Great Falls, MT
406.453.4057       
mtsporthorses@live.com
NEWS
February 2010
Some sad news this month, I will let Elizabeth tell you in her own heartfelt words...
As some of you may already know, our family had a great loss last night. Cliff had a swollen stomach
and was having trouble breathing yesterday evening. We took him into Great Falls after talking to a
vet who said he may have a twisted gut, which is exactly what he had and is very common with Great
Danes. Dr. Newman told me he would have to be put down or have surgery. He also said 50% die on
the operating table. I took my chances and went ahead and had the surgery. After an hour of waiting
and worrying, Dr. Newman came in and said "I'm sorry..." I don't remember what was said after that.
Cliff was one of the best friends I could ever ask for. He always did everything I ever asked of him.
Just on Monday, Mom and I took him into church for grades K-2 demonstrating obedience. Cliff did
a 2 minute sit, down, and stand stay. All with me leaving the room, he never moved a foot. Along with
many tricks such as giving five, jumping, and his time favorite, crawling. Cliff would literally crawl across
our living room floor as if trying not to be seen sneaking into my room, where he slept every night. I
attached some pictures of the last few years. Several are from 4H shows we entered in. Cliff placed
3rd or higher in every single class(county and state). He also became very popular at my horse shows
as the "big jumping dog". In the summer, Cliff would follow me and my horses for hours on end. And
even to the end of his life (Cliff was 5 yrs 3 mo old) at the vets office, he still wagged his tale when i
said his name. I loved Cliff so very much, but I think he somehow always managed to love me more.
Which is hard to comprehend. In my personal opinion, I think Cliff's loyalty and love puts Old Yellow
to shame . But thats just me. Sorry this is so long about one dog, but that one dog meant everything
to me and i know many of you were very fond of our darling, baby Clifford as well.

Love you all, Elizabeth











January 2010
Well, here is the only New Year's resolution I'm willing to admit to! I will try very hard to keep these
pages current! I think I feel like a lot of people in that I am more glad to see 2009 over than I am about
the beginning of 2010. It seems like a lot of us had a disjointed year with our riding with a lot of 'life
interruptions.' Some things were happy, exciting and important in our lives & other things just got in
the way. Never mind, onward we go with a lot of plans and goals for the coming year.

Both Katie and Titan and Eliz and Ranger have really come together as partners and this year holds
a lot of exciting possibilities. Deirdre and Dulce are coming along well and are ready to get more
experience 'down the centerline.' We have some new partnerships in Harley and Eliz,  Red and Kava,
Roxanne  and Shari, and Tyra and Meranie. Lovely, talented horses, all of them and the wonderful
journey will begin! Some new riders at the barn, MJ  and her saint of a mare called Lovely (and she is!)
and Jocelyn who has been helping with the horses and the barn the last couple of months and hopes
to bring her horse here from Washington in a month or so. Sarah and Deuce are here for the winter
and though our disciplines are quite different, Deuce seems to be pretty happy living at MSH.  Fran
and Elvin continue to be one of the hardest working pairs and are a great example of hard work paying
off! Elizabeth and Pipsy and Jacqueline and Chip will soon be enjoying an indoor arena at home and
hopefully mom Sally will find more time for her own riding this year. Our other busy mom Shelby will
be helping me out riding Meranie's new mare Tyra as well as keeping up with their horses at home.
And, speaking of moms, we will have two new ones this year because both Abbe and Shari are
expecting babies this spring!

I am really happy with my horses and their journey back to fitness starts tomorrow, after their
Christmas vacation. Mya, having spent most of her life as a delinquent seems to have decided to
become a rock star so of course I am ecstatic about her decision to change her life style. Sila, who will
be 18 this year seems to get better and happier with her work all the time so I hope I can follow her
lead and age like a fine wine instead of an old crock. Ideal just puts a smile on my face everyday, what
can be better than that!

Happy New Year Everyone, happy riding and I hope your horses bring you as much joy and
satisfaction as they do for me :-)

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Montana Sport Horses uses  PROGRESSIVE NUTRITION FEEDS. Having researched several new feed
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Locally, Progressive feeds can be purchased at Western Ranch Supply and you can speak to Larry Kelly at the
store if you have questions.
Red Rover , ISH
Kava's new partner
Tyra's Secret, TB
Meranie's new partner