk, with a total of 33 points.  Second place went to Doug Peterson with 28 points, and third place to Carol Reid with 27 points.

6pm Summer League Participants

6pm Summer League Winners

At 7pm, first place went to Chad Little, with a total of 47 points.  Second place went to Tina Gruber with 34 points, and third place was Natalie Otto with 32 points.

7pm Summer League Participants

7pm Summer League Winners

At 8pm, first place went to Joe White, with a total of 38 points.  We had a tie for second and third places (each with 31 points), but Paul Grosser edged out Lynn Daring with a faster average top 5 times for the 7 week league.

8pm Summer League Participants

8pm Summer League Winners

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Congratulations Ranch Horse Show Winners!

We’d like to recognize and congratulate the high point competitors in the July 18th OutWest Ranch Horse Show.  Thanks to everyone for coming out -it was a beautiful day!

Champion Gelding was shown by Grant Lindaman, Reserve Champion Gelding was Sue Lein, third place Gelding was Vicky Henderson.

Champion Mare was shown by Tim Hanson, Reserve Champion Mare was Milo Miller and third place Mare was Sandy Dahl.

We had a great Youth Class at this show and Champion Youth went to Maria Hanson, Reserve Champion Youth was Alexis Lohse and third place Youth competitor was Logan Blum.

The next OutWest Ranch Horse Show is scheduled for August 22.  Hope to see you there!

Melissa

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Ranch Sorting and Horsemanship

I can’t believe we are already halfway through the month of July! Our Ranch Horse Show is this weekend Saturday the 18th. We sure have enjoyed this summer with the relatively cool weather, making a lot of time to ride! The OutWest league sortings have been fun to watch! Be sure if you missed out on our summer league that you keep in mind we will be having a fall league -contact us to sign up!

As fun, fast, and exciting, as sorting is, it’s easy to run into problems by getting excited and wind up completely forgetting about horsemanship. I believe that this is a common problem in the sport. Jerkin’ back, pulling, wippin’, and spurrin’, all at the same time! I have to remember to slow it down in my head, remember the basics, and most importantly -trust my horse at his job. By doing this, I relax. And, because of that, my horse will relax. In return, both my horse and I will perform to our fullest potential.

I think there are six important things to remember while sorting; positioning (knowing where to be), timing (knowing when to be there), communication (both with your partner and your horse), trust (having trust in your horse and your partner(s) to do their part) and horsemanship.

I look forward to seeing you here at OutWest, whether it is at our shows, leagues, lessons, or practices. Remember to look up during the day, to smile, check out the scenery, and be happy for how good we all have it.

Grant

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OutWest Summer League Standings as of Week 3

We’ve received a lot of great feedback regarding OutWest Summer Leagues -thanks to all of you for participating and keeping this really fun for everyone! 

Here is the list of your top point winners as of week three.  Click here to go to the website where you can download and print the full standings for all leagues.  Remember, a lot can happen in the four weeks remaining!

6:00 League

• 1st place -Doug Peterson 18 pts
• 2nd place -Kirk Hawk 17 pts
• 3rd place -Vicki Baldry 13 pts
• 4th place -Natalie Otto 12 pts
• 5th & 6th place tie -Kurt Baldry& Carol Reid 10 pts

7:00 League

• 1st place -Chad Little 27 pts
• 2nd place -Natalie Otto 21 pts
• 3rd place -Sue Grosser 12 pts
• 4th place -Tina Gruber 11 pts
• 5th place -Joe White 10 pts
• 6th place -Melissa Christenson 9 pts

8:00 League

• 1st place -Joe White 25 pts
• 2nd place -Lynn Daring 20 pts
• 3rd place -Sue Grosser 12 pts
• 4th place -Tina Gruber 11 pts
• 5th place -David Ellis 10 pts
• 6th place -Carol Reid 9 pts

See you all this coming Wednesday the 15th!

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Congratulations to 4th of July Ranch Sort Winners!

We’d like to thank everyone who came out and celebrated the 4th of July with us at OutWest!  Here’s a recap of the big winners for the day -it was “all in the family” for 3 out of our top 5 teams!

• First place team: husband and wife, Lisa Smith and Larry Smith, with a combined time of 1:24.03
• Second place team: Kurt Baldry and Mike Kelly, with a combined time of 1:40.85
• Third place team: father and daughter, Rick Nash and Melissa Nash, with a combined time of 1:43.57
• Fourth place team: brothers, Shaun Little and Chad Little with a combined time of 1:44.77
• Fifth place team: Scott Lambrecht and Melissa Nash, with a combined time of 1:49.67

Congratulations to everyone!  We hope to see you at the next OutWest Ranch Sort competition -August 15th at the Wright County Fair in Howard Lake.  Thanks to the fair board for asking us back again this year.  The fairgrounds provides a great venue for the competition and we expect a big crowd once again. 

Until then, we’ll see you at team sorting practice every Friday night this summer at 6pm.

Melissa

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Practicing Taking Proper Leads with your Horse

It’s nice to be back in Minnesota again after being in hot Oklahoma! My friend, Brooks, and I attended the Oklahoma School of Horseshoeing to learn the basic principles and practices of shoeing. We learned a lot in the time we were there, and now we have plenty of horses to work on here at the ranch!

Our next OutWest Ranch Horse Show is coming up already this Saturday, June 27. I have plenty of goals in mind to work on! One of them is taking the proper leads when I ask for them. As simple a maneuver as this might seem, it is not always easy. Here are a few ways that I will be practicing taking leads with my horse this week.

The first thing I will work on is trotting in the arena in about a 50 ft circle. I will then kiss and ask with my outside leg to take the proper lead. If my horse doesn’t take the lead I am asking for, I will steadily stop him and start over. If he takes the correct lead, I will make sure I reward him by petting his shoulder while loping, and continue until I ask him to break down to a trot or walk. Once I attain what I want in the 50 ft circles, I will ask for the proper lead on the long side of the arena going straight along the arena wall using the same outside leg.

Once I feel confident with my horse’s lead departures in the arena, the last thing I will work on is taking that lead at any time outside of the arena, in the pasture, down the road, etc., making sure I am consistent in the way I ask for the lead.

Remember to keep things simple, short and sweet when practicing, and quit when your horse is doing his best. Make sure to set attainable goals to set you and your horse up for success. Take care of yourself and your horses, and remember who made it all possible for us to be out doing the things we love.

Grant

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Lessons from SDSU -Reading, Writing and RIDING

I hope I am not the only one that needs all weekend to come down from the “high” that team sorting brings on Friday nights at OutWest. Last week was no different for me! I remember how tentative I used to be around cows on my own horse, yet now the adrenaline is intensified when I can hop on one of OutWest’s horses and walk into the pen.  I love it!

But, that’s summer -I thought I would take the chance to explain a bit more about the format of the equestrian team I am a part of at South Dakota State University during the fall and spring.  The best (and sometimes worst!) thing about this type of competition is that we do not show our own horses.  Instead, it is like a bull ride; we arrive at the host team’s school and draw a horse to ride. Each rider gets four minutes to warm up, figuring out her horse’s quirks, before heading on into the show pen.

Although this provides for some wonderful experiences -like the opportunity to ride some very polished reining and horsemanship horses -keep in mind that there is usually a reason these horses are donated to a school. This makes for some tough rides as well! Since we do not haul our own horses to shows, we have flown to some neat places to compete, such as Delaware, New Mexico, California, Tenessee, Kansas and Texas.

I am so thankful that the team is making me into a more adaptable rider, and spending time in the saddle at OutWest only improves my riding more! I wouldn’t trade the teamwork I have with my own reining horse for anything -there is something deeply rewarding about knowing your own horse inside and out. However, horses’ personalities can be about as diverse as those of humans; and I think this challenge of recognizing and adjusting to different equine “styles” is teaching me so much about confidence and becoming a better horsewoman.

Angie

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June 6 Ranch Sorting Jackpot Results

It was a little drizzly and a little cold, but we still had fun last Saturday at the Ranch Sorting Jackpot!  Hopefully the weather cooperates for the next jackpot at OutWest scheduled for Saturday, July 4th!

Big winners were Chad Little & Tim Hanson, followed by the team of Scott Lambrecht & Kurt Baldry, Doug Peterson & Kurt Baldry, Bill Smith & Tom Stoppelman, and Melissa Christenson & Kurt Baldry.  Congratulations to everyone!

We’d like to thank everyone for coming out and hope to see you this Friday night at 6pm for sorting practice.

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