44 Equine VIP talks with Tom Peterson by Susan Ashbrooke If you find yourself traveling West to the beach town of Santa Barbara, don’t miss a visit to The Carriage & Western Art Museum. LETTER FROM THE EDITOR Who Says Miracles Don’t Happen Any More? I hear this all the time and beg to differ. I think they happen in small ways and places all the time. Most people do not see them or recognize them because they choose to not see or they are just too darn busy. My purpose today is not to preach, but to share a little miracle that happened at the Greimann ranch a few weeks ago. Our family owns a nice older mare sired by Shorty Lena with Smart Little Lena as a grandsire on the bottom. We could not get her to settle for the past three years. I tried to breed her eight times with excellent semen, from an excellent producing sire, with no success. We thought she was in foal a couple times but reabsorbed, losing the baby. Well late last summer my friend and veterinary gave me a stallion by Chics Achy Braky by Smart Chic Olena. I have written about him in the past as my project horse that is saving me or vice versa. Well guess what? He was able to settle Short Cake Lena and did so a month earlier than I thought. For a long time I did not think that it had happened, but it did, miracle number one. Miracle number two is she delivered a month earlier than I had expected on a morning that I had planned to leave town and go and watch my neighbor, and riding partner, play line backer in the Minnesota State All-Star football game. I had planned for months to not miss this game and was preparing to leave early in the morning. While checking the oil in my truck, I noticed that Captain Moroni was standing outside of the barn and went to give him a quick morning pet. While giving him his rub down, I noticed the barn door to the pen that he shared with the mare was closed and he was locked outside. I thought this to be very odd as it had been open for a long time. While opening it back up, I heard a strange noise behind the sliding door and to my surprise there was a baby filly lying there. Miracle number three, an early baby that I would have missed because I was going to the game, no matter what. Oh well, there is a God and he knows when the babies fall and sends the people that are to take care of them, when it is needed. The filly’s name now, given to her by my grandchildren that were able to experience her first hours of life, is Miracle. She is doing very well and is growing like a weed. I have high hopes for her as she is super athletic and very bold. If she grows up to be able to move as quickly as she does now, she will be a great competitor. Now onto page two, “Heaven on Earth” can happen for a few moments, if we let them. In addition to the cow bred performance horses that we have we also have three half-Andalusian horses that we like to ride in parades and down the road. I have wanted to ride in our local parade with my daughter Makenzie for several years. She has always been in a different location around the world when the date has come and gone in the past, but this year it happened. To make it things even better, Jacob Johnson, the neighbor boy and my riding partner was able to ride with us too. I missed his All-Star game but he rode with us later, as the newest Minnesota MVP defensive player of both sides. I love them both and am equally proud of each for the people they have grown up to be, and for their desire and ability to ride. Side Note: Jacob was the second smallest player on both sides and had more tackles than anyone else. What makes this even better is, he is the nicest young man you would ever be fortunate to meet. May you slow down enough to be able to see the small miracles that do happen and enjoy whatever moments of Heaven on Earth that you are fortunate enough to have. 46 Western Dressage: Understanding Test Scores by Lynn Palm In Dressage, it is tradition to receive score sheets from the judge. Horse and rider are judged on each component of the test; a score and comments are recorded. 48 Feeding the Severly Neglected Rescue Horse by Juliet M. Getty, Ph. D. When we can offer a safe, caring home to a severely neglected horse, everyone in the horse world cheers. If you have recently adopted a rescue horse, let me first commend you for your actions. 50 Allow Your Horse Time to Think by Sandy Collier The main thing I learned from working with horses, the ‘Holy Grail’ as it were, is to “make the right thing easy for the horse, and the wrong thing difficult.” 54 Building On Our Foundation by Addison Fjelstad This month has been really productive for me and Latte, but more in the improvement way. I feel like this month has been a lot of working on skills that we have already built a platform for, but growing on them. 56 Headgear & Communication by Dick Pieper The headgear I use – bosals, bits, bridles and other equipment – has a critical effect on my ability to clearly communicate with horses, so it’s important that I choose headgear carefully. SPECIAL SECTIONS 36 ACTHA Announces National Champions for 2014-2015 Competitive Year 52 Canadian Valley Rangerettes Bring Home Their Fifth National and World Titles Travel Stress 58 Luke Jones: Helping Horses Manage 60 2015 RSNC World Finals Exceeds 4,600 Teams 66 Advertiser Index Rahn Greimann, Owner / Publisher Performance Horse Digest Horse Digest www.PerformanceHorseDigest.com 5