New Years Eve in Laramie Wyoming

http://forecast.weather.gov/MapClick.php?CityName=Laramie&state=WY&site=CYS&textField1=41.3109&textField2=-105.583&e=0

Cut and paste in your address bar.

If you can access this link you will know why I'm thinking I might just sit in my studio and contemplate New Year's resolutions today!!

http://rondaeden.blogspot.com my second blog

Hey there y'all, i now have a second blog dedicated to artwork only. Please book mark the following to keep up with what i'm doing. My goal is to make daily additions. http://rondaeden.blogspot.com
Cheers R

Merry Christmas everyone.

To my friends and family all over the world, have a safe and happy holiday season.

A Dwawing Fool! That's me!

Wild horses, pencil sketch.
Trying to think of a name for my new series of drawings and watercolors. Any suggestions?

Welsh 8 x 10"
Ink and coffee washes on bristol board. Draw Draw Draw Draw!!!

Drawings

Now I'm not sure what has gotten into me! I studied drawing for my BFA and started my artist journey taking drawing classes at Rocky Mountain College of Art and Design in Denver. I drew every day. Tons of drawings mostly tossed out now. I thought I'd left it all behind but lately I've been picking up a pencil and drawing off of photographs. Not so much a change in style as a revisiting of the past. I still think it's sort of cheating. After all it's just a matter of putting all the lines in the right spot. Lot easier than abstract work where you really have nothing but your inner creativity to go by. I wonder how long this phase will last.
R

Coffee Tumeric and watercolor, new work heading into 2011

Media...Turmeric, Coffee and a little watercolor.Love experimental media. Don't ask me about the permanency of the first two but anyone who has ever accidentally spilled either of those substances on their favorite shirt might know more about that!LOL
Take a look at the style of the first painting and ask 'what's wrong with this picture? It's loose and splashy but a little more on the 'normal side of what i usually do. Maybe due to a possibly dislocated thumb, picking up a brush instead of using my fingers (and other parts of my body) has taken me back to my roots which was fairly traditional watercolor. Have i gone backward ? Perhaps i just needed to revisit or perhaps i was going too far on the 'wild side' and needed to create some balance. Anyhow, there it is. Scroll down to see more typical Ronnie Roo wild stuff. Doesn't get much wilder that 'WILD WILLY!!

R


Whoa boy! It's Wild Willy!

And then there's GEORGE!

www.cafepress.com/rondaeden

Ok, i think one shop is enough at Cafe Press so it
www.cafepress.com/rondaeden
I closed the giddyup shop. I still have a webpage at www.northernfront.net/ronnieroo/artwall9/htm and it's soon to have a face lift.
I may do a Steve Cormey and blow off the blog for a while too. I don't think anyone's reading it!
Yoo Hoo, anyone out there?!!

www.cafepress.com/rondaeden and giddyupartworks

Ok, Endurance season is officially over and i'm planning on hibernating in my studio for the winter.(After 2 years of just galloping all over the place). Go to the following links to see the beginnings of my Art Stores. Feed back PLEASE!
Click on image to enlarge.

http://www.cafepress/rondaeden
http://www.cafepress/giddyupartworks May need to be cut and pasted. Any of the images can be put onto any of the products. Cheers R
Or just click on the link under LINKS to the right of this page.

Moab, Halloween,2010 last ride for the season

Amy Nagler on Manny the Super Mule.....Nice Ass!!


Gary Brown riding his lovely mare Duna. Go Gazza!
Dr Yvette Haeberle lookin' good on Roscoe! Three pics above taken by Karl's Creations.
Nice view aye Larka. Scroll down for more. Click to enlarge.





Last ride of the season and one not to be missed! Even if you do have to spend 3 extra hours crawling through ice packed roads to get there! The trick is to go a week early and take in a vacation in Moab at the same time. This year i had the LQ. I have an entry for this time last year when Chris and i braved sleeping in the back of the stock trailer 'IN THE SNOW!!!!'( Nov 3rd 2009 archives)
This year I went with Jeanette Flaig and Amy Nagler and their equine partners Marty, and Manny the Mule. We all did LD's. Them because their equines are new to the game and me because I'm sort of running on one cylinder right now. Flambeau and i had a wreck the first day (of course we did!) Unlike me he's had an easy season and is revved up to go. At one point i tried to slow him down by pointing him into a large boulder.Instead of slowing down he climbed up on top of the boulder and fell off the other side catapulting me over his ears. He left a couple of little caterpillars of knee hair on the rock but was otherwise fine. I gathered a few 'I'm lucky to be here' bruises and continued and finished all three days. One on Flambeau and two on Dorothy Sue's mare Larka (Montana Skylark).
The Halloween costumes on the final day were hilarious! Our group were butterflies and naturalists except for Amy who rode with 'NICE ASS' written with white cattle marker across her mule's butt! That mule rocks! Jeanette's Polish Arabian Marty did really well too. Just took the whole thing in his big beautiful stride.
Yep, this ride is one not to miss. Manager Sheri Griffith sure knows how to run an endurance ride and knows how to encourage good horsemanship and care of our equines while providing the means for us all to have a fantastic riding experience. Thanks Sheri, your vets and volunteers. See you next year........hopefully a week early!!
Oh and I came home with 2 free Renegade hoof boots! I'm sure you'll hear more about this in blogs to come!







Susie Basham from Cheyenne. Oh i love riding with Susie!



Meanwhile back at the ranch..... Chris and Daisy knocked 'em dead at the Halloween schooling show at the Hansen Arena in West Laramie. Steph did really well with Bud.....something about first prize i hear! And Marjorie Daley bought home some placings too. Most importantly, they all had a great time with no injuries. Much smarter than yours truly. Oh well!

Kipling....seeya later!

See here Chris's Grey Anglo Arab Kipling, at Rushcreek Arabians in Lisco Nebraska where he is 'out to pasture' for a lameness problem. Not a problem right now it seems! I'm looking forward to hitting the trails on him next year. Great horse........ with just a bit of an attitude!!

Kenlyn Urban Challenge, Aurora, Co 2010

Look over there. It's a flasher. oooooo!!
Chris riding Miss Daisy!
See commentary below.
Yours truly riding Kenlyn Rangler. Nice horse. You should have seen him all collected!!!! Lovely!!! And for sale. Just let me know if you're interested and I'll put you in touch with Linda.
ronnieroo@hotmail.com


Another one of my very favorites for different reasons. It's definitely an 'Urban Challenge'! You get to see EVERYTHING city living has to offer. And i mean everything!! Last year we had a woman lying stretched out on the trail. She wasn't happy about the thundering horses disturbing her nap and and told us so in no uncertain teams.This year we had a happy 'flasher' right on the trail. He was wearing only a t-shirt and holding his shorts in his hand. If you don't believe me ask Lynn Williams. She saw him too. Said "that's disgusting!"
Chris Compton did her super crew act for me and was brilliant as usual. Flambeau got pulled unfortunately with only 7 miles to go but i did the ACTHA ride the following day on Linda Fisher's beautiful gelding Rangler (for sale/comes highly recommended by me) so I guess i got my 50. Chris rode her baby paint filly Daisy on the 7 mile trail and did great! Daisy started off as a non-water crosser but grew webbed feet as the ride progress and it's no longer a problem. They are a great team embarking on a rosy future methinks!
Yvette Haeberle and Susie Schomberg hit the dust but are OK abet a little sore. Those girls are tough cookies!
Last ride for the season will be next, Moab Canyons! Yeehah!

Sangre Scenic, Westcliffe, CO

This ride has moved up to one of my absolute favorites!
For some reason I assumed the ride was Fri, Sat, Sun. I was wrong! The above is a picture of ride camp when i got there. So I helped Linda Hardeman set trail (in a niffty little Trekker vehicle) on Friday which was nice. When we returned at the end of the day all the neighbors had moved in and were busily setting up for the rides on Sat, Sun and Monday.
I rode 55/35/50 completed all three days on two horses. I took it easy and was only about 4 hours behind Crockett Dumas on day three! The weather was warm apart from a couple of quick squalls and little friendly breeze to keep both riders and horses in good shape. Although the loops repeat themselves ! never get tired of the scenery which is just gorgeous especially with the leaves beginning to turn.



The ride meetings were brightened up by a happy crowd and a blue grass band on Sunday evening. I didn't even get the name of this trio but here is a picture of them playing. They are just starting up and you may just see them somewhere else some day.
The food was freshly prepared and presented by the ranch owner/manager and her crew. It was delicious and plenty of it. Another extra 5 lbs brought home around the belly of yours truly as I make my way toward heavy weight!
The Sangre Scenic ride is usually held twice a year at Music Meadows Ranch nestled at the base of the majestic Sangre de Cristo Mountains of South Central Colorado. The ranch covers 4000 acres and is beautifully run by lovely Elin Rusher. To find out more go to http://musicmeadows.com or call 719 783 2222. 'Itellya,' it's well worth a visit.
Big thanks to Elin and co, the ride manager Linda Hardeman and her volunteers and Vets for making this an enjoyable 'top of the list' ride.
Oh and getting to see Crockett do a jig to the music was absolutely precious! Didn't have my camera then DARN IT!

Rushcreek Reunion, 2010

Rushcreek Reunion in Lisco NE is a very special ride held every Labor day week end. Thanks to Rushcreek Land and Live Stock we get to ride the beautiful open rolling hills of Nebraska among grazing cattle, chugging windmills and meadows of smiling sunflowers. Lyle and Teresa along with Lynn Jones and all the cowboys and friendly volunteers combine to produce an atmosphere of good ole down home ranch hospitality, great food and fun all week end! I've been taking things easy with my horses as of late so my goal has been the turtle award. Jack Evers got it on Saturday but i snagged it on Sunday. My second this year following the Zucchini at Happy Jack. I could really get into this turtle thing especially when it always seems to come with a completion and a sound horse!!
I'm looking forward to next year as Lyle announced his plan to make it a three day ride with a possible 75 mile trail! Stay tuned. Hey and if you want to ride your horse barefoot and have a horse with even half way decent hooves, this is an excellent ride to do. The footing is very soft. I did a 50 and a 25 barefoot no worries!
Timbo French helping out Lyle at the awards banquet Sunday night. He was in top form wearing the sexy little crew apon he and Lyle bidded up to and bought for $800 at the conference in February. They will be kindly donating it back to be auctioned again next year. A chance for other generous and good humored ride managers get into and look equally sexy in at their awards and briefings!!!
Flamboyant Beau (Flambeau). Quite a Novelty to be riding my own horse for a change!
Photo by Karl Creations
Chris Compton showing Rushcreek Theo 'Teddy' the way. He's really listening too."Yes i see that ribbon" says he! The sun flower is a nice touch too. Chris's birthday is Sept 5th and it has become a tradition for us to ride a 25 together. Lyle loaned her this lovely Rush Creek horse for the ride. He's for sale and a real sweet heart!


This was actually taken at Happy Jack by Pascal Karl. See here Tim French's Walkin' horse 'TROUBLE' sticking out his tongue at the photographer. Trouble is adorable but certainly lives up to his name! See also my foot in a brace.

Red Hills 50 mile, Otto Wyoming Aug 28th

Haven't been able to get to this ride as it's usually held in the Spring and i get snowed in this end. Well this year mother nature did a number on them at their end (up North West of the state )and it got canceled.However it was rescheduled for this week end so i got to go. I just drove up in my little car as Dorothy Sue lives close by in Powell and i rode her Pinto Dandy Fella again. Love that horse! It was hot but the footing was great! No rain until after the ride so no bentonite mud to slip and slide in. Yay! Sort of warm so i ended up with a weird heat rash on my leg. Saw a rattler REAL close (almost ran right over it) and a funny little thorny toad reptile. Rode through the spectacular bad land country in constant awe! Sort of a stark beauty. Not many riders but a lovely laid back, enjoyable time had by those who were there.Recommended ride!

Happy Jack 2010

My Turtle award for Sunday.

Happy Jack is our local ride and it's a good one. This year the weather was perfect. We often get four seasons in one weekend including hail and snow. In August! There were lots of riders. I'm thinking over 60 on Saturday and at least 30 on Sunday. I am in 'easy mode' right now, broken foot and all, so i got to take lots of pictures and goof around a bit. I rode with Mernie on the Sat LD. Flambeau was wound up at the beginning but chilled out pretty quickly when he realized how much grass was to be had for the back runners. I took it even easier on Sunday riding Tim's youngster Trouble (Got A Copy) He did really well with all A's and we even received the coveted Turtle award which this year was...... a big zucchini! See above. BIG thanks to Bob and all his volunteers for putting on an excellent ride yet again.
Sara on Flirt. Great pair. First ride for both them. Actually second. Saturday with Tim and Junior was the first. Now look at them go!
Mernie riding high on Ice. See her ear in the left corner.
Mernie on Ice. Yes i got to ride and complete with my hubby buddy!

Horse and Rider 2010

Goofin' around on the trail!
Joe looking his early morning best!
Bonnie on Baracha (Rocket) only her 4th/ 5th ride done totally barefoot and BC ed 2nd day. What a little ripper!!!!



Gosh i need to catch up on two rides. I thought i'd have plenty of time to do indoor things when i broke my foot but alas i found devious ways to get outside and keep going with what i love best. Riding and horsin' around.
Horse and Rider, Carbondale Co 14th and 15th of August. Went with Bonnie and Joe, my team we call the Borojoes. We had a lovely time though the course was difficult, rocky and at 10,000 + feet. It took most of the allotted time to do it. Bonnie and Joe brought home BC and first prizes and me and my broken foot were thoroughly happy with completions both days on Flambeau and Junior. Thank yous go to Carol with a name i can never pronoun for a great week end.

New work, Horsin' around and cavorting

As I have a broken my foot and have been grounded from riding for a few weeks .......... what's there to do? Have some fun in the studio of course. Cards and prints available. Click on to enlarge.

ouch

Broke me foot!
"There's........ One Foot and Foot Foot and stupid one called Broken Foot.......

I tend to get lots of knocks and bumps given the work i do with equines and they are obviously warnings ignored. Well this time i didn't get away with it......stupid, stupid, stupid!
Thought I'd help out one of our borders with her unbroken three year old. A lovely lady who warned me repeatedly she'd probably blow up when saddled. I don't know where my brain was last Thursday. Probably hiding in my butt! It does that sometimes.I ignored all the golden rules for working with an unknown horse. Normally i would put the critter in the round pen and run it thought my personal check list to see where it was at. Find a safe starting point and work from there. Or at least see whether it has enough respect to back briskly down the isle of the portastall in a "yes ma'am" kid of manner. Something i did after the bugger broke my foot.Derr! (Adrenaline is an amazing thing!) But nooooo, my brain finds it hard to work properly while squashed up between the cheeks of my butt.
Well she blew, not away from me as i expected (stupid,stupid,stupid) but toward me knocking me down and stomping on my foot. This might explain why my brain was hiding in the most padded refuge. You all probably know the rest.......emergency room, exrays, narcotics, R.I.C.E and six to eight weeks driving everyone crazy trying to do things i can't! Oh well there's a 100 mile ER in Missouri on September 18 so if you see me galloping around on my crutches tell be to get that brain out of my butt or i may not be doing that 100.
Luv ya all xxx

Hop-a-long Roo