HORSESHOE CANYON RANCH

THIS BLOG HAS MOVED!

2009-11-23T06:23:00.000-08:00

Just wanted to let everyone know that this blog has moved to the improved and updated Horseshoe Canyon Ranch website. http://www.gohcr.com

I have not updated it there yet - but will soon! Getting to know the new programs and such.

Happy Thanksgiving.

Amy

LA School For The Blind

2009-10-20T19:19:00.000-07:00

We were happy to see the LA School for the Blind again. They have been coming for some time now and we are always impressed with how everyone handles themselves at the ranch. It is hard enough getting up and down these hills with full site, but they do it like pros with their walking sticks and canes.

I did not get very many photos this year as I was riding and the weather was a bit wet. Enjoy the few that I took. Next year I will do better.

Nikos did not want to get his head wet. Grocery bags work great.

Even though there was rain, everyone still had a great time - including us.

Heading home.

The goats trying to stay dry...

Lydia cleaning up what they left behind.

Watching Flower

2009-09-29T04:44:00.000-07:00

As some of you know Flower is expecting. She is due May 6, 2010 give or take a day or two. She was bred to Sinatra Red Skipper (a.k.a Pino) - a Quarter Horse who is a perlino. She is an excellent mother and we thought it would be nice to breed her one last time - Flower is 17 years old this year. Here babies are always full of personality and have all been painted like her. We are hoping for a colt (to make a gelding)...keep your fingers crosses, she has always had fillies in the past.

Here you can see her belly is getting bigger...

These two photos you can see how her belly is starting to expand and stick out on the sides.

We plan on updating Flower,s progress from time to time. As with all livestock sometimes pregnancies don't work out, but Flower has carried three foals without any problems in the past, we really don't expect anything different from her.

Horseshoe Canyon Ranch Zip Line

2009-09-19T07:15:00.001-07:00

2009-09-08T09:07:00.000-07:00

Video taping yourself while riding does not look the way you picture it would turn out in your head.... oh well. :)

Week of August 16, 2009

2009-09-07T15:04:00.000-07:00

We tried to learn French - not sure how well we did but it was fun anyway. Thanks to all the guests for making this week a memorable one! Barry & Joey it was good to see you again. Until next time!

Rewind to mid July...

2009-08-22T07:00:00.000-07:00

Where does the time go... I intended to post these the week after I took them but now it is near the end of August. Oh dear! Enjoy.

Breakfast cookout

Keith showing his skills at the climbing demo.

Wrangler Jennifer - always a smile.

Jason our head climbing guide.

Searching for arrowheads.

Ahhh...Nothing like nice cool goat manure to take a nap in on a hot day.

Horseshoe Canyon Ranch 2009 Annual Staff Lake Trip

2009-08-11T23:07:00.001-07:00

Every year we take a lake trip with our staff. This year is one to remember! Thank you staff of 2009 for such a great season. You were all awesome!

Blazing the Trail or Blazing Hot Trail?

2009-07-31T09:03:00.001-07:00

If you all recall back in Jan/Feb there was a huge ice storm that took out a lot of our trails.

Most of them have been cleared and we have been able to use them. But there are a few of the longer ones that were not completed yet. Barry and Scott set out to finish Keys Gap trail this day. Notice how fresh they look and then look at the after photo at the bottom of this blog. The temps were well into the upper 90's if not 100 and the humidity level was high.

You can lead a horse to water....

...and on a day like this he will drink.

They decided after all was done that is was too hot for clearing trail. Hagrid was given the Hero Horse award. He was a trustworthy stead throughout the entire event.

Blackberries!

2009-07-17T21:00:00.000-07:00

Blackberries

Not to be confused with Barry, which is spelled with an "a" and not an "e".

(Really, I just wanted to use this photo some how)

The berries are ripe and ready. I have picked enough, I think, to make seven 8 ounce jars of jam. I wish it didn't take so many berries to make such a small amount of jam. All these years we have owned the ranch I have never gone out to "harvest" the berries and now I know why. Their plants are MEAN! If you just look at them wrong they will grab you with their evil thorns, but they do taste oh so good!

In the news...

2009-07-15T17:12:00.001-07:00

Jason Roy and Keith Perry were in the news last week on NW Arkansas Fox News in the segment: "Where in AR is JR" check it out:

http://nwahomepage.com/content/myfox24/jrfiles

4th of July 2009

2009-07-10T09:53:00.000-07:00

Horseshoe Canyon Ranch had another wonderful 4th of July. Fun, food, friends and fireworks!

Nick fed us well as usual - our traditional 4th of July food - ribs, fried chicken, and corn on the cob among other yummy treats.

2009 Wranglers (not sure if you would count us)

Left to right: Barry, Amy, Johnny, Scott & Jennifer

That was the start of the firework show - if you look really close you can see how small the lodge looks... Aaron took this for us across the canyon. The sounds is amazing against the bluff walls!

The past two weeks

2009-06-17T14:39:00.001-07:00

I have fallen way behind on our blog and I apologize. I went out of town for 12 days to UT a bit ago and then we have just been busy having a great summer season... I have a few photos below of the past couple of weeks. Enjoy!

We borrowed Keith from his climbing job to help out with some pony rides. I don't remember a time when we had so many children's program in one week.

Zoey & Alley enjoying conversation.

Alexis riding Murk.

Sara hanging out with Bishop.

Scott giving some instruction to the riders in the arena.

Snicklefritz - new dude horse prospect we purchased back in March.

Jake & Hondo

Mike on Ricky Bobby & Morgan on Gus

Gillian or is it Jillian - I know I spelled it wrong - sorry but I do know she is on Trigger and that is spelled correct.

Shannon and Molly

Steak Cook-out.

Jennifer, did you save any for anyone else?

Jan sporting an awesome belt buckle.

Melvin - the real deal. He is a very accomplished blacksmith - Thank you for sending the video to Cody about the trade. He has been studying and now he wants some blacksmith tools.

The end of the day...

Dude Horse in Training

2009-04-26T20:27:00.000-07:00

Meet Ricky Bobby

Barry and I went to Macon Missouri and attended the Lolli Brothers Special Horse Sale and came home with two new trail horse prospects. Below is Ricky Bobby a 5 year old reg. quarter horse gelding. He has been doing great on the trails and are hopes are very high for him becoming part of the team before this season is over.

We are getting ready to work with the second horse...look for his photo in the future.

Spring is finally here...we think.

2009-04-26T20:02:00.001-07:00

Barry and I have been very busy with the ranch that I have not had much time for photos. (We really have enjoyed meeting all the new guests and seeing returned friends.) Also the weather has been so crazy that the photos would have been of rain, sleet or sometimes snow...not too fun.

BUT we think spring is finally here to stay. Below you will find a few misc. photos of the animals.

Nothing like a baby goat... so cute, then they grow up.

WANTED: Good home for Foxy.

2009-04-04T06:46:00.001-07:00

As some of you know Foxy was hit by a truck last year on the ranch due to her chasing it. We had her all fixed up and she is grateful. So grateful she is chasing cars again. We have given it some thought and have decided to try and find Foxy a new home. It is just a matter of time before she she is hit again. She is smart (when not chasing cars), loving, fat, good with kids and other dogs. She is part Australian Shepherd and part Chocolate Lab. If you think you could be the home for her please give us a buzz at 870-446-2555 or e-mail barryandamy@gohcr.com

DUDEO

2009-03-20T20:42:00.000-07:00

Last week Horseshoe Canyon Ranch held their first Dudeo! What's a dudeo you ask? You can get an idea from the photos but you need to experience it to really get the feel for it. It was a lot of fun!

Hayden, Kevin & Sierra waiting for instruction.

Cameron explaining some rules to Michelle and Kevin.

Creed try to put his arm around Hannah for a picture but she was not having it.

Anne

Cheer planning.

Kyrstin

Aaron getting ready to shoot the event.

Blue team after their cheer. I think it was "We are blue & you smell like poo."

Pattie, Hannah, Thomas, Kyrstin, Glen, Creed & Bruce.

The Yellow team doing their cheer:

Barbara, Michelle, Kevin, John, Harris & Richard.

Oh that noodle.

Louie, Mary Margaret, Sara, Anne & Sierra

John W., Harris, John L., Hayden & Kevin.

Go Blue!

Harris and John W. waiting to start.

I think Louise had a little regret about his choice to carry Cody down the arena and back on his back. He is not a feather that is for sure!

Pattie tossing some horseshoes.

Sara with her pile of cow patty.

Kyrstin had something to say to Barry.

Glen sporting his colors.

Cody, Bruce, Hannah, Pattie and Thomas.

Kathleen & Louie helping their team move that water.

Sara

Angela working with her team to move some water.

Louise talking about their victory with Cody.

Doug & Sara making plans for the goat dressing challenge.

Oh dear!

Richard & Barbara from the yellow team getting the job done.

The Yellow team - got the sportsmanship award and 3rd place.

The Blue team came in a proud 2nd.

The pink team were the champions.

Doug says "In your face!"

All the places were just off by 5 points each. It was a close Dudeo.

The 2009 season begins!

2009-03-18T06:38:00.000-07:00

Last week we started our 2009 season with a bang. The first part of the week SVI/Tyson came out with a group for some team building. The groups were set up into three teams. Barry, Jason & Stark were their guides to help them to get to each challenge. The challenges ranged from the Speleo Box to shooting to climbing and everything in between. SVI also put together in the barn a secret maze which was quite challenging. We really enjoyed having the opportunity to work with SVI/Tyson and can't wait to do it again. We were so happy the weather held out, no rain and nice temps.

The second half of the week the weather did come in and dropped down below freezing. We welcomed back the Gate's family who brought their friends the Hechts. Josh & Jennifer who arrived at the same time were a bit surprised to see all the kids (9 between the two families and then add our four to that.). They had a great time and we hope that they will return again so we can ride without the snow blowing sideways against us.

I was not able to get any photos of the second half of the week because I was riding or trying to warm up. I do know the families took some good photos - SOOOO if you see this and want to shoot some photos our way we would love to share them on our blog.

Tim- I need him to come to our house to organize our chore

schedule for our kids. He did an incredible job scheduling their events down

to the last second.

Jason moving his group to the next challenge.

Barry's group booking it to the tower building challenge.

Glen waiting for someone to use his wagon service.

Mischief was not much help. She just laid around watched.

Jason's team headed for the Speleo Box and Secret Maze.

Jason helping Yale get through the box.

Mario cheering on his team mate in the Speleo Box.

Looks like Bishop is pretty comfortable hanging out with Larry.

The Secret Maze was created by SVI - it hurt my brain just watching people

figuring it out. It was H A R D.

Stark watching his team take the challenge. Rachael letting them know if they were

on the right track or not.

Working together.

Finished product....

2009-03-18T06:19:00.000-07:00

The downstairs of the lodge is finished except a few photos and the theater room looks great. Check back and I will have photos of the barn loft - it is quite a transformation!

Updated and upgraded theater room!

Time for some change...

2009-02-22T17:52:00.000-08:00

Every year we try and improve or change something at the ranch - this year we decided to take on two projects. We spruced up the down stairs of the lodge and are improving the loft of the barn.

Tim Johnson (a big thanks to Tim for coming down and designing this) & Jason working on the speleo box. This is a fun and challenging new addition to the ranch. You really have to try it to understand it. Hint: You crawl through it.

Glenn hard at work on the new wood floor.

Jason taking a break.

Changes at the lodge...

Check back soon to see the new and improved downstairs and theater room at the lodge and the finished product at the barn!

February kids are here.

2009-02-22T15:20:00.000-08:00

Our February kids have arrived! Aren't they cute?! But then they grow up. Our next batch of kids will be arriving in April.

You can't find me...

Can you find the kid?

Valentine's Day Chainsaw Massacre

2009-02-13T05:01:00.000-08:00

For Valentine's day the ranch will be having a Valentine's day event: The Chainsaw Massacre - trail clean up and a chili lunch. What more could your Valentine's date want than to cut up fallen trees and clean up trails.

Newest Member of the Johnson Family

2009-02-04T19:38:00.000-08:00

Meet Horizon's Pastor a.k.a Bishop. He is approx. 12 weeks old. Yup another Anatolian Shepherd. This is Ookii's arranged marriage.

THE BIG ICE STORM

2009-01-31T08:21:00.000-08:00

If you watch the news you know about the big ice storms that made it's way across the country Our area was one of the hardest hit. Our drive back from Arizona was suppose to take two days - it ended up taking three instead. The second day that usually takes approx. 10 hrs turned out to be approx. 16 1/2 hrs and we still did not make it home - we spent the night in Russelville Arkansas.

The next day we decided to brave the roads and head up hwy. 7. Instead of a 1 hr and 15 min drive it took 4 hrs.

When we arrived home the power was gone. 435 poles were reported snapped or broken and our entire electric region was out of power. Other surrounding towns also were out of power.

We are happy to report that our power was restored yesterday morning. So we put away the generator and took a hot shower.

Below are photos that will give you an idea of what it was like:

The first photo of the Jetta was after we had FINALLY made it past Oklahoma City (we sat with out moving for an hr on I-40) to get gas - I think we had actually passed Shawnee. The second photo was after we decided to stop in Russelville (AR) for the night.

We followed this county road crew up hwy. 7 or else we would have never made it home this route. It was still raining and trees were all over the road and still falling as they worked. We purchase a chainsaw before we headed up the hwy - we didn't need to use it but Barry did help drag branches out of the way. They also had a backhoe they would push the big logs out of the way with.

Some power and phone lines were so low the big trucks found it hard to get by. The boom truck lifted the lines so they could pass - it still was a tight squeeze.

This is hwy 74 the day after heading towards the ranch.

This is the ranch road when we first turned onto it. Glenn had cut his way down during the ice storm the day before.

Barry and Chad (neighbor) starting on the ranch road.

This is the ranch road where you cross the water everyone stops at.

You can kind of see the gate.

Now for the pretty pictures. There was some beauty to be found in this crazy storm mother nature threw at us.

Good times at the Annual Dude Rancher's Convention

2009-01-30T09:06:00.001-08:00

Every year the Dude Ranch Association holds its annual convention. This year it was in Tucson Arizona at the beautiful Tanque Verde Ranch. The weather (70’s) was great and the people were very nice. The convention is a great place to get new ideas for the ranch, reconnect with old friends from other ranches and have a mini vacation all in one.

These are tough financial times- the sad truth is we got ourselves in this mess. It seems some people on Wall Street are lacking something, they are mixing up principles with laws…laws are bendable but principles are not. At this convention we were reminded of the Cowboy Code, Principles the cowboys of old lived by. No matter how you believe, where you live or your rung on the economic ladder we can all take these to heart. Being a “real” cowboy is not required. Wall street would not be in the financial mess they are in now if everyone in business lived this code. James P. Owen, the author of “Cowboy ethics” made a nice presentation. Here’s the code: we think its worth repeating…

COWBOY CODE:

Live each day with courage.
Take pride in your work.
Always finish what you start.
Do what has to be done.
Be tough but fair.
When you make a promise keep it.
Ride for the brand.
Talk less and say more.
Remember that some things are not for sale.
Know where to draw the line.

We were happy to see the "Welcome to Arizona" sign after driving for two days.

There horses were penned in large lots fenced with dead fall - it was pretty neat.

Due to the lack of pasture they are fed alfalfa hay and there is no wrangling in of the horses in the mornings. I wonder if their wranglers get to sleep in a little later than ours since there is no searching for hiding horses in the trees?

Barry grabbing a horse tongue.

The Sonoran Dessert: The only place in the world where the giant saguaro cactus grows. It takes 50 years for the saguaro to produce it's first arm. A little different view than our ranch. It was a very neat site to see. The desert here is very pretty.

Father and Son - Jerry Johnson really does exist - he is just not someone on the phone at the office.

As a lot of you know Barry and I met working at the Heart Six Ranch in Moran Wyoming. This is Jessica and Savannah Garnick (no longer Garnick - they are married now) - the Heart Six belonged to their family at the time. It is amazing to think that their father was my age (37) when we worked on their ranch so very long ago. Their father and our close friend passed away last year in hunting camp. He is greatly missed. Their family continues to run their guest ranch the Triangle C in Dubious Wyoming.

On our way home we decided to stop in at the famous Tombstone Arizona. We wished we would have had more time to do some tours and look around a little more.

Family Pictures (Maybe)

2009-01-19T05:31:00.001-08:00

We decided it was time for some new family photos for our website and to have in our home. We set out yesterday hoping to get a good one. The challenge was not to look as cold as it felt. Below are mostly out takes of our venture.

This is where you can see the cold is starting to get to them.

Hey, you get back here Creed!

Silly dancing...

Really Cameron?

I would say we are really done...

Sierra had left to go get warm but the boys stayed and started loosing their minds.

Kissing the guns.

Big Winter Storm

2008-12-30T07:08:00.000-08:00

We hope you all had a very Merry Christmas. We did - we spent the day down in North Little Rock with Martha and Jerry plus some extended family.

December 27, 2008 we were hit with this huge rain storm. We were amazed at the amount of water and glad it was a warm day for December... no ice. Occasionally we looked around to see if we could spot Noah.

Brrr...

2008-12-22T19:06:00.000-08:00

These photos are from a week ago when we had frozen fog. It was c-o-l-d! Chores were not very fun that day, frozen hoses, ice on water troughs, frozen hydraulic lines on the tractor, and more frozen frozen frozen...

I guess it is officially winter.

Winter Projects

2008-12-07T17:02:00.001-08:00

December 1st we woke up to the first snow. The kids were disappointed that they had to go to school.

Barry, Glenn, Jason and Aaron have been working hard taking out cedar trees to improve the pasture. Since the ground was wet it was a good day to start burning them.

Winnie hanging out.

Puzz & Foxy clearing Ringo out of the barn area.

Glenn headed back to the tractor.

Billy Bob waiting for the hay.

Ookii taking a rest on the porch of the Trading Post.

D-Mac coming back from getting a drink of water at the pond.

Apache

Horse Goat waiting for someone to come along to bother.

Thanksgiving

2008-11-28T09:16:00.001-08:00

Flower "parked" outside of the lodge.

Thanksgiving day was great. We could not have asked for better weather (65 and not a cloud in the sky). Chris, with some help from her visiting family, prepared a delecious traditional Thanksgiving meal. Along with all the regular turkey day deserts, Barry made one of the best french silk pies we have had in a long time. We enjoyed the company of the Simpsons, a family of four, who drove in from Houston, TX, the Johnsons (unrelated), family of four, who traveled from Pineville, LA along with Chris's family who came from TX and her mother from Germany and of course Martha and Jerry Johnson (really related).

Chris's mother and daughter making dessert.

Morgan cutting up limes for a keylime pie

We got out the "fancy" stuff for dinner.

This is Jerry Johnson taking a "practice" nap - we had not had dinner yet.

Sierra with Grandma Johnson.

Chris finishing the gravy.

Johnny testing the deep fried turkey.

Snacks to tied us over before the big meal.

Jerry woke up to carve some turkey.

Martha and Cameron visiting.

Almost ready.

Barry getting the ham ready.

We are thankful for the oppurtunity to own and run the ranch, for all the great people we meet that feel like family when they leave.

HAPPY THANKSGIVING!

FALL AT THE RANCH

2008-11-12T07:27:00.000-08:00

Fall at the ranch is one of the most beautiful times of the year here. The leaves make up a carpet of wonderful colors across the ranch valley. Peak color usually hits around the end of October. Here are some shots I took, not as good as actually being here but it gives you an idea of what it is like.