Chronicle of the Horse | Untacked | January February 2019

JANUARY/FEBRUARY 2019

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SAM SAVITT

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LIFE BETWEEN THE EARS

Seeing The World WITH LIFE BETWEEN THE EARS

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Contributors to the “Life Between The Ears” social media accounts transport us to the world’s most interesting and beautiful places—all viewed from the saddle. Each issue, we share a few of their images. mn SAND DRAW, WYOMING Coralina Daly took this photo, which also appears on a 2018 holiday card from Life Between The Ears, from her favorite spot in Riverton, Wyoming.

“From on top of the ridges, you can see mountains in three directions—and in the valleys, hoodoos are around every corner,” she says. “Plus, this is the only place with some hill climbs nearby.”

Sand Draw is a recreation area just south of Riverton.

“In the west we are gloriously blessed with plentiful public lands,” Daly says. “Multi-use on public lands can mean running into some interesting situations; Sand Draw is a popular spot for ATV adventures and shooting practice, so thankfully my horse doesn’t spook at gunshots, or even, as I was grateful to discover, explosions!”

Daly is looking between the gray ears of Orion, an 11-year-old she bought a few years ago from a rodeo student.

“He was one of many horses on their working ranch on the other side of the mountains,” she says. “He had been turned out with mules who didn’t let him eat much, so now he is very food-focused.

We do local dressage and jumping shows at the lowest levels just for the camaraderie and fun. He’s more interested in being in the field than the arena and, truth be told, so am I. “After a lifetime of searching for the right horse and losing my old [off-the-track Thoroughbred] last year, I am inexpressibly grateful to have ‘O,’ ” she adds. “He’s considerate and careful, strong and funny.”

Daly works as the vice president for student affairs at Central Wyoming College and is working toward her doctorate in higher education administration. She bought Orion a year into her doctoral CORALINA DALY/@CORALINAD PHOTO

program.

“It tickled me that so many horses were being sold because their owners were in graduate school; I was buying one precisely because I was in graduate school!” says Daly. “Of course it’s true as they said—I don’t have time, but he’s my joy and my refuge. We’ve been doing dressage lessons with a wonderful trainer regularly, but I refuse to make my time with him work. I’m one of the many women who longed for a horse since first laying eyes on one, but it took almost 40 years to get partnered with one for the adventures I always imagined. The first day I took him out on the trail, I cried. It was a dream come true.”

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LIFE BETWEEN THE EARS

mn NORA, SWEDEN This is the landscape around Renate Larssen’s home in Nora, Sweden. Nora is a small town in the middle of Sweden, located within the historic mining district of Bergslagen.

“It’s an area of mountains and deep forests, very beautiful and wild. I live here and try to explore as much of the area as possible on horseback,” says Larssen.

The ears in the photo belong to Dragunov, a 9-year-old Akhal-Teke gelding Larssen calls “Julle.” She’s owned the gelding for nearly eight years.

“I’ve trained him myself, and he’s moved with me all over the country,” she says. “He’s swift and surefooted even in tough conditions—rocky terrain, deep snow and flooded forest roads. We both love exploring new paths, and he’s taken me to some of the most beautiful places I’ve seen.”

Larssen studied veterinary medicine but now works as head of staff for the opposition leader, Ulf Kristersson, in the municipality of Örebro, Sweden. “Life takes you down strange roads sometimes!” she says.

Though she’s not competing right now, she hopes to enter Julle in an endurance race in the future.

“I enjoy the companionship horses offer,” she says. “Being able to explore the wilderness in partnership

RENATE LARSSEN/@RENATELARSSEN PHOTO

with someone stronger and faster feels safer to me than doing it alone.”

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PAUL FREIDEL/@NP_RANCH PHOTO

mn LOSTINE, OREGON For Paul Freidel, riding is simply the most efficient way for him to

Wallowa County, Oregon, is by far the most beautiful place I have

do his job. He’s a sheep rancher in Northeast Oregon, where he

ever lived,” Freidel says. “From the Wallowa Mountains, seen in

raises 300-400 grass-fed lambs per year at NP Ranch.

this photo, to the canyons, it’s an endless riding opportunity. The

“Our grazing land is primarily range—rough, rocky steep ground,” he says. “It’s great for lamb legs but tough to get around.”

Freidel didn’t ride much until his wife, who works in town and rides herself, suggested he get a horse to trail ride with her.

“I think she also wanted me to stop wrecking ATVs checking sheep,” Freidel says. “One horse quickly grew to three, and I never looked back. I ride primarily as part of my job—checking

natural light here is fantastic; the golden hour is truly golden every day.”

Freidel’s mount in the photo is Mateo, a 13-year-old PRE gelding. Freidel bought Mateo last year from Alice Trindle and Susan Triplett at T&T Horsemanship in Haines, Oregon. Freidel has been training with Trindle for three years now.

“Alice has really improved my riding skills and, most

livestock, moving stock, checking fences and sunset inspections.

importantly, my understanding of the horse,” he says. “I was told

I also trail ride in the mountains with my mule-riding wife.

Mateo was never fond of arena work and preferred to be out

Checking and moving stock is so much better on horseback. I

on the trail—that makes two of us. Mateo does best with a daily

see so much more wildlife, and grass conditions, plus sunrises

job and plenty to do. He was a natural at moving livestock. I can

and sunsets that never cease to amaze me. I can’t imagine not

work sheepdogs off his back, and he is very sure-footed in the

riding out every day.

rough, steep ground we graze. Mateo has plenty of endurance

“I have been lucky to live in some beautiful places, but

and can go hard all day.”

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mn FRANKLIN, TENNESSEE Maggie Card was born and raised in Franklin, Tennessee, and she describes The Triple L Ranch there as her “safe haven.” Card is a student at Savannah College of Art and Design in Georgia, double majoring in graphic design and equestrian studies and minoring in creative writing, and she splits her time between Savannah and Franklin.

“This place has my heart in every way,” she says of Triple L Ranch, a 900-acre farm dedicated to raising beef cattle and horse boarding. “We have a habit of standing on this exact hill on many mornings and even at night when the moon is full.”

Card’s horse, Jubilee, is a 22-year-old AppaloosaThoroughbred she’s had for 14 years.

“Jubilee is that horse you only find once in a lifetime,” she says. “He pays attention to everything when we ride, and he’s held on to his athleticism like no other horse I’ve

MAGGIE CARD/@MAGGIE.CARD PHOTO

ever been around. Even though I have been trying to push him into retirement, he still wants to work so badly. I can’t ride in the arena if there are jumps up without him trying to point to every one. We’ve put the time in, and I think that’s what makes our relationship so special; we’ve grown up together.”

Card started riding in Pony Club and evented Jubilee up to the training level until he had colic surgery.

“We stopped showing after that because we just couldn’t afford it, but I didn’t mind,” she says. “My heart was in the training and the process of it all—I really didn’t enjoy showing. I was competitive with myself but not with other riders.”

S

ince 2008, Life Between The Ears founder Kristine Dahms has posted stunning photos shot by riders in all corners of the world with one hand on the reins and the other on the shutter.

Dahms mines photos with the hashtag #lifebetweentheears, contacts the original poster of the image, then features the photo, complete with educational details about the place that’s portrayed.

Life Between The Ears photos appear on a LBTE Facebook page, an Instagram feed, a dedicated website (lifebetweentheears.com), a Twitter feed and a Pinterest page (all under @lifebetweentheears account names).

Dahms—who lives in Vashon, Washington, with her Welsh Cob,

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mini horse, pygmy goats, two dogs and two cats—rides dressage and takes quite a few photos herself on the picturesque Vashon-Maury Island.

Dahms has taken some of the Life Between The Ears images from cyberspace to print, creating three lines of greeting cards with selected photos from her social media pages. A portion of the proceeds from the card sales goes to the Equine Land Conservation Resource (elcr.org). Cards are available at lifebetweentheears.com/retail.

Rick Dahms Photo

SHARING LIFE BETWEEN THE EARS