FOUR - Heppner Gazette-Times, Heppner, Oregon Wednesday, June 30, 2004
Horse trainer and farrier brings love of
horses to Morrow County
A view from the hill
(Front Table Clockwise from Left): Pastor Duane Jones, Elmer Melligan and Floyd Raver
and (Back Table Clockwise from Left): Dan Picard, George Jeffries, Lowell Gribble and
Chuck Bailey enjoy a BBQ meal for Father’s Day.
At W illow C reek
Terrace, the month of June
brought som e delightful
visits and entertainment and
a completed feature enjoyed
by the residents.
T hanks to Bob
D eS pain, the gazebo is
painted to m atch the
residents’ building. Warm
w eather has allow ed
residents to enjoy the quiet
space with a view, a place
for reflection, and a place to
enjoy with neighbors and
visitors. The walkway to the
gazebo is now lined with
com m em orative bricks
purchased by some of the
donors to the building of
Willow Creek Terrace.
A highlight o f the
month’s entertainment was
an afternoon provided by
area musicians. Bob Stevens
on fiddle. Bill West on fiddle
and guitar, Maryland Allison
on piano and A1 Riney on
bucket livened up the
common area on June 9.
Residents were able
to enjoy a movie on June 6.
Enjoying a movie in one’s
own home with neighbors
adds to the pleasure. Throw
in some popcorn and punch,
and the event becomes even
more enjoyable. The fact
that the movie. Bear with
Me, was good was a bonus.
E n tertain in g and
instructive was the June 17
slide show about quilts,
narrated by a quilting expert
sponsored by the Oregon
Trail L ibrary D istrict.
Residents picked up some
useful tips for their quilting
project, which is progressing
well.
Just as Mother’s Day
was special for about half of
the Terrace residents, made
especially so with the Tea
and the p lan ts that the
Rebekah Lodge brought, the
other half had a special treat
for F a th e r’s Day. On
Saturday, June 19, the
N azarene C hurch men
invited the Terrace men to a
barbecue, held on the patio.
>i
where the plants and gazebo
added to the p leasan t
atmosphere.
Visitors are always
welcome at the Terrace, and
in June, two residents were
proud to w elcom e very
special visitors, their newest
great-grandchildren. Irene
Sw anson enjoyed Ola
Rietmann, daughter of Greg
and Shelly R ietm ann.
Kathleen Hisler entertained
Brook Hisler, son of Shawn
and Stephanie Hisler.
What the month of
July will bring to the hill is
yet to be discovered. The
residents do know, however,
that they will have a couple
of “chilly” episodes. Root
beer floats will accompany
the July 4 fireworks, and
July 12 will bring a special
“Christmas in July” bingo
day.
Residents and staff
at W illow Creek Terrace
invite the com m unity to
come share their view from
the hill and to w atch
Channel 3 for periodic views
o f th eir hom e and th eir
activities.
CALEDONIAN GAMES
Red Hat meeting
to be held
July 1 Ofh - 1 1 t h
There w ill be a
m eeting o f the Red Hat
R ow dies on W ednesday,
July 7 at 12 p.m., at John’s
Place.
The Red Hat Society
is a group of ladies 50 or
over who get together to
have fun, form friendships
and share wisdom. They can
be reco g n ized by th eir
purple outfits and red hats
and lots of laughter.
M eetings are the
first Wednesday of every
month at 12 p.m. at John’s
Place.
Please join us, and if
you need info rm atio n
contact Cam Wishart at 676-
9018.
City P ark in Athena
Friday night, July 9th
Dinner and Concert in the Park
by Raven
(a Celtic band from Portland)
Dinner $10 6-8 p.m.
Concert $10 8 p.m.
It's Scot to be A th e n a !
www.athenacaledoniangames.org
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FINAL SALES DATE: JULY 4, 2004
THIS IS YOUR LAST CHANCE TO PURCHASE
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BECAUSE OF LIMITED SPACE, PLANS FOR A SECOND
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BRICKS WILL BE INSTALLED BEFORE THE IONE
EDUCATION FOUNDATION ANNUAL FUND RAISING
DINNER AND AUCTION ON SEPTEMBER 25.
itr . ■
Russ Robbins on a paint owned by Bert Houweling of Heppner.
T h re e -a n d -a -h a lf
years ago, after the sudden
death of his 15-month-old
daughter, Samantha, Russ
Robbins decided to actively
pursue his passion- horses.
He now actively works as a
horse trainer and farrier and
has moved his business from
Umatilla County to Morrow
County.
Robbins has been
riding since he was four and
training horses since he was
17. Six years ago he added
horseshoeing to his skills
and
w ent to Texas
H orseshoeing School in
Scurry, TX , w here he
graduated at the top of his
class.
H is
train in g
ex p erien ce com es from
apprenticing under several
trainers and taking a little bit
from each of them.
Rather than the hard
break of bucking and spurs,
Robbins trains his horses
with a gentle, light method
that he believes creates a
more dependable horse. “A
horse has to have a good
foundation,” Robbins said,
“and a horse isn’t broke until
my kids can ride on it.” He
has experience in breaking
co lts, fin ish in g rein in g
horses and w orking cow
horses.
In training horses,
Robbins guarantees 30 days
of work with the horses, in
which most of the time they
are trained outside of an
arena. Robbins makes sure
the horse has “ranch miles”
so that its rider can take it
out on trails and in the field
w ithout the horse being
spooky. He believes horses
are “pets, but also tools” that
everyone should be able to
use, w h eth er it be for
p leasu re, show ing or
working cattle.
A n o th er
aspect
crucial in Robbins’ training
of horses is giving lessons to
the owner with the horse.
Before he sends a horse
home, he makes sure the
horse will listen to the owner
and that the two can work
together. He does not want
to send horses home that
only know how to respond
to him.
To Robbins, there is
a sense of accomplishment
when he knows he has made
a usable animal that can be
enjoyed.
In the farrier end of
his business, Robbins says
that in going to school, he
has learned w ays o f
horseshoeing that protect
and preserve the integrity of
a h o rs e ’s hooves. He
commented that he is fairly
adam ant
about
his
te ch n iq u es, w hich he
believes help protect the
horse and will leave a job if
the
ow ner
req u ests
something he believes will
harm the horse.
H aving
spent
summers in Morrow County
hunting since he was 12,
Robbins had always wanted
to move from the St. Helens
and S cappoose areas to
H eppner. He believed it
would be a great place to run
a business and raise his
family. R obbins’ and his
wife, Jessica, and their two
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children Bailey, two, and
Blake, three months, live in
the North Lexington area.
He
also
has
tw o
stepdaughters, Lacey, 12,
and Taylor, eight.
While the North Lex
area is working for him right
now, R obbins dream s o f
buying a “m in i-ra n c h ”
closer to Heppner, in which
he would be able to follow
his dream o f bein g an
instructor. While he loves
tra in in g and sh o ein g ,
Robbins also wants to teach
children and adults about
h o rses, h o rsem an sh ip ,
showing and training.
The aspect of having
a mini-ranch would allow
him to have enough room
that he can train and teach
with cows. He believes that
e sp e c ially in M orrow
County, a good horse is one
that can be enjoyed in riding,
but also knows how to work.
Robbins’ goal is to
keep his business local. He
truly w ants to serve the
people of Morrow County.
“I want to give something to
Morrow County that no one
may have given them yet,”
said Robbins.
With his “honesty is
the best policy” and “the
horse is yours, com e
w h en ev er you w a n t”
attitude, Robbins is striving
to bring quality horse care to
Morrow County. To contact
R obbins
for
m ore
information, call 989-0910.
Local students
inducted into the
National Honor
Roll
Thirteen students
from M orrow C ounty
qualified for induction
into the 2 0 03-2004
National Honor Roll.
From H ep p n er
High School: Tyler Boyer,
L ex in g to n ;
M echele
N iem an, H eppner; and
Cody Walton, Heppner.
From lone High
School: Jeani “M issy ”
Baker, lone; Tyler Brown,
lone; Barbara H olland,
lone; Kayla Larue, lone;
A lyssa M. R ietm an n ,
lo n e;
and
M egan
Tollefson, lone.
From R iv ersid e
H igh S chool: Landi
Busey,
B oardm an;
A ndrew
M ckee,
Boardman; Tanna Marie
continued page 5
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