We found some really fun horse crafts, horse videos and cool horse contests to help keep you (and the kids) busy during the holiday season. There are some cool ideas for handmade horse gifts, too!
There are so many cool resources on the Internet that share the health benefits of horseback riding. You will truly be amazed at how beneficial it really is…Fun too!
A little snippet from Chet’s article on the benefits of horseback riding…Your muscles and joints are another area that can greatly benefit from horseback riding. The movements of the horse force you develop good muscle tone, this happen automatically and instinctively. While this is most noticeable in your thighs and calves, there is a a more holistic effect going on as well.
Not a gym person? Think about making a regular exercise regimen out of your favorite hobby. That’s what this horse enthusiast did. No matter what your age…remember horses double as friends!
Can’t think of a better reason to saddle up!
Open Weekends 10:00 am – Dusk
16480 Jonathan Carver Pkwy Carver, Minnesota 55315
If you’re already experiencing cabin fever and need an inexpensive weekend get away…that is only a short car ride away, you’ll want to check out all the southern metro has to offer!
There is something about the outside of a horse that is good for the inside of a man. ~Winston Churchill
Just recently, the southern Minneapolis metro area lost one of our local horse ranches. It will be sorely missed by visitors to our beautiful southern Minnesota landscape.
Unfortunately, hourly horseback riding and guided trail rides are becoming more difficult to find!
River Valley Horse Ranch is one of the few places left in Minnesota, that offers hourly horseback riding, trail rides, horseback riding events and pasture horse boarding.
While searching for horseback riding stables and horse rentals throughout the state, we came across a few links that might be helpful for you in your travels.
We hope as the New Year approaches you find the time to get back up on the saddle again! River Valley Horse Ranch is open weekends…10am-dusk….every weekend through April 2010.
Contact us to learn more….Reservation Line 952-361-3361
Gene Autry’s version of this song is one of the most popular of the season. We thought it would be fun to get into the spirit of the season to share….
The True Story of Rudolph the Red Nose Reindeerwith you.
A man named Bob May, depressed and brokenhearted, stared out his drafty apartment window into the chilling December night.
His 4-year-old daughter Barbara sat on his lap quietly sobbing. Bobs wife, Evelyn, was dying of cancer. Little Barbara couldn’t understand why her mommy could never come home. Barbara looked up into her dad’s eyes and asked, “Why isn’t Mommy just like everybody else’s Mommy?” Bob’s jaw tightened and his eyes welled with tears. Her question brought waves of grief, but also of anger. It had been the story of Bob’s life. Life always had to be different for Bob.
Small when he was a kid, Bob was often bullied by other boys. He was too little at the time to compete in sports. He was often called names he’d rather not remember. From childhood, Bob was different and never seemed to fit in. Bob did complete college, married his loving wife and was grateful to get his job as a copywriter at Montgomery Ward during the Great Depression.
Then he was blessed with his little girl. But it was all short-lived. Evelyn’s bout with cancer stripped them of all their savings and now Bob and his daughter were forced to live in a two-room apartment in the Chicago slums. Evelyn died just days before Christmas in 1938.
Bob struggled to give hope to his child, for whom he couldn’t even afford to buy a Christmas gift. But if he couldn’t buy a gift, he was determined a make one – a storybook! Bob had created an animal character in his ow n mind and told the animal’s story to little Barbara to give her comfort and hope. Again and again Bob told the story, embellishing it more with each telling. Who was the character? What was the story all about? The story Bob May create was his own autobiography in fable form. The character he create was a misfit outcast like he was. The name of the character? A little reindeer named Rudolph, with a big shiny nose. Bob finished the book just in time to give it to his little girl on Christmas Day. But the story doesn’t end there….
The general manager of Montgomery Ward caught wind of the little storybook and offered Bob May a nominal fee to purchase the rights to print the book. Wards went on to print,_ Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer_ and distribute it to children visiting Santa Claus in their stores. By 1946 Wards had printed and distributed more than six million copies of Rudolph.
That same year, a major publisher wanted to purchase the rights from Wards to print an updated version of the book.
In an unprecedented gesture of kindness, the CEO of Wards returned all rights back to Bob May. The book became a best seller. Many toy and marketing deals followed and Bob May, now remarried with a growing family, became wealthy from the story he created to comfort his grieving daughter. But the story doesn’t end there either.
Bob’s brother-in-law, Johnny Marks, made a song adaptation to Rudolph. Though the song was turned down by such popular vocalists as Bing Crosby and Dinah Shore , it was recorded by the singing cowboy, Gene Autry. ”Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer” was released in 1949 and became a phenomenal success, selling more records than any other Christmas song, with the exception of “White Christmas.”
The gift of love that Bob May created for his daughter so long ago kept on returning back to bless him again and again. And Bob May learned the lesson, just like his dear friend Rudolph, that being different isn’t so bad. In fact, being different can be a blessing.
HAPPY HOLIDAYS!
River Valley Horse Ranch is Open Weekends through April 10am-Dusk
"When my time comes, just skin me and put me up there on Trigger, just as though nothing had ever changed."
We thought it would be fun to celebrate the singing cowboy legends, from back in the day of the Saturday matinee.
Did you know that Roy Rogers real name was Leonard Franklin Slye? Born November 5, 1911 in Cincinnati, Ohio.
When he moved to California to become a singer, and did with the group “Sons of the Pioneers” …for four year of little success.
Leonard appeared in many western films, still being billed as Leonard Slye. The day that Gene Autry temporarily walked out on his movie contract was the day that Roy Rogers was born.
Roy Roger’s became a major contender for Gene Autry as the nation’s favorite singing cowboy!
Horse sense is the thing a horse has which keeps it from betting on people. ~W.C. Fields
So you want to buy a horse or pony…it’s easy to get carried away looking into those big brown eyes!
Besides the financial side of taking care of a horse…there are many things that you need to be aware of before you take the plunge into the world of horse ownership.
Trail Rides and Pasture Boarding
16480 Jonathan Carver Parkway
Carver, MN 55315-9659
Trail Ride Reservations Recommended for singles and groups.
RESERVATION LINE 952.361.3361
The Ranch is Open
Saturday & Sunday from 10am-6pm
Ranch is CLOSED on Sunday, June 10th for Motorcross.
