Newsletter March 2018.Pdf
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ISSUE 86 / March 2018 Your access to all things related to Best of America by Horseback As the weather is breaking, all of us are thinking about places to ride, both new trails and familiar ones. Last month we talked about getting licenses and tags updat- ed, checking Coggins and brakes, but this month I have a different suggestion. I have been blessed to ride in virtually every state, un- der the giant redwoods, in the Yukon, the painted des- sert, the badlands, Old Tombstone, riding along the Rio Grande, following Lewis and Clark’s route, Oregon Trail, Santa Fe Trail, the 3,311 mile Atlantic to Pacific ride and the Mexico to Canada ride, plus the Smokey Mountains, the Blue Ridge Mountains, Belize, Mexico and so much more, but the memories I love the most are who I was riding with. I suggest you reflect on old friends that you have ridden with. Remember those people and those times. I was invited to speak a couple of weeks ago at my close Garry Bass Photography friend’s funeral, Mr. Kenneth Abbott of Georgia. I was flooded with memories of riding together on the American Transcontinental Trail Ride from the Atlantic to the Pacific. For the most part, I found myself reflecting on such great times and riding across the White Sands Dessert or arriving at the Pacific Ocean. If you saw the European documentary on the true meaning of the American western spirit, you saw Kenneth, my fellow riders and me with no words but just a deep understanding of an indescribable bond. You have the same bond with folks you have ridden with. It really does not make any difference where it was, but the pleasure that lasts a lifetime of who you rode with. I ask that you take a moment and call some of those old friends and plan a ride together. Even if time and the ages have made it difficult to ride, go meet them and sit around the campfire and enjoy that bond of friendship. Page 2 I also want to suggest you do something else to prepare for the riding season. Take some quiet time with your horse. Of all the riders I have ever met, I have a memory etched in my mind of a fellow from North Carolina by the name of James Brown. He was on the Mexico to Canada ride. I deeply admired him, not only as a perfect gentleman to everyone he met or being the as tough a cowboy or American as I have ever met to ride anywhere under any condition, but it was the bond he has with his horse. I do not even know if the horse was registered or a special breed but it did not matter. Early each morning before everyone was up, he silently would feed and gently brush his horse. He did it with dedication and the horse knew it. They had that bond that words cannot describe. I never saw him with spurs or a whip of any kind. I never saw him raise his hand against his horse or even raise his voice. Somehow that horse loved his master and that bond was his key to being the most admired trail rider or perhaps trainer, I ever saw. We as people should be like James Brown, but all of us need to make that bond with our horse as we enter the riding season. DVD’s and books are fine, but it is you and your soul with a horse that creates the success. As a side light, my grandfather was a deaf mute but he had that kind of bond with his horse using hand signals. The horse would come to him from a large field each morning as he would hold up his hand. Like James Brown, it was all silent but the communication between him and the horse was profound. Grandad would even harness and hitch his horse to the old wagon, completely by hand signals. They truly loved each other. So this season, create the trust and bond with your horse. It will take you to a new level of pleasure you have not known before and make every trail ride a special gift. You do not need special DVD’s or magic secrets from a trainer. Just spend some time and discover your horse and its hidden talents. If I can do anything for you, contact me at my personal email, [email protected], that comes only to me and I will answer you and help you in any way I can. Tom Tom and his beloved horse, Marshall, as they reached the Pacific Ocean on the Transcontinental Trail Ride. Tom with several of the Mexico to Canada riders Page 3 Join us on these upcoming rides! • October 25-27Find more details on our website: www.bestofamericabyhorseback.com/rides-events Leatherwood Mountains 2018 Cook Forest Trail Ride - Clarion, PA Ferguson,Florida SheriffNC Youth Ranch - Live Oak, FL July 16-22 Enjoy 6 nights, 4 meals, lots of riding, ranch March 23-25 • Oct 30 - NovEnjoy 3 a special weekend at a working ranch that sorting, tack auction, live band and on Thurs, Fri & gives kids a second chance. Learn about the Sat seminars with Tom Seay American Heart Assoc. programs, trail ride plus more River Valley Horse Camp - Farmington, IA September 21-23 Trails,Beach Ride Etc - Midway, AL Join Tom Seay and Kristen Biscoe as they ride in April 25 the midwest, this time in Iowa. Enjoy a full week Myrtle Beach,Ride SC with Tom & Kristen at this all new location and enjoy over 60 miles of trails on private land. end of exciting activities including a dinner and • January 12Includes-18 a banquet dinner. dance. Alabama Governor’s Ride @ Faye Whittemore Mackinac Horse Center - Mackinac Island, MI Reunion Cruise September 28-30 Farms - Jasper, AL Join Tom Seay and Kristen Biscoe as they explore Grand Cayman,April Jamaica 27-29 Celebrate Alabama’s Bicentennial Anniversary with this unique island in MI where there are no & Haiti motorized vehicles and help celebrate 20 years of Tom Seay, Kristen Biscoe & the Alabama Horse • January 24Council.-26 Enjoy trail riding, seminars, clinics, music the Mackinac Horse Center and a banquet dinner. Daniel Boone Days - Culpeper, VA TuckerR.O. Ranch Saddle Trail Riding Weekend at East October 5-7 Tom Seay and Kristen Biscoe share the history of ForkMayo, Stables FL - Jamestown, TN Daniel Boone in the Culpeper, VA area with a May 4-6 historic living encampment, colonial crafts, riding • April 18-20Join Tom Seay & Kristen Biscoe for a weekend of riding, seminars and clinics from our sponsors. and more! “Our Barn”Saddle Fitting, music plus a steak dinner. Cattle Drive Weekends at Andora Farm Smoke Rise Ranch Resort - Glouster, OH Ridgeway, SC Apr 6-7; Apr 13-14; May 11-12; Jun 8-9; Jun 29- May 18-20 30; Jul 13-14; Jul 27-28; Aug 10-11; Sept 14-15; Join Tom Seay & Kristen Biscoe for a weekend of • May 2-4 Oct 12-13; Nov 2-3 riding, seminars, music plus banquet dinner. Come to Tom’s farm in Culpeper, VA to work and EastGathering Fork Stables at the Farm - Culpeper, VA drive cattle. Enjoy southern home cooked meals, June 15-17 stall and electric hook-up. Spaces limited Jamestown, Come TN to Tom Seay’s farm for Cattle Drive, trail riding, clinics, seminars, demos, evening campfires • May 16-18 Farm Days Week at Andora Farm and relaxing. July 24-29 or Aug 7-11 4th Annual Gathering Enjoy a week on Tom Seay’s working farm and helping him around the farm like driving and treat- Tom’s Farm in Virginia ing cattle, riding the fence line, fishing and enjoy the quiet farm evenings. • June 13-15 Old Cow TownTo join Tom Seay, Kristen Biscoe & Del Shields Saguache, CO for an adventure . Call 540-829-9555 or visit • June 20-22 www.bestofamericabyhorseback.com Tribute to the Mustang Visit our website for details on how to sign up or Wyoming call 540-829-9555 for more details. Page 4 Howdy Friends! Well, here's one you can consider. We'll just call it. THE MULE In-spite of what you've heard or think, please open up your ears. Let me tell you of the journey that's happened through the years. Lets go back a long, long ways to the ancient days we're told. The Pharaohs mined for turquoise. To them it was like gold. They needed ways to pack it. And that's where I come in. They carved my picture on the rocks to show the routes for men. My strong back and my wisdom have brought my value high. My tall ears show alertness, as they point up at the sky. I've earned the honor you now know. I am no Poppers fool. I've stalled in barns of Royalty. By breeding I'm the Mule. George Washington was a noble man. He believed in my rare worth. He helped bring me to America, to build and plow the earth. Over time my worth has grown. My name no longer scorned. I'm seen in show rings, jumping class, where championships are born. My reputation I have earned, I am a stubborn cuss. But treat me with respect and care, and you'll find we do not fuss. While sondering down a shady lane, my ears will flop in-sink. You'll think you're in a rocking chair, with sleep just ore the brink.