From My Saddle
Livin' the Equine Lifestyle
Karen Pickering, Publisher
August 1, 2006

The equine lifestyle doesn’t get much better than here in the Pacific Northwest. The scenery is beautiful and the summertime weather offers ample opportunity to get out there and enjoy it with your equine partner and friends.

This month we focus on the Equine Lifestyle. Much of this sought-after lifestyle is infused with nostalgia cemented into the American collective memory by childhood books and TV dramas. We take you back to some of these nostalgic roots with a visit to the home of Misty of Chincoteague for the annual Chincoteague pony swim (see page 8). On the cover we introduce Flicka, a contemporary motion picture adaptation of Mary O’Hara’s beloved novel My Friend Flicka. The reengineered story featuring Tim McGraw and Alison Lohman is scheduled for release nationwide on October 20, 2006 (see page 22). Our other regular features offer step by step methods to help you enjoy that lifestyle to the full.

My work in the equine industry is one of the best parts of the equine lifestyle I experience. It allows me to travel, meet new horses and their people as well as learn about caring for these magnificent partners. We had the thrill of attending the dinner theatre presentation of “Arabian Nights”, one of the perks of our American Horse Publications seminar in Orlando, FL June 22-24. I made a new friend. Lestat, one of the stars of the dinner show who gracefully carried vaulters around the ring.

Arabian Nights features 70 horses in a 22-act show starring the Black Stallion from the most recent motion picture remake of Walter Farley’s legendary Black Stallion. It was quite a thrill to actually tour the barns and meet some of the stars in the show. If you ever visit Orlando this is a must see. Visit www.Arabian-Nights.com.

I hope to see some of you at the AQHA Regional Experience this month. The event takes place the 16th to 20th of August in Redmond, OR. It’s an opportunity to attend a trade show, horse show and trail ride simultaneously, focused around the American Quarter Horse. If you’re looking to buy a horse and want to experience the temperament and agility of these magnificent horses visit www.aqha.com/association/experience/one.html. I look forward to seeing you there!

What you have to say is very important to us. Please take time to complete our reader survey online. There is an opportunity to enter a drawing so don’t miss out! Visit www.nwhorsesource.com. Look for print version in the September issue.

Have a great summer and remember to ride!

Mary Trout, Co-worker and long time friend Passes

Mary Trout, long time friend and co-worker passed away June 7 from an inoperable malignant brain tumor. She was 41.
Her own words have been a comfort and inspiration:

“I feel such huge amounts of peace – not that I will necessarily be healed, but a peace that I am here right now for a reason. Maybe it is to help someone else. No matter what the outcome I will keep trusting God.”

We celebrate her life with the following memories shared at her memorial:

- “She is a wonderful person with a genuine love for people. Mary is optimistic and happy. The clients loved her and no matter who she dealt with, she was a beam of light in their day”

- She spent her time in treatment praying that the others around her, also suffering from cancer would experience God’s love and peace

- She told her friends that the first thing she would do when she got to heaven with her new body was to run around and then she was going to ride a horse. She’s one of the strongest Christian women I’ve ever met, and she was that way until the day she died

-“She changed a lot of people’s lives. I will never be the same person – she changed me deeply, and I’m the better for knowing her”


Copyright © 2008 The NW Horse Source