RicelandMeadows

Gathering for Summer Fun

July 7, 2021

We have had a busy start to this month of July! We all hosted and attended the North American Suffolk Horse Association summer Gathering, at the Ashtabula County fairgrounds. We had good attendance from our members and the public as well. It was a very hot sticky two days. The weather delayed a few things we did and cancelled others, but we had a good time in spite of it all.

From this Facebook post, you can see Connie and I driving the horses with our two month old filly in tow. Even the baby had a good time meeting strangers who grew to be her friends.

We had friendly competitions in the obstacle course and precision pull. Both events required confidence and trust between teams and teamsters. We all enjoyed stepping out of our comfort zones and just having fun. We had a morning of driving our teams and wagons. We even went to the local nursing home and paid the residents a visit. This visit put smiles on all of our faces.

We had people from 11 states attend the event. The local public too supported us. There were informative seminars held describing hoof care and shoeing , as well as, a demonstration of equine massage. We met many new people and put faces with names we already knew. The young Suffolk owners were well represented, as they worked their teams and laughed along with all of us.

Right on the heels of our summer gathering, came Horse Progress Days, held in Mount Hope , Ohio . We spent two days there too. There were countless vendors and teams of horses who showcased much horse drawn equipment. The horse Progress Days crowd numbered into the thousands, with over 20,000 attending on the Friday of the show.

The events were tiring but very fun. It felt real good to just decompress and relax this week. The weather and preparing for these gatherings has made it difficult, even impossible to get any hay made. No worries, it will all work out.

Our pastures are holding up very well. Our young stallion Hank continues to grow and fill out. He is learning well and has become a good babysitter for our young filly. He is relaxed and easy going, good qualities in any breed.

The rest of the month will keep us busy, as we make hay and will soon harvest our speltz. The job of firewood cutting and splitting is always there, but busy hands are a good thing. It is nice to be getting back into our routine after a hectic start to the month. Enjoy your summer and take some time to gather with friends and family!

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