Friday June 29 – My Heart is in my throat.
Today is the most important day of Journey America thus far. Today, I will meet my two beautiful Quarter Horses.
Brian Anderson, Manager of Copper Spring Ranch, texts me just after 3pm with the big news. “About 1.5 hours from Airdrie with 2 fine Quarter Horses,” reads his text.
I can hardly contain my excitement. The butterflies in my stomach are in full flight as I sit in a Greyhound bus headed to Airdrie, Alberta. I arrive at the Rodeo grounds where Anderson’s wife is competing just after 3pm. Rocking my cowboy hat and carrying 5 bags, I am mistaken for a bullrider.
“Hopefully you stick to that bull tonight, great payout,” the elderly man at the entrance says to me as I simply smirk and kept walking.
A light drizzle starts to fall so I find a building and throw my bags down. I pull out my phone and stare at it like a hawk does a mouse. Time stands still. My Iphone sits dormant in my hand. I can’t wait any longer when finally my hand begins to vibrate.
“We are here. Down in the bottom contestant lot, big red truck and 4-star trailer,” Anderson writes.
I shove my phone in my pocket and walk as fast as I can with the heavy load I am carrying. After passing the rough-stock I spot the “big red truck.” Seconds later, there they are – my horses. Tied to the side of the trailer touching noses. The sight is so beautiful. I had imagined this moment so many times for the past year. And now here I am, starring at my two horses. The animals that will journey with me 16,000 km home. I can hardly believe it. It feels like a dream…
Bruiser, the Sorrel Gelding (left) came from Copper Spring Ranch and Frenchmans Tru Angel (right) from Stan Weaver Quarter Horses. Both located in Montana.
I put all my belongings down and find Anderson. With a smile on his face he shakes my hand.
“Your Palomino is a Bronco, he kicked me coming out of the trailer so hard he almost broke my leg,” he said while our hands parted ways.
As I heard the words coming from Anderson’s mouth my stomach sank and the magical moment I was living bursted like a balloon close to fire.
I tried to walk up to Frenchie but as soon as I got close enough to reach out for his neck he shot back like a train and started pulling on the trailer. His eyes wide open. He was so nervous. So scared.
After speaking to Anderson for a few minutes about my route through Montana it was time to say goodbye. I thanked him for his support and loaded my new horses into another trailer headed for Olds, Alberta, their home for the next week.
As soon as I arrived at Mane Attraction Stables the work started. First I began working with my horses on the ground to gain their trust. Frenchie had been in a field for a year with very little human contact. I needed him to trust me before anything.
After a day of lunging and ground work it was time to start riding. Everything went well until I tried to put weight in Frenchie’s pack-saddle. I started ponying him around the arena and he just exploded. He pulled the lead rope out of my hand and proceeded to buck around in circles like a true bronco. I tried to ride up next to him with Bruiser to calm him down but he hit us with the pack-saddle which drove Bruiser to take off bucking as well. I lasted halfway around the arena until I eventually came over his head and hit the dirt hard.
Other than a pair of ripped jeans and a badly sprained or broken finger (not sure) I was okay. I calmed my two ponies down and got back on. From that point on everything fell into place. Frenchie became calmer and we were able to start practicing on the roads.
“The boys are looking a lot better aren’t they,” Adrian Neufeld the owner of Mane Attraction Stable said in our third day there.
Adrian and his wife Suzy were amazing hosts! Not only did they help with the training, they opened their homes for myself and my girlfriend Emma. Adrian is an amazing horseman with may years of experience and his knowledge was worth gold.
“Being a part of the Cowboy challenge at the Calgary Stampede sure was fun last year,” Adrian said as we watched him compete in the invitational event featuring some of the best cowboys in the world.
After a week and a few days of work we were ready to set off to the Centennial Calgary Stampede. Emma, Bruiser, Frenchie and I arrived at the grounds Thursday July 5 just after 7pm. We set up two stalls for the horses and made them feel at home.
I have to thank the Calgary Stampede for all of their support during our time there. Emma and I were given passes to get anywhere and everywhere and were treated like family. We enjoyed the Parade from the President’s box, ate breakfast with board members, competitors and even Stephen Harper and his wife and had a fantastic time at the rodeo.
The morning of July 8 was very emotional, hectic and hot! Emma and I arrived at the park at 8am and from that point on didn’t stop running around. I exercised the horses, got my things in order, packed Frenchie, shot an interview with Globo… It was go, go, go. Finally at 11am I made my way to meet the RCMP. That was a very surreal moment. There I was at the Centennial Calgary Stampede sitting on Bruiser with Frenchie next to me and four Mounties accompanying us through a crowd of people who watched. One lady came up to me and asked, “Are you Justin Trudeau?” I laughed and said no.
We took some pictures with the RCMP, I gave more interviews and then it was time to leave. With tears running down my face I gave my beautiful girlfriend one last kiss and that was it. Bruiser, Frenchie and I rode on. Not knowing where we would stay that night or at what time we would stop.
