Saskatoon Auction Mart Poker Rally

Yesterday we took part in the Stoon Auction Mart's 2nd annual poker rally. We entered seven of our horses (two to a team) and our neighbor, Jackie, also entered one of her horses. It was really cold, especially in the open field where there was nothing to block the wind. I said to Grant that his next sleigh should be a covered one!
This photo shows Spirit and Mocha, the first team, just before we headed out on the trail:

Aren't they a handsome pair?

Rolling the dice

Since early-January, Grant has been training a trio of mares for driving. All three have come along nicely and we did enter them all into the event as well. Jackie drove two of these mares, Ginger & Cinammon, as a team in the first round (the third mare is April). Unfortunately, pictures I took came out terrible because sitting in a moving sleigh is not ideal for snapping photos :(

Warming up after the first ride.

Our horse trailer has a wood stove in the tack room

and boy! it sure came in handy after our cold ride.

Aaron and I skipped out on the second ride. Just too cold for my little guy! We jumped into my car and met the sleighs along the trail. I got nice shots of the second teams:

Tena and Shy Ann - Girl Power!

Jackie driving April and Odin.

April is the third mare that Grant has been training. We did not win the poker game part of the rally but it was all great fun! That and Grant's number was picked for the door prize. I should also mention that the buffet was delicious too!

Celebration of two birthdays and an anniversary

I traveled North yesterday for a large party celebrating two birthdays and an anniversary. My grandma (a.k.a. "Mama") marked her 89th birthday... this is always a bit confusing for me; her age, I mean. Her year of birth is not known for sure. SK vital statistics says one thing, Mama says otherwise... ah -- yet what she says is never consistent. Last year I'm sure she said her year of birth was 1922; this year it's 1918? A couple years ago her year of birth was 1920? Ah, well... don't know why it's bugging me this morning.
We were also celebrating my Auntie Mary's birthday (Jan 23rd) and she's approximately 58 years old (let's not nitpick anymore). Here is a photo of the two birthday girls...

Meanwhile, Dion and his wife, Dolly, were also celebrating their 14th Wedding Anniversary. Pictured below with their cake... Unfortunately, after a large meal and birthday cake, we were all too full to eat any anniversary cake :(

It was a large gathering; approximately 50 people were in attendance spanning four generations. A photo of my cousin Dion:

The little okeemow

( Ack$!#...don't know if I spelled "okeemow" correctly ... ) Anyway, here is "Chief", the newest and youngest member of our herd. We don't plan on gelding him because he will someday make babies (right now he's just a baby himself; he's only8 months old). But he's already promising to be a good horse. Aaron is able to lead him into the barn.