Martha's Journal - May 2008

May 1, 2008 - Yahoo the start of another month!!!! There are so many moose here, we learned that there were 3 standing 50 feet from our camp last night and another just up the road 100 yards. I'm guessing that the horses may be getting a bit used to their presence. Had a visit with Garth and Chris and watched them turn their animals out of the barn. What an event this was. He has a steer, named Moo, that exits the barn in a quick way, because he is afraid of getting bugged by the horse beside him, then he stands outside the door and waits till he gets brushed and gets his bell on. Then when this ritual is complete he waddles his 1 ton body down to the pasture and bucks and kicks when all the other horses are let out of the barn. Last night one of the young girls that has her horse at Garth's wanted to walk Champagne down to the pasture and asked if she could ride bareback. I told her that I don't think that Champagne has ever been rode bareback so she jumped on her and she acted like she's always done it. What a great horse. We headed into Terrace Bay and stopped for quite awhile to catch up on phone calls and emails, which I haven't been able to do for a few days due to a lack of service, therefore we got a later start on the road. Rhonda's husband Ed has been so great with keeping ahead of us by phone and contacting the OPP along the way to inform them of our location. He bought us a cb radio so that we could talk to the truckers. Well, Rhonda has this thing down to a great science. She talks to the truckers and informs them of our location and they are very interested and grateful. Rhonda also talks to Diane on another radio and me on a handheld GPS, so Rhonda is a busy 'communications' gal. We had a couple of people stop on the road that were from Indian Head, Saskatchewan, Byron and Nellie Goodwill their daughter, Kirsten is on Team Saskatchewan Aboriginal Girls Hockey Team and they were in the finals in Sault Ste Marie and they were on their way back home from it. They were excited to see/hear about Giddy Up For Wishes, as they saw me on t.v. at the beginning of the ride. Nellie is a teacher at Peepeekisis School there and is going to work at getting the kids involved in some fundraising, and have some sort of meet and greet with a presentation when I arrive in Indian Head. I look forward to getting there. Champagne worked very hard today as she had 3 very large hills to climb. The Rossport hill was 8 kms long and the other two were just a little less than that distance. The scenery was spectacular at the top of these hills. Rhonda and I stopped for a photo while Diane screeched and protested about stopping on the hill, which had very little to no shoulders. We trailered back to Rossport where we spent the night at Dave and Debbie Iddison's place right on the shores of Superior. We had a tour of a Tug O' The North tug boat as it was getting ready to haul a barge out to a train wreck salvage sight, which happened in January of this year. I really love being on the water and especially this place, as it reminds me of the east coast. Dave and Debbie served us up a great bbq meal which consisted of the traditional 'moose sausage' and we had many laughs around the table. We were parked 50 feet from a very busy train track and the horses just stood there whenever a train went by. This went on through the night, so I would only guess that they are quite used to trains.

May 2, 2008 - Got up early to watch the tug boat pull the barge out to sea. It's a beautiful morning with the sun shining and nice temperatures. I would love to have many mornings like this sitting on a dock having tea. It's so beautiful and relaxing being on the water like this. We then went inside and had a wonderful breakfast at Dave and Debbie's and then headed out. Got to our starting point only to realize that we were very low on fuel. Too much looking at the beautiful scenery and not at the gas gauge, I suppose. Haha We drove into Nipigon to get fuelled up (well sort of, as Rhonda and I had to wait on the side of the road till Diane brought a jerry can with diesel first, before we could head in to fuel up) and then we headed back to start the ride and realized that we have saddle and horseshoeing issues. So there we were on the side of the road pulling a very very worn and broken shoe. I was hoping that this job would hold off till Thunder Bay, but we thought we had better get Coco tended to right away. Coco's is the most crucial as she has worn them pretty much off. David Blouin sure does good farrier work. Nice to see that they would wear them off long before losing any. I look forward to getting off this section of the Trans Canada where the shoulders are slim, lots of rock, winding curves and many hills, and now we have run into construction that has forced the traffic down to one lane. It's been a long stretch but I believe we're nearing the end of it. They say that the terrain after Nipigon starts to flatten out a bit and the shoulders, generally, are a bit wider. All of these fuel, horseshoe and saddle issues ate up a lot of our time. I guess we're not supposed to be on the road today. We drove into Nipigon, (cell coverage is restricted to mainly the towns around here) to make some calls. A gentleman, Jim Salo, stopped us and gave us a donation. He told us about his daughter who had received a wish to Disneyland many years ago and is doing well today. Still battling her heart condition, but he tells us she has such a beautiful outlook on everything. He heard about our dilemma and got on the phone and made some calls. In no time he had a farrier lined up for us who came in from Dorion. Terry Schaaf and his wife came to the rescue. He put shoes on Coco and donated his services. So very generous! Sounds like they're good friends with our Saturday night stayover, so we'll get to visit with them there. I made a call and lined up another farrier to do the other horses when I arrive in Thunder Bay (only 100 kms from Nipigon). The weather had been dropping all day today and by evening it started raining. They're calling for some rain turning to snow for tomorrow. I hope that it's rideable weather and not whiteouts, otherwise I'll be a bit behind. Our overnight stop is at Joyce Tinsley's place right on the highway across from the Husky station. Unfortunately, we are unable to meet Joyce as she is out of town for a few days, but she generously opened her farm up to us. We'll use the Husky station for our bathroom/shower needs as we still do not have water in our trailer. Hoping to get that fixed when I arrive in Thunder Bay. Another gentleman, Jeff Lewis, stopped by on his way down to Sudbury to talk about Giddy Up For Wishes. He told me about his lifelong dream/plan to ride his two horses from Newfoundland to Bella Coola. A trip that he is determined to take in 4-5 years. He shared this very strong passion with me, and I was happy to hear his determination as I can certainly understand. I look forward to hearing about is ride in the future.

May 3, 2008 - I woke up several times through the night to hear the steady, often heavy rain and strong winds shaking the trailer. When we finally got out of bed we saw that it had turned to strong winds and snow. We thought we would wait out the weather as the visibility on the roads were not good. There were a few people that drove to try and find us on the highway and then decided to stop in at the trailers to have a visit and make a donation. We got caught up on more paperwork & computer work. The horses had shelter from the weather, so they were fine. We've been monitoring the weight of the horses and they're all doing great. They eat as much hay as they'd like as well as their supplement of Tizz Whiz. They're in great shape. At 4:30 p.m. the snow quit so we decided to head out. I was so excited, you would have thought that it was my first day in the saddle. I guess 2 days off is too much for me. We trailered back to our starting point and rode into Nipigon. Had a great ride. These late day rides are a real nice change. The weather was still cool and windy but when the wind got bad, especially at the top of a hill, I put Coco behind the trailer and it cut the wind for us. At one point we came out from behind the trailer and Coco halted immediately as there in the ditch was a dead moose. She walked ever so carefully passed it and carried on. Again, I say, thank goodness that was the horse that I was on while encountering this, as not much bothers her. While riding, Rhonda radioed me to tell me that someone wanted to make a donation on the road. I motioned to Diane to stop and dismounted. When I turned around, there to my surprise, was a transport truck & trailer with their 4 ways on and more in behind as well as other vehicles, still moving, but nearly to a crawl. I asked Rhonda if it was the transport that wanted to make the donation, (I really didn't think that it could have been), and she said yes. I ran up to this HUGE truck and couldn't see the driver, so the window rolled down and a voice hollered 'jump up on the running board', I did and still couldn't see (joys of being vertically challenged) and then another voice 'jump up to the next one' I did and much to my surprise there was a young blond girl behind the wheel. She reached over and gave me money and a huge smile. I'm sure my teeth filled smile blinded her. I jumped down and squeeled as I looked at the vehicles behind her. Hats off to this lady......she made her world stop, and those behind her, for just a moment to make a BIG difference. She made my day, I ran to Rhonda's and Diane's truck and we shrieked (as girls do) and hugged out of pure excitement. A difference is being made!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I will never ever forget this lady trucker........Thank you blond lady in that Manitoulin Trucking rig! And a BIG thank you to all of you people who have taken the time to donate in whatever way you can. YOU ARE MAKING A DIFFERENCE FOR THESE CHILDREN. THANK YOU. You know, sometimes when things are not going the way that we think they should, there is always a reason. While we were complaining about not being able to ride due to the weather, a plan was in process to have the beautiful experience that we had. We drove to our overnight stay in Dorion at the picturesque horse farm of Terry Pawluk and Denise Ham. We're definitely back in horse country. We arrived late, but Denise still had a great meal with homemade buns and homemade brownies. I must say, it's a good thing that I'm getting the exercise that I am otherwise I'd be gaining a lot of weight with all of this great food that's being fed to us. There was talk in the evening about Terry possibly riding with me tomorrow. I sure hope so, it would be nice to have the company on the road again.

I would like to make a mention about a couple named Larry & Charlene Skinkle from Lazy S Tack in Sault Ste Marie who donated some Stirrup Straights. Very much appreciated as my feet and legs feel much better now. Thanks.

May 4, 2008 - Got up this morning to a great breakfast prepared by Denise. Happy to see that Terry was getting his horse ready to ride with me for the day. So nice to have some company on the road. We left to pick up where we left off yesterday and started the ride. Had a few people stop along the road, one young girl who I met in Marathon stopped on her way back from horse lessons in Thunder Bay. She informed me that she is gathering pledges in hopes of winning one of the free weeks at horse camp. Terry rode 35 kms to his road and then I switched horses and carried on another 15 kms before ending it for the day. Terry's horse did really well, but Rapper would not allow her to pass him, so he had to ride behind the whole time. We were greeted back at Magic Hills with another phenomenal supper. That Denise is a machine, she can cook, bake, work outside the home, keep house and raise 2 boys and a
14 month old little girl. Rhonda and Diane left after supper to drive to Thunder Bay to catch a plane in the morning. I was saddened to see them go, as we had a great week together and 2 weeks with Rhonda. It's always tough to see drivers leave as they've all been sooooo wonderful, but I have more to look forward to. Went to bed early to get a good night's sleep. Looking forward to the day off tomorrow.

May 5, 2008 - Slept in this morning....another long sleep. I sure seem to need that at the end of the week. Tended to the horses, they all are very happy as this is a great horse farm. Turned them out and they ran around kicking up their hooves. Did some basic house cleaning and laundry....end of the week stuff and waited for the new drivers to arrive. Jim and Sherry Knight arrived at 2:30 p.m. and Danny Paschke arrived at 5:00 p.m. So nice to see them. Danny flew into Thunder Bay and Jim and Sherry drove in from their Cottage in Apsley (Peterborough area) on their way to Calgary. Buck and Marlene came over and we all had a great visit. They brought us some hay and filled the back of the trucks and the tack room of the horse trailer. Such generous people all the way through. The horses enjoyed their day and then were brought in for the night. Ed, a reporter for the local paper, came out to do an interview and take some pictures. He seemed very interested in Giddy Up For Wishes and will be promoting it long after we leave. Marlene is also helping to promote us in a very big way as well. Another great meal cooked by Denise, ran through the details with Jim, Sherry and Danny and then off to a fairly early bed. Will be picking up where we left off on Sunday and off to Thunder Bay to meet media at Donna Barritt's place.

May 6, 2008 - Got an early start this morning as I had a media phone interview at 0700 hrs. Briefed the new crew as to what the days would be like and then we headed off to Buck and Marlene's, to see their horses. Marlene is a mail lady for Canada Post and she took 280 of our Giddy Up For Wishes flyers and put them in mailboxes. That was such a helpful idea and we got 2 donations because of it before we even started. Buck and Marlene have some beautiful horses also. While on the trail I received a phone call from a gentleman named Kimball Ford, from Guelph Ontario. I have heard about this gentleman along most of my ride, as two years ago he had a plan to ride his horse from Guelph to Vancouver to raise money for therapeutic riding. He slept under the stars nightly (except for the nights that people put him up), but was unable to complete his ride due to an illness in his family. He made it as far as Ignace, Ontario. He stayed at a lot of the same places that I did. It was an honour to receive a call from him, he made the call to wish me good luck. He told me that this trip would change my life forever, as I believe that it already has. I hope that he keeps in touch with me as I have so many questions for him and would love to hear about his trip in detail. Danny drove the truck and horse trailer, Jim the truck and R.V. and Sherry drove their van and kept driving up ahead to take pictures and videos. She also went on ahead and dropped off flyers at truck stops. We had to be at our stopover place in Thunder Bay for 4:00 p.m. to meet the media so we were 6 kms short of our destination, so we trailered and will start from that point tomorrow as this is the place where the Terry Fox Monument is. I see a lot of signs that tribute Terry Fox and they call this stretch 'The Courage Highway'. He made it as far as where the monument is. It's so moving to travel this highway and think about him doing his journey. We arrived at North Superior Morgans Stables owned by Donna Barritt. A really nice place nestled in the trees. My horses have some nice overnight stalls. Tomorrow I have a Farrier coming out to shoe Daisy and Rapper at 0900 hrs as well as a Veterinarian to do vet checks on all horses. We will be leaving Lake Superior tomorrow, I will miss the view as I have been following it for several weeks. What a huge lake! Off to Raith tomorrow!

May 7, 2008 - Woke up to the steady pouring of rain, which pelted us all night long. Things are pretty soggy out, but looks like it’s slowing down. The Vet from Slate River Veterinary Services came at 0900 hrs. I received a great report on all the horses and a comment that the horses are in such great shape. Coco had a slight bit of swelling on her back leg, but nothing to be concerned about. She was ridden yesterday and showed no sign of slowing down, so I will wrap her legs after riding, to prevent any more swelling. At the end of the day we noticed that the swelling had all gone down. He mentioned that he couldn’t believe the shape that she was in, especially as a 20 year old. I was thankful to get veterinary services on such short notice. The Farrier arrived after the vet finished and began reshoeing Rapper. Luke Farmer is a great farrier, and I am so thankful for his short notice service as well. He checked all the horses, put shoes on Rapper, front shoes and Equi-Pak (to help cushion the hooves from the asphalt and gravel) on Coco and Equi-Pak on Champagne. We’re still moving at a full trot so this will really help. I was so very happy to receive the farrier services from Luke at no charge. This was a great donation, to help us with keeping the monies in the fund and minimize costs. Thanks to Luke! We said good bye to Donna and left her little Morgan paradise at 11:30 and rode to the Terry Fox Monument. What an incredibly moving time this was for us all. I have thought a lot of this young man during my route, knowing that he travelled the same roads that I did and he did it on foot. So many people along the route remember his journey and have so many stories that seeing this monument of him, brought tears. Jim, Sherry, Danny and I spent some time reflecting here. We carried on the ride from the west side of Thunder Bay to Raith. There were still a lot of hills, no shoulders and what there was for shoulders was all asphalt and the traffic was intense. Tough riding day for us all. Champagne slowed herself a bit, but is still a machine. I’m hearing that the terrain levels out with better shoulders past Raith. Jim and Danny were a bit concerned with the lack of shoulders and the busy traffic. We all pay such close attention to safety, that I think we all feel comfort in that. Sherry is an excellent photographer and she is doing some great P.R. as she drives ahead and informs people prior to our arrival. We arrived at Shabaqua Appaloosas & Trail Rides at Hel’s ½ Acre Ranch owned and operated by a most amazing gentleman named Harry Lasn. He is an individual that I could spend days talking to, as he has a lifetime of stories. Sherry was enthralled with him and told stories just as good as he could. He invited us into his home and we all had a wonderful visit late into the evening. His place is so very picturesque and sits right on the river. We were in the barn and Danny walked out at sundown and spotted a fox right in the barnyard and took a picture, it was not scared at all. Off to Upsala tomorrow, with better roads, I’m sure.

May 8, 2008 - Got up to a frosty morning at Harry's. Ice on the water buckets. We loaded up the horses and headed to the local motel for showers and a bite to eat. We were met there by Harry Lasn to have a coffee and bid him farewell, till the next time. Rapper started the day and rode to Upsala. We encountered a few moose, but thank goodness they didn't peek their heads out till after Rapper and I rode by. Jim saw them as he was the back pilot vehicle. The road is much better now. Wide shoulders, soft gravel and the traffic was great today. No hills and long stretches. Rapper clipped his back foot a few times with his other foot as he was trotting so I stopped to bandage it up. This worked well and prevented him from doing it again. Sherry is doing such a great job with alerting people ahead of time. This exposure brought a few more donations on the road. I sure hope that people spread the word all around our country about this so that we can raise the money that we're looking to raise. Children from all over Canada will be benefiting from the dollars raised from Giddy Up For Wishes. A campground in Upsala offered to open up their sani-dump for us as we needed to empty. We pulled out the hose and realized that there was not an adapter on it, so the seal wasn't the greatest. We finally got it sealed up and then it was time for the 'other' water. I then passed off the 'black water job' to Danny who so very eager to take on the task. We had so much fun watching him as he tied his shirt around his nose and mouth and then positioned the hose, the bucket and his hands and body for the drainage of the dreaded black water. This was probably the most fun we've had this week, Danny's a
great sport. He said that it was all of his years growing up and cleaning stalls that made this job a pure joy. We pulled up to our overnight stay which was the community hall and outdoor arena. A great sand arena at this time of year, and the horses loved it in there. They rolled immediately as they got in there. Upsala has a population of 200 people and many of their towns people came to see the horses. All of the kids sat on the rails around the arena and watched the horses. I took one child at a time in to meet and pet them. There were many incredible photos taken of the horses by the townspeople. One family is already making plans to build corrals so they can purchase a horse. It was great spending time with all of them, as they just loved them, real big horse lovers here. They are such wonderful people and so very friendly. We visited till dark and then played some cards in the trailer. Off to English River tomorrow.

May 9, 2008 - Got up to find that Coco had been kicked in her hock and a graze a little higher on the same leg. Just a cut but she had a bit of swelling. My guess is Champagne did it as she is in her heat cycle fairly heavy right now and a little irritable with the other horses. I bandaged Coco up and she'll have a few days off to rest that foot. I have been spending some one on one time with Daisy and had a talk with her telling her that she needed to step up to the plate. So I decided she seemed to be in a good state of mind so I saddled her up today and Sherry saddled up Champagne and we went for 15 kms. The ride went really well and Daisy did awesome. I put Daisy away and then continued with Champagne to English River. It was a beautiful afternoon and evening. We arrived at the home and business of English River Outfitters, owned by Ron & Fran Syncox, which was our overnight stay. Unfortunately they were at a trade show in Thunder Bay and wouldn't be back until Sunday, so we were unable to meet them. What a great place this is, situated on Umber Lake, so serene with the sounds of the loons. We walked the horses down to the lake for drinks and it was just so peaceful, the horses loved it. We had heated and very clean washhouses at our disposal. Jim has fallen in love with Rapper, Sherry is getting really attached to Champagne and Danny just seems to love them all. We had a great bbq and an early night as we have a long day tomorrow to Ignace. While I was riding today, I was reflecting on my ride, thus far, and realized just how beautiful this province is. I have to say that I am a little disappointed with all of the garbage that I see on the side of the road and probably the biggest litter are the plastic bottles full of urine. I just wish that drivers would reconsider before tossing out their garbage and leave our beautiful country as pristine as it is and should remain. I am so proud to be Canadian for the freedom the beauty and to be a part of the great people that inhabit this paradise. I just want the respect to be given to our nation, the respect that it deserves. Oooooh I'm feeling like a proud Canadian today.

A special little hello to my children, my husband and my unborn third grandchild ..... Sarah just called to tell me that she is pregnant with her second. I'm sooooo thrilled.

May 10, 2008 - We left English River at 10:30 this a.m. I saddled up Daisy for another ride. She went on her own and was very relaxed, we had such a great ride.
She did half the ride and then I switched to Rapper who continued to Ignace. What a steady Eddy he continues to be. The roads have long stretches, wide shoulders with soft gravel and the traffic was good. Just started getting many transport convoys nearing the end of the day. Jim and Danny have such a great driving system going. They sure look out for the safety of all of us. The horses are definitely slowing their pace a bit as compared to the trip up until now. This is good, as I need these horses to endure the rest of the trip, which I know that they will. I've been waiting for them to slow down their pace so this is a welcomed change. After tomorrow's ride, I will be exactly half way through my trip. Hey Mr. Jim Lauder, you will lose your bet, I assure you!! We arrived into Ignace at 4:30 and we were met by a few members of the Lions club that presented us with a cheque. The weather today was good and cool. I am so very thankful for these cool temperatures, because it's totally holding off the bugs. I really hope to have a very short encounter with them, and hopefully closer to Winnipeg, as I can ride hard and fast and outrun them.

Excerpt from Sherry: "I am overwhelmed with the spiritiual insight that I have gained through this journey and I thank Martha for the opportunity."

May 11, 2008 - Happy Mother’s Day to all mother’s and mother-to-be’s out there. Got phone calls from all my kids today, so nice. A great milestone was reached today. This is exactly the ½ way point for this trip. I have done 37 days in the saddle (not counting days off). It’s been great! The second ½ will be a whole lot flatter and a lot less winding. Well at least after I hit the Manitoba border. Daisy and Rapper split the day to Borups Corners. They did a lot less trotting today, but this was nice. Good shoulders most of the way, though the traffic, especially the transport trailers were in abundance. Sundays appear to be busy truck traffic days. This part of the ride, reminded me a lot of back home in the trees. Made me a little homesick for sure. Jim and Sherry left after we got to Borups Cors. As they are heading to see their children and grandchildren in Calgary. Danny will spend the night and then drive to Thunder Bay to catch the plane back to Calgary tomorrow morning. The next drivers will fly in tomorrow and pick up the truck at the airport and head here for a week. The two drivers are my nephew Francois who lives in Banff and my husband, Ken. It was really sad to see Jim and Sherry drive off, as we are great friends and we had so much fun together. Jim also did a terrific driving job. I think that he is dreaming of being a truck driver now. Danny and I were met by our hosts and followed them to their place in Dinorwic. Cal and Shannon Doudiet and their two daughters Caitlin and Amy, welcomed us to their horse farm. What a beautiful place they have, right by Jackfish Lake. The horses are happy to be able to run in some fields. They served us up a delicious supper and the girls showed us their excellent riding skills. Both wonderful riders. They were so happy to have us stay with them that I found their enthusiasm very touching. They told a few locals and they came to meet us and give donations. I was offered a very nice bath, so very relaxing. What a great way to start my day off. These people are so very nice, I’m happy that I’m staying here for two nights, as 1 just wouldn’t be enough. Danny is off tomorrow, I also am disappointed to see him go. What a great sport he is and so very helpful all the time. A wonderful sense of humour which sure makes the time fly. The four of us spent more time laughing than we did not. They were all so moved by this experience, I’m happy to have all these drivers participate and be touched by Giddy Up For Wishes.

Excerpt from Danny: There are not many things in life that are a sweet ride, but this is one of them.

Donating my heart and soul to this charitable excursion has been an experience I know everyone would benefit from. I'd like to thank Martha and my mom (Debbie Miller) for introducing this opportunity to me. 'Yee ha' to all that made this happen.

May 12, 2008 - Day off today! Danny got up early and headed to Thunder Bay to catch the plane. He’ll leave the truck there for Ken (my husband) and Francois (my nephew) to pick up and drive back here. Danny was such a great addition to the week, so much fun and very eager, despite his allergies to hay. He was really sensitive to it at the beginning but by the end of the week he wasn’t bothered by it much anymore. He was claiming that whenever he went anywhere he brought nice sunny weather, so we nicknamed him ‘Rainbow Brite’ (much to his dismay). I spent the day off doing ‘catch up’. Shannon went to work and Cal didn’t have to go to work till the afternoon, so he insisted on cleaning out the stalls of my horses and then went and got a load of shavings, shoveled them in the horse trailer and then filled 5 bags. He was so busy helping out all day, what great people these Doudiet’s are. They donated great alfalfa mix hay. This really helped as I was down to very little. The hay around these parts do not have any alfalfa in it and any with it, has to be shipped in from Winnipeg. That may be part of the reason why the horses are walking a bit more. So I’ve increased their Tiz Whiz supplement. I loaded up the horses at 4:00 p.m. and headed into Dryden for a meet and greet at the IGA. The Junior Mayor was there, the local Saddle Club, Lions members and locals. It was a great time, there’s some really good support here. I headed back to Doudiet’s farm and arrived at the same time as Ken and Francois, sure is wonderful to see them. They brought flowers and beautiful Mother’s Day gifts from my children and grand children. Sure makes me miss my family. I filled them in on the duties and then when Shannon, Kate and Amy came home we visited with them. Shannon agreed to let the girls stay home from school and ride in the trucks tomorrow and then when we get to Dryden we will have a police escort and the girls will ride back to the IGA with me. Kate and Amy were really excited.

May 13, 2008 - Got up and gathered our things to head out of the Doudiet farm. Kate and Amy stayed home from school to ride through Dryden with me. They came over to the trailer and gave me their wishes and some school pictures of them. These are definitely keepsakes for me. Cal only had 3 hours of sleep, after a long night of working, but insisted that the girls wake him up so that he could say goodbye to us. Shannon had to work early so we will see her when she picks up the girls after the ride. Ken and Francois did a good job of driving though Ken was often distracted from his driving duties by visiting with Amy in the passenger seat. Both of the girls had a good time in the trucks. Had a good ride into town and arrived a bit early, so we grabbed a bite to eat and then called Dryden police dept for the escort and they met us at 4:00. We saddled up and rode through town to the IGA. The horses were all excited to be riding together and Kate and Amy had smiles the whole time. These girls are sure good riders. After we finished we met with Shannon and we all went for groceries. If I could I’d take these two girls home with me. Shannon lost them in the grocery store to us and they even packed out the groceries. Sorry to have to say farewell to this wonderful family. We left and headed out of town to the farm of David Elder. We put the horses outside in a pen and then had a visit with Dave and his coworker, Della Mushquash. Della was raised in Rossport, I’ll always remember that town as it was such a serene place on the water.
We had a great visit. Dave heard that we needed hay so he called a friend and told him of our dilemma and he loaded up 12 bales and brought them right over and loaded our truck. We had a great visit and lots of laughs. The horses are doing really well and Coco has healed up completely from her kick. Tomorrow we’re off to Vermillion Bay.A good friend of Della’s named Bernice Anderson, owns Anderson’s Bottled Water, www.crystalclear@drytel.net , and when she heard about us she donated a case of her water. That was really nice.

May 14, 2008 - Awoke this a.m. and tried to get internet service. I’m really having a hard time getting any service, so it’s tough to keep up to date on things, especially for the website. We gathered up the horses and I saddled up Rapper to ride. Dave and Della popped by to say goodbye as well as Dave’s daughter. The weather is quite cool here. Today it is only 2 degrees celcius, oh well……….still no bugs. I had a couple of girls show up and ride to their house with me (they just lived up the highway). A couple of excellent riders! Their names were Melissa & Katrina Cockle. Melissa showed us her self taught ‘trick riding’ abilities. She could do a headstand on her horse and a somersault right over his back. This was quite a feat as this is a very tall horse, good thing Melissa is tall and not my height. These girls are very active members of the Dryden Saddle Club. They were surprised to see that Rapper trotted all the time, though their horses had no trouble keeping up. Rapper seemed to have a lot of interest in a lot of things today. He is such a nosy horse. Everytime that I ride past a driveway, road, trail, etc. he has to stop and walk and look down the path. He had his first exposure to a buffalo as well. He was trotting and the buffalo was running in the field alongside us. Rapper wasn’t quite sure what to make of this creature. He also had a lot of other horses running to the fence to see him, as well, he spotted a fox and a lot of deer. I think that he figured he had a very eventful ride today. He seemed to really enjoy it. We stopped the horses at the business of Toew’s Contracting, and the owner and their secretary came out and each gave a donation. Then Dave, the owner of the business, donated two fills of diesel for the trucks when we drove/rode into Vermillion Bay, as well, Dave heard that I was noticing a bit of a decrease in energy since no alfalfa in the hay up here so he donated 10 bags of alfalfa pellets. Generosity sure abounds here in Ontario. It started to rain so we held up for a bit. After a short while I jumped in the saddle and carried on up the road. I didn’t get far when a white sheet of rain fell on us. I threw Rapper in the trailer and jumped in the truck and sat on the side of the road till it passed. Heard a few rumbles of thunder and decided that spring must be here. When it quit and the sun came out I carried on the ride. I got 6 kms outside of Vermillion Bay and thought I’d better end the day as it was now time for us to get to our Lions BBQ that they were hosting in town. We were escorted by Mel and Sandra Altenburg, also Lions. We showed up to a great BBQ, great people, many Lions members. The Lions made a generous donation, then all of the proceeds from the supper went to Giddy Up For Wishes too. They encouraged people, by having their local radio station, Q104 do a live interview on sight, inviting people to come down, have a burger or hotdog and make a donation. We sold some of our bandanas and hats as well. What a wonderful bunch of people here, such a warm and inviting town. We raised a substantial amount of money for this small town. We then loaded up and headed to our overnight stay at the farm of Forrest and Shannon Mann. A nice place and a great accommodations for the horses. They fed our horses and basically opened all their doors to us. We met their two adult children, Wayland and Crystal. Wayland has the best afro I have seen since the 70’s. We had some visitors in the evening. Mel and Sandra were a big help as well and it was sure nice visiting with them. In the evening, the Cockle family came to visit as did the Toews family. Everybody seems to know everyone, that’s great. I sure hope the weather warms up a bit as I was rather chilled most of the day, so Shannon, noticing this, offered for me to come over and have a bath in their Jacuzzi tub. This was very relaxing and warmed me up. Ken and Francois are doing great with the horses and the driving.

May 15, 2008 - A nice sunny morning, perhaps things are really gonna warm up. I hear back home it’s going up to +30 celcius, should head this way. Saddled up Champagne and headed back to where we left off yesterday. I’m glad there are quad/snowmobile trails beside the highway, that are very sandy. There are narrow shoulders and what is there is paved. I really try to avoid the pavement whenever possible. A lady stopped us on the ride and told me that she was from Medicine Hat. She read about Giddy Up For Wishes and was very interested and eager to make a donation. She proceeded to tell me that her daughter was battling cancer and this brought her and all of us to tears. She wished us well from the bottom of her heart and I felt the warmth. I hope that the Lord shines his love down on them through this time. We rode to the west side of Vermillion Bay and spoke with 2 police officers who informed us of the construction up ahead towards Kenora. Apparently they’re doing some blasting of the rocks and the shoulders are very narrow, lots of rock cuts and sharp bends. I rode through a ways and then switched to Coco. The shoulders are all paved here and I don’t want to wear out any horse by using them for long stretches. Francois is feeling really comfortable in talking to the truckers on the CB and Ken says that he feels much better when I’m in the ditch or quad trail than behind the trailer. Apparently, tomorrow is going to be a very busy day due to the long weekend. Should have some good exposure on the highway. The rain poured down on us again, but not before I threw Coco in the trailer and jumped for cover myself. Put in a fairly long day and then headed back to the Mann farm, where we were greeted with a beautiful roast beef dinner. What a delicious meal and credit to Forrest for his award winning gravy. We had a lot of laughs around the supper table with Susan, Forrest, Crystal and Wayland. I’m always so taken aback by the generosity of people. We hear about all the bad that is done by people in the news, I have seen , firsthand, that the strong majority of our people are giving, caring, and go above and beyond, consistently for others. It’s going to be so very hard to not want to visit with all of my hosts again, perhaps a drive through will allow me to many of them again. After supper we went to visit the horses in the corral and it was a beautiful, almost magical, sight. There was some fairly heavy fog that had settled at sunset and the horses looked mystical in the fog. I took some great photos of them. Spent several hours getting caught up on the phone and the computer, after hooking up to their high speed internet, a bit of a late night.

May 16, 2008 - Got an early start this a.m. Forrest came to say good-bye before we headed out. The weather is sunny and doesn’t look like rain, won’t that be a treat. Daisy was the horse for the day and she did a really good job. The wind was so strong today, made me feel at home in Cochrane. I just didn’t think that much wind would happen here. I was told it was not normal. At some points Daisy and I had our heads down into the wind and, I know my eyes were full of dirt. There was sure some big rock cuts and very small shoulders. I’ve seen so much of this type of terrain, it’s absolutely picturesque but somewhat nerve racking for myself and the drivers. Francois and Ken did a great job on all the bends and hills. It’s nice to have such great drivers to keep me safe. Daisy is much better with the rocks and culverts, doesn’t freak out anymore, though a well trimmed coniferous tree got her attention in a big way today. Guess she’s never seen one of these before and thought it was a horse-eating tree. There were 3 guys who were on their way from Ottawa to Calgary for a 3 month vacation and stopped as we happened to be pulled over for a water break and asked if they could have their picture taken with the horse. They’ll have some great pictures as Daisy sure is a nice looking horse and posed well for them. Ironic that we were traveling the same terrain just in a completely different timeframe. They’ll be in Calgary at noon tomorrow, I won't be able to say that for a month and a half. They were supportive of Giddy Up For Wishes and bought bandanas and hats. I know that the Bearspaw Lions will be selling these and some t-shirts at their Farmer’s Market starting June 1st. We rode into Kenora and met with Don Jones, a rep from the Children’s Wish Foundation and Lillian a Lions member. Lillian arranged for the newspaper to come out and do an interview. We then carried on to the horse farm of Brian and Elaine Brown where we are scheduled to spend the night. Wow, these people are some incredible horse people and very successful in the reining world. They have a great horse facility so my horses were very happy. They spotted their first bits of green grass in the field and were running around and kicking up, feeling great. We looked at their 2 brand new foals that were born in the past two days. We were served an excellent supper and some great evening talks. Another guy, Kyle, from Portage La Prairie, arrived as he is spending the weekend and receiving reining lessons from Brian for an upcoming competition. We were all served an excellent supper and shared in some great evening talks. Brian and Elaine’s sons, Dean and Grant, are very successful horsemen, like their dad, and they showed us some videos of them and some of their very athletic horses. A great evening.

May 17, 2008 - Got up early to do a radio interview with Peter Watts from CHQR 770 in Calgary. Then turned out the horses and went in for a great breakfast of bacon, pancakes and corn fritters. Brian and Elaine invited their friends over and we had a great visit around the table. We then moved outside to the riding arena to watch Brian instruct and Kyle ride. This was just great to watch. I sure am going to look into this sport when I get back home. It was wonderful to listen to Brian instruct, he sure knows what he’s talking about. I feel like I’ve met a true legend. Saddled up Rapper today but then noticed he lost a front shoe overnight somewhere. So, switched to Coco and then Champagne. Coco celebrated the birth of the dandelions and feasted on them everytime we stopped by some. I was able to get off the shoulders and on to some very sandy quad trails. Champagne has gotten quite dark in colour, she’s just stunning. I really like her. Coco also looks in such good shape, I swear she looks 5 years younger. Of course, the ride didn’t go by without several showers of rain and still rather cool. The weather is supposed to warm up. I hate to speak too soon, but this riding week is almost over and I haven’t seen snow yet this week. That’ll be a first if I don’t get any. Stopped the ride about 10 kms from the Manitoba border, then drove through it to our overnight stay in Falcon Beach. I look forward to riding by that sign tomorrow. I have butterflies just thinking about it. We arrived at Falcon Lake Ranch, owned by Murray and Marg for the past 32 years. All 40 of their horses came over to see us when we arrived. What a great picture. Daisy and Champagne were especially interested in the big gelding (though not so sure he is truly gelded by the behavior of them all). A man and his young son came over to visit the horses. After learning about Giddy Up For Wishes, he told me that he was a Pastor in Winnipeg and asked if he could pray over me. I was very grateful to him for this. The Lord has been such a big part of this trip I know that he will keep us safe. I am so moved by the hearts that this has touched and moved by the hearts that have touched mine. I spent some time on my Chi Machine and reflected on GUFW and how it started with just an idea over a year ago. Sometimes I get so involved in the robotic day by day stuff that I lose the magnitude of the whole event. This is truly a journey for so many in so many ways. I’m really glad that Ken is able to share in this experience with me for a week. Francois has fallen in love with all of the animals on this trip. Cats, dogs now sheep and the big gelding on this place. I’m glad I don’t have an ark, if I did I’m sure he’d fill it. We fell asleep to the bleeting of the sheep, a beautiful, serene place by a pond and beautiful trees. What a great, peaceful place to spend some time. A great place for people to come for trail rides, very peaceful.

May 18, 2008 - Left Falcon Beach Stables and headed to our starting point. Champagne and Daisy seem to be rather tired from a busy night of ‘flirting’ with the gelding???? I rectified Rapper’s lost shoe problem and used him for the last stretch of Ontario. I thought he was the right one to bring me across the Manitoba border, as he worked so very hard and had no time off. I had 10 kms to go to get to the border. When I saw the ‘Welcome to Manitoba’ sign from a distance my eyes welled up with tears out of excitement, pride and satisfaction. I approached the sign and rode up to it for some pictures. We had a little celebration up there and took videos and photos. Ken, Francois and I all built each an inukshuk, as they are the symbol of good luck and guidance for travelers. I ended up building 2 for a total of 4 and they were to symbolize the 4 horses that took me safely to the border. I truly enjoyed my time in Ontario, it was very long, and it had so much beauty to offer. I have great memories of so much from Ontario. Thanks to all of the people there that made my journey so memorable. I now look forward to carrying on into Manitoba. We rode till 15:30 hrs and then loaded up and drove to Richer, where we were to attend a BBQ. When we pulled up, I really didn’t think that it was the place as there were a lot of people there having a BBQ, 2 horse drawn wagon, 2 fire trucks and a couple of other people riding horses. I thought that this looked too ‘BIG’ for us. But then there were a few people with Lions aprons on and they waved us in. A donation was made on behalf of the community, another from the money raised at this event and still another from the Steinbach Lions Club. I couldn’t believe the amount that this Village of 300 people raised. I’d like to say that this community is something else. They’ve set the bar for other Manitobans and they set it real high. They had the media out, took donations, worked ahead of time and gathered donations throughout the community via the schools, churches, fire department and the general public. They also bought quite a few GUFW hats and bandanas. This town just blew me out of the water, with their generosity. If this is any indication as to what Manitobans are like, I think this is a very friendly, warm, generous, caring and giving province. An extra special thank you to the Stenbach Lions Club and Rick and Marj Betts for planning this very successful event. When we were done visiting we followed Marj Betts to our overnight stay. The horses stayed at a picture perfect horse farm run by Tony and Donna and we stayed just down the road at the Betts household. The horses are definitely in heaven as they have quite a bit of green grass in their pastures to eat for the night. It was unfortunate that Rick Betts wasn’t home as he was out in Ottawa, fundraising with his son to support the children of the soldiers in Afghanistan. It doesn’t look like we’ll meet him while we’re here, very unfortunate as he sounds like an incredible man with all of his charity drives that he does, especially for children. We did have a wonderful evening visiting with Marj, who opened her house to us. Again, incredible people. It’s so nice to be living in a country that is home to so many wonderful people. Tomorrow’s my birthday, though I feel like today should be it, as I received such great gifts today with all that happened. There’s only one more thing that I’m waiting for and that is the birth of my foal back home. KJ is expecting her first foal any day…………….tomorrow would be a perfect day for it to enter the world.

May 19, 2008 - HAPPY BIRTHDAY MARTHA!!!
Marj had us in for a wonderful breakfast this morning. When we were done, Marj, Ken and Francois sang happy birthday to me and Marj served up a delicious apple cake. That was so thoughtful of her, a nice birthday surprise. When I received my morning phone calls, I was asked what I was going to do for my birthday and I said ‘Ride a Horse’. Which is exactly what I did from Falcon Lake to west of Prawda. This was a great ride as I was able to ride in the very wide, grassy ditches all the way. Temperatures are still a bit cool, but I celebrated a week of riding without any snow. First week for this on this ride so far. It was an extremely busy day with traffic with everyone returning home after their first long weekend. It was a good thing that the ditches and shoulders were very big, would have been nasty if we were in the same terrain that we just left between Vermillion Bay and Kenora. This was Ken and Francois’ last day of driving before heading home. They sure did a great job! Francois took a lot of video coverage and photos during his week here. Should be able to compile some good stuff at the end of the journey. After completing the ride, we returned back to Tony and Donna’s place to drop off the horses and then off to Rick and Marj’s place to the R.V. So that my birthday didn’t seem like ‘same day different ride’, Ken stole me away and took me out to Steinbach for dinner and a room so that I could spend the rest of my birthday away from all of the normal day to day Giddy Up routine. Francois agreed to take care of things and Tony and Donna were very eager to babysit and cater to our horses. We had a phenomenal pickerel dinner at the restaurant on the golf course. This felt like a mini holiday that rejuvenated me. I really feel like I’m on the home stretch now. Day off tomorrow.

May 20, 2008 - Day Off!! Arrived back at the trailers and picked up the horses to head out to the farm of Don and Kathleen Rudko. Tony and Donna were such great horsesitters for the horses. I’m sure that they’d be more than happy to continue living here where they are fed, spoiled and treated as kings and queens. Francois and Ken are leaving today, though I think that both of them would be more than happy to stay. We arrived at the Rudko’s and met up with Tom and Donna Taylor, who will be taking over for the next week of driving. They’re great friends of mine and I’m happy to have them here. We got set up there and then Tom took Ken and Francois to the Winnipeg airport and while Donny and I went to his mechanic’s shop to drop off our truck to have some work done on it. We went for some lunch and then headed back to the horse farm. We all met for a fabulous dinner and then we went to the home of a good friend of their’s named Wil, who is a fabulous wood worker. I picked out some pieces of wood and he is going to design a mirror for me. This will help to be a great reminder of this trip into Manitoba. The plan was to ride one of Don’s reining horses but time ran out in the day. Maybe tomorrow. We had a few visitors including Kathleen’s mom (Tom’s aunt) Frances who is 94 years of age and still runs her own home on her acreage. A very inspiring lady. I look forward to hitting the road tomorrow with Tom and Donna as my drivers. From Prawda to Richer tomorrow.

May 21, 2008 - Making the trip from Prawda to Richer today. The truck is still in the garage so Don offered his 1 ton for us to use today. Very nice of him. Tom and Donna had their first day of driving today and did very well. The job of the drivers is quite a bit more relaxed with big shoulders and ditches. I didn’t realize to the extent that I have now, just how difficult and potentially dangerous it was for all of us through Ontario. This is a real blessing riding/driving through Manitoba. I enjoyed Ontario immensely, though I’m happy to be on some flat terrain, where the worries of the traffic too close is no longer a concern. Approximately 12 kms from Richer I was met by two gentlemen on horseback, Mark and John, who rode with me into Richer. The company was nice. I sure loved their horses. A few people stopped along the highway to take pictures, talk about the trip and donated. We arrived back at the Rudko’s where several other friends/family of Don and Kathleen’s met us and we were fed a fabulous meal. I had a veterinarian come out to have a look at the horses. All is well though she recommended a farrier for Champagne. I have one coming out tomorrow for Daisy and Champagne. Champagne is very smooth to ride, though she slams her feet down hard on the ground, something I noticed the first time I rode her, which has made her a bit sore. The farrier will be out tomorrow to rectify that. Should no longer be an issue with this change to soft grassy ground. Rapper has sure been great, I often say that I think that this horse could make the whole trip himself. He’s made the biggest change out of all of the horses. He started out a bit jittery and spooky but has settled in and nothing bothers him anymore, just the odd time, I swear he hears voices in his head. Haha! On to Winnipeg tomorrow.

May 22, 2008 - The farrier, Jonathon Greene, came with his two apprentices (Andrew and Patrick) to shoe Champagne and Daisy. He confirmed that she was a bit sore on her left heel, as she lands very hard on her heels when she trots. Doesn’t seem to be heavy on her feet when she lopes or walks, just during a trot. Jonathon put pads and equi-pak on her and new shoes and she seemed a lot better immediately after the shoeing. I had heard about Jonathon before I left home and was honored to meet him and have him work on my horses. Once we were finished with that we then went to Richer to start the ride. A bald eagle flew and circled over us while riding, so very cool. They are great guiders and bring good luck, nice to see. We were met on the highway by a reporter from CTV Winnipeg who interviewed me and then went up on the Steinbach overpass and video taped us coming down the highway. We finished the ride and went back to pick up the other horses at Don and Kathleen’s and then we took Kathleen with us to a BBQ that was hosted by the East St. Paul Lion’s Club and The Children’s Wish Foundation of Winnipeg. There was a great turnout of people and a lot of them were horse people. They mentioned that they do a charity ride for the Children’s Wish Foundation every May and August that consumes a couple of weekends. It sounds like a lot of fun and I think I’ll put it in my plans to participate next year. There were a couple of wish children in attendance, Nicki and Haley. Nicki went and Haley is going to Disneyland. Such a great group of people and a terrific meal. The Lions Club provided us with hay and grain for our horses………..so very thoughtful. We then went back to Don and Kathleen’s. These are such hospitably people, very easy to stay here for long periods of time. I’m having a tough time with the internet service while I’m here. Making it difficult to update the website. Hopefully things will get better as I head west.

May 23, 2008 - A beautiful spring morning. Don and Kathleen said that it was the first real spring day that they’ve had this year. I spent some time bathing the horses in the wash rack. They have such an incredible horse set up here. We gathered up and reluctantly left the Rudko horse farm. There were several interviews that were done this a.m. and many calls to return causing us to get a later start than expected. We drove to Headingly and started our trek to Oakville. The shoulders are so very wide here, I just love it. It got quite warm today while riding. Tom and Donna had to shield themselves from the sun while driving, though Tom got half burned on his left side. Rapper was great today, though he started getting bored with the ride. I guess he thought that narrow shoulders, rock cuts, hills and tight corners were non boring. We arrived at the home of Don and Colleen Wilkinson and their daughter Dianna. (Don is the President of the Lions Club in Oakville and presented me with a donation). We had a wonderful supper and a nice visit. They have a beautiful old vintage farm. I just love it. Leah from the Portage La Prairie newspaper came out to do an interview and take some pictures. I then realized that I had had my first encounter with a tick. I screeched to find one behind my ear………….freaked me out. Hopefully I can run hard and fast enough to evade them. Looking forward to heading to Portage La Prairie tomorrow.

May 24, 2008 - Woke up to an absolutely beautiful spring morning at the home of Don and Colleen Wilkinson. I hear it is the nicest morning so far this spring. We were prepared a beautiful breakfast of handpicked apple and Saskatoons cooked in pancakes. I then did a walk around the place and the gardening was breathtaking. They have four driveways into their place, their yard was enormous with nonstop gardens and horse corrals. Their daughter Diann, gave me a memory stick so that I could get all of the journals that I had saved on the computer to Lona who will update the website. I was so grateful to her for doing this. A very interesting girl, who is planning on going to veterinary school. I wish her the best, I’m sure she’ll be successful, she’s just that kind of girl. I rode Daisy today and she did well. She still is a little unsettled in her mind and is edgy, but nothing like she was in Ontario. There’s at least the room on the side of the road to deal with it all. AND THEN…………..things were going well when all of a sudden Daisy spooked, we were on a hill, which caused her to fall down. Down I went, a rather soft landing, I might add, and off Daisy went. Tom was out of the truck before I hit the ground and controlling the traffic as Daisy was on her way across the road. I got up quickly and looked to see what the heck caused her to freak and there on the side of the ditch, behind the fence in between some trees stood a llama. I’m not sure, but I think it was laughing at us. Thank goodness the traffic was able to stop and wait till I got across the road to the median and caught Daisy. Donna was out of the vehicle and on her way to catch her, acting on total adrenaline. Daisy finally stood there and waited till I caught up to her and took her across the road. Donna and Tom moved the traffic on. A rather dodgy situation, too bad that Tom and Donna had to witness it, though they sure jumped into action and did everything right. I guess I would have only been too lucky if I had gone the whole route without an ‘on the ground’ incident. I was thankful for a nice soft landing. A little bit later down the road a vehicle stopped to ask about this event. They informed me that the ticks are really bad now and that I should check myself every night. They informed me that these ticks originated in Alberta, hmmmmmm, I think that I’ll send them back home ahead of me. Either that, or I’ll have to call on Brad Paisley to help me out. We arrived in Portage La Prairie at La Reine Museum where we were met by some Lions’ members and presented a cheque. There were several residents of Portage that met us as well. I had a great tour of the museum and would highly recommend this stop to every traveler. The weather was very hot today and they’re calling for rain tonight and tomorrow. We found our way to the horse farm of Grant and Carol Ryan. A great horse setup and the horses are very happy, once again. Tom headed out to find a Sani-Dump for the RV while Donna and I settled the horses in for the night. When Tom returned, he informed us that he required a police escort to the dumping station and then held up traffic until he got the job done. This ordeal took quite some time. If you ever meet Tom, ask him about it, you’ll be happy you did. Hee hee. Tom, Donna and I enjoyed some great talks and supper and then settled in for their last night before their last day of driving. I’ll hate to see them go so soon.

May 25, 2008 - Rained all night long but quit by morning. We got away at a decent time this morning. Things are sure looking green and springlike here, Carol already has hanging pots of flowers out. It was unfortunate that we were unable to visit with Grant and Carol as they were in Winnipeg at a reining show with their son. I’ll catch them for a visit when I come through in a vehicle. We got about 20 kms into the ride and then it started to rain. Coco always seems to be the one that gets rode when it happens to rain. We managed quite a bit of the ride in the rain, till I got soaked through (strong wind from the northeast). I changed my gear and then went out again, until it was coming down too hard that Coco was very uncomfortable so I loaded her up and we headed into Austin. There seems like there won’t be any let up till tomorrow. We were met by Georgette and Brian who took us into the Fairgrounds where we will be the spending night. Unfortunately, Austin had a Giddy Up For Wishes pancake breakfast yesterday, put on by APAC and the Austin Lions Club, but since I can’t get any internet service, I did not receive the email that mentioned it. Very unfortunate for us, as it would have been fun. We were met by several locals who helped to get us and the horses settled in. The horses were put in the barn on the fairgrounds and hay, grain and straw was donated. We had a couple of hours to dry off in the trailer and then were invited, as their guests, to their ‘spring cleanup’ dinner. What a great community this is. There were an estimated 200 people there and such friendly folk they are. They presented us with a donation from the Austin United Church, MacGregor Lions Club, Austin Lions Club and the proceeds from their pancake breakfast. People also made donations throughout the evening. There was a young man there who, at the age of 4 ½ (approx. 20 yrs ago) was granted a wish by the Children’s Wish Foundation. At that time he was the first recipient of a wish in the Portage area. The Children’s Wish Foundation has been making wishes come true for a lot of years. We were then invited to the home of Lions Donald and Bev. Other Lions and some local residents were there. We had a lot of fun ………….. such great people here and soooo generous. They made arrangements for us to go to Austin school and speak to the children and then carry on to MacGregor school to visit the children there. There are two wish children at the MacGregor school and one at the Austin school, I look forward to meeting them. I can’t believe the money that these small communities raise. Tom and Donna are on their wind down for driving. I’ll sure miss them, they’re great friends and are excellent drivers. Tom really likes Rapper, that’s not a surprise as he’s every man’s horse. Donna is loving the chores and they both mentioned that they wished that they had more time to drive. This ride is so much more than riding a horse. It’s meeting people, especially children, spending time with the horses, experiencing our country and experiencing so much more for everyone involved. I spent some time on the website when we were at Bev and Don’s tonight and I have to thank Lona so very much for all the work that she has done for Giddy Up For Wishes, especially the design and updating of the website. Speaking of thank you’s, when I was riding down the highway (actually in the ditches) I was admiring the truck and horse trailer as it was going slowly down the road. I’m so thankful to Cochrane Dodge and Bar T 5 for donating the truck and horse trailer. They do the job very well and look so great and professional going down the road. I’ll definately be promoting these two places to many people. I also think of Rafter Six Ranch everyday that I saddle up the horses as they donated some incredible saddle pads and blankets, as well as a lot more tack and slickers (which came in handy for us all today). I tell people that when they go to the mountains that they need to stop in at Rafter Six Ranch just off Hwy 1 towards Banff. A great place for out of province tourists as well as any local or traveling Albertan to spend time at. Must head to bed, early morning and potentially long day tomorrow.

May 26, 2008 - Wow what a great day this was!! Was taken out for breakfast by our friendly Austin Lions members and then off to Austin Elementary school to meet with the children. I met Devon who was a recipient of a Wish. He brought his photo album to show me pictures of his trip to Disneyland. He had such great memories. The children had gathered money for donations and I was presented that. The principal said that they would continue to find ways to support Giddy Up For Wishes and mail the donations after we were gone. We then left there and carried on to the MacGregor Elementary School where I met with all the children and spent some time with two wish children, Jackson and Hunter. Hunter had received his wish from the Children’s Wish Foundation of a Play Structure at his home. He said that this was great because he could play all day. He said that the doctor said that when he was done his pink medicine then he would be all done his cancer, so he was happy to be done his ‘pink stuff’. Jackson had a few more months before he completed his treatments and then him and his family will be off to Disneyland. Both boys had a ride on Coco and had ear to ear smiles and full of giggles, especially when she started to walk. Spending this time with children is so wonderful. The students all had some great questions for me. Our stay was a little more lengthy than I had expected so I just saddled up Coco as she was out and ready to go, and thought that I’d switch her out when I got to Austin. So I rode from MacGregor to Austin where I was to meet Luella and her 18 year old daughter, Amanda. Coco must have put her wings on this morning. She had so much energy and so much speed, I was shocked. She had speeds up to 27kms and an average of 14.5 kms. When we completed the 14 kms to our meeting place she was dancing and ready to go some more. So I thought that I should take advantage of this and keep her going till she slowed down a bit and then switch her out. Well, I’m telling you, she never slowed down. Luella and Amanda could not believe that she was keeping up to their horses that were nearly twice the size of Coco. The weather was great, we did a lot of running and saw some really pretty country with rolling hills. I enjoyed this so much, great company with excellent horses and riders. Both Luella and Amanda ride Competitive and Endurance. I could easily have their company everyday. Garry and Sandy met us on the road to take over from Tom and Donna. Tom and Donna had commitments back at home, though they wanted to stay longer. They loved the experience and they were so good at driving and their company is always treasured. Maybe we can sneak in one more week with them somewhere, that would be great. Tom did a bunch of videotaping today, I’m so glad that I will have this to cherish. We had a few people stop on the road, one being Len Carroll, who is a local cowboy poet, who said that he would meet me at our overnight stay for a visit, as he felt he just needed to talk to me. We got to Carberry and I headed to the horse farm of George and Barb Fenwick for a delicious supper. What a stunning place this is, a true horse paradise. I sat and spent some unforgettable time with Len Carroll. He told me stories of his time spent in Cochrane Alberta, back in the 40’s and 50’s where he cowboyed for a living. He shared black and white photos of himself and a lot of the, still local, ranchers of the area. The odd tear ran down his cheek as he told me stories of ‘the old days’. He told me that he felt so compelled to talk to me and wasn’t sure why. After talking and sharing stories about some of the people that we mutually knew and the country that we both shared he felt a kinship with me as I was his connection to a time in his life, that he so obviously cherished. He has wrote a book of all his cowboy stories and is in the process of putting them all together……..a book that I will definitely read. He gifted me with some of his printed stories and a cd from 2 years ago, when he organized an evening of cowboy poetry with many excellent poets. I love cowboy poetry and will cherish this gift. Wendy, the local Lions representative came with Ann (good friend of Barb’s) and we headed to the fire where Len shared with us some of his poems. An unforgettable evening.

May 27, 2008 - Got up to a beautiful sunny morning with an incredible view of rolling hills laden with horses. What a beautiful place this is. Had a great visit with Barb and, again, I’ve met an unbelievably interesting lady. I could spend so much time talking with her. She’s such a knowledgeable horsewoman and understands horses to a very deep level. I plan on continuing this newfound friendship, as I feel like I could learn so much from her. She donated 4 Easy Boots to my horses. This is so generous and I am so grateful for these amazing boots, that will help immensely during any tough and hard terrain. I had planned on an early start but when I got talking with Barb, a few minutes ran into a much longer time period so needless to say, I got away later than expected. I met a young man named Lars who rode 15 kms with me. He’s so passionate about riding and spending time with horses. It would be interesting to see the path that this 15 yr old man takes, my guess is that horses will be a big part of his future. Perhaps this is what Len Carroll started out like many years ago. The weather was great and I had a terrific ride on Rapper. Rapper is a real loud talker, and whenever I start out on him he calls out to the other horses for the first few minutes of the ride and then settles in and all is quiet. I really like his personality. I asked him today, if he was my buddy and he nodded his head, coincidence I know, or maybe a fly on his head, but nonetheless, he made me laugh. I was met just east of Brandon by a camera man from the Brandon Sun newspaper. He took quite a few pictures of us as we were riding up. I look forward to seeing them in the paper. We arrived in Brandon and headed to La Mar Farms, home of Larry and Marg Gray. I love this place as it reminds me of my dad’s. They raise peacocks, chickens and turkeys. My dad raised peacocks and all kinds of birds too. Larry and Marg also raise Welsh Ponies. They have about 30 of them. They have such a gorgeous yard with a beautiful pond filled with Coy fish, as well as many fruit trees in blossom. Everything is soooo green here, spring has finally sprung. We had a nice visit on their porch and then I went off to the Comfort Inn in Brandon, where the General Manager, Darlene Janssen donated a room for two nights to me. This is so great, a long leisurely bath and a comfortable bed. Day off tomorrow, yee haw.

May 28, 2008 - Headed back to the farm to pick up Garry and Sandy as we had to be at the Mayor’s office at 1000 hrs. I met in the Mayor’s office with Mayor, Chief of Police, Fire Chief, and Lion Beth Smale from the Brandon Crocus Club. I was so thankful to have the support from these dignitaries and quite honored to have been invited into their City Hall. The local television station was there to film and interview us. Then we headed back to the farm so that they could carry on the interview with the horses and myself. Tom & Donna arrived with my neice, Erika Stutz who will be driving for the week. They picked her up at the Winnipeg airport and brought her to me on their way back to Alberta. Garry and Sandy kept themselves busy organizing the trailers and the trucks and helping out with the yard work for Larry and Marg. Erika and I went into to town and made a deposit at the bank, serviced the one ton and then I received a call from a good friend of mine, Miles Tonnies, who is a trucker from Southern Ontario. He tracked me online and saw where I was and happened to be coming through Brandon, so we met for lunch. It was really nice to see him, we’ve known each other for many, many years. While we were having lunch I noticed 4 cyclists on the side of the road with a motorhome in front of them with many decals. I went over to them to see what they were all about and they told me that they were cycling from the west coast to the east coast to raise money for people who were suffering from cancer. They had heard about my ride while they were heading east and we shared our websites with each other. We’ll keep in touch and share our experiences along the way. Their website is www.typicallycanadian.com. Funny, I think that I would never ride on the side of the TransCanada on a bike and yet they look at me like I am strange, saying that they would never imagine riding a horse on the side of the highway. I wish them luck and great success. We headed back to La Mar Farms and spent the rest of the beautiful sunny afternoon around their yard. We then headed to the Lions Hall at 1800 hrs for a potluck supper. We had three clubs in attendance. The Brandon Crocus Club, the Wheat City Club and the Keystone Club. An incredible meal and I was asked to share some of my stories with them. The support was wonderful. Erika and I then headed back to the Comfort Inn for a very restful night. I had another bath and Erika went down to the manager and asked for a candle so that I could be really relaxed, that was so very thoughtful, having her here is the next best thing to having my daughters here.

May 29, 2008- Erika and I left the hotel room and headed to La Mar Farms where we were expected for breakfast. Larry and Marg prepared a picture perfect and most delicious breakfast. I videotaped some of the birds and the lovely yard that they had. We headed out for the ride and I used Daisy. She was a little stressed out and sweated up so I decided to ride her with another horse to get her settled down. So Garry rode her while I rode Champagne. Daisy settled in after a few kilometers and seemed quite happy to have the company. We rode past a horse farm and watched as a girl was jumping her horse in the outdoor arena. We rode on past and then turned around to notice her coming towards her. Her name was Kelly and she joined us for a short ride with her jumper. After 27 kms I put Champagne away and rode Daisy, while Garry went back to driving. He was happy to have the opportunity to ride with Giddy Up For Wishes. He had a bit of a taste of what it’s like to trot for a few kms straight, definitely something to get used to and build energy for, he thought. Daisy definitely has issues with being alone, she was calling for the other horses while we rode a few more kms and kept wanting to go back to the trailer, though she was still a little more settled than at the beginning. I might have to separate her when we get home for awhile and get her to spend some time away from the other horses. Erika did a great job on her first day of driving. She’s sure not scared of anything that girl and she could drive and videotape at the same time. Sandy also did a great job of driving the truck and RV while Garry was riding. We had a few vehicles stop along the way to give donations, as well as a trucker. There was also a transport truck that was heading east and blew his horn, when I looked over it had ‘Paul Brandt’ written in big letters on the trailer. That was exciting. There was also a couple, Jim and Joyce, from Dryden who took a lot of pictures of me while I was riding with their granddaughters there and they stopped on the way to Saskatchewan to give me a cd of those pictures. We made it to Oak Lake and to the miniature horse farm of Peter and Marion Masson. We no sooner put the horses out to pasture when we were informed that we were heading to a potluck supper in Oak Lake. Another absolutely delicious meal, good thing I’m exercising, though I don’t know if I’m going to be able to keep up with the amount of exercising that’s needed to keep up with these potlucks, as there is another one tomorrow and the next day. I met so many nice people at the potluck, Lions members and local residents as well, a good friend of Len Carrol. Another cowboy poet named Dick Winters who lives in Oak Lake. Quite the interesting person with a great sense of humor, he’s agreed to contact Len and perhaps the two of them will drive to the homecoming and entertain us with their cowboy poetry. After that we were invited to the fairgrounds where we were presented with a cheque from the Flat Creek Riders 4-H Club, and had the opportunity to watch the young members ride their horses in the arena. We were driven home with a tour of the town and then spent some time with the really cute miniature horses. Erika nearly lost all feeling in her toes as they were squished by Daisy. She dug out her steeltoed boots from this point on. Heading for breakfast in the morning at the local restaurant, I hope that I’m hungry by morning as the different dishes from the potluck supper are still reminding me that they are all visiting in my stomach and are not accepting digestion at this point.

May 30, 2008 - Was taken out for a lovely breakfast at the very busy Golden Embers Restaurant in Oak Lake. I don’t think that any of the residents eat breakfast at their homes because, I believe, the entire town’s population was there. We had a great visit and then headed out for a somewhat early start to Virden. We were scheduled to be at the Junior High School by 1430hrs, so I needed to be sure to stay on time. A little way into the ride I received a phone call for a radio phone interview and then after that I received another call from Lion Polly from Sudbury. She was very active in putting on the great event that I had at City Hall in Sudbury and also arranged with Alexander Public School to make a book of wishes for me. She called to tell me that she was on her way to the school to give the kids an update on Giddy Up For Wishes. She asked if I would be willing to talk with them on the speakerphone. I was more than happy to and what a beautiful phone call that was. The children were all so eager to talk to me. I wish that I could have recorded the phone call. Apparently, all the children were supposed to come out and see me when I was in Sudbury but we had a snowstorm, and some of them cried because of it and one child cried all day long. Halfway to Virden I was met by 5 other great riders. Rapper was happy to have the company and we trotted all the way into Virden. We had an escort into town right to the school. When we approached the school all the children were outside, awaiting our arrival and they clapped and cheered as we rode up. What a beautiful reception. We were then offered many donations and then headed to the home of Grant and Kim Gee and their two children, Kacee and Nick. They have Belgian horses and hitched up two of them to a wagon and took Garry and Sandy for a ride while Erika had a ride on a pony driven cart by their son Nick. I stayed at the farm and had a couple of interviews by a local tv station and a reporter for a magazine and paper. We then went to a potluck supper at the beautiful Lions Camp Ground. Great visits there and another interview. We finished up and then headed back in a thunderstorm, to meet the vet, Everest Moore, who had a look at the horses. He recommended pulling the shoe off Champagne as she is still a bit sore. He felt that the pad that was on was putting too much pressure on her heel. He will make a call to get a farrier out tomorrow evening and rectify this. He also checked all the horses and stated that they were in excellent, athletic shape. As well, he dewormed them all and all his services were donated. Very generous and I am so very grateful. Kim showed me her western crafts that she does, and her work is incredible. She is making a donation to the homecoming’s auction in Bearspaw. Nick mentioned that he is going to ride with me part of the day tommorrow, it will be nice to have the company.

May 31, 2008 - A beautiful morning. Kim and Kacee had to run off to a horse sale bright and early and Nick and Grant harnessed up a beautiful team of belgians and were off for some training. I rode from Virden to Kirkella today. There were a lot of people honking and waving today. Next week’s relief driver for Erika, Deb Miller from Cochrane AB., arrived today by bus to Kirkella. Our overnight people picked up Deb and met us on the road just before we reached Kirkella. They had made a welcome sign for Giddy Up For Wishes and had it on their vehicle. We were very well received by Curtis & Jolene Toder and their 4 sons, Chance, Cole, Layne and Logan as well as their friend Sherry Lee and her son Cameron Robinson. They served us a phenomenal homemade supper that resembled that of a thanksgiving feast. The reception that we received was spectacular. They were all so excited and anticipated our arrival for several days. They told us an incredibly heartwarming story of their 13 yr old son Chance who was the recipient of a wish from the Children’s Wish Foundation. The story of this young man’s journey is very moving. After the wish he had heart surgery (winter 2007), which went sideways and caused him to have a massive stroke and landed him in the hospital for many months and now in a wheelchair. His website is www.caringbridge.org/visit/chancetoder Needless to say, their memories of their trip to Disneyland was unforgettable for them, which lead to their strong support for Giddy Up For Wishes for the Children’s Wish Foundation. They had a cute Bichon/Shitzu X dog with 2 puppies. I thought they were so very cute so the family got together and offered one to me. I was so excited, they said that she was a donation to me for what I was doing. I decided to name her Chance after their son Chance who was happy to hear that, as was the whole family. It was a very emotional evening and yet so beautiful. This family is so strong and so grateful for all that they have though I know the struggles that they have, dealing with their new life, is difficult. I wish for peace in their lives. I hope to spend time with them in the future. After a bonfire outside we left their place and went to our overnight horse farm in Fleming Saskatchewan at the home of Myles Fuchs and his daughter Melissa. They were not home as they were at a wedding but there was a very large fluorescent pink envelope on the fence post with a card inside to welcome us and invite us for coffee in the morning.

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