Horse Angels, ACTHA and Red Hats Purple Chaps

Red Hats Purple Chaps sponsored an ACTHA ride the first weekend in June at Midwest Trail Ride.  The proceeds will be donated to Horse Angels horse rescue in Spencer, IN.

American Competitive Trail Horse Association riders compete for accumulative points throughout the year.



Dr. Sue Whitman, DVM operates Horse Angels, a rescue operation that heals the bodies and minds of rescued horses.  Dr. Sue has the horses trained and works hard to find them 'forever homes'.

 

Maggie Whitlow was in charge of the ACTHA event, Karen Humphries was in charge of the obstacles and Kathy Ellington Swango got together all the prizes.  Kathy was also a judge and Mary Ann was her a judge's helper, a timekeeper. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

We stayed in one of the sweet cedar cabins with a beautiful back yard.



Yikes!  Where are Flash and Rio?

They were back at home in Bloomington.  On again-off again storms Thursday and Friday helped them decide to stay dry and eat hay.  Friday night the storms were in full gear and Saturday morning the rain was still coming down.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Judges met early Saturday morning and the majority of riders agreed that doing the obstacle ride around camp was the safe option.

 

 

 

The Saturday ride was a great example of COWGIRL UP!  Riders, judges and helpers did their jobs in the pouring rain with no whining.

We were stationed at the final obstacle, the Wildlife Box, full of scary wild flora and noisy, big-eyed fauna.  Some horse and rider pairs negotiated the path in the box calmly and gracefully.  Others … not so well.  Either way, it was a good learning and sacking-out experience for both horse and rider. 

 

 

 

 

After the outside shower, a shower inside seemed like a good idea.

 

 

The weather cleared up the in the afternoon and a bunch of us drove up 446 to the Scenic View Restaurant for supper.  Yum!!!

 

 

Then a little further up the road to Brewsters.  Can you say Red Raspberry Chocolate Truffle?

 

Sunday morning was dry, but the sky was giving mixed messages.  Nestled in the fluffy, sunny clouds were ominous storm buds. 

The rain stayed away and the ACTHA ride went up into the woods.  Hooray!

 

 

Look carefully and you can find Allison and her black and white pony going up the trail.

 

 

We were stationed at the first obstacle, the Mailbox.  Most of the horses had dealt with mailboxes before, but a few seemed to have forgotten that they had ever seen one.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Judge Kathy waits for a horse and rider.

 

 

Mary Ann times an imaginary horse and rider.

 

Winners of Open, Pleasure and Junior were awarded ribbons, ACTHA bucks and their choice of prizes from a large selection of horse-related and personal items.

 

Saturday Junior Winners

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Saturday Pleasure Winners

 

 Sunday Junior Winner

 

                                                                                  Overall Winner 

We all had a great time!  Rain can get a lot of things wet, but can never dampen the fun!

Learn more about Horse Angels:  http://www.horse-angels.org

Learn more about ACTHA:  https://www.actha.us

Learn more about RHPC:  http://www.redhatsandpurplechaps.com

 

 



 

 

 

 



 

 

 

Red Hats Purple Chaps Jamboree 2012

The Red Hats Purple Chaps Jamboree in April of 2012 was held at Midwest Trail Ride in Norman, Indiana.  RHPC is a group of horse crazy little girls who have grown up into women who are still horse crazy.  Jamboree is a once a year celebration of friendship and fun with our horses.

Our course Kathy, Rio, Mary Ann and Flash had to be there.  Jeff Ellington was generous and pampered us with the use of the family motor home, the Taj Mahal of camping.

The motor home was ALMOST big enough for the horses, too.

 

 

 

Kathy was in charge of the Fun Show and it was FUN!  It required a lot of laughter.  Mary Ann was the helper.

 

After dinner we had a wine hunt in the dark.  There were mini bottles and a couple of big bottles of wine. 

Mary Ann found one of the big bottles in a mail box obstacle at the round pen.  We drank it the next night at the corn hole game in the dining hall.  It lasted about a minute.

We went trail riding every day with the boys.  They love a nice walk in the woods.  The trails are very hilly, so we never push them.  Trails at MTR also join the equine trails in the Hoosier National Forest.  A $35.00 DNR horse tag is all you need for the whole year.

 I think the RHPC Jamboree is going to be at Midwest Trail Ride this year.  We hope so!

Equine Fundraiser Ride the Spectrum for Autism

The equine fundraiser Ride the Spectrum for Autism is Saturday, June 8-9, 2013 at Little Trails Horse Camp in Martinsville, IN.   The flyer with all the info is at the bottom of the page or visit  https://www.facebook.com/events/585352424830440/

Kathy, Rio, Mary Ann and Flash went last year when it was held at Midwest Trail Ride in Norman, Indiana.  We all had a blast and the fundraising was a great success. 



We stayed in a cedar cabin right next to the horses.

  

Rio and Flash were happy in their stalls.

Rio is always curious and likes to watch what's going on.

                             Flash would rather eat.

  

                                                           Michaela Walker was the Grand Marshall of the parade that included fire departments, law enforcement and horses, of course.  

The smallest rescue vehicle, the 'ambulance' for trail riders.

Jane and her Mini

   and the Red Hats & Purple Chaps ladies.



  Every parade has to end.



 And then there was the fun show.

      

                       The Egg and Spoon race

Monkeys and Bananas  

  
                








 Ride with a full glass of water.

And the Rescue Ride









There was a lot of applause for the enthusiastic riders.


Tina Nunez



Dolly Mama



Ramonette Dugan



Lynne Voigt

Mounted Shooters came to perform for us.  They ride as fast as they can through a course of balloons on stakes.  They try to shoot all of the balloons at a gallop.  I don't think there were any misses.

Kathy tried out the gun without Rio.

Horses have to learn not to shy from the guns.  They wear horse ear plugs just like the riders.

IT WAS A GREAT TIME AND I'M SURE THIS YEAR'S EVENT WILL BE JUST AS MUCH FUN!  BESIDES, IT'S FOR A GREAT CAUSE!