Site Logo

Life

HORSEPLAY: Equestrian summer camps and horse trailer heat risk

THIS TIME OF year, I get frequent inquiries asking if I know of any horse camps, and/or have…

Submitted photo Photo: Bottom left to right, Coach Natalie Blankenship, Paige Reed, Libby Swanberg, Joanna Seelye, Katelynn Middleton-Sharpe, Kennady Gilbertson, Coach Katie Newton. Top left to right, Taylor Lewis, Lily Meyer, Asha Swanberg, Sydney Hutton, Coach Ady Crosby and Coach Misty Gilbertson.

Life

HORSEPLAY: WAHSET state finals

SEQUIM’S SMALL YET mighty equestrian team gave a dazzling display of finesse, power and speed at the Washington…

Photo by Karen Griffiths Cutline: A fundraiser for WAG and Open starts Today at 11 a.m. with an English and jumping fun show, followed tomorrow with a Western Games show at Kari Payne’s 4-L arena off Blue Mountain Road, 95 S. McCrorie Rd. Port Angeles. Fox-Bell Farm owner Shelby Vaughan, and her assistants Sophie Feik and Kaia Lestage (holding Marley) will be there to host. Shown is Tatar Trots, 10. a horse Shelby got from OPEN five years ago when he was a feral, unhandled stallion and, now, after castrating and training, he’s a docile horse who enjoys teaching kids how to ride. (Rescue dog Rocky laying down if he’s shown in photo)

Life

HORSEPLAY: Rescue program gives horses new life

SHELBY VAUGHAN WAS born into the rescue mindset. She grew up on Bainbridge Island on a farm where…

Photo by Katie Newton By the end of meet three, Sequim High School Senior Sydney Hutton’s multiple wins included Gold in Jumping, Silver in Saddle Seat, Bronze in Dressage.

Life

HORSEPLAY: Sequim High team wins District 4 championship

OH MY, MY, but these gals can boogie!

OPEN’s Spring Tack Sale is Saturday, 9 a.m. to 3 p.m., 251 Roupe Road (off Hooker Road). Proceeds benefit rescued horses, minis, ponies (such as the one pictured with grossly overgrown hooves) and donkeys. Western and English saddles, saddle pads, halters, sheets, bits, bridles; western jewelry, clothes, boots and more. (photo by Valerie Jackson)

Life

HORSEPLAY: Clean up after yourself and your horse

CLEAN UP ON aisle 7! Remember: Unlike a grocery store clerk who calls an employee over the loudspeaker…

Deb Pavlich-Boaz and her husband Tony Boaz say strangers stop to feed her horses and it’s endangering their health. They care for aging equines and others with special dietary needs at their home off Old Olympic Highway in Agnew. (Karen Griffiths/for Peninsula Daily News)

Life

HORSEPLAY: Hey, don’t touch the hay. Don’t feed strangers’ horses

“ONE BAD APPLE don’t spoil the whole bunch girl!” Today’s column is about reminding folks NOT to feed…

Libby Swanberg and Sydney Hutton took part in the Senior Salute, which lauds the accomplishments of graduating high school seniors and bids them a successful future. (Photo by Katie Salmon-Newton)

Life

HORSEPLAY: Sequim equestrian team wins, sets record

SEQUIM HIGH SCHOOL equestrian team is certainly having a winning season!

CutlIne: What beautiful long ears and adorable eyes he has! Meet Rio, a mammoth donkey who grew to 16’2 hands tall.

Life

HORSEPLAY: Want a donkey? A beginners guide to donkey care

GOT THE URGE to bring home a cute, adorable miniature donkey? I’ve been resisting that impulse myself since…

Photo Credit: Anna Swanberg Cutline: Sequim’s high school equestrian team brought home a whopping 12 first place wins at the first WAHSET meet of the season , from Left: Libby Swanberg , Kennady Gilbertson, Joanna Seelye, Katelynn Middleton-Sharpe and Asha Swanberg.

Life

HORSEPLAY: Sequim High School opens season with 12 blue ribbons

I’M SO PROUD of Sequim High School’s equestrian team for bringing home 12 blue ribbons from their first…

Photo submitted by Karen Griffiths Melody Johnson with mini donkey Maximus

Life

HORSEPLAY: The magical and musical world of training donkeys

WITH A FIRST name like Melody, it seems appropriate that Sequim’s self-proclaimed “Donkey whisperer” Melody Johnson has a…

By Karen Griffiths Marissa uses Freesia, 6, a Paisley Desert HMA Oregon BLM Mustang, Liberty training to instruct her to lift her left leg up.

Life

HORSEPLAY: Trust, kindness are keys to training wild horses

TO QUOTE THE Glen Campbell song, “You Got to Try a Little Kindness” when training an unbroken or…

Photo by Karen Griffiths Cutline: During a lesson in Freedom Farm’s indoor arena Hadley Wolslegel goes over a set of cavetti under the guidance of farm owner and instructor Mary Gallagher. Working over cavetti, which can be set up with varying heights and poles, helps the rider learn how to maintain a sense of timing, balance and form, and aids the rider in developing the ability to evaluate distance and measuring the horse’s length of step —shortening or lengthening —when going over jumps.

Life

HORSEPLAY: Learning Lessons

“I FELT LIKE I was flying,” is what my niece Ashely Griffiths, then 8, my brother’s middle child,…

Photo by Karen Griffiths Still a wild mustang who, overall, dislikes being touched, Freya offers her nose for Vanessa to touch.

Life

HORSEPLAY: Wild BLM horses find a paradise on the Olympic Peninsula with Vanessa Lowe

PARADISE WAITS WITH open arms to help abused, abandoned and aggrieved Bureau of Land Management wild mustangs live…

Photo by Karen Griffiths Cutline: My niece Brooke Stromberg and Lacy, both 15, make a winning turn during a barrel racing competition during an April game show in 2008 at JeffCo fairgrounds. Later, the duo became the 2008 Washington High School Equestrian Team and Patterned Speed Horse Association’s (junior division) state champions in barrel racing. Both shows were held in Wenatchee.

Life

HORSEPLAY: Saying goodbye to a faithful friend

I’M FEELING A bit emotional as I share my Lacey passed away peacefully in her pasture on Nov.…

Photo by Karen Griffiths Cutline: Paradigm Sporthorse Training owner Rebecca Cushman with Carcare, one of 11 horses she’s rescued from the war zones in Ukraine. The 17.1 hand Warmblood gelding with level 2 FEI training has gained about 200 pounds since his arrival in August. She said, “He’s a well-trained and willing horse who loves to give hugs.”

Life

HORSEPLAY: Port Townsend trainer rescues horses in Ukraine from war

“IT WAS TERRIFYING,” Rebecca Cushman said of her first-time wiring thousands of dollars in purchase and transport fees…

Photo by Judy Depree Prize ride participant Yvonne Degrassi Craig at one of the trail’s viewpoints.

Life

HORSEPLAY: OP is alive again with equine events

ISN’T IT NICE to see folks taking part in group activities again after the pandemic shut down?

Photo by Karen Griffiths Cutline: High school friends and equestrian team members Aby Garcia, left, Keri Tucker and Joanna Seelye enjoyed racing through the unusual game patterns and supporting the fundraiser.

Life

HORSEPLAY: Games bring fun, camaraderie, funds for OPEN and WAG

“YOU BETTER THINK (think), think about what you’re doing to me!” Those song lyrics from Aretha Franklin’s hit…

Counties from across the state send their top exhibitors in the intermediate and senior divisions to compete at the Washington State Fair in Puyallup during September. Pictured are Clallam County’s 4-H members Ava Hairell and Banjo, left, Taylor Maughan with Ru and Katelynn Sharpe with Sophie. (photo by Katie Newton)

Life

HORSEPLAY: The 3 amigos of Neon Riders 4-H compete at state

THE THREE AMIGOS from Neon Riders 4-H club were excited they got to go together to compete at…

PHOTO BY LINDA MORIN At the Joyce Daze Parade, participating Back Country Horsemen Peninsula Chapter members were awarded a Blue Ribbon for the best Animal Entry in the parade.

Life

HORSEPLAY: OPEN, WAG hosting canine, equine fundraiser

CALLING ALL EQUESTRIANS and dog lovers!

Photos by Anna Swanberg Cutline: Teen mustang trainers Libby Swanberg (with Latte) and her sister Asha Swanberg, each broke the record for the attaining the highest selling prices ever — more than $10,000 each — earlier this month at the Mustang Yearlings/Washington Youth auction in Cle Elum.

Life

HORSEPLAY: Swanbergs’ hard work nets BLM mustang auction records

LAST SATURDAY MY neighbor, Kris Phillips, shared how earlier this month she attended a Bureau of Land Management…