The Heartland Peacemakers

I have more pictures from last weekend with the credits going to the announcer of the shoot Fred Shaw. I have also posted the video from the weekend. You can see more videos on YouTube under Rawhidenlace or Dottie Linville.

This course was great and challenging.

Shooters from the weekend. They all joined SASS right on the spot!

Guns of August

It has been 9 months since Saber and I have been to match. This past weekend was the exception as we attend the Guns Of August SASS mounted shoot hosted by the Big Irons SASS club in Middletown, Ohio.

This was our first SASS mounted shoot and I had heard great things about SASS up to this point. They did not disappoint either, the stages were fun filled with horsemanship coming into play allot more seriously than CMSA stages. The courses were challenging and the speed was fast. There were 16 riders from 4 different clubs competing, and 4 lucky winners took home single actions .22's. We had two stages were we were required to run through woods at the back of the arena, either retrieving playing cards, or the Pony Express mail pouch. There was steer head roping, and jumping of logs. Of course you also needed to load 10 rounds divided up between two single action .45 and shoot your balloons in the order requested.

So riders would holster one and then do the required task of either roping or bringing back the mail pouch and then forget that they had shoot their first gun. They would then pull the same gun and have no ammo to shoot the remaining 5 balloons.

The poker run was fun and we had two shooters from the Heartland Peacemakers bring home .22.

All in all it was a great weekend, for me, I got a break from school, enjoyed a fabulous weekend with friends, and the best part I got to shoot!

I will post videos soon!

A New Year

with lots of new changes on the way for me.

I am a college student again after 30's, and this is taking some getting use to. I am enrolled in the "nursing" program at Brown Mackie College, Indianapolis. This is a 15 month very intensive program that will award the successfully student with 80% or higher on grades a Diploma at the end, and to give the student the opportunity to enroll in their bridge program for the RN degree.

I plan on going for my RN at the end so the next 2 years are going to be a very intensive with lots of books to read and hands on experience with clinicals 3 times a month at various hospitals around the state.

Needless to say my shooting days are over for the time being, and I know I will get back into the shooting arena after my school and getting a job.

In the meantime I good friend is in the process of helping me start a SASS mounted club in Indiana and I hope this new club does well in the next couple years.

Year end

It has been a very exciting year for us in 2008.

Saber and I started out unsure we could even do this sport in the beginning. Our last shoot of the year was held at Crossroads arena in Cloverdale, Indiana ,Novemeber7-9 and we finished 2008 in good shape.

At our year end awards banquet in December I learned, I had earned the Rookie of the Year for the Rough Riders. That was pretty cool.

I also managed to attend all the shoots hosted by the club and earned a very nice 3 step mounting block, a montana silver braclet and photo frame.

I also won a new buckle for the state shoot by winning my class division as L2.

Saber is resting and enjoying his winter off, he is staying with Jordan until spring. She wanted to have a horse to ride over the winter months. So since I no longer riding in subzero weather, more power to the younger generation.

Looking forward to another year in 2009 of "Guns & Horses", see you all then.

Border Wars

October 18-19 was the last shoot of the year in Rushville. The Indiana Rough Riders and the 1st Ohio held their annual "Border Wars" shooting event.



Saturday morning (hosted by 1st Ohio) the two clubs divided up their members and out of state guests into 8 teams to shoot it out for border victory. The teams were given bandannas in different colors and patterns, 4 members to a team, I found myself partnered up with Nancy Latham, Teresa Case, and Adrianne Fowler. All 3 of these ladies are very accomplished shooters in their own right. Our bandanna of choice was the black & white checkered finish print.

I was nervous about this because I hadn't been shooting very well in the last few weeks and I didn't want to let my team down. To add to my nerves Adrianne came up and bumped me in the shoulder said "you have to shoot well today we need to win."

The stages had been drawn , the grand entry was in the book, and the day was going to be cool and breezy. Temps were in the lower 60's and quite a few of us had our coats on in between stages. I had to find my gloves because my hands just wouldn't warm up. I like to keep my shooting hand warm and loose so that I can be quick with my hammer. Something I have only in just the last week or so gotten really comfortable doing.

After the dust had settled at the end of a very long day for most of the shooters, we gathered for the awards. I found myself in a place I had never been before since starting CMS with my horses. For the first time I had shot clean all day, I had won my class for the day, and when the awards were being handed out, I was announced as the Overall Ladies Champion! I also was in the top ten and I won 65.00 in prize money and jackpots to boot!

WOW!

I was shocked and quite speechless, which for me is surprising as those of you who really know me well will attest too.

I had invited some friends back to our Hacienda for the night since it was going to be very cold and it seemed silly of me not to open up our home and hospitality to shooters that might have had to sleep in their trucks or cold trailers. Daniel Sutton and Travis Newman from Kentucky, and Nancy Latham and Lynette McCellan from Indiana were my guests. All evening they kept telling me "way to go girl" and I know this is going to sound silly, but it just didn't feel real. I was so shocked to have done something I had only thought about all summer. It had seemed so out of reach that I figured I would never get there for at least a couple of years. Remember I have only started shooting this April of 2008.

Sunday dawned very cold, with frost on the ground and I was hoping for a repeat of Saturday. At least the wind had calmed down and it was warming to the point we didn't need our coats by late morning. I knew I was going to have alot of pressure on my shoulders today. Especially with the wind dying down so much that shooters having a hard time hitting balloons on Saturday would really be consistent on Sunday.

The first stage I shot clean, and then the 2nd stage drawn was the "Dice" I had trouble with this one early in the year and I was worried about it.

Just watch this -

Pictures say a thousand words don't they. I psyched myself out before I ever pulled my gun.

This clip is of stage 4, Saber went smooth and I shot great! Enjoy.

Stage 3 I shot clean, and discovered had I shot the "Dice" clean I would have been 6th overall. Dang it.

As it turned out the men's team from Ohio won the match and Ohio once again beat Indiana. Hopefully next year I can earn the honor back to our wonderful state Indiana. I can report that our Ladies team with the black and white checkered bandannas did win the ladies division for the weekend. We just were not fast enough to bet the boys from Ohio.

I have one more shoot for this year. Cross Roads arena in Cloverdale Indiana where this jounery began for Saber and I back in April. It is only fitting that our novice year should end at Cloverdale.

For those of you that follow video clips I will be in the process of uploading them on YouTube very soon, so check in often. I have quite a few from the border wars so I will be very busy in the next week or so. A big THANK YOU goes out to Bob Burnett who help me video on Sunday. Thanks Bob!!

Fall is here

This past weekend we went trail riding at JW Jones. It was the nicest weekend that we had for this whole summer. Not to hot and not to cold, just right for trail riding in the trees. We took Abigail with us and she enjoyed being out with us for a change instead of being left at home or at a kennel.

Here are just a few of the pictures that I took over the two days we were there.



Tony and Abby

Our niece Jordan Linville came down with her mother Nicole on Saturday. Jordan rode with us Saturday afternoon and stayed until after supper and smore's.

We saddled up and headed to the tree house.



The tree house tree

A better view of the house



Tony on Star, with Fancy in the center and Saber tied to the hitching rail .
Below is a clip of Tony and Jordan riding up the trail to the tree house.

Jordan and Tony



The trees turning into the Fall colors the Midwest is so well known for.

Clip of Jordan and Tony riding on some of the Trails at JW




Small cabin next to our campsite. Dirt floor in most of them but would be nice if you had cots to set up inside.






Checking out the cabin



Resting back at camp on Sunday after the morning ride.


Nap time for the two kids!

Cowboy Challenge

The Tree City Saddle Club located in Greensburg, Indiana held a Cowboy Challenge on Sunday.

Jordan, Saber and I went down to have some fun and see how well we could negotiate the course and stay within the time limit.

The course was layed out with 10 obstacles: 1. Walk over three poles 2. Sidepass down a pole to the mailbox 3. Take out the mail and then place it back into the box 4. Approach traffic cone and pick up the tennis ball on top, and then place it on the 2nd traffic cone. 5. Open the rope gate, walk through, and close the rope gate 6. Cross the bridge 7. Pick up the rope and drag the tire pass the cone 8. Cross the trap 9. Go through the cowboy curtain and 10. Back through the "L". Then cross the time line.



I don't have a video of my run as the camera malfunctioned. The video above is of Jordan and Saber. I did place third on the first go and won 15.00 the difference between the top three places were only by a 10 of second. I placed 1st on the second go and won 10.00. So it wasn't to a bad day for us. I am very proud of my 3/4 Arab, he is did everything that we ask of him and he is also turning into quite the packer of young riders. Not only did he carry Jordan and Rachel Abrams rode him in the second go. I can't ask much more of him than that. As most of the top trainers in the country will attest too, these type of horses are worth their weight in gold!

Next shoot for Saber and I will be in Rushville on October 18-19. So check back folks and see how we are doing as the shooting season is coming to close for us.

Ride fast, and keep your powder dry.

Indiana State Shoot

The Indiana State Shoot was hosted by the Indiana Rough Riders, of which I am a member in good standing.

We had 60 shooters attend, 38 shooting on Friday night at the Eliminator, yours truly also shot but, shot poorly I might add. Saber keep getting lost on the patterns when he would turn and then have to run back through the smoke. Just wasn't our night and I have found yet something else to desensitise him too! SHEESSSSS.

Anyhow Saturday and Sunday we had great weather, lots of fun people to hang out with and we also had some of the top shooters in CMSA in attendance, John Clark, Amanda Porter, and Steven Wilson just a name a few.

Steven is featured this month in the Western Shooting Horse magazine and I just happened to have my copy with me. Steven was kind enough to sign it for me and he is soft spoken and easy going. It is easy to see why he is so popular within the sport of Cowboy Mounted Shooting. Don't let the tender age of the kid fool you either. He is blazing fast with his guns, and his horse is smokin fast! I told him I really liked his buckskin horse.

Anyway here are few pictures that I took over the weekend including Cowboy Church on Sunday morning with Randy Gunn on horseback at the pulpit.

Cary Barrows getting ready to head back over to Baker Arena for more balloon slaying.

Ashly Boyce and Hannah Sheldon working hard on college homework in- between stages.

They haven't even taken time to remove thier holsters or guns. Now that is dedication to shooting I tell ya!

Randy Gunn background, foreground Bob Chattin and Rocky.

To learn more about Randy Gunn visit his website at http://www.gunnpoint.us/

Marty Luftman attending Cowboy Church from the back of the arena.

This is probably my favorite picture of the whole weekend. Left to right, Daniel Sutton who trains horses like I was taught training by my grandfather and father, the old vaquero way. Next Steve Miller, Vice President of the Illiana Rangers, and the last fellow I did not get a name so if anyone knows please email me so I can add his name to the photo.

Yours truly being awarded my Level Ladies 2 BIG check for winning my division at our state shoot. I also won a buckle and once I get it I will post a picture.

John St. Clair, need name for the fellow in the middle, and Teresa Wilson.

THis charming lady is Ann Woulms also known as IndyAnnie, Annie is our awards chairman for the Indiana Rough Riders. She does a great job of coming up with cool and usual gifts for our winners of our shoots.

Shooters waiting for the awards cermony to begin.

Rain, rain, do you like rain?

As you can tell from the pictures around here it is wet. It is soggy, and just darn messy.

The Rough Riders and 1st Ohio decided to reschedule our Border Wars for a drier weekend later this fall. Probably a good thing since we are getting rain from the west and then hurricane Ike is headed up to the Ohio valley by Sunday night. It is quite possible to get 6" of rain in 48 hours after the soaking that we are getting now.

Yes it has been dry here, to dry for my liking since I do like to have GREEN lawn instead of straw of landscaping.

So Saber gets another day off and I get to work on my gun skills for another week.

The ice cream social that I have been trying to get off the ground is going to have to wait until the State Shoot now. I know that the Illiana Rangers can handle 7 more days. Right Jim?

So my friends I have nothing more to report until after the 21st of September.

Until then keep your irons & powder dry.

Miamitown Ohio

1st Ohio held another fun shooting event on Labor Day weekend.

Saber and I traveled over on Saturday night to socialize and get ready for a fun day of shooting on Sunday.

Sunday morning dawned beautiful and the morning gave way to heat and humidity. The runs were fast and the times sizzling.

There were only two ladies in the Level 2 division today and I found myself in 1st place after the first stage. Saber ran smooth and clean and I shot clean with a good time to start the day.

After that things went down hill for me. The horse was doing great but I made mental errors and my time paid for it.

The last stage of the day I did shoot clean and we did run fast, but it was not enough to over take the lead and we came in second for the day in our division.

I discovered that Saber is now working great and it is time to start fine tuning my skills to match his speed and turns. So back to Brad's with the trailer and the horse and we are going to start working my shooting skills and markmanship.

More later on this subject as I have two weeks to get prepared before our Border Wars with 1st Ohio.

Below are some pictures that I took on Sunday so enjoy them.

This is the Ron Hubert clan. The family was part of our balloon setting crew for us all day Sunday.

My good friend Nancy Latham and her good freind Lynette McCellan

Below is Sue Morlock