tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-255388892008-05-06T13:34:48.088-05:00NicholaiBlogger11125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-25538889.post-83662204651338662832008-05-06T12:29:00.002-05:002008-05-06T13:34:48.214-05:00It has been a while since I last typed in some news. The past season and off season held a lot of loss for me personally. I found out I was pregnant in July and went to have the ultra sound in August, my husband and son in tow and was told that it had implanted in the wrong place. All I remember was the doctor saying not a viable pregnancy. Still not a comfort. So what started out as an exciting visit turned into a nightmare. I was scheduled for surgery that day and when I got home that night I was one tube shy and no longer pregnant. I was devastated and the despair unbearable. Jimmy and James are my rock and the outpouring of support from family and friends comforting. <br /><br />Something good came out of the whole ordeal. I was hired to do the interior of a mountain house by my husband's Aunt and Uncle and 3 other couples. I had the best time and realized this is such a passion of mine that a girlfriend and I have started an interiors and project management business. <br /><br />I lost my beloved horse, Fancy. She was a 31 year old quarter horse and was with us since I was about 9 or 10 years old. She had been going down hill and let us know she was ready. The vet came up and put her down. I will never get used to it, and no horse will ever be able to fill her shoes. <br /><br />My birthday has passed and my 34th year will be great. I have read quite a few remarkable books that helped me through and look forward to a great season. We are looking to purchase more horses and have a group scheduled the 17th of May. I have veteran staff this summer. First year it has happened and I am grateful to them. They are the best! <br /><br />Some changes we have made: Hillside is pet friendly and instead of doing guided public trail rides we are going to host horsemanship clinics. <br /><br />Fencing has gone up along our Rock Creek pasture, and we will be lucky to have another pasture with which to rotate our horses. Hay season coming soon. Got to get my strength up and back conditioned to pick up and unload bales of hay. Need to shed my winter pounds.<br /><br />It has been nice corresponding with old and new visitors to Sky Valley. Keep in touch and see you soon.<br /><br />Happy trails,<br />CatherineCatherinetag:blogger.com,1999:blog-25538889.post-25471049813369235312007-03-21T15:04:00.000-05:002007-05-05T00:56:53.384-05:002007 crept up on me and now it is already spring! Sky Valley is turning green, trees starting to bud, and it is just beautiful. I believe spring is my favorite season.<br /><br />We have posted our new rates for 2007. Hillside House is now $180/night &amp; $950/week, minimum 2 nights and maximum of 8 people. Guided trail rides are now $30/hour and $50/2 hour. 2 person minimum and 8 person maximum. Reservations required for all.<br /><br />Fence going in across from our barn and I am picking out colors for Hillside's downstairs bedrooms and living room. We have had someone donate a horse and looking forward to its arrival.<br /><br />Thanks for your calls and emails. I look forward to having you with us. Before everything gets booked call or email me your dates for the house.<br /><br />Happy trails,<br />CatherineCatherinetag:blogger.com,1999:blog-25538889.post-1159377621370819712006-09-27T11:58:00.000-05:002006-09-27T12:36:30.666-05:00With summer over, I have a little more free time. Horses doing well and will be put out to pasture on the 15th of October. We have Teaching Two as One, Bob Jeffreys and Suzanne Sheppard coming back from 4th of Oct. until the 10th of Oct. to run another trail clinic.<br /><br />Hillside is booked almost every weekend until November, but the peak leaf weekend just opened up. The weekend of the 13th of October. Book now to view the beautiful fall foliage.<br /><br />Projects that I hope to have done during the off season: finish log cabin, additional bathroom added on to Hillside, and fence in remaining pasture. No small tasks but ones that will enhance Sky Valley. Plus I want to continue my education in building.<br /><br />We have had a good season and I thank you for your patronage. Look forward to 2007 season!<br />Just a reminder that the house stays open until December 1st, and again the weekend of the 13th of October is OPEN. That is generally the peak color weekend. Hope to have you with us soon.<br /><br />Happy trails,<br />CatherineCatherinetag:blogger.com,1999:blog-25538889.post-1154310237071339062006-07-30T20:33:00.000-05:002006-08-06T03:10:41.556-05:00We have closed our camping area. For the horse trailer campers and tent campers that have been with us these last two seasons, we thank you. We have enjoyed meeting you, but it was not the route we wanted to take with the property.<br /><br />We are however offering guests who want to bring their horses our rental house with a per night horse fee for pasture or barn. You can contact me for details. Thank you again for your patronage.<br /><br />Happy trails,<br />CatherineCatherinetag:blogger.com,1999:blog-25538889.post-1153357824175638302006-07-19T19:52:00.000-05:002006-07-30T20:33:30.156-05:00I cannot believe it has been this long and that it is already mid July! Camp groups have been fun and we have had great horse trailer campers. Hillside House is booked until August 6th, and your inquiries keep coming. This weekend the Blue Ridge Horseman Assoc. is coming to horse trailer camp and their organizer has been fabulous keeping me well informed.<br /><br />I have had my first kick by a horse. I have been stepped on, bitten and had to bail a few times but never kicked. Who knew at 32 yrs. that I would get kicked in the side of my left knee. I am supposed to stay off of it as much as possible, but I had to tell my Doctor that it is impossible in my line of work. I am walking all the time. Luckily it only hurts some of the time and is not unbearable, more annoying now. Since then we have hired a wonderful girl to help at the barn and I hope to keep her for the next few years. It is rare these days that you find a teenager with the work ethic that she possesses. Thank goodness for Olivia, and she is doing a wonderful job with Annie, one of our new horses. Annie got her first pair of shoes this morning, and did not freak out like I thought she would. Good job Olivia!<br /><br />I want to tell the Sky Valley campers that have emailed thank you. I have enjoyed communicating and hope to have you visit in the near future. Gotta run...my bed is calling me.<br /><br />Happy trails,<br />CatherineCatherinetag:blogger.com,1999:blog-25538889.post-1150077363001995312006-06-11T20:18:00.000-05:002006-06-13T18:42:05.660-05:00I was elated to find out through an inquiry that we were mentioned in Horse & Rider June Issue as the place to stay at the DuPont State Forest. Memorial Day weekend we hosted a riding club from Lumberton and enjoyed having them with us. The weekend was packed with the riding club and then Bob Jeffreys &amp; Suzanne Sheppard Trail riding clinic at our main facility. My head was spinning. After the clinic was over they began shooting with Soundhoof Media, Gary and Teresa Dikin, a video series, "How to Travel Safe and Smart", The Horse Lover's Guide. Look for series information on the RFD Channel or visit bobjeffreys.com. Another trail clinic will be held in October. I am anxious to see our place in the video.<br /><br />We have had our first camp group and I am thankful to have that over with. The first trip is always the hardest. Trying to clear the cobwebs and refresh my memory with the safety talk, get the trail line up straight and keeping everyone safe. You would think after 10 years that it would not be a problem.<br /><br />"Annie" and "Dan" are our newest additions to the herd. Cute as buttons but a bit of a headache. We have a long road ahead of us with those two. They have come from a troubled past but one that can be overcome with love and patience. I look forward to watching them grow.<br /><br />Drought like conditions continue and the fire hazard is never far from my mind. I hope that we can get some soaking rains soon. I thought we were going to get that this afternoon, but it barely settled the dust. Hard on our hay production, maybe second cutting will be more fruitful.<br /><br />Hope to have you with us soon and thank you for all of your inquires.<br /><br />Happy trails,<br />CatherineCatherinetag:blogger.com,1999:blog-25538889.post-1148649856467850722006-05-26T08:23:00.000-05:002006-05-26T08:24:16.480-05:00We just had our inaugural ride this weekend, and the horses and guests were terrific! I always get anxious, like I did during finals in college, on our first ride. Inevitably everything always goes well. I worried for nothing. I am also glad to report that we have found our final two horses. I hope to have them up by this weekend.Bob Jeffreys Clinic coming this weekend, and I am excited to observe.<br /><br />We are busy tying up loose ends and my new favorite piece of equipment is the wood chipper! Small trees go in and mulch comes out. I was also given a lesson in chain saw usage by my husband. I love the freedom now. I definitely need more practice though. Hardest part is getting it started. I have honed my construction skills, and putting roofs on now are not a problem. I survived two tin roof installations and did not slip. However I prefer terra firma.<br /><br />We also were able to cut and pick up our first pasture of hay. Made it just under the wire - a terrific rain storm followed shortly after. Thanks to our wonderful neighbors we were able to get it up.Gotta get moving. Many things to think about. Have a wonderful Memorial Day weekend.<br /><br />Happy trails,<br />CatherineCatherinetag:blogger.com,1999:blog-25538889.post-1147201840365758632006-05-09T13:38:00.000-05:002006-05-09T14:10:40.576-05:00Bob Jeffreys Clinics to host a trail clinic over Memorial Day weekend and then Bob and Suzanne are going to shoot a video, "Travel Safe and Smart: The Horse Lover's Guide". I am over the moon that this is happening and someone other than a family member sees the beauty of Sky Valley and wants to shoot a video. They will also host another clinic in mid October. If you would like to find out more please visit <a href="http://www.bobjeffreys.com">www.bobjeffreys.com</a>.<br /><br />I am about to hit the high season and am very excited. I enjoy the fast pace with the camps and public rides. I am able to get in shape quickly just by grooming, tacking and mucking stalls. Not to mention loading and unloading the hay trailer.<br /><br />I look forward to a great 2006 season. My phone seems to ring constantly and emails come in on a regular basis now. Thank you! I look forward to hearing from everyone and hope to have you with us this season.<br /><br />Happy trails,<br />CatherineCatherinetag:blogger.com,1999:blog-25538889.post-1145459027300860502006-04-19T09:33:00.000-05:002006-04-27T22:46:19.050-05:00This morning I awoke to the wonderful sound of rain on my tin roof. For now the threat of forest fires is over, rain is in the forecast for the next few days. I cannot remember the last time it was this dry. My Dad and I were getting very concerned about our hay this season. The pastures are not growing like they should. Hopefully now there can be a nice balance between sun and rain.<br /><br />Easter weekend there were two separate fires. One on DuPont Forest and the other on Pinnacle Mountain. The one on DuPont was a little too close for comfort, but the forest service and the fire departments were able to get it contained within a few hours. They were a long few hours.<br /><br />Need to go now there is a very large thunderstorm happening.<br /><br />Happy trails,<br />CatherineCatherinetag:blogger.com,1999:blog-25538889.post-1144355161956314132006-04-06T15:01:00.000-05:002006-04-07T13:31:57.300-05:00The off season has brought on quite a bit of work improving the place and cleaning up from the ice storm in December. I am learning a lot about construction and having to get over my fear of heights. We have added 30 amp hook-ups to the horse trailer camping area and are in the process of putting up a pole barn.<br /><br />I have been traveling around Western North Carolina in search of some more horses. We lost two of our horses last season and putting them down was one of the hardest things I have had to do. We found an adorable gelding in Leicester NC named Rocky. He has adjusted quite nicely to the herd, and I hope to get him in the line up next season for campers and the public. This season he will continue to be trained. Still looking for two more and hope to have them with us soon.<br /><br />With the help of our good neighbors we were able to complete the clearing of the Laurel Trail on the DuPont State Forest. It is about a mile and a half long and it comes out right across the road from the Plantation Trail. I have had some friends ride horses through it and it received good marks. I would however stay at a walk on the trail until more traffic goes through.<br />Talk to you soon. Gotta get back to work.<br /><p>Happy trails,</p><p>Catherine</p>Catherinetag:blogger.com,1999:blog-25538889.post-1144351466052379092006-04-06T14:23:00.000-05:002006-04-17T06:44:47.166-05:00Welcome to the new website of Sky Valley. Let me know what you think.Catherine