Pink Ribbon Ride!!!!

We did it!!!! And, we freakin' nailed it too!!! Beautiful weather, an amazing turnout with 154 riders and gorgeous trails!! Linus looked confused with seeing me before the sun with tack and all! Bernie pulled in right on time and I was pleased with how easy Linus loaded. It was not a perfect walk-on but for a different trailer with a horse already in it, he did just fine!!

Allie handled the separation well and was happily grazing out front when we returned. We panicked when we pulled in and the corral was taken apart but it wasn't because she ran through it!! We reset all the gates a leveled it all off!! 

So, we arrived at the Ride after about a 45 minute trailer ride. The horses unloaded easy and Linus took a good look around. He was a bit excited to see all of the other horses and trailers. Bernie knocked some brush down and we tied to the trees and set up the hay nets. The boys settled right in!

The quality of the above picture isn't the best because I took a picture of a picture : )

The company doing these totally donated their time, effort and everything else involved. 100% of the photo sales went to the fundraiser. 

All participants received a ribbon!

Here's the boys just settling in.

Let the "pinking" begin!! 

My husband said "Poor horse, you take away his balls and then dress him in pink; he's probably so confused" Ha ha, thanks honey!

The boys were so good for us and stood nice and quiet while we worked away.

Linus' mane is too short to do much with it but I put horse glitter gel in it. We had pink bows all around our breast plate and through his tail.

Bernie braided Lucas' mane and wove the boa into it! He's such a good boy!

Our two pink boys, ready to go!

Not long after we started, we wondered why there were horses coming towards us!! Guess who it turned out to be? Fellow RACer Cyndi with Sunny! It was so funny, it clicked for us at the same moment that we were keeping an eye out for one another. The people around us on the trail were good enough to wait patiently for Bernie to take our pictures. Cyndi was on her way to register so we carried on but caught up after the ride to visit. It was a joy to meet you Cyndi. You're a lovely and fun person and it would be awesome to meet you again for a ride sometime! Sunny was stellar! He takes everything in stride and wasn't bothered one bit by any of the hoo-ha!

Nice to meet you!

And our horses had to meet as well! I was impressed that Linus showed no aggressive behavior at all towards any other horses. He wanted to be friends with everyone!

I love this shot of Bernie and Lucas!! I think there is actually a better one zoomed in a bit more but you get the idea. They make a fantastic team.

The fall colours were beautiful and the trails were unbelievable

Lucas is showy and likes to arch his neck! He bends his nose almost to his knees and prances too!

We had beautiful scenery and no bugs!

The prize table! We rode by the balloons without a fuss

After the ride and SO happy!!

Putting the ribbons on was actually pretty tricky! My hands were covered in pink glitter!! I forgot to bring baby wipes. I tried the Cowboy Magic - didn't work....but fly spray did!

Big hugs for my big boy!

I cannot believe this happened today! It was such a thrill and something that was a distant dream from when I bought Linus. I choked up a few times because this meant so much to me. It was so fantastic to see so many horses and riders all there pinking it up and having a good time! It was amazing! Everyone got along, there were no accidents and no big problems. We ended up helping a woman on a nervous Appy quite a bit. He was spooky and she got off twice. Bernie dismounted while I held her horse to help the woman get back on. Then their horses really took to ours so the Appy stayed parked right behind Lucas for most of the ride to keep calm. There was a shooting range nearby and he really didn't like that. I was proud of our 2 guys for totally ignoring the shots and being the "big brothers". At one point a group came up pretty quick and it was near the beginning of the ride. Bernie was behind me and asked them to slow down to pass. I thanked them and explained it was Linus' first time out like this. A woman on a paint was having a hard time controlling her horse and said "Mine too, but yours is behaving!" It was a quick compliment and I was proud of Linus for being so calm as she battled off. I did not battle with Linus, we did most of the ride on a loose rein. Not all of it because I had to hold him back from rushing the horses in front of us at times!

I was able to talk to a few different riders and they all asked what Linus was so I got to explain about the Curlies! YAY! Someone asked us what barn we ride and train with.....we answered...umm, our farms. We usually just ride around home or with the cows! Not the answer they expected but what do you expect from a couple of laid back farm gals?! There were a lot of big barns there with riders, but for the most part they were all very nice. It was a wonderful day!

We had a BBQ lunch after the ride and then trailered back home. I turned Linus out and he trotted up the pasture alongside the trailer calling goodbye to Lucas...I think he likes Lucas better than Allie!! 

I gave him some pasture time and then "de-pinked" him. I couldn't get a picture but when I was doing his forelock he leaned his head on my belly while I worked. It was the cutest thing! I think he actually enjoyed today. Every time I went back to his pasture he came running up nickering at me. I said "Wow, I'm glad you still like me after putting you through all of that!" 

I have the best horse ever!!

Bernie and I were talking and our next goal is a parade!!

Thanks for reading and sorry for the long post! Can't wait to see Cyndi's!!

Donna & Linus

Pink Ribbon Ride 2013