Gold Creek Training Facility's Newsletter

British Columbia Adventure Rides

May 28, 2014

​Hello to all of my friends in the saddle!We have set dates for the summer trip to British Columbia.  As in our previous rides we will start in Banff where we will all assemble at the Resort on Lake Louise.  The destination will be in the Jasper region just north up the Yellow Knife highway.  The lupine will be blooming at their peak, the smell of Spruce trees and the snow capped Rockies will make for a spectacular ride.This will be advanced riders only as in our previous mountain rides.  Accommodations will start in luxury and shift to our mule train provisioned tents and grub.  Though Escobar will bring his amazing back country kitchen.  We will return to the Inn in Banff a couple days before departure.Contact my office on the private line if interested.  

Horsenality Isn’t Exactly Common Knowledge!

April 10, 2014

Parelli student Melissa Kellams sent us this great blog about a recent vet visit and the conversation about Horsenality that resulted from it. Take it away, Melissa!Probably like many of you, Horsenality is one of my favorite subjects to study. Through this study, we find that one of the key components of horsemanship is learning not to judge or to make excuses for a horse’s individual Horsenality. Likewise, as Parelli students, we are taught to not make assumptions, including assumptions about how a horse might “normally” respond to certain stimuli. Instead, we learn to be savvy enough to understand what outcome the horse is seeking at the time (safety, comfort, play, or food) and use that as a natural motivator. There is a well-known phrase that knowledge is power. Recently, I experienced what happens when assumptions of what’s “normal” collide with the knowledge of Horsenality.A few weeks ago, I called a local vet out to examine my 16-year-old Egyptian Arabian,...

Amazing Grace: The Star of the 2013 Parelli Summit

April 10, 2014

The 2013 Parelli Summit took place September 6-8 at the Parelli campus in Pagosa Springs, and suffice it to say, it was a memorable three days. Pat and Linda Parelli, Nate Bowers, Colleen Kelly, Parelli Professionals, a surprise guest turn from world-class cutting horse rider Doug Jordan… it had it all. But arguably the star of the entire weekend was a little horse named Grace.Grace and her owner, Tamara Tate, took part in Pat’s three-day Problem Horse Makeover sessions, and the progress she made between Friday morning and Sunday evening was, to put it mildly, stunning. As the Summit came to a close, Pat announced that he would like Grace to return to the Parelli campus next year to spend time with him and his students!Here’s Tamara herself, with Grace’s story:“Grace was born in 2005. Before she was a year old, she and three other fillies from the same Quarter Horse farm ended up at a feedlot to be sold for slaughter.  Hytyme Equine Rescue of Eagle Creek Oregon heard...

The Success of Your Horse

April 10, 2014

Parelli student Melissa Kellams recently sent us this blog. Great job, Melissa! Take it away…It’s great to have goals. In fact, as humans (and equestrian humans, in particular) goal-setting is a natural byproduct of our direct-line nature. Goals can help keep us motivated and focused when we might otherwise lack direction or get bored.Given this goal-oriented, direct-line nature of ours, it can sometimes be easy to put our goals and aspirations over the needs of and our relationship with our horse. Now, before you start getting all down on yourself, realize that we all have done this at one point or another, and often it is completely unintentional. Remember when Dr. Patrick Handley said: “We judge ourselves by our intention, but we judge others by their behavior.” Being the good Parelli students that we are, we certainly do not intend to put our goals over our horse; sometimes it just happens. You know, when you think, “…if only I could get one more step of sideways, or...