Ballston Spa Bancorp, the parent company of Ballston Spa National Bank (BSNB), reports solid financial performance this year. Net income for the nine-month period ending Sept. 30 totaled $1.9 million, or $2.59 per share, up 5.9 percent from the $1.8 million, or $2.45 per share, reported for the same period in 2011. Strong growth in the company’s commercial loan portfolios as well as in non-interest income offset the effects of a tighter net interest margin, and the carrying costs of the company’s new sales and operations center. “We are encouraged by the overall uptick in economic activity in our region,” said Christopher R. Dowd, president and chief executive officer of the bank. “In light of our growth, our strong balance sheet, and our seasoned employees, we remain well-positioned to enhance the value we provide to our shareholders, customers, and community.” With a combination of personal service and high-tech convenience, BSNB offers a wide range of products and services to individuals, families, municipalities, nonprofits, and businesses. Offices are located in Ballston Spa, Burnt Hills, CliftonPark, Galway, Greenfield Center, Malta, Milton, Stillwater, and Wilton. To become part of BSNB’s online community, visit www.bsnb.com, www.facebook.com/YourBSNB, or www.twitter.com/BSNB. --Jennie
Baby Boot Camp Saratoga Springs is marching into the Wilton Mall, with a grand opening celebration Dec. 8 and 9. This national fitness and nutrition program helps mothers lose pregnancy weight and battle postpartum depression. Joslyn Fadden is the owner of the new location. Delivered by nationally certified fitness professionals, Baby Boot Camp stroller fitness classes combine strength-training exercises with cardiovascular drills in 60-minute sessions. Pilates, yoga and abdominal exercises help improve core strength. “We are thrilled to help increase the health and wellness of Saratoga area families,” said Kristen Horler, CEO and founder of Baby Boot Camp. “These classes are not just about losing weight. We are so pleased to welcome Joslyn as she helps moms seeking to support nutrition, fitness and healthy lifestyle habits in their families and their communities. ” In addition to Strollerfit and Strollga stroller fitness classes, Baby Boot Camp offers the 5K Training Program and Nutrition Solutions, a four-week nutrition program for women. Earth’s Best StrollerFriends, a free moms’ club to support healthy families, is also available. “Fitness has always been an important part of my lifestyle,” Fadden said. “I am excited to bring the Baby Boot Camp program to my community.” Fadden is a 2001 graduate of Champlain College, where she earned her B.S. in business administration. She is an Aerobics & Fitness Association of America certified group fitness instructor with one child. During the program’s opening days, you can meet members of the Baby Boot Camp team, buy discounted memberships and enter to win a Mountain Buggy Stroller. For additional details, contact joslyn.fadden@babybootcamp.com. Beginning January 2013, Baby Boot Camp classes will be offered Monday, Wednesday and Friday at the Wilton Mall. Go to babybootcamp.com for more information and to sign up for the first class free. --Jennie
If you’d rather spend your holidays roasting chestnuts by an open fire than actually cooking, Sperry’s certified master chef, Dale Miller, can create for you a Home for the Holidays meal. This holiday a la carte menu includes Lollipop Lamb Chops, Apple Smoked Bacon Wrapped Scallops, Crown Roast of Pork, and more. Orders must be placed five days in advance of pickup and paid in full at the time of order. If you’d rather celebrate at a heated and covered patio bar, Sperry’s offers happy hour every Friday from 4:30 p.m. to 6:30 p.m. Friday, Nov. 30, all wines by the glass are $2 off , and appetizers are 15 percent off at both the inside bar and the patio bar. Finally, if New Year’s Eve in Bollywood appeals to you, Sperry’s is the place. Call 584-9618 for reservations. --Jennie
Healthy Living Market and Café, a natural food market opening at the Wilton Mall in early 2013, will join in on Saratoga’s annual holiday festivities. At tonight’s 26th Victorian Streetwalk, Healthy Living will display a banner during the opening parade. The market will also have a table in the Visitor’s Center where the elegantly dressed and costumed carolers can stop by for fruit, chocolate, hot tea, and other delicious treats. Healthy Living is the presenting sponsor at the Festival of Trees’ Family Day Saturday, Dec. 1. Kids and adults alike can join Healthy Living co-owners Katy Lesser and Eli Lesser-Goldsmith in the CityCenter to make their very own potato-stamp wrapping paper. The Healthy Living team is eager to be a part of Saratoga’s holiday traditions. For more information, visit www.healthylivingmarket.com. --Jennie
Philadelphia-based private equity firm Versa Capital Management recently acquired Eastern Mountain Sports (EMS), according to First Tracks Online Media. EMS has 69 stores and does outdoor retailing in 12 eastern states, with a growing online presence. Mark Walsh, a Versa principal and chairman of Bob’s Stores, a northeastern apparel retailer and part of the Versa portfolio, will serve as chairman of the EMS board. Purchase terms were not disclosed. Eastern Mountain Sports began in 1967 when two Massachusetts rock climbers opened a store to address the needs of quality climbers. That first store in Wellesley, Mass., was followed by growth opportunities in the 1980s and 1990s. Today, the Peterborough, N.H.-based retailer employs approximately 1,500 people. According to Walsh, all the current EMS stores will be maintained, although Versa is exploring opportunities for Bob’s Stores and EMS to collaborate. No major initiatives will be considered until the company finishes the important holiday season. Versa is a private equity investment firm with $1.2 billion of assets under management focused on investments in middle market companies where value and performance growth can be achieved through enhanced operational and financial management. Versa’s portfolio includes Bob’s Stores, Avenue Stores and Black Angus Steakhouses. --Jennie
In a proactive move to reduce overhead and to attempt to cushion the effects of an uncertain fiscal climate, the Prevention Council has moved from its long-time quarters on Phila Street to smaller offices at the Mill, 125 High Rock Ave. All programs and initiatives remain intact.
“I am extremely grateful to Tom Roohan and Amy Sutton at Roohan Realty, and also to Bonacio Construction for creating a workable arrangement for us,” said Executive Director Heather Kisselback. “They were patient with our transition process, and very attentive to our budget and our needs.” Certain amenities and utilities--including heat, electric, and janitorial services--are included in the monthly rent at the Mill, and provide a substantial annual savings. Reducing overhead was an important consideration, with funding from two large federal grants ending in 2013-14. “We had an excellent relationship with our past landlords, Dan and Mary Conboy, and we were sorry to leave our old space,” Kisselback said. “But this is the reality we’re facing right now.” Aside from the address at the new location, everything else at the agency remains the same, including e-mail addresses and phone numbers. The Prevention Council has provided services to SaratogaCounty residents for more than 30 years, giving young people the skills to choose healthy behaviors, providing families with the tools to foster positive child development, helping communities build environments that support healthy choices, and helping schools build supportive climates for students. For more information, visit www.preventioncouncil.org. --Jennie
This Saturday, Dec. 1, FranklinCommunity Center, the local human service agency at 10 Franklin Street, will benefit from partnering with Pink Raven Tattoo Studio and ArtGallery. From5 p.m. to 8 p.m., Pink Raven will host an open house and art exhibition at its 55 Beekman St. studio, with proceeds going to the center. Liquid libations will be provided by Crush and Cask. The art in question will be close-up views of the world around us, in the form of eclectic cell phone snapshots and Instagrams taken by people throughout the community. Pink Raven’s owners, Chris DiBiase and Doug Gruse, were hoping for 100 pictures when they put out the call. Instead, they received 200. There are family photos, artistic shots, landscapes, and silly things, Gruse said. “Each picture in our exhibition has a number, and people can write down the numbers they like and come buy custom 6x6-inch Instagram prints right here,” he said. “The $10 cost per photo will all go to the community center.”
Should customers want to give something more than the photographs, Pink Raven offers another option. MentionFranklinCommunity Center when buying a gift card during December, and the studio will give the center 20 percent of the card’s cost. Cards are available in any amount and are good for a year. --Jennie
If you keep your pajamas on before or after riding Saratoga’s Polar Express train, you can go to the Circus Café, and get free homemade cotton candy with your lunch or dinner. The Polar Express leaves Saratoga for a round trip to its own North Pole. Caroling, hot cocoa, special gifts, and a meeting with Santa are part of the fun. Children are encouraged to wear their pajamas for the trip. “The Polar Express train ride that leaves from Saratoga has really taken off! We have seen so many children (and parents) come in to Circus Café wearing their pajamas before/after the train ride that we had to join the festivities,” said Christel MacLean, co-owner of the restaurant. This offer starts now and runs through Sunday, Jan. 6, which is the last day for the Polar Express. For more information about Circus Café, visit www.circuscafe.com or call 583-1106. For more information about the Polar Express, visit https://www.sncrr.com/. --Jennie
If you just can’t do a thing with your hound’s hair, Greenfield Animal Hospital can help. In an effort to become an all-inclusive veterinary facility, the hospital has started a grooming service. Andrea Ott, a 2000 graduate of the New York School of Dog Grooming, has relocated from Florida to take on the bathing and brushing.
Besides typical grooming, the facility now offers such unique services as acupuncture done by the veterinarians, spa packages, and organic products. An organic session might include a bath with Epson salts, an oatmeal scrub, organic soap, and grapeseed oil for pets’ winter feet, Ott said. She can also perform facials for the animals. “I’ve been researching all the possible spa services for pets,” she said. The latest trend is colored dying: turning your poodle purple, for example. You might rather give him a brilliantly shaded Mohawk. Ott can do that, too. Competitive costs extend from $25 for a bath to $99 for grooming, with all prices depending on the pet’s size. With 12 years of experience, Ott has groomed dogs ranging from a three-pound toy Yorkshire terrier to a 150-pound Great Bernard. She’s also tended to cats, rabbits, and guinea pigs. “I became a pet groomer because I love animals,” Ott said. “Also, this is the happy end of the veterinary business. Dogs feel so good after they are groomed. They just prance around.” --Jennie
Fifteen downtown businesses, members of the Saratoga Springs Downtown Business Association (DBA), are participating in what's becoming a tradition: the DBA Bag Days. The bright red bags, which will be available for pickup from the participating businesses during the Victorian Streetwalk and after until they are gone, work as a coupon for 20 percent off on three dates: December 8, January 19 and February 16. The bags are made from recycled material and are reusable not only for this year's sale dates, but next year's. Look for the red Bag Day bags in the windows of the following downtown businesses: the Candy Company of Saratoga, Celtic Treasures, the Clothes Horse, the Clothes Line, Compliments to the Chef, Crafters Gallery, Impressions, Lifestyles, the Loft, Mountainman Saratoga Outfitters, Pipits, Reform Pilates, Saratoga Salsa & Spice, Symmetry, and Violet's & Stella's of Saratoga. Go to www.saratogadowntown.comfor more information. --Jennie
Our people and technology make us a world leader in drilling tools and services. We work together to constantly improve customer satisfaction, employee opportunity and shareholder value.
PHILOSOPHY
Committing ourselves to integrity, we will:
Earn the respect, confidence and loyalty of OUR CUSTOMERS by serving them so well that they profit from their association with us.
Provide OUR PEOPLE the highest degree of challenge and opportunity so they can realize their ambitions in terms of career, rewards and family security.
Fulfill our obligations to OUR INVESTORS to such an extent that they are both proud and eager to share in our enterprise. Be fair to OUR SUPPLIERS and encourage their contributions to our success.
Not malign OUR COMPETITORS and gain their respect through our ethical practices. Be good citizens of OUR COMMUNITIES and OUR COUNTRIES.
Source: Smith International
Tags: Smith International, SII, Mission Statement, Mission Statements, Values
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Our mission is to be the premier global investment management organization. Guided by our core values and unique perspective, we achieve this mission by offering high quality investment solutions, providing outstanding service and attracting, motivating and retaining talented people.
Our core values reflect what is most important to us as a company.
1. Put clients first. We strive to know and meet our clients' needs, and we fully accept our fiduciary responsibility to protect shareholders' interests.
2. Build relationships. We work to establish enduring relationships with our clients and business partners. We value collaboration and cooperation in our workplaces.
3. Achieve quality results. We value professional excellence and expertise, and we work together to produce consistent, competitive results for our clients.
4. Work with integrity. We speak and act in an honest manner. We believe in being accountable for the impact we have on others.
To delight our current and future construction, infrastructure, mining, and other customers with value added offerings that exceed their current and future needs.
To achieve our mission we must attract the best people by creating a Terex culture that is safe, exciting, creative, fun and embraces continuous improvement.
Our Vision
Customer - to be the most customer responsive company in the industry as determined by our customers
Financial - to be the most profitable company in the industry as measured by ROIC
Team Member - to be the best place to work in the industry as determined by our team members
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Well, Ka-bluey II spends a great deal of time on the bottom of his new home. Probably going to die on me, in an effort to show me his appreciation for his new digs. To convince him that life is worthwhile, I did stop to buy some freeze dried blood worms.
Stay tuned, I will update you on further developments as they happen.
Today, at work, I was bustling around, and keeping myself busy. Several people have asked me about the COTA job. I don't know. I plan my schedule week by week, and try to not get my hopes up. Someone did say that I was the only one to apply for it in house. That would be good news there. The longer that I wait to hear, the more certain I am that I didn't get it. I start listing all my shortcomings to myself, and before long, I've justified their decision not to hire me.
I know. I'm a mess.
Anyways, today while I was working, a nurse suddenly stopped and turned to me. Startled, I stopped too. "What house did you come from?" she asked. The fact that I did not work out at my previous placement is pretty common knowledge, and is one of those shortcomings on that list I recite to myself when I start to get discouraged about the COTA job.
"B4," I said. "I came from B4."
She said, "Well, you take it for what it's worth, but they lost out. You are just great."
You know, that was nice to hear, and I told her so.
Later, the manager came to me and gave me enough shifts to finish out the week. Not too long after that, her boss popped in and asked me when I would know about the COTA job. I told her that I was hopeful to know one way or the other by the end of the week. She said, "If you haven't figured it out, we are trying to find a way to keep you here."
You know, today was a pretty affirming sort of day, and every now and again, it's good to have one of those.
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Remember that I took the second shift job back in May to be on the same shift as Tim? We had a couple weeks together, and then he got moved to first shift? So now I'm working first shift? Today he started second shift.
Today was my last day of work at the house where I've been working. I've worked extra hard (9 straight days in a row, getting up at 4:25 every day) so that I could have this week to prepare for the holidays. I know it will be totally worth it. But tonight, I'm tired. I'm going to watch "The Straight Story", and then go to bed early.
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Remember when you were a little kid and you'd fall down and skin your knee and then your mother would paint it orange with mercurochrome while you caterwauled?
I'm kind of old to be caterwauling, period, and mercurochrome is no longer permitted by the FDA, active ingredient being mercury. My mom is no longer around to paint my knee orange. There was a key fob with an automatic door lock involved, and we sure didn't have those when I was a kid. Other than that though, it was exactly the same.
Well, except for that fact when a little kid falls off the porch and skins her knee, people rush to pick her up and dust her off and assure her that she's fine. When a full grown adult falls off the porch, the only response you get is snickering from the neighbors across the street standing on their own front porch smoking.
That's another dang thing. When I was a kid, people smoked their cigarettes in the house where you couldn't see the neighbors falling off the porch.
Tomorrow is Thanksgiving Day. Dylan and Brittani are headed home and I have not seen them since last May. We'll be celebrating their engagement. Cara is headed home too. We have not seen her since we went down to assure ourselves that she was okay after her car accident in September.
When they were babies, I could not have conceived of going such a long time without seeing my children, but now they are grown. They have their own lives, their own friends. That's as it should be. I have raised them to be independent.
Today, they will be coming home, and I wander through the house, getting their rooms ready, trying to see the place through their eyes.
I'll fix their favorite dishes. I'll have ham and turkey both.
I'll get wine.
I'll try to make it perfect, because there is just this time, and then they will disappear back into their own lives, and I will become, once again, a peripheral figure.
I never want to miss a chance to incline their hearts homeward, no matter how briefly.
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Tim got his deer today, on the first day of buck season. He and his son Mike went into the woods.For the first year ever, we will be taking him (the deer, not Tim) to be professionally butchered. Being as how we are both gainfully employed.(At present.)We don't take anything for granted here. Tim with his eight point. I asked him if we were getting it mounted. Answer: "No. The rack is too light." It will be nice to have the meat in the freezer. The antlers will wind up in the 'man cave'.
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I am grateful for so much. I am grateful that the kids were home for Thanksgiving. Although Brianna and William could not join us for the day, they did come Friday evening, after Brianna got out of work. Dylan and Brittani and Cara and Brianna all ran around the house wearing out little William, bouncing him on the bed, sliding him down the slide. Lots of squealing and happiness. I was grateful for that time. Tim said it was the best Thanksgiving dinner I ever made. That made me happy too. Saturday morning, everyone got up and headed back to where they belong. The house seemed empty, but I was grateful to see them go, as strange as that sounds......it had begun to snow. The predictions are always dire, and I hate to see the kids travelling when the roads are bad. They left early and everyone got home safely. The majority of the snow went north of us anyways. I was grateful for that, too. The first snow is always so pretty. You cannot help but feel Christmas-sy. William came this morning, and we have had a fun day. He's followed "Ba-ba" around. He helped me clean the kitchen. He loves washing dishes with me. I turned my back, for just a minute, and he leaned off his chair enough to lose his balance. One arm was in the dishwater up to his elbow. The other was clinging to the chair which had rocked back against the cabinets. I set him upright, laughing at his predicament. He looked at me and grinned and said, "Bubbles!" And his little arms went right back into the dishwater.
He helped me clean the bathroom. I heard a howl and discovered that he'd managed to turn on my electric toothbrush and scared himself silly.
When his ba-ba got home from church, we went to the mall for a while. We got a little bit of Christmas shopping done, but primarily, we were there to wear little William out. We did.The End.
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Today is my first day of work at my new job. I am very excited.
I am not nervous at all. I did not have a schedule or a reporting time, something that I'd forgotten about in the rush to get ready for the holiday. Turns out, so did the lady who hired me. Friday morning, she came to work for the sole purpose of getting in contact with me. She was very grateful that I was so patient with her about the whole thing. She told me, for the first time, that they were sure of me as soon as they interviewed me. Wow. That is quite an honor.
Sort of makes me feel better about being square in the middle of the interview, catching something in my peripheral vision, turning to the window and gasping, "Oh, dear heavens! It's snowing!" I mentally slapped myself in the head for that one several times. ADD much?
She is anxious to have me on board, and I am anxious to be on board.
Looking over the schedule she sent me, I was excited to see familiar names. That is the best thing about this job, I think. I know who I'll be working with, because I've worked with them already. I know some of the clients. I am going back to the same place I did my clinicals, and I was so comfortable there. It's a new job, but it feels like a homecoming.
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I just saw an interesting quote on Twitter today that stuck with me. It comes from Thomas Jefferson:
"An idea shared is still in your possession"
This reminded me of an interview I did a couple of years ago for Careerbuilder.com. They asked me and a panel of other experts what to do when a co-worker steals your idea. My answer made them practically choke on their lunch: congratulate them and encourage them to keep doing it!
Some people view ideas as a zero-sum game: the more they are shared, the less they benefit. If you are selling, say, the plans for building the Space Shuttle, this might even be correct. But for me, and for most people, it is the exact opposite. You *want* people to steal - in other words, spread - your ideas. And the more they do it, the merrier.
In my case, the more freely my ideas get spread around, the more profitable I am. In fact, since I tend to write books on just about everything I do, any chucklehead can go to Barnes and Noble, plunk down $20, and pick my brains clean. They can - and often do - create training programs around my content without my ever seeing another nickel. And I actually like it that way.
There are two reasons for this. First, who do you think hires me to speak, train, or license my content? Right. People who buy my books and watch my presentations. None of this good stuff would ever happen if they didn't (a) find me and (b) benefit from what they hear. So I always take my very best content and leave it all on the field. I even set up a YouTube channel with almost an hour of free content for people (right here).
But the second reason is perhaps even more important. Suppose I started the Gallagher Communication Skills Academy, with lots of promises about how successful you'll be, and offered bupkis until you were a paying customer. Or worse, held back my best stuff until you paid to join my "platinum circle." How many customers would I have? Years ago, lots of people sold this way. Nowadays, drowning in a world of free information on demand, it would be about as effective as drinking poison.
Same thing is true at your workplace. In a 35-year-plus career, I have never had a single idea "stolen" by my definition. I don't know about you, but I want my ideas discussed by as many others as possible, and people can take all the credit for them they want. So if someone goes to the boss first with something you've talked about, I really do think you should congratulate them! They are taking your ideas to higher places, and you want to encourage more of that. Spreading ideas far and wide - and cheering on those who do it - will almost always get you further than hoarding information.
Should you ever worry about people stealing your ideas? Sure, maybe, if they are the top-secret design to your next product or some such. But for the rest of us, I'd say let people steal away!
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This blog title was the name of a 1960s hit by The Who. It is also the key to using social media without turning into a boor. Let me, um, explain...
Say someone posts something. Someone else doesn't like it - and posts a comment saying so. Then the first person responds by explaining their position. The second person still doesn't like it. Invariably the first person usually keeps explaining, and explaining, and explaining some more.
Does it work? Never.
When people don't agree with you, online or in the real world, you can't explain. At least at first. If someone doesn't like your political position, explaining it further will not change their mind. If what you posted offended someone, explaining it will only make you sound defensive. And if someone is ranting, explaining your rational position usually leads to more ranting.
If you want to see an example of this in action, look no further than the comments section of just about any online news story. Some troll posts something that annoys people, someone else takes offense and responds, the troll responds with more trollishness, and they go back and forth at it until everyone is exhausted and gives up. Does anyone ever "see the light" in these discussions? Nope.
So how can you respond to someone else's negativity online? You really only have three choices:
1) Apologize. Apologizing when you offend someone does not diminish you. It enhances you. Unfortunately, most people react the opposite way because they do not get this.
2) Own your truth. If you firmly believe what you write, and someone else disagrees with you, don't try to convince them they are wrong – convince them how firmly you believe in yourself. There is all the difference in the world between "Here are X reasons why I am correct" versus "I respect your view. I see why you feel that way. And I have a different view."
3) Walk away. For example, lots of people post reviews of my books in places like Amazon.com. Most of them are just ducky. Recently, one wasn't very complimentary at all. My response? No response. First, I respect whatever the marketplace thinks of my wares – but more important, nothing I could possibly say would matter. So often, the best answer of all is the lack of one.
All of these revolve around the subtle difference between engaging people versus defending yourself. One approach works and the other doesn't. If you feel differently, you would have to somehow explain it to me. No, wait, scratch that.
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Hi there, all you people who write motivational articles about how to "go for it," "feel the fear and do it anyway," and "get out of your comfort zone." I really appreciate what you are trying to accomplish with these articles.
Now, respectfully, could you all please knock it off?
Over the last two and a half years, I have done a lot of work with people with anxiety disorders. These are not people with quote-unquote too much stress, but rather people who suffer from issues like fears, phobias, and compulsions. They can't board airplanes, drive over bridges, or stop washing their hands 50 times a day. And whether you know it or not, articles like yours are part of their problem.
Since early 2009 I have been running a group program called "Anxiety Camp," and to a man or woman, its participants all tell me the same thing: well-meaning friends and relatives have always pushed them to engage in "Nike therapy" about their fears (e.g. just do it). The results are always the same. At best they suck it up, muddle through fearful situations, and then feel no better the next time they face them. More often they freak out, have setbacks, and end up worse off than where they started. And then everyone assumes that the sufferer simply isn't trying hard enough.
In reality, trying hard *is* the problem. It goes against your neurobiology. Being afraid is a survival instinct that protects us, and when we try to short-circuit that instinct, our subconscious pushes back - hard. So how do you get well from anxiety disorders? In tiny baby steps. While paying a lot of attention to what you tell yourself. That way, you start re-programming your circuits about what is frightening to you, as you gradually expand your comfort zone.
You see, the suck-it-up types want you to face your fears by gritting your teeth, putting your head down, and enduring situations. At best, doing this simply distracts you and teaches you nothing. At worst, it sensitizes you to situations you really want to become *de*-sensitized to. I want you to learn to become fully present in feared situations. And that almost always requires experiencing them gradually.
To be fair, I do understand the value of these motivational articles. Sometimes people decide to make brave, fundamental moves that change their lives. They choose to take control instead of take cover. And sometimes it works. For example, the day I leaped without a net from corporate life into self-employment will always rank up there as one of the most life-affirming things I've ever done.
But that is not the same as dealing with the fears that, statistically, one in five of us struggle with. And when fearful people read these articles - or worse, are handed them by well-meaning others - they become disheartened. And worst of all, don't realize that from a clinical standpoint, these words are often leading them toward illness and not wellness.
Conversely, when people start taking tiny baby steps from within their comfort zone, magic often starts to happen. I've watched this happen over and over. Anxiety scores drop, limits start disappearing, and people develop a renewed sense of faith in themselves. So if you're fearful, remember: learn all you can about your fears. Take things one small step at a time. And stay far away from motivational speakers.
Both my friend Lynnette and I were celebrating our birthdays last week. Her’s was the 5th and mine was the 4th. So, she invited me to come down and ride with her, at my friend Colleen’s place: 4 Winds Equestrian Center (click on that link to revisit all of my previous 4 Winds/Cedar Hill blog posts).
Those that have been following along for a couple of years may remember 4 Winds Equestrian Center when it was called Cedar Hills. It’s where I attended several confidence classes and trail riding classes, and where I tried out Apache on the trails before making the final decision to bring her home with me, and where we also participated in several ACTHA rides, as well. It’s a place I am very fond of and where and Apache and I both enjoy riding.
So, I was very excited about heading down there to ride for a few days with some good friends that I don’t see often enough.
(Riding buddies: Dita, Lynnette, Me, and Kristi)
I got Apache loaded with all her food and tack and I planned to board her down at 4 Winds for 3 nights to get in a few days of good riding with everyone.
(My riding gal pals: Dita, Linda, Lynnette, and Kristi)
My friend Lynnette and I drove down together from my house, on Tuesday morning and I was pleasantly surprised to see that several of my friends were already at 4 Winds getting their horses ready to ride for the day. After feeding and grooming my mare, and getting her tacked up, we headed out to the trails.
Great riding buddies, Kristi and Linda.
Riding off into the yellow fields with Dita, Linda, Lynnette and Kristi.
My riding buddy, Lynnette and her lovely Arabian mare, Tango.
After about an hour, we ended up losing one of our riding buddies, Linda, when her horse, Bandit, started acting up, not listening, and threatening to buck. We rode back with her to the barn, where she worked her horse in the round pen, while the rest of us headed back out to do some more trail riding.
Lynnette and Dita, smiling, happy faces.
Apache was doing great. She really enjoys trail rides and tends to be in the front or middle when we start out,. But when we head back, unlike most horses, she tends to walk slow and will lag in the back.
Here we were right in the middle with Kristi and her horse, Junior leading our group.
Lynnette and Dita pulling up the rear as we head up onto the ridgeline.
I captured this moment with my camera because it was pivotal for Apache and I. If you look closely, you can see Kristi and her horse way up on the top of this steep, rocky hill. But what you can’t see are Lynnette and Dita, who were still way behind us. So here we were looking up at this steep hill covered in rocks and boulder steps, all by ourselves. And Apache was questioning me to find out if this was something I really wanted to attempt. I asked her to keep moving forward and she stopped and turned her head to look at me, and I actually got a little nervous thinking she might try to do a 360 degree spin and go look for Dita and Lynnette and their horses. But she finally dropped her head and forged ahead So, with lots of praise from me, and a willing, cooperative Apache mare, we made it to the top of the hill together!!
And at the top we met up with Kristi and her horse Junior.
And within a few minutes, Dita and Lynnette came up behind us after climbing the hill, too.
And once we were all ready to continue, Apache decided she wanted to be in the lead. I’m not sure why my mare decided she wanted to lead, but perhaps, she felt very confident after climbing that hill.
Or perhaps she just enjoys exploring the trails?
Or maybe she remembers traveling on these trails, because if you look closely on the right side of this photo below, you will see a pink ribbon left behind from the ACTHA CTR that Apache and participated in this past April.
Whatever the reason, Apache was very forward, eager, confident and happy to be in the lead. Which is something that doesn’t happen all that often for us because I tend to get turned around on unmarked trails or on trails I’m unfamiliar with.
It’s fun to be in the lead sometimes and not always see the tails and butts of horses in front of us. It’s great to turn around and see happy, smiling faces instead.
It makes me happy when I can tell that Apache is enjoying herself, too.
After riding around on top of the ridge for about an hour, we started searching for a different way down than the one we had ridden up, which meant we were all kind of wandering around up there……..and laughing a lot, calling out from time to time when we lost sight of each other.
Apache always stops when we come upon an expansive, beautiful view. I really think she enjoys them as much as I do.
But this time, it wasn’t just the view we were standing there for. We were waiting for Dita and her horse to explore a side trail that led down off the ridge, to see if it was a feasible trail for us to follow. Dita was explaining, that the trail became too narrow as it went downhill.
So, instead, we just rode down the same route we took to reach the top of the ridgeline. And Apache and I were at the back this time, and she was a little nervous about two of the boulder steps we had to hop down. But with my encouragement and her bravery and willingness, she did it! We did it! I love my Apache mare!
And on the ride back to the barn, as usual, she just mosied along, not eager to get back and be done with our trail ride at all.
We did make sure to stop and enjoy the gorgeous views of the Manzano Mountains.
And we even posed for a birthday photo, too! I can’t imagine a better way to spend my birthday.
And I also remembered to turn on my GPS, so I can share the route we traveled that day.
Tim with his eight point. I asked him if we were getting it mounted. Answer: "No. The rack is too light." 
It will be nice to have the meat in the freezer. The antlers will wind up in the 'man cave'.
The first snow is always so pretty.
The End.
