The West

Ontario is a very wide province, it just seems to never end. The Transcanada Highway gets very hilly after Sault Ste-Marie and it is the kind of driving that requires a lot of attention. Hills and turns, forest, lakes and rocks, it seems to go on forever. I had a great stop in Thunder Bay where I gave some private lessons to a couple of Parelli students. Then I added a stop in Dryden thanks to Judith who hooked me up with Susan and Kevin, Level 3 students who own a large cattle farm and host clinics. It made for a shorter drive to Manitoba the next day.

Once in Manitoba, the road flattens out and the prairies begin. Long flat straight stretches of road, and a divided highway provide easy driving. The weather has been ideal, sunny, dry very hot during the days (30C) and quite cool at night (10-12C). The horses are needing to drink a lot on the trailer and once we arrive, so I have to make sure I keep a good supply on the trailer. Once I crossed the line marked Longitudinal Centre of Canada, I knew I had officially reached the West! The fields here go on forever, there are a lot of cattle, and the horizon is only broken by long lines of telephone poles, trains, radio towers and grain elevators that can be seen 100 km away. Where in the East, farms are small and compact, here it's another world. My hosts in Edwin, MB, told me they own and farm 3600 acres! For someone from Quebec, that's just mind-boggling! You could fit my home town on that property!

I met a lovely group of L2 and L3 students in Balgonie, SK, and we had a Patterns workshop day. It was incredibly windy (the prairies!), but fun and stimulating for all involved. We witnessed some great changes in the horses. It's a matter of staying on the pattern long enough, and making it a program – my students found out that they are powerful exercices for developing leadership on the ground and in the saddle!

I am now spending the night in the fairgrounds in Maple Creek, SK, before heading for the last two legs of my trip towards British Columbia. It's been a fantastic experience; I am seeing a lot of beautiful country and meeting great people along the way. There have been barbecues and tailgate parties, lessons and workshops, many horse stories were shared as well as truck and trailer discussions and tips, lots of Parelli questions and only a few wrong turns!

Soon to write from my final destination, Princeton, BC, where I look forward to settling and teaching for the summer months!

Geneviève

Maple Creek, Saskatchewan

L'Ontario est immense, on dirait que ça ne finira jamais. L'autoroute transcanadienne devient très abrupte après Sault Ste-Marie, et la conduite devient exigeante. Côtes et virages, de la forêt, de la roche et des lacs s'enfilent pendant des centaines de kilomètres. J'ai eu une belle étape à Thunder Bay où j'ai donné des cours privés à deux élèves Parelli. Ensuite j'ai filé vers Dryden grâce à Judith qui m'a mise en contact avec Susan et Kevin, des élèves Niveau 3 qui sont propriétaires d'une grande ferme et qui organisent des stages. Cela m'a permis de raccourcir mon étape vers le Manitoba le lendemain.

Une fois au Manitoba, la route s'aplatit, c'est le début des Prairies. La conduite devient plus facile sur une autoroute droite et plate qui devient aussi divisée. La température a été idéale, plein soleil, sec, mais très chaud durant le jour (30C), froid la nuit (10-12C). Les chevaux ont besoin de beaucoup d'eau dans la remorque et aux étapes, je dois m'assurer de toujours en avoir une bonne quantité en réserve. Une fois que j'ai eu traversé la ligne marquée Centre Longitudinal du Canada, je me trouvais officiellement dans l'Ouest! Les champs s'étendent à perte de vue, il y a beaucoup de bétail et l'horizon plat est ponctué d'enfilades de poteaux de téléphone, de trains, de tours de télécommunication et d'élévateurs à grain qui sont visibles à 100 km de distance. Tandis que dans l'Est, les fermes sont petites et compactes, ici c'est une autre histoire. Mes hôtes à Edwin, MB, m'ont expliqué qu'ils possèdent et cultivent 3600 acres! Pour quelqu'un du Québec, c'est inimaginable! On pourrait y loger ma ville natale!

J'ai rencontré un super groupe d'élèves Niveau 2 et 3 à Balgonie, SK, et nous avons organisé un atelier de Patterns. Il ventait à écorner les bœufs (les Prairies!), mais la journée s'est déroulée dans la bonne humeur fut très stimulante pour tous. Nous avons pu voir de très beaux changements parmi les chevaux qui participaient. Il s'agit de rester sur le Pattern suffisamment longtemps, et d'en faire un programme – mes élèves ont découvert que ce sont des exercices très bénéfiques pour développer le leadership au sol et en selle!

Ce soir je passe la nuit sur un terrain de rodéo à Maple Creek, SK, avant de terminer mes deux dernières étapes vers la Colombie-Britannique. Je fais un voyage fantastique. Je vois du pays et des paysages magnifiques et je rencontre des gens intéressants et généreux en chemin. Il y a eu des barbecues, des soirées en plein air, des leçons et des ateliers Parelli; nous avons partagé de nombreuses histoires de chevaux, des conseils sur les remorques et les camions, beaucoup de questions sur Parelli et il y a eu quelques mauvais tournants!

J'écrirai bientôt de ma destination, Princeton, C.-B., où j'ai hâte de m'installer et d'enseigner pour l'été!

Geneviève

Maple Creek, Saskatchewan

Ontario

I started my trip across the country on June 16th, and it has been a fantastic journey so far. My first stop was in Carleton Place, west of Ottawa, where I stayed overnight with a Parelli friendly family that just bought a horse farm and is hoping to host clinics in the future. The horses got their first taste of a grass pastures, but also on Ontario bugs, which were fierce and furious and kept them pacing all night. They galloped over to me in the morning BEGGING to go back to the trailer so they could get some rest! The neighbours came out for a barbecue and to see the horses, and we are hoping to have a Level 1 clinic there on my way back in October.

Next stop was Dowling near Sudbury, where I stayed with the Day family, who have been dedicated Parelli students and hosts for several years. They own a beautiful property and I enjoyed teaching the kids and getting to know them. Again, the bugs were unrelentless, and my poor horses ended up bloodied from a combination of mosquitoes, horse flies and black flies. It is the season! They got to love staying on the trailer, good incentive, and I caught them snoozing in there several times.

Ontario is alot of forest, rock and water, and it's not wonder mining and forestry were the main industries for years. You can see the effects of the decline of those activities, there are lots of boarded up motels, restaurants and gas bars along the Transcanada, a sure sign that businesses have left the area.

Onto a short hop to Sault Ste-Marie, which is the doorway to Lake Superior. Lou-Anne Train was very welcoming and we shared stories and lots of food! I helped her with some private instruction with her challenging horse, and for someone who has mostly studied the program on her own, she has done a great job and is moving along nicely. We played with some foundation issues on the ground and respect and confidence in the saddle. Menina and Easter got a respite from bugs, and Menina did lots of socializing with Lou-Anne's gelding over the fence. He was devastated when she left, he thought he'd found his harem...

Once on Lake Superior, the road hugs the banks of the Lake and the views start becoming quite spectacular. So are the hills! This is when I get to appreciate my diesel engine and large gas guzzling truck. It can sure haul a big trailer up and down steep hills. I spent another day and half in Wawa, Ontario, half way between the Soo and Thunder Bay. Apparently, they don't often get a Parelli instructor in Wawa, and my students there were very grateful to have me there. We had fun, the horses enjoyed a lovely pasture with shade and trees, got lots of rest and so did I. Wawa is peaceful and nested in the woods, lots of wildlife around. EVERYONE there hunts moose, deer and fowl, kids, women and men. And I found out, butcher everything themselves. It is quite the life. No video games or sitting in front of the TV for the kids, there are outdoors, active and experience the goodness of life and nature. As someone said, 'there are no malls in Wawa'. And they consider it a blessing. One of my students, Tracey, cares for horses, emus, alpacas, dogs, cats and chickens on a 2.5 acre property, pretty amazing!

I have just arrived in Thunder Bay, where I am staying at a neighboring farm since my host Judith has not space on her property. It was quite a tricky maneuver getting the trailer it on that piece of property, and it tested my driving skills, but I got it done. No grass for the horses here, but the bugs are not bad either, and they have a small shelter for shade. The views on Lake Superior were really spectacular today, with blue-green water and red rock encased in a mixed forest.

I will try to post pictures once I get my camera batteries recharged - I came to use it and the batteries were dead.

Geneviève in Thunder Bay, Ontario.