Wrapping Up February [Story]
Good day and hello from a wet West Crescent Ranch in Nokesville, VA with our end-of-February story.
Wow! “Rain makes corn, corn makes whiskey, whiskey makes my baby (Karen) feel a little frisky.” So I guess with the rain the past few days we’ll be standin’ in tall corn soon!
First, our thanks go out to Southern States of Manassas, VA and the General Manager, Christian Warner, who has teamed up with us for our open house on April 23rd and the Christian-based horsemanship clinics in June, July and August.
Also, we welcome Rachel Teufert who is a Southern States certified equine feed specialist and a Soldier in the US Army reserves!! Rachel will be one of many guest speakers at our Christian-based horsemanship clinics.
Due to her dedication to the industry and commitment to Southern States, Southern States sponsored Rachel’s attendance in a course on feed and nutrition. The course is part of the American Registry of Professional Animal Scientists organization. Rachel received a certification as a Feed Master, in addition to her current certification as an equine feed specialist.
The purpose of the American Registry of Professional Animal Scientists (ARPAS) is to provide certification of professional status for qualified members of the society, to strengthen animal sciences among the professions, and to promote animal sciences and the profession of animal scientists. Continual education is required of all certified professionals to keep abreast of rapidly changing technology in their fields. The organization’s professional journal, The Professional Animal Scientist is an international, peer-reviewed scientific journal and the official publication of the American Registry of Professional Animal Scientists (ARPAS).
The course is extremely difficult and has a first time pass rate of approximately 30% and of course Rachel excelled and was successful on graduating on her first attempt!! Additionally, Rachel was about the 20th person nationally to receive the certification.
Here is Bugs’ Story
Sheza Dashin’ Bug (Bugs) came to us from Cross State Stables and was an inseparable “sister” to Corona’s Fast Yawl! We received Bugs when she was about 18 months old in March 2011 and Bugs was fit to be tied when separated from Corona. Additionally, Bugs was not comfortable in a round pen. Although we tried different techniques and pounds of carrots, Bugs could not stand to be in a round pen. My assessment was Bugs was probably mistreated in a round pen and all she wanted to do was get out.
We were fortunate that Ducky Keller came to our rescue and took Bugs in at Bishop Creek Ranch. In a few short months, lots of stall time with her and hours of patience, Ducky encouraged her to be her own horse. She matured quickly and in little over a year Bugs was successfully running the barrels. Ducky is a great man and a true horse lover, although for all of us that know him, I am stating the obvious. The rest of the story is history. Ducky ran her to the 2D VA State Barrel championship in 2014! We are forever grateful to Ducky, a great cowboy and Soldier!
You saw a short video of her in the mid-February story, so here are a few pictures and a video of Bugs:
REMINDER!!!
Our open house is April 23rd, and the Christian-based horsemanship week-long clinics are 4-8 July and 8-12 August. Our June date of 6-10 is changing to later in June. We will announce the new date next week!
Finally I want to thank the men of Kappa Phi Chapter of the Kappa Sigma Fraternity, George Mason University, who work here on the weekends to help us create a better equestrian training facility.
As always, come by and visit us at one of our events and God bless you and America!
Peter