Parade Horse anyone! Cheif Joseph Days Parade and more!
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July 26th Thursday
Well, I have decided to take Chance in the Chief Joseph Day’s on Saturday. So I am off to take Chance to the town of Enterprise and take him through town. I load up by myself, and haul to town, I unload in a dealership car parking lot in the middle of cars, tie up Chance and Kody and saddle up. Mount up and ride through town. The first that comes toward Chance and he is for sure not liking is a kid on a bike in a cowboy hat yelling at us to see the horse. WOW we lived through that, then we cross busy HWY 82 this is the main route to Wallowa Lake a major Tourist trap as well as Joseph and many trucks and horse trailers are coming through for the rodeo this weekend and first performance tonight. So, we get across the street and make it around the court house and toward the library as we cross the cross walks, man holes and walk past the parking cars, and people Chance seems to be doing very well. He wants to go forward sometimes but really is listening to me and wanting to do his best. We get noticed and some ladies come out of their place of work to talk to me and meet Chance, they come and pet him and then we are off again. As we head back toward our trailer I decide to stop major traffic and hit down Main Street as I do I have to truly stop the traveling turds and sports cars, as well as locals. Chance just doesn’t like getting too close to cars on one side and ones coming up his butt! And down Main Street we go, and now on top of all the scary it is not raining but a down pour is getting us soaked! However, Chance seems to just do great. We get back to the trailer up saddle and reload back up. I head to the store get some shopping done as the boys wait good thing for Chance to get that use to since we will road trip to TEXAS soon!
July 27 Friday
Well, I have left Kody in with Chance so they Chance can really feel safe with him before tomorrow. I get him out and saddle him up, work in the round pen, and get him use to the syrupy that he will be wearing in the parade. He seems to not mind it at all.
July 28th Saturday BIG DAY!
Today we get up to getting clipped, a bath and then our toenails done in black polish! Some show shine, some glitter and now in the trailer and up to the festive rodeo grounds. We unload get tied to the trailer. Oh we hauled more horses in the trailer today and put him in a different spot in the trailer that was taken like a man! Then we tack up, saddle pad, saddle, syrupy and now for all fours in polo wraps! YEP he was not sure about those on his hind legs, but did great. I saddle up Kody and mounted up. Let me tell you there is horses everywhere, people running around in and out and next to him and touching him and Chance just acted as if he had been at that sort of thing behind. Wagons, coaches, kids on horses, floats, music, horses with BIG I mean BIG flowers, and Chance only thought that was the weird thing was those horses covered in FLOWERS! He looked at the floats, was fine on the ride up with the cars, and people crowding him, and he just cruised up there, then stood waiting so patiently. He truly amazed me before the parade started. But once we got in the parade the drill team I ride with was doing drills in front of us, blowing whistles and then a prancing horse covered in flowers behind us, and Chance just went down that parade route like nothing! As if he had done it a million times. People would call out to him, I would wave to them over his head, and he just walked. When we came up on the speakers and announcers he would stop with Kody and just let me talk. He didn’t mind the kids with bags, and candy, the screaming and clapping the road way lined on both sides with people high and low! Nothing! I was in tears by the time I got done; I was just so happy and shocked! He did great. I am leaving again in the morning for judging and will be gone for a week. Chance does have one concern right now a huge knot on his neck from the teeth thing at the vet, we are putting DMSO on it and bute but nothing it making it go away it is sore to the touch and swelling has gone up into his throatlatch. I am thinking I will need to give him the time off anyway. However others will need to catch and put the DMSO on him. So I did leave his halter on for them. The BEST part of the parade was seeing Dan Courtney and his wife whom were here when I changed halters on him for the first time they seen us in the parade and then talked to me later and said they couldn’t believe that was Chance and were we are right now!!!! I am proud to make people proud and amazed at us!