Two weeks down, six to go

My second week of work has come to an end and the weekend is upon us again.

These past four days, Pat and Linda and the rest of the executive team have actually been in Las Vegas attending a boot camp deal at Zappos. I thought it was a little ironic that they were there, and I was here, I did ask them to bring my horses back with them :0).

Anyway, it seems like their time there was very productive and we got to her about some of the trip this afternoon, I'm sure we will hear more about it next week.

Tomorrow, Kerrin and I are headed into Durango to take a look around, we are meeting Gina there as her boyfriend flew in today and they are staying in Durango tonight. There is supposed to be some festival going on there so looking forward to that. Then tomorrow night we are planning on going to the hot springs here in Pagosa.

Sunday we are looking at going on a hike weather permitting. It's been raining quite a lot here lately, not that I am complaining, I know my Vegas buddies would probably kill for a little rain x

I hope you all have a great weekend and I'll catch up with you next week.

PS: It occurred to me today that some of you may not know that you can actually comment on my posts. Under each post you'll see the word "comment" (go figure), you can click on that and respond in any way you please. Just thought you'd like to know xx

Could it get any better?

This week started off with some excellent news!.

First I found out that my internship has been extended until September 10th, so I'll be here for a total of eight weeks.

Then we (us interns) found out that our status has changed from interns to working students, so we will be earning credit every week, and those credits can be used for courses here at the campus.

Then we found out that we can bring our horses here for the remainder of our stay, soooooooo, I will be heading back to Vegas the weekend after next and bringing Sienna back with me for the remaining 4 weeks.

Whoop Whoop!!!!!! My girl is gonna love it here. We have been pining for our horses as the weather has been just perfect for riding, and there is grass here, double whoop whoop!!!

Soooooo excited!!

Pagosa Springs

On my way to work yesterday morning, I just happened to pass this Hot Air balloon taking off, and as my camera is surgically attached to me theses days, I of course captured some images that you can see here.

Level One Clinic

Today there was a Level One Clinic held at the ranch, and a few of the Parelli Central office staff attended with their horses, so I captured the day in images which I have posted on Tumblr.

You can also see a lot of the pictures I have taken while i've been here by visiting the Parelli Tumblr website.

Is that a mouse?

I have to say that my two cabin mates and fellow interns, Gina (R) and Kerrin (L) keep me laughing.

Last night after drinking several cups of coffee before she went to bed, Gina decided she wasn't tired (Really!!!!) so she decided to do some yoga.

All was going well until she let out a shriek, jumped up to the empty top buck and screamed: "Is that a Mouse"? ha ha ha ha. Things went crashing down around us as we fumbled for flash lights and sure enough, this mouse came out from under Gina's bunk. (At this point i was happy to be sleeping on the other top bunk :0)

I suggested that she open the door so the mouse could get out, but Gina was afraid to get down. When she finally decided it was safe, she started to climb down and the minute her foot touched the floor, I screamed: "There he is", ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha, you should have seen her reaction, she jumped around like a looney and leaped onto Kerrin's bunk. I was laughing so hard I was crying.

She made Kerrin open the door and this saga went on the next hour before Gina felt ok to get into her own bunk.

Sigh - fun times!

Horseman's Apprentice fun

On Thursday night, Tim Sullivan, (who is a regular at the Wednesday night campfires on the campus and a good friend of Pat Parelli's) plays at a local pub here in Pagosa. So Thursday night almost everyone from the campus and office headed over there, as they were filming a piece for one of the up-coming Horseman's Apprentice episodes.

The place was packed and it turned out to be a fun night. Pat and Linda showed up and they filmed them dancing together, and I'd like to thank Wayne (a local gentleman) for showing me how to do the 'Two Step'. :0)

We had so much rain Thursday night, Gina, Kerrin and I had a heck of a time getting up to our cabin. The two girls had flip flops on and ended up barefoot as they kept sliding everywhere. We were laughing so hard I could barely catch my breath.

Anyway, the weekend is upon us and there is much going on so I'll save that for another post.

Things I've come to Appreciate & Realize...

Since being in Pagosa Springs and staying at the Parelli Campus, I've come to appreciate:

• Having peace of mind knowing my horses are being taken care of back in Vegas by my wonderful friends at Joel Ranch.
  
• My husband for understanding that this is something I needed to do.
• My friend Madi who gave me a wonderful leaving gift - (a mug that I drink my tea out of everyday) that has pictures of my horses and friends at Joel Ranch on it.
• For my friend Sarah who is on call to look after our two dogs Sophie and Milo, and cat Sammy should Justin (hubby) get called out on a fire.
• Being given the opportunity to do the Social Media Internship here at Parelli Central.
• Having the privilege of staying at the ranch, a little slice of heaven, and seeing all that goes on there first hand.
  
• New friends that I am making here at the ranch, notably Gina and Kerrin, my fellow interns and cabin buddies.
  
• The short commute to work!
• Pat and Linda Parelli for all that they do and all that they strive for.
  

Things I have come to realize:

• I don't miss the TV.
• I don't miss Starbucks.
• I wish my horses were here with me.
  
• I can't live without my flashlight :0).
• I don't miss the Vegas Traffic!!!
• Justin may not be watering the plants, eeek!
• I don't want this experience to end.

Your wearing your PJ's!!!

Today was a great day at work. I worked on six future blogs that will be posted on the Parelli Central Blog over the next few weeks. In the process I learned a lot about WordPress, Customizing URL's and creating Gravatars.......(don't worry, it's just Social Media Lingo:0)

When I got back to the ranch this evening it was such a beautiful evening, I decided to go for a Jog. What I forgot about was the difference in elevation, I literally ran down to the entrance and back (which is probably about a mile), but I was done in and out of breath!!

After dinner we heard that Pat was doing another Cow Cutting demo with his Mastery Students, and again it was amazing. At times you could hear a pin drop in the big top, and that's with 9 people on horseback and a half dozen cows in the arena. Really a wonderful display of horsemanship.

Tonight was also the first night we got some real rain since I've been here. At times the sky was lit up with lightening as the cow cutting was taking place, it was pretty spectacular.

Towards the end, Pat was riding around the arena, looked me straight in the eye and said: "You have your PJ's on" in that cute voice he does sometimes. I was caught off guard and said: "they are my jogging pants" to which a few people chuckled about.

Now I am sitting in the lodge, catching up on my blog and emails, and downloading more photos. I have my flashlight ready for my walk up to the cabin (so I can see any bears coming at me, yikes!!)

You can see pictures that I took on Parelli Tumblr

Parelli Campus in Pictures

This past weekend was beautiful at the ranch and I snapped quite a few photo's which you can see here: http://parellicentral.tumblr.com/

Behind the Scenes

There really is a lot that goes on behind the scenes at Parelli Central, and I am happy to be a part of it. We even had a brain storming session this morning to name the next Parelli Savvy Club DVD. We came up with a great title, so look for the DVD where one of the segments is Pat showing you how to take care of your saddle.

This evening I was wondering about the ranch taking photos and strolled up to the big top as there were people riding up there, and it turns out Linda was giving a lesson to a few students on collection.

Again I felt privileged to be seeing the lesson first hand and to see Linda teaching.

It is now 9.51pm and I am lying on my bunk, by flashlight as we have no electricity in the cabins, writing my blog and catching up on emails, and as I look out of the window, we have a pretty good view of the big top from here and there is a film shoot going on.

Don’t ever let it be said that Pat Parelli is not here on this earth to help horses and humans. His schedule is unbelievably busy from what I have observed since being here, and here he is at almost 10pm, working on a project for the benefit of others.

Weekend in Pagosa

Saturday
The weekend started off with some Parelli Games. The students were able to put their savvy skills to the test and have fun doing it.
Gina, Kerrin and myself helped set up and help during the games. It really made me wish I had sienna here with me so we could participate.
I spotted Linda and Remmer riding up to the big top during the morning, then she was nice enough to look in and see how the games were going.
In the afternoon the faculty gives free lessons to the office staff, so we were able to spectate and listen in for a while.
It was a beautiful day, so in the afternoon I drove into Pagosa to take some photo's and look around town. (don't tell the hubby, but I looked at some real estate listings while in town) :0)
The evening was spent sat outside the lodge catching up on emails. It was a gorgeous evening with a cool breeze, and students were playing with horses all around me. It couldn't have been any more perfect.
It was dark when i headed up to the cabin. On previous evenings, there had been a bright moon so no flashlight was needed, but even though I had my flashlight with me, it was pitch black outside so note to self - head up to cabin before it gets dark!

Sunday
Today was a day to relax and in the afternoon there was a session on how to become a Parelli Ambassador. The program is due to officially launch in January of 2011, but I can tell you that there are some exciting things on the horizon!
This evening I think I will take a walk and snap some more photos.

First day at work

Friday was my first day at work. There is a very casual but business-like atmosphere in the office, and I am already enjoying the team spirit, friendliness, and work environment. My two cabin mates and fellow interns, Gina and Kerrin are also a lot of fun to be around and keep things interesting :0)

Friday evening was very relaxing, and tomorrow we will be up to help with the Parelli games they have here on Saturdays.

In for a treat

On Thursday evening we were in for a treat. Pat and his Mastery students put on a cow cutting and driving demo in the big top arena. It went on for almost two hours, everyone was fixated and i felt privileged to be witnessing this first hand.

It really was an amazing demo and you can see pictures here: http://parellicentral.tumblr.com/

Pictures under the baby pic (I actually took the pictures and posted them, part of my job :0)

Introductions

I went back to the office yesterday afternoon for a staff meeting, and where I was to get introduced to the rest of the team. What i didn't expect is for Mark to ask me to get up and introduce myself to the entire room, which consisted of all the office staff, Neil Pye, Sue Shoemark, Pat and Linda, and Vinny and Moxie. Talk about being put on the spot!!!

It was all in good fun though and I'm hoping I didn't make a complete tit of myself :0).

Day one

So today is a day to get settled in.

I headed into Pagosa Springs this morning and stopped by the visitors center and drove through the very quaint town.

After that I stopped by Parelli Central to see where I would be spending the next month, and got a tour of the offices. They have moved to a new building since I was last here and the new building as Mark quoted: is like the Pentagon.

They do everything there, from answering your calls to making their own ropes. It looks like it's going to be a great place to work for the next month and I am eager to get started.

I was also very fortunate to actually meet and Shake hands with Linda this morning after she came out of a meeting. She was very sweet and welcomed me to the team.

I headed back to the ranch after that and have been watching clinics all afternoon. It's times like this that I wish I had Sienna & Beau here.

This afternoon, I am headed back to the office for a staff meeting, and I will get introduced to everyone who works there, so I am looking forward to that.

I may not get the opportunity to blog every day, but I will do my best to write something on a regular basis.

Trip to Pagosa Springs

My journey began at 5am yesterday when I left Las Vegas and headed for Pagosa Springs.

I'm not a lover of long distance driving, but this drive was not bad at all. One of the highlights of the trip was after a petrol stop in Monument Valley, for the next 50 miles it was hard to stay focused on the road ahead. I saw herd after herd of wild horses and wanted to stop and take pictures. The hard shoulder was not that wide or safe for me to stop, but I finally came across a drive way not far from a small herd of three or four horses.

As I was fumbling to get my camera set up, there must have been a tunnel that went under the highway because all of a sudden about 10 more horses joined the herd and they all went running off.

The leader of the pack, a beautiful gray stallion was doing a good job of keeping them all together, and running off an undesirable horse who obviously wanted to be a part of the herd. There were a few foals among them and it was beautiful to watch.

I arrived at the ranch around 5pm. There were clinics going on when I arrived and it took me back to 2004 when I did a level two clinic here. It also made me miss my horses and wished I was able to join them.

I was fortunate to arrive on BBQ and campfire night. It was such a beautiful evening with temperatures much cooler than Las Vegas. The campfire was lit, the guitars came out and people sang. Later in the evening Pat joined in with his guitar and Linda showed up with her two new puppies, Vinny and Moxie who are just adorable.

Social Media Internship

I don't know where to start, but I was recently accepted to take part in the Social Media Internship at Parelli Central.

I am beside myself with excitement and running around like headless chicken this week getting things done, as I leave for Colorado on Wednesday 14th.

I am so excited about this opportunity. I will try and blog my experience while i am there and share my journey.

It has been my dream, ever since I saw Pat and Linda for the first time back in 1998, to be a part of this wonderful organization. An organization who's purpose is to make the world a better place for horses.

Am I finally starting to live my dream?, is my life about to make an amazing shift?, I think so and believe me, I am ready for it