Imagine Yourself Riding with Blue Sky Sage

Blue Sky Sage 2010 Season Video

Wild & Free

With an evening view of the Wind River mountains in the evening light, I have been re-living the recent days spent with guests Laura and Carrie, our camp cook Jocie and of course my husband Mike here in the Wyoming wilderness.  A week of exciting and challenging riding over a big scope of country and the highlights of the week were locating and getting close enough to hear the snorts and squeals of several bands of wild horses in the Great Divide Basin of the Red Desert. To be able to share this kind of experience with others is a wonderful treat that we are grateful for every day and for those moments in time, we can put aside the problems of the outside world and live right now, experiencing a spiritual awakening and soul-touching revelation of what life can really be. Photo of this wild mustang courtesy of Carrie Sandler.

Ride the Wide Open Spaces: RIDING BOOTS: THEY AIN'T MADE FOR WALKIN' . . .

Ride the Wide Open Spaces: RIDING BOOTS: THEY AIN'T MADE FOR WALKIN' . . .

RIDING BOOTS: THEY AIN'T MADE FOR WALKIN' . . .

 Bet these beauties got your attention, didn't they?!

As an aspiring horsewoman and professional horseback vacation provider, little things come to my attention every so often that manifest into rather monumental revelations. Take BOOTS for instance and what the definition of that word encompasses. For the purposes of horseback riding, I'm going to discuss RIDING BOOTS here.

In spite of all the technology and marketing the major boot manufacturers of the world have pummeled the consumer with in recent years, much of what is being touted as a "riding boot" in the marketplace is anything but.  I think if we are sincere in our efforts to be better riders, and sincere in our horsemanship, we owe it to the horse and our own safety to equip ourselves properly and the choice of boots for riding makes a big difference toward that end. Many of  today's so-called "riding boots" are designed more for the comfort and ease of the human while on the ground than to have a sensitive feel in the stirrups or the irons. It is our belief that a true riding boot has these characteristics:


a) A smooth, slick sole that is thin and will allow your foot to actually feel the stirrup through the bottom of your boot.  Leather soles are the only sole material that affords this feel and lets your foot actually grip the bottom of the stirrup or iron. Soles that are made of composite materials or have any "stickiness" to them, or any kind of traction-type pattern not only elevate the foot away from the stirrup, but they are too "tacky" and can prevent you from sliding a foot out of the stirrup in a hurry if necessary.


b) A definitive heel that is separated from the forward sole of the boot. This is especially important to reduce the chance of the foot going too far into the stirrup and getting wedged or even worse, going completely through. If your heel isn't slightly elevated from the ground and there is no daylight showing between the boot heel and the ball of your foot when you look at the boot from the side, then the boot is not designed for riding.  Of course, proper stirrup size enters into this equation as well. The red top boot at the right is Mike's dress riding boot, a traditional cowboy boot with the underslung heel and spur ledge, made by Olathe and available from Drew's Boots.

c) The boots fit properly on your feet and are "broken in".  Some of us have feet that do not comply with to the standard shoe/boot sizes that are available "off the shelf." Many things affect the shape of our feet, i.e. bunions, low or high arches, width, etc. If you have feet with unusual characteristics, you may need to have good riding boots custom-made to accommodate those issues. Of course they will cost more, however a quality pair of custom-made riding boots should fit your feet comfortably and properly, and they will last many years if taken care of. Once you have a pair of boots that fit properly, you will have to go through a little suffering to break them in, probably having to walk and ride in them to get them conformed and softened to your feet, but this is true with any boot and getting them broken in gradually is better than jumping right into a 25 mile ride in brand-new, stiff boots and ending up with blisters. The boot pictured here is a custom-made White's Cowboy Packer boot, Bobbi's well broken-in riding boot, purchased through Drew's Boots.

d) Proper riding boots probably won't be the most comfortable boots to walk in for any distance.  And if that's the case, your riding boots are probably just right for riding. Riding and walking are two totally separate endeavors for us as humans and footwear that is correct for one is not correct for the other. We have to choose what is right for our horse and our safety while mounted, above what we may have to do on the ground on our own feet, so walking comfort for the human takes a backseat to what's required when we are riding. If you're going to walk, get a good pair of walking shoes or hiking boots; if you are going to ride, you gotta have riding boots and the two are mutually exclusive. We keep our riding boots in the tack trailer and put them on just before we catch our horses and saddle, so we don't have to do much walking in them. When we get in from a ride, we put our "walkin' shoes" on after we've turned the horses out.

The other question to be answered here is lace-ups vs. regular boot tops. There are advantages, in my opinion, to the lace-up option in that they offer more ankle support which some of us need, and they are more accommodating to those of us whose calves are larger than what many regular boot tops are sized for. Only you can decide what your needs may be on this one.
That's our take on RIDING BOOTS. How much money you spend and the brand name you choose are not as important as the features we recommend here, whether you are riding in English or Western boots. Don't get caught up in the hype or the techno-jive; choose what helps you to be safe in the saddle and be more attuned to your horse.
                   

 




Barely Legitimate! Roper-style, good leather sole, but the heel is almost too short.           

Not even close! Any sole with traction is too "tacky"
 






Composite Sole, NO, NO! Again, too sticky, not slick.

This boot/shoe is made for walkin' . . . NOT RIDING! Anything with a lug-type sole that does not show some daylight in front of the heel is not proper riding footwear.

NEXT IN THE SERIES:  Boots in the Stirrup: Safe, yet Sensitive

Meet the Wyoming Horseback Riding Vacation Winner, Dixie Lee West

Dixie Lee West of Arkansas: I was raised in southern California, got my first pony when I was four and rode in my first gymkhana when I was 7. When I was a kid I basically lived on my horse! I was a member of the California Gymkhana Association for 14 years before moving to Arkansas shortly before my 22nd birthday. Mostly what they had here then were rodeos so I ran barrels for a few years. I even learned to breakaway rope! I'm not the best at it but it sure is fun when I get to do it! A few years later I got involved with the National Barrel Horse Association and have been doing that ever since. We raise a few Quarter Horses, and I ride what I raise. I start and train them myself and occasionally ride horses for other people. The horse I compete on (my favorite) is a 10-year-old black Quarter Horse mare named Wicked Falina. She’s silly, temperamental, moody, pushy and spoiled! My husband says I’m the only one who likes her but that suits me fine because she and I get along great!  My family consists of my husband, Chris, and my daughter, Sierra, who is 8. Chris is mainly a trail rider, but he enjoys most everything "horsey" and he’s also my biggest support in whatever new adventure I take on. Sierra also barrel races and is making quite a handy traveling partner! She has decided to train her own horse this year instead of moving on to a faster one that knows the pattern. We all reside in central Arkansas with 14 horses, 2 dogs, 6 cats, a bird and some chickens.

Sweepstakes Winner is Announced!

 Willow and Bobbi "work a cow" at the Bruce Laird Horsemanship Clinic last September.

     The winner of the "Wyoming Riding Vacation Sweepstakes" is Dixie Lee West of Alabama, CONGRATULATIONS!  Dixie was randomly drawn as the winner and has chosen her husband Chris as her riding partner for a Mustang Horse Adventure. There were well over 7600 entries in the sweepstakes, one of biggest that Horse & Rider Magazine and Equisearch.com has hosted ever. We sincerely thank each of the individuals who entered and although there can only be one winner, we invite you to book your horseback vacation with Blue Sky Sage for this summer anyway and join us in Wyoming!
     
     The photo for this post is of Willow mare and I on the second day of our Bruce Laird horsemanship clinic in Torrington, Wyoming last September. Bruce had spent most of the first day on Willow himself getting her to work through a really hard mental block; when Bobbi got back on her for the second day, Willow was a "new girl", much more willing, more free to move and pay attention, and able to understand my sometimes less than clear requests of her without getting frustrated or anxious.  Here we are "cutting" or "working a cow" on a neat little flag machine Bruce designed. What a hoot, and we could have played there a lot longer, but we had to give everyone else a turn too! I will definitely be going back to one of Bruce and Joan's clinics, would love to go to the colt starting / horsemanship weekend in May, but I don't have a colt right now, so may have to wait. The weather here at the ranch is almost to the point where we can get some saddle horses in and start getting them back into physical and mental shape for the upcoming ride season; as soon as the mud dries up it'll be back in the saddle!

Coming Out of Hibernation

With the release of our latest newsletters this morning, it's high time I update the blog and let you know we are coming out of hibernation here in Wyoming!  Really, we don't hibernate, though we do slow down to a more winter-like pace.  Right now as I write this, I am parked at a scenic turnout north of Jackson, Wyoming facing west and looking at this bright and spectacular view of Mt. Moran, one of the major peaks in the Teton mountain range, in Grand Teton National Park. I'm on a "road trip" today, drove over the Continental Divide to Dubois, Wyoming to pick up a load of feed for Emily's sled dogs, and then back into Jackson to have a social evening with my friend Ellen, who is also one of the "Wild Wyoming Women" horseback riders, the first all-women group Blue Sky Sage hosted at camp.

Though spring is still a long way off, that season in-between snow and -20 degrees+ weather, and green grass is starting show up. This means half-melted snow drifts, rough roads and mud are the norm, with sunny days and a bit of chill in the breeze. This "season" seems to be coming on early this year, and Mike will start getting the new horses in later this week to start working them out to see what they're going to be. I will be getting to the corral later too, around my other "winter job" and keeping in contact with the many people who are responding to the newsletters.

Recently, we completed a sweepstakes giveaway of a weeklong horseback riding vacation for two, through Horse & Rider Magazine and equisearch.com, and are currently waiting for the winner to get all the paperwork returned so we can introduce them and get their dream riding holiday scheduled.  We thank everyone who entered and opted-in to receive our newsletter, and we look forward to meeting many of you this summer of 2010 to ride the wide-open spaces of Wyoming.

There are still openings throughout the season on rides, though reservations start to really pick up from this time of year on, so book your vacation now for 2010 to make sure you get the date and trip you want; call or email anytime and we'll be glad to visit with you about horses, wilderness, riding, politics, . . . . oh wait, maybe we'll leave that for around the campfire! 

You could WIN A FREE HORSEBACK RIDING VACATION IN 2010!

You could win a Wyoming horseback riding adventure vacation for two in 2010 from Blue Sky Sage Horseback Adventures, including great saddle horses to ride across the wide open spaces Wyoming is known for, fantastic food prepared by a genuine camp cook, lodging in Jackson, Wyo., before and after the ride week and more!  CLICK HERE TO ENTER!
See official rules link for complete details. Enter before March 1!

Happy New Year 2010 and Thank You!

We can't express our gratitude enough to our loyal customers for their new and return business; the local companies who keep us on the road and supplied all year long; our friends and family for their support. Though 2009 was a tough year on many fronts, we are very blessed with the gifts of friendship, love and never-ending help from many, many wonderful people all over the country. From all the Wade family and on behalf of Blue Sky Sage Horseback Adventures, may 2010 bring enlightenment, enrichment and fulfillment to all of you.