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Sweet Christine (and her daughter and daughter’s friend) showed up to the ranch with a small gift for the horses–

Hundreds of pounds of carrots!  (Was that too many ‘ofs’ in one sentence?)

Our  horses and goats are going to have the best eyesight on the planet!

Thanks so much for thinking of GGYR!

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Alternate title:  What are the Odds?

 

Pretty cute scene–handsome cowboy and three precious children starting intently into the dirt.

 I figured I had better get a better look to see what was so interesting.  

And interesting it was–a Jerusalem cricket. Several of us took turns holding the funny looking guy.  This little boy’s mama was trying to encourage her son to be gentle. I’m sure it’s hard work being squeezed by so many adoring fans. 

 Fortunately for the cricket, it was set free to live out the rest of its life–

all five minutes of it!!! 

Would you believe I looked down after the family had left and saw the poor thing being munched by a very happy lizard?!  What are the odds? And please, let’s give it up for the lightening-quick reflexes it took to capture this picture!  National Geographic, here I come!  

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You are in for a treat.  The awesome Cindy did a guest post for me.  I am thrilled because I did not take one single picture.  I was too busy convincing my atrophied muscles that walking backwards in the sand for a couple of hours was fun. I’m not sure they believed me.  Cindy, thanks and take it away:

 

Cindy here, web girl, poster designer, camera toter, and today, guest poster for Michelle.

Today was opening day for the 2012 season at the ranch. It was sunny, breezy, bustling, happy, dusty, horse-y, and full of happy, smiling, giggling children, busy, hard working junior volunteers, people walking backwards in front of horses, waiver checkers, greeters, chickens, goats, ducks, horses, and overall, pure joy. I think maybe that sentence was way too long, but it really took a lot of words to express all that today was. I feel very blessed to have been a part of it.

Rather than {yawn} bore you with my unimaginative monolog, I will try to express the day in pictures.

Cindy, thanks for the fantastic pictures and the fun narrative!  I think we need to make this guest posting of yours a frequent occurrence.  Thanks also to all of our Tuesday volunteers.  Wow, such awesome help.  These are the people who signed our volunteer sheet:

• Melissa
• Steph
• Diana
• Cindy
• Kathie
• Dan
• Elaine
• Chantelle
• Tammy
• Misha
• Kim 
• Meghan
• Monnie
• Michelle (not me, another Michelle)
• Frank
• Breana
• Willow
• Aud
• Ashley
• Grant
• Shannon
• Ana

Plus, thanks to any volunteer who didn’t sign the sheet.  

Folks, we’re off to a fantastic start!  

 

 

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What a fantastic Monday evening!  I had the absolute pleasure of seeing Pioneer Woman at a talk/book signing here in Albuquerque.  If you don’t know who she is, she is the absolute queen of:

• being hilarious
• cooking
• photography
• writing/blogging

 

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It’s not every day you see a puppet . . .

walking a fake horse down a dirt road.

 

Just another day at GGYR.  Thanks, Elmo and friends.

 

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Perhaps the sun got to me.  Maybe I have the sense of humor of a child.  I might possibly be easily amused–

But the sight of Dusty with a bucket of hay under his mouth really cracked me up. Folks, it’s the simple pleasures.

 

And since I left you hanging, I had better fill you in on the accomplishment of Brooke.  That smart girl was inducted into her school’s National Junior Honor Society.  We are so proud of her. From what I’ve been told, the competition was pretty tough.

Not only did she have to have three semesters of a 3.5 or higher GPA, but she also had to have community service hours (GGYR provides PLENTY of that for her!) and recommendations from her teachers.  If the rumor I heard was true, over 120 children qualified, but only 40 were selected.

I’ll end with saying congratulations to Sweet Keri’s daughter, Aubrey, for her induction.

Also to Alysa, one of our junior volunteers, who was inducted last year.  Alysa did a fantastic speech about citizenship.

 

 

 

Way to be, girls.

 

 

 

 

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Since I cannot upload any other pictures (over ten minutes per pic!), you’ll have to guess what we watched our Brooke do tonight.

Hint–proud parents.

 

Also, we had a most successful field trip.  What a way to start the season!  Hope to share soon.

 

Thanks to Frank, Willow, Cindy, Logan, Kelsey,  and Dan for volunteering today!  You were most helpful.  Lisa, thanks for lunch. As always, it was yummy!

 

 

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 This is  a post written by Melissa, our very dedicated volunteer.  She amazes me with her ability and desire to raise money for GGYR.  Melissa, take it away.

Every year I notice people start to dwindle when I mention the word ‘sponsorship’ or ‘donation’. Most people see me coming and know why I am there and for the most part I get a friendly reception. When I hear the word fundraising, I don’t think of popcorn and magazines. Maybe because I can’t stand selling either! Fundraising is hard. People run from you, they hide, they don’t return phone calls. Some people hang up on you, but most people are very generous. The first year I decided to fundraise for GGYR, I was challenged to do something and it was exciting to me because I knew I could do it, how big I could do it, I had no idea.

Our first auction was new and exciting and every donation we received was like opening a Christmas present. Everyone who came out that evening was smiling and laughing and enjoying themselves all in the name of Galloping Grace. After that night I knew the next year was going to have to be better and bigger. Apparently so did Max. He gave me a goal and I set out to achieve his goal and it took 8 months of planning, fundraising, soliciting, and sweating. We had 300 people come out last August and support the ranch with a fun-filled, loud, successful evening.

 

With the hospitality of the good people at Santa Ana Star Center we were able to add a live auction along with the silent auction. More tables meant more people. We raised thousands of dollars last year to support the horses and the ranch! All because of people like you.

 

Why are sponsorships so important? Every horse at Galloping Grace costs us $3000.00 a year. That is PER horse. Some horses have special needs and their care costs a bit more than others. Add the care of the goats and chickens as well as the upkeep and you have a very stressed out fundraiser (me) plotting ways to keep the ranch running free for the children.

 

We try very hard every year when we plan the auction to keep our requests within reason. We also know that this event is a fundraiser and one of the largest ones we produce to help raise much needed funds to keep our fun ranch running free of charge. Our sponsorships help bring in the funds that keep cost down and help produce the event.

GGYR is run on volunteers. It’s also run on donations and sponsorships. I wish I could say we had a secret benefactor who sends money every month, but we don’t. However, if you are a secret benefactor or want to become ours, please email me.

 

Thousands of children have ridden our horses, thousands of smiles and laughs. When kids come out they don’t only ride a horse, they work to earn that ride by scooping poop or pulling weeds. They write thank you letters to our sponsors because they appreciate the time they have spent with us. Every year we have regulars who keep coming back because of the unique and fun experience we provide for them. We have newcomers who have never been near a horse before or touched a chicken. Children don’t just come out and ride, they experience something new and exciting and wonderful.

Your money goes to pay for horse feed that nourishes our animals that bring pure joy to your children. It goes to help cover vet costs to keep our animals healthy so they can continue to provide a service to your children. It helps us cover our costs so that Galloping Grace continues to run free of charge, always.

 

So the next time I post about the auction or hit you up for a donation, keep in mind I do it because I believe in GGYR. I do it because without your generosity, it wouldn’t be possible. I also do it because I want to see all of your smiling, laughing faces in August at our event. (Which by the way will knock your socks off this year)

Thank you, Melissa.  We are so blessed to have you.  

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I would like to publicly announce the following–college day at the ranch is my cup of tea!  

If you know me well, you know I do not love hosting or attending any event that begins at an ungodly hour. (Ungodly=anything starting before 9 AM.) I have the best example ever–Branding at our family cattle ranch usually starts with breakfast around 4:00 AM!  Agony.  Torture. Misery.  I mean, who wants to choke down bacon and hash browns in the dark?!  Not I!

For some work days we’ve had at GGYR, Max has asked group leaders to be there as early as 6 AM to get prepared.  Ughola.  Thankfully, I’m the camera leader.  That person really shouldn’t arrive on the scene until at least sunrise or preferably two to three hours after.  It’s all about natural sunlight, folks.  Logic must prevail.  No need to prove who is the toughest and earliest riser.  Silliness.

Imagine my delight when Max’s contact at UNM told him the group would not arrive at  the ranch until 11 AM!  And guess who wasn’t even almost late for this work day!  Yep, me.  In fact, I was over an hour and a half early since they didn’t arrive until more like 11:40 AM.  Was I upset they didn’t get there at 11?  Heavens no!  I understand.  I get them.

And as further proof how smart these folks are, they wisely chose to eat their snacks BEFORE getting started.  Amen to that.

 

 

 

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