Ride on! USMC experts and Special Forces saddle up

Gotta salute the United States Marine Corps and Army Special Forces in this new training initiative.

Special Forces personnel are saddling up for horsemanship training at the USMC Mountain Warfare Training Center in the Sierra Mountains outside of Bridgeport, California, as USA Today reports.

Marine instructors are training Army Special Forces members to ride. Participants are learning trail riding, mounted shooting, and other equestrian skills.

Many of the horses apparently are mustangs, brought in and trained by inmates and others.

They’re even taking along pack mules.

Take a look at this video footage:

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You can read the whole story on USA Today.

Giddy up, guys. Let’s hear it for the US Marines and Army Special Forces … and their horses!

Image/s:

Video screenshot

fair use

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Cowboy hauls ponies 4 hours to give OK kids free rides after tornado

Volunteers are flocking to tornado-devastated Moore, Oklahoma, to offer relief, supplies, and help with cleanup and rebuilding. 

A charitable cowboy brought aid of an altogether different sort. The owner of Buffalo Creek Pony Rides hauled his ponies from Cheyenne, Oklahoma, to give free rides to local children and youngsters helping in the storm-ravaged community. 

 

“I can’t do much,” the man told Oklahoma City reporter Emma Riley Sutton, who was on-site to assist with unloading and distributing post-disaster supplies. “But I can make kids smile [with pony rides].”

“He just wants to … let them forget the tornado for a little while.” Sutton commented. “We all have special gifts and talents.  All of them can be used to help the folks of Moore.”

Because sometimes a little horsing around is just what the doctor ordered.

The Buffalo Creek Pony Rides organization provides gentle pony reel walk experiences for children at fairs and special events.

Image/s:

Photos by Emma Riley Sutton –

Used by permission

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Find daily Midwest horse event listings - all in one place!

A new site offers daily listings of equestrian events for horse lovers in Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Michigan, Minnesota, and Wisconsin.

Mane Dates: Horsing Around in the Upper Midwest, founded in 2012, includes key details for horse shows in every equestrian discipline, expos, parades, riding clinics, tack sales and swaps, veterinary seminars, and more. Listings are arranged chronologically, featuring event information for every day of the calendar year.

Peruse the posts on Mane Dates, and you will find announcements of barrel races, breed shows, combined training shows, dressage clinics, drill team performances, driving events, endurance rides, expos, fox hunts, gymkhanas, hunter/jumper shows, mounted shooting competitions, open horse shows, reining events, rodeos, speed shows, and many additional horse-related highlights.

Mane Dates puts all these horse happenings in one spot, so event planners can pick dates that won't overlap with similar shows, and participants can map out their own calendars accordingly.

Decker Union FIber Grooming Brush With Strap Firm 92

Do you have an upcoming Midwestern equestrian event?

Basic listings on Mane Dates are currently free, as the site is supported by display advertisers. 

Don't miss this primo promotional opportunity.

Why not send your event calendar, showbills/flyers, or horse show announcement for possible inclusion at Mane Dates?  Tag Linda Ann on your Facebook event page/s, or private-message on Facebook, or send an email: neversayneigh@aol.com.

Be sure to check existing posts to see if your event/s may already be listed on the appropriate date/s. If not, feel free to leave a comment on the date of your event. 

Bookmark (or "follow") Mane Dates, so you'll remember to submit information on your additional upcoming Midwestern equestrian events (in the coming months and following years).

Equi-Star Jelly Glitter Scrubbers

Please include:

• Event Title
• Host Organization
• Event Location and street address
• Contact phone number

Showbills or flyers for Midwestern equestrian events may also be uploaded (preferably as JPG photo files) to the Posting Upcoming Wisconsin and Nearby Horse Show Bills group on Facebook.

Horse show season is coming soon.

 Let’s get the word out on those exciting events.

Carr & Day & Martin Horse Care Sponge

Image:

Pair of Pony Pals

Vintage Art – Public Domain

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Have an upcoming Midwestern horse event?

Mane Dates: Horsing Around in the Upper Midwest posts pertinent details on upcoming equestrian events. From horse shows to tack swaps, equestrian education to expos, and clinics to county fairs, Mane Dates has it all

Horse Show by Linda Ann Nickerson/Nickers and Ink

Is your event included?

How can you submit your future horse happening for Mane Dates: Horsing Around in the Upper Midwest?

If your event is scheduled for a location in the American Upper Midwest, you can send your details in a number of ways. Find the simple instructions here.

You may also choose to join this Facebook group to promote your show or event: Posting Upcoming Wisconsin and Nearby Horse Show Bills. (Remember: JPG photo files are the best for possible promotion.)

Don't forget to follow Mane Dates: Horsing Around in the Upper Midwest for alerts on horse happenings in the region.

Should the ruler thirst around the humane refund?

Great Ride, Davy Jones

(Watch the late Monkees star Davy Jones ride a racehorse to win. Scroll down for video.)

Davy Jones died on Leap Year Day, apparently while seeing to his horses. The popular TV singer and TV personality was 66 years old when he died of a heart attack at his Florida horse farm. Here's the online story, with lots more information about Davy Jones and his equestrian pursuits:

Jockey wannabee and Monkees star Davy Jones dead at 66

The Monkees lost their former front man. Middle-aged women lost their first teen idol crush. And the horse world lost one of our own.

Davy Jones

(December 30, 1945 – February 29, 2012)

Equestrian enthusiasts and horse racing fans may remember Davy Jones as more than a Monkee. 

He was a lifelong horse lover. As a child, the diminutive 1960s pop star wanted to grow up to be a racing jockey.

Davy Jones actually raced.

Take a look at his initial win on video, as Davy Jones rode his own chestnut Digpast first to the wire at Linfield in 1996:

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Farewell, “Daydream Believer” Davy Jones.

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• Tony Curtis, actor and equine rescue supporter, dead at 85
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Image/s:

Davy Jones

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