Follow my progress in the 2022 Teens and Oregon Mustangs challenge where I will have 100 days from p
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Had a ton of fun with Tavik today! Got together with Lydia and brought Adalee and baby Zephan on a trail ride! (Trained by Mild at Heart - Mustang Gentling & More ) Tavik was fantastic as usual. He got to meet the baby and did really well with him and was awesome out on the trail. He's such a cool horse! ♥ This was my ultra-belated birthday ride and it was so worth the wait!
Also got to meet Firefly (Lydia Dedera’s Horse Training) at the very end! He's so handsome!
Hey everybody! It's been a while! But I have good news, since I'm not doing another mustang challenge over this summer I will be devoting much more time to working with Tavik and enjoying him this summer so you guys will get to see a lot more of him! Today I got him out with a friends and we went on a ride. It was really fun! We got to meet another Teens and Oregon Mustangs graduate, JD (who by the way is gorgeous!) and I got to hang out with another mustang trainer which always fun! Thanks for pivoting me to ride, Sarah Gent, it was a lot of fun! Tavik, of course, was his usual wonderful self and was pretty much perfect other than being a little wiggly when I tried to get on. We even tried all his tricks after the ride and he remembered them all. Then he wouldn't quit doing his funny lip face the rest of the time cause he was hoping I'd give him a few more treats. 😂 That his way of begging, he knows I'm a sucker for the "Tavik face"! Lol
Hey everybody! Just thought I'd give a quick update on my Tavik boy. He's still my heart and my favorite partner. ♥ Since I've been putting so much work into River, my current mustang challenge horse I haven't worked with him in a while but he's been enjoying hanging out with his buddies Dakota, Misty, and little Stormy. He has become a total fluff with his THICK winter coat. He looks like a fluffy teddy bear! 😍 I am planning to take him out on a trail ride for my birthday which is coming up so I am excited to get back with my best boy! Here's a picture of him and his pals with the snow we got this morning.
As promised! Here is my new mustang page for this girl's journey! Be sure to follow to get all the fun updates as I written with her through this winter! 😊
Here's a video of the mares we will get to pick from for the competition. They are all gorgeous but I see a couple that look especially really nice! Are there any that stand out to you? Comment what your pick would be! 😍
https://fb.watch/gz0L3cncR9/
Big news everyone!! I have applied to participate in the winter Teens and Oregon Mustangs challenge!!! It will begin in December and competition will be in March at the Northwest Horse Expo in spring! If you can't get enough of my mustang training updates then stay tuned for my next page where I'll bring you along on yet another training journey!
This competition will be composed of entirely mares so that will be something to adjust to. Another big difference is this horse WILL be available at the auction this time! So for those of you disappointed to have missed out on Tavik you'll get a shot at this girl! Stay tuned! Much more info to come!!
Hey all! I haven't checked in in a while. Tavik is still his lovable steady self and is beginning to grow in his fuzzy winter coat now. He has gained some weight since he is no longer getting worked and conditioned for competition but I don't mind, a few extra pounds will help him keep warm with the chilly weather that is coming. Without the pressure of the competition I have not been riding him as much as I was before, but every time I do we settle right back into our perfect harmony and trust that really convinced me to keep him. He has befriended Koda, my other mustang gelding, and they love to hang out and groom each other over the fence. Here's a funny video of how he eats apples, he takes tiny delicate bites out of it like a perfect gentleman! 🥰
Hey all! I haven't checked in in a while. Tavik is still his lovable steady self and is beginning to grow in his fuzzy winter coat, he's also gained some weight since he is no longer getting worked and conditioned for competition. But I don't mind, a few extra pounds will help keep him nice and warm as the weather gets chilly. He has befriended Koda, my other mustang gelding, and they love to hang out and groom each other over the fence. Without the pressure of the competition I have not been riding him as much as I was before, but every time I do we settle right back into our perfect harmony and trust that convinced me to keep him in the first place. Here's a funny video of how he eats apples, he takes delicate bites of of it like a perfect gentleman! 🥰
Competition pictures! There are some really epic ones in here!
Picture credit to Jenn Koenig photography. The pictures speak for themselves but additionally she was a really cool person and it was fun to meet her there. She made sure to get the best shots and was very nice when we got to chat.
Look who made it on the cover photo for the competition picture album! I totally love that one and there are more really good ones in there as well! Photographer Jenn Koenig did a fantastic capturing the heart of this competition and the relationship between horse and rider!
Photo collection by Jenn Koenig Photography
Can I tell you guys what the best part of this competition was? These people right here! I cannot imagine going through the challenge without these amazing trainers' support and encouragement. The comradarie and sportsmanship between all these people who are literally in a competition against each other is amazing. It's such a breath of fresh air compared to much of the horse world, or really any area of life. I've never before had such a strong group of people get behind me and unconditionally believe in me and support me in a difficult challenge. Thank you so much to all of you trainers I got to know through this and for Teens And Oregon Mustangs providing this amazing opportunity! I cannot express how blessed I've been by your friendships this summer! ❤
Lydia’s Mustang Challenge 2022
Mild at Heart - Mustang Gentling & More
PMR - 2022 mustang adoption challenge.
RAW Mustangs
This girl! I am so beyond proud of her and her FANTASTIC mustang Rojo! She has been my training buddy this entire journey, we got our horses together quite a few times over the summer and they were adorable buddies by the end. We couldn't finish off this crazy, amazing, challenging, difficult, special, emotional, beautiful, perfect summer full of fun and shenanigans without doing one last crazy ridiculous stunt! Lydia is an amazing trainer and an even better friend! ❤ I love you girl! Lydia’s Mustang Challenge 2022
What. A. Weekend!!! I cannot even express how proud I am of Tavik! He was so willing, every single thing I asked of him he stepped up and took the challenge! I heard from so many people that they were inspired by our performance and amazed with our freestyle. We breezed through the obstacles with ease and flew around in perfect synch for our freestyle. I was happy with our showmanship even though we didn't score super well, mostly due to it being foreign to me and little things that weren't quite "perfect". Body conditioning was great we scored high but there were so many fantastically conditioned horses there it was difficult to compare.
In the end we won the novice adult riding trail course (and freestyle!) Which got some blingy, bright new stirrups! I also got 5th place overall for the combined body conditioning, showmanship, and trail course/ freestyle scores. Top 5 receive a fancy, shiny belt buckle which was one of my goals. When I looked over the prizes earlier my thought was first of all I wanted a buckle, that was my most coveted prize, the second one I had my eye on was the stirrups! I can't believe I got both prizes I had wanted most. I also got a pretty pink ribbon (which i never did get a picture of on Tavik 🤦♀️) and a cool multi colored, native type style bag/ purse. Check out the last few pictures to see my prizes!
Cowboy church!
Best possible outcome today! Obstacles were fantastic! He did every one without hesitation. Freestyle was amazing! I found out this morning I would need to adjust our freestyle to add a lead change. A couple hours before we had to show I was trying to figure out a simple lead change (canter, trot, canter in other lead) and I discovered Tavik can rock a flashy flying lead change so I had to add that to the freestyle! It was epic! There were flying leads, nice backing, impressive pivots, and all around awesome teamwork and connection. Of course i stood up on him at the end, and he stood calmly even with applause erupting!! I cannot tell you how proud I am of Tavik! I honestly don't care if we win or even place tomorrow (but we might!) my goal this weekend was to demonstrate the fantastic horse I know he is, I wanted to show everyone what I already know he is capable of and that is exactly what we did and more. Expectations, hopes, and dreams have been left behind, this guy exceeded them all!!! I love him so much!!! ❤❤❤❤
Pictures from yesterday's fun.
Fantastic first day! Tavik did not disappoint! The biggest part I've been worried about this whole time is the showmanship because it's so foreign to me but we did amazing!! Literally the only thing that messed up was he stepped on my foot while we were trotting and then broke gait and walked to give me more space, I got him back to the trot a couple steps later and we completed the rest of the pattern without skipping a beat! If you want to see it check out the live video I have of it (thank you for getting the video for me mom!!) Body conditioning was much more laid back. I chatted with the vets the whole time and they gave me some good info about him. They said he has just about perfect weight for his body size/ build. And, guess what?! Turns out Tavik is actually 5, based on his teeth growth they determined he is most likely a five year old (mustang colts are usually born in the late spring/ or summer time so about exactly 5). He picked up his feet like a perfect gentleman and let me halter and catch him without any issue. So we've got the first day in the books! Now we just hang out and chill, as well as practice to be ready for the obstacle course and freestyle tomorrow!
This Mia’s mom. If you’re coming this morning this is what she said:
**PARKING**. So far it appears the front gates are still not open. So go around back through the vendor parking. The arenas are right there but you have to walk around, towards the regular parking, to get in to the seating side.
**What she messaged: So here's what I know about today so far. Showmanship and body conditioning will take place at the same time in 3 different groups. I am in group one so I will be in the big arena doing the showmanship first (right at 8am) then I have a short break and then I do body conditioning after that. I believe the body conditioning part is just out back visiting with a vet essentially so it might not be something you can watch.
Tavik is all settled in at the fairgrounds. His stall has the biggest mountain of shavings I've ever seen and he's got plenty of hay to nibble and water to drink and play with! Can't wait to see you guys this weekend!!!
Tavik was feeling a little bit stressed when we first arrived, we found some water to play in which calmed him down real quickly! Such a silly boy! Can't wait for showtime!
I'll be completely honest. I am very nervous. Not only will this be my first time showing.... literally anything! It is also a very big deal given that I'm showing a horse that I started and trained entirely myself, and I feel like I owe it to Tavik to give it the best I can because he has shown up and given me 100% every step of the way. All that to say I've been ready to go and on the edge of my seat to leave for hours now. 😅 I've felt the stress build steadily but when I finally went out to get my partner and load up, the moment I saw him I felt my worries melt away. Tavik has that affect on people.
Counting down until it's time to leave! I got everything packed and ready to go and have triple checked it all so I don't forget anything. SOO excited! I cannot believe the competition is finally here! I can't wait to meet the rest of the competitors and spend time with my awesome mustang friends! See ya'll soon!!!
PS I'm going to do a test live stream this afternoon/ evening and show you guys Tavik's stall set up and everything so I make sure it's all figured out to live stream my classes this weekend. For those of you disappointed you won't make it to watch, never fear! I've got you covered!
I circled the classes Tavik and I will be participating in. Come watch us this weekend! If you can't make one of our show times I would still love to see you and there will be lots of other cool classes to see and vendors to check out. I could even take you back to meet with Tavik! Don't miss the final leg of this fantastic adventure!
Open farm 2.0
Score! It may have taken 8 tries but I got it shared! Yay! Be sure to see my latest update for more Tavik epicness!
Test.
Well, I've officially been outsmarted by Facebook. After giving it 6 tries I will be waiting to post the rest of the open farm pictures until I canget this figured out. 🤦♀️😖
The sheriff posse arena obstacle fun night was a total blast! I could not believe how many horses and people were in there when we showed up. There were SO many epic obstacles and things to overcome (the first of which being the sheer number of beings crowded into there, not to mention that they were all stressed by the scary obstacles all around) Any fears I had about Tavik not being able to handle an obstacle at the competition was easily and completely put to rest. In fact, Tavik did much better than I even could've imagined. He did EVERY obstacle, in hand and mounted. His first ever time going over a teeter totter he didn't even flinch when it dropped under him. Every other horse I've ever met braces and tries to balance with the suddenly unstable ground under them be he hardly blinked and kept marching right across. I was flabbergasted! After flawlessly conquering every obstacle and going through a couple times we went into the other warm up agenda and practiced our cantering and our freestyle (even standing up!) Other than our left lead (our nemesis!) He did perfectly there too. I might have been worried about him being ready for the chaos and high energy at the competition before but now I know for certain he's ready. Now I just gotta see that I'm ready too and we'll be set!
*Edit* I accidently posted twice. The other one has more pictures and stories so be sure to check it out.
Ok! The long awaited and promised stories have finally come! Prepare yourselves for tales of epicness and bravery! Awesome feats and terrific successes!
Just kidding. I do have some fun stories but they're not too exciting. Lol.
You know the drill, check out the captions for all the juicy details! 😉
So! I had a grand idea for the show! I have heard from many of you that you will be coming to the show to cheer for Tavik and I along with all the other amazing Mustangs. I'm super excited to see you all and I thought of a cool thing we could all try. Since I don't know all of you, and it'll be hard to see you guys in the stands while I ride, I thought if you guys wanted to wear Tavik's color it would be a fun thing to all do together. For anyone who wants to participate, on Saturday September 3rd Tavik fans are encouraged to find something Royal blue to wear! 🔵💙
*I know the picture isn't Royal blue but it's the only blue with Tavik picture I could find.
One interesting thing about Tavik is no matter how big of a foodie he is, he would never accept treats other than grass and hay. Horse treats, carrots, apples, etc he said "no thank you, that's not natural!" Well today I finally got him to ingest something other than his typical and besides his silly faces and tossing nose he actually liked it. Even wanted more! So for any of you wondering he now has added blackberries to the menu! 😋
I cannot tell you all how honored I am to have so many of you invested in and supporting Tavik and I on this journey! I never would've believed I would have reached so many people with a simple page about my mustang journey. So thank you to all of you both those who have been with me since the beginning and those who have just joined today! I hope it has been as memorable for all you guys as it has for me. Allong with that I thought maybe some of you who have had a little piece in this amazing journey would be interested in a keepsake to remember it by. I only have a few but I decided to make some horse hair bracelets from Tavik's hair and I will have them with me at the event for those of you who would want one. I have a couple styles and sizes available to choose from. Plus a bit of extra hair so I could possibly make a custom one if you let me know before the show. Shoot me a message or comment to reserve one or meet me at the show, I only have a few and once they're gone that's it. I'm asking $20 ea (custom price would depend on style) so they aren't all gone at once. Feel free to give me more ideas of other horse hair creations!
I cannot believe we are this close to the end of this amazing chapter Tavik and I are in! Exactly a week from now Tavik and I will be settling in at the fairgrounds and preparing for our first event, bright and early the next morning. I figure now is as good a time as any for our glow up comparison. They aren't really your typical glow up pictures but they show what I believe to be his biggest things that have gotten a glow up: his coat, his confidence, and his curiosity!
So many things going on! I'm a little late on updates but rest assured I'll tell all the stories as soon as I have time! This journey has been so much more than I expected. My original plan was to get a wild mustang and have a huge challenge of overcoming his fears and putting confidence into him to prepare him for a life with someone else. As soon as I met Tavik that plan changed. The day I brought him home was the day I knew I could never part with him. And it took very little time at all before I discovered that the learning to trust and building of confidence was all on my part. Tavik naturally had all that. I can't believe all this would've been different if I had gotten the horse that was originally my top pick (Tavik was 2nd or 3rd I believe!) I guess when it came down to it, God chose my horse for the competition.
Ok ya'll. Here's the photo/ video dump from horse camping this weekend. See the individual captions for stories from our trip. I couldn't ask for a better group to go with and I'm so glad everything worked out for us to go and have such a wonderful unplug and getaway weekend together. ❤ Sheona Frey and Lydia Cotterell I was so blessed to spend this weekend with you both and your wonderful mustangs. ❤
I'll begin this by saying, God's hand of protection was over us this weekend and especially in this situation. There were quite a few things that could have gone quite differently and I'm so thankful it ended up how it did.
Yesterday afternoon I had to dump my truck and horse trailer into the ditch. It was one of those split second decisions that happened automatically and I'm glad I knew what to do in that situation.
To give the setting, we were heading down from a weekend of horse camping in the mountains, I had my friend Lydia Cotterell in the truck with me and my dog and our two horses, Tavik and Rojo were in the trailer. We were making our way down a pretty steep decline coming towards a small town going about 40mph. Given my huge load I was back about eight car lengths from the car ahead of me so I could have room to react in just such a situation. All the sudden a couple bicyclists pulled right out in front of the car before me causing them to slam on their brakes and stop suddenly to avoid hitting them (I still don't know how they were able to stop fast enough, I was sure the bikers were gonna get hit) I in turn had to slam my brakes as well and began skidding towards them. I knew I wasn't going to come to a stop before crashing into their rear and probably ramming them forward into the bikes that were standing dumbly in the middle of the lane in front of them. So I decided instead to dump my truck and horses into the ditch on the side of the road. We came to a stop quickly but pretty smoothly for the circumstances. I recall sitting there dased for a second and saying "well, I guess I can turn this off" before shutting off my engine. But as soon as I could take in what had happened (so like 1 second later) I threw my door open (which was difficult at that angle) and ran back to check the horses. I was sure they would be on their sides flailing around trying to get footing given that the trailer floor was at about a 45 degree angle. I was amazed to see them both on their feet, butts higher than their heads because of the angle, and very calm. Next I notice my dog, super excited to get out of the car, bouncing around... in the middle of the highway! I yelled for her and literally picked her up by her scruff and THREW her into the truck. By then the lady from the car in front of us came back to check if we were ok and conveniently the bikers who caused the accident continued on with their ride and were gone. We decided to put Hazel (my dog) in the lady's car so she would be safe and she called the cops to come help us out. I remember the firetruck coming, siren blazing, to block traffic for us, meanwhile our "wild" mustangs balanced in their trailer box and swished flies. The sheriff and his recruit partner got there next and helped us figure out the best course of action. We decided to get the horses out of the trailer so the truck would be able to get pulled out without causing more jarring for them. So, ladies and gentlemen, we unloaded two mustangs into the highway (4 lane very busy) with only one direction of traffic stopped for us and led them to a kind neighbor's front yard where he offered for us to hold them back from the road. It was pretty nice actually, the yard had lush grass and had some trees between it and the main road making it feel less like the side of the highway and more calm for them. All of you who have been following my progress with Tavik can guess what he did next, went to town on the grass! To shorten the story a bit I'll just say, sheriff assessed the truck and since there didn't seem to be damage we thought it might be drivable, recruit got to hold Tavik for me while I figured stuff out, tow truck took an hour to get to us, pulled truck and trailer out in minutes and we decided to test drive the truck a couple miles to a weigh station so we could assess drivability. At that point we had to re- load our horses into the trailer that had just thrown them all around, while it was parked in the lane of a busy highway! I cannot tell you how thankful I am for the time I spent teaching him to load because he had NO hesitation. Literally stepped right in. I turned right to all the people watching and said "that in impressive for any horse!!! But this one is 100 days out of the wild!" Once the horses were loaded we started the drive to the weigh station, as soon as we got moving I could tell something was off with the alignment. My steering wheel was a full half turn to the left just to keep the tires straight and it was pulling against me the entire time. We went super slow the entire way there and I knew I wasn't going to be able to haul the rest of the two hours home like that. At the weigh station we figured out insurance stuff with the tow truck guys and they leave and we decide to wait for my dad to come see if he can fix it before calling up a friend with a truck to get us home. We were looking at an hour wait for dad plus fixing and/ or waiting for an extra truck so we were gonna be there for a while. As I'm looking around our area I notice the property just behind the station has fencing unmistakably for horses. We decided to go ask the owner if there was a field our horses could wait in instead of the hot trailer at the weigh station on the highway. We meet this super nice older gentleman who said "yes! They can totally stay in his pasture" and he goes on to tell us about horses he used to have and how he missed seeing horses out in his pastures. So our horses got a nice green shaded pasture rather than the hot trailer. Such a blessing! Once my dad got there he worked his mechanical magic and fixed my alignment in minutes. We thanked the neighbor, loaded back up, and drove an uneventful two hours home after that.
Sooo many stories to share from horse camping with Tavik this weekend. We're both exhausted and overwhelmed by all the experiences we got. I'll be posting ALL the stories tomorrow. Stay tuned!!!
Sneak peak!!
For those of you who were previously interested in Tavik, I suggest you take a look at this fantastic horse! Tavik and I have gotten together with him a couple different times and every time he has impressed me. Sheonia has done an amazing job with him and he will soon be looking for his next partner to push him to new heights and help him reach his full potential. Tavik and I will have to be at the top of our game to compete with these two at the competition!
We pushed the cows around for a bit yesterday. Tavik is a natural! PS. Enjoy the music we were listening to at the time, Tavik and I love country music!
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Slide off the rump! Gotta adjust my reins first though
Round- the- world!
Standing so nicely while we eat lunch.
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