Out West Blog
Welcome to the Out West blog.
Congratulations to 4th of July Ranch Sort Winners!
July 6th, 2009We’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
Practicing Taking Proper Leads with your Horse
June 22nd, 2009It’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
Lessons from SDSU -Reading, Writing and RIDING
June 16th, 2009
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
June 6 Ranch Sorting Jackpot Results
June 10th, 2009It 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.
Ranch Sorting Practice Tonight and Jackpot Tomorrow
June 5th, 2009
Hi from OutWest! We’ve been busy this week getting everything ready for our first Ranch Sorting Jackpot of the season. In fact, we’ve already set up the smaller pen for tomorrow’s jackpot, so tonight’s practice will be 2-person teams. Practice starts at 6pm and cost is $25 per rider.
I’m going to assume that the rain will hold off until later in the day tomorrow, but should anything change between now and tomorrow morning, I will send another blog posting with an update. We’ll also change the message on the office phone 763.477.6629 if there is a change to current plans.
Registration is from 10:30 to 11:30 on Saturday, and we’ll begin at noon. There will be concessions, including hot coffee, hot chocolate, walking tacos, hot dogs and more.
Hope to see y’all tonight and / or tomorrow.
Melissa (aka Lloyd’s wife)
Introducing Angie Gebhart
June 4th, 2009
Hello there! My name is Angie Gebhart, and I couldn’t be happier to introduce myself as part of the “OutWest Team”. I call Maple Grove home, but during the school year I attend South Dakota State University, where I am double-majoring in Biology and Spanish. During the summer, you can often find me here, at OutWest, spending time with the horses.
I have been riding at OutWest for several years in the team sorting and ranch horse show events, along with showing my own horses in reining competitions for almost ten years. As a member of the SDSU Women’s Equestrian team, I am learning to show a wide variety of horses, so helping out at OutWest during the summertime is a perfect opportunity to get experience riding all sorts of equines (from mules to cutters!) I can’t get enough of being at OutWest, and I love helping to get horses ready for sales and shows.
I’m pretty lucky to work with such a great group of people, and I look forward to learning as much as I can this summer.
See you at OutWest!
Angie
Results & Recap of First OutWest Ranch Horse Show
June 2nd, 2009We want to thank everyone who took part in our first OutWest Ranch Horse Show of 2009. This is our 7th season of Ranch Horse Shows and I was struck on Saturday by how much the quality of horses and horsemanship has improved over the years. It’s very rewarding for me to see how these shows have grown and the how level of competition has increased. In the Conformation classes, both mares and geldings, we had a set of horses that anyone would be proud to say that they owned. And, in the Pleasure class, there were several horses that would truly be a joy to take out west and use for ranch work.
We added two new classes this year, Ranch Roping and Pole Bending. I always wanted to have roping part of our shows, and we at OutWest will continue to work to make this a better class. Thanks to everyone who participated in these new classes. As always, we’d love to hear your feedback.
Congratulations to our high point gelding, Shelly Johnson and high point mare, Tim Hanson. Our high point youth rider was Maria Hanson. It’s great to see the youth riders doing so well in all of the classes. I think it’s so important to continue to focus on encouraging our youth, as they are the future of the horse business. Thanks to all of the parents and participants who cheer them on at every show. It’s all of you who make OutWest feel like family, and we thank you for your positive encouragement of all competitors.
Thank you for your support and patience as we strive to go paperless with our registration process. To ensure that we are beginning our shows promptly at 9am, we will be changing the registration time to 7:30 – 8:30am. You may still add classes during the course of the day if you desire.
The next OutWest Ranch Horse Show is scheduled for June 27. We hope to see you there!
Lloyd
Ranch Horse Show This Week!
May 28th, 2009We were very happy to see so many new, and familiar, faces at our OutWest Spring Auction; and congratulations to the proud owners of new horses. Thank you for coming -we are already looking forward to the Fall Auction, which is now scheduled for Saturday, October 3 2009.
I am excited for the Ranch Horse Shows that are going to be underway this Saturday, May 30. I have been busy riding our string of horses along with awesome help from Angie Gebhart, a good hand, and a student at South Dakota State. I am glad to have her helping us through the summer!
In past years I have found that I can get nervous taking my horses to a relatively unfamiliar environment. There is a lot going on when you go to a show, and it can be difficult for some horses that haven’t been around so much action. I like to prepare myself, and my horses, for these situations as much as possible before I go.
I think that it behooves me and my horse to practice some patterns that I will be showing in, as well as to set goals. Whether I am showing for fun, or for competition, it is important to have attainable goals. I like to do my arena work and then go down the trail and through the woods to expose them to different places. I try to make sure my horses are in shape so they are not fresh the day of the show.
I keep odd items in the arena to help my horse prepare for versatility courses. I practice walking, trotting and loping down the road at different speeds to help in the pleasure and reining classes. You can set up barrels or poles, and pattern your horse at a trot and lope. Keep in mind that the Ranch Horse Shows are all about having a versatile ranch horse. Enjoy time with your friends, family, and horse. Stay relaxed, meet new people, have fun, and smile!
I look forward to seeing you at OutWest!
New Auction Consignments and More Pictures
May 13th, 2009We have just received consignments of two very nice buggies -take a look at the picture below.
Horse-drawn Buggies
Other sale highlights include the two 60′ round pens shown below, as well as horse trailers -scroll down to see pictures of two.
Preifert Round Pen
Round Pen
4 Star 4 Horse Slant Trailer
WW 3 Horse Slant Trailer
See you on Saturday!
May 16 Auction Features Broke Horses from OutWest
May 13th, 2009Here at OutWest we work hard to find quality, all-around ranch horses; and we hold high expectations for these horses. They must be quiet, gentle, and have a good handle. At our auction this Saturday we will have a great line up of versatile mounts, including quality ranch quarter horses, ponies, and quiet trail horses. The horses we will sell have all been ridden and tested by me and others here at OutWest; and these are all horses that we own.
One of the horses we are very proud to be selling is a very nice 11-year-old red dun mare. This mare has been used extensively in a feedlot and has had many miles of outside riding. She is easy on the eyes and easy to ride. Her quiet and unique disposition makes her a joy to ride. If you want to swing a rope off her, sort cows, or take her on a leisurely trail ride, she will do it and will be safe for all ages and all levels of riders -a super family horse!
This is just one example of the kind of horses we will have here at our auction on Saturday. We take pride in our horses and represent them with integrity. So have at ‘em, and mark us on your calendars for the 16th (this Saturday!) The auction will start at 10:30am and horses will sell at approximately 1:00pm.
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