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Pre 2022 material from the old website

Real war horse, Reckless, honored with statue at Marine museum in Quantico

By Kay Coyte Published July 22, 2013 Washington Post This weekend marks the 60th anniversary of the Korean War Armistice, the day an agreement was signed to end the fighting in the peninsula now divided into North and South Korea. On Saturday, men and women who fought in Korea will be honored in Washington. But the day before, another kind of leatherneck (a nickname for a Marine) will be honored: a little red horse. Her name was Sergeant Reckless, and the Marines “drafted” her to pack ammunition to the battlefield and carry the wounded back to safety. But here’s the thing: She did it on her own. She kept climbing those jagged hills even after she was wounded. The soldiers came to love her so much that they brought her home from Korea after the war to live at Camp Pendleton in California. On Friday, “Operation Reckless” at the National Museum of the Marine Corps in Quantico will feature the unveiling of a life-size statue of Sergeant Reckless, a real war horse. “She was one of them, and that’s why they’re honoring her,” said Robin Hutton, of Ventura, California, who has written a book on the mare to be published this year. “She wasn’t a horse; she was a Marine.” You might think that Sergeant Reckless was the inspiration for last year’s movie “War Horse.” But that was based on a children’s fiction book about an English farm horse on the front lines of World War I. The story of Sergeant Reckless is just as epic, and all true. Lieutenant Colonel […]

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Full Moon Ride in Vedauwoo

It was a friends big 60th and we decided to head to one of my favorite riding places just over the border in Wyoming, Vedauwoo. Known to the Arapaho Indians as “Land of the Earthborn Spirit, it is a place that moves me. Rock formations, wildflowers, antelope, an occasional moose and usually wild weather make this primitive camping experience forever a place of wonder for me. This special weekend marked a milestone for my friend Jane, and just happened to also be when the closest and largest full moon of the year would present itself in 2013 (the next closest occurance will be in August, 2014). My BFF Jane is one of my most fun friends. She has ridden and completed the Tevis Endurance Race twice or maybe three times, I have stopped counting. After a full days ride we rested up, sat around sharing stories and opening birthday presents, while enjoying our camp dinner. The evening sky darkened and the moon rose in the east, then Jane blurted out, “let’s go for a ride a full moon ride”! Well I for one had never rode at night and was a bit hesitant and honestly nervous, but  she assured me and the other two riders thinking about going that the horses would be just fine! What the heck, I thought to myself, I only live once and  Doc Murray was in camp. We even had a veterinarian joining the night ride who was afraid of the dark (go figure) and a first timer like myself, so the

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Staunton State Park Opens in Jeffco

From high grassy meadows at 8,100 feet to soaring granite cliffs over 10,000 feet, Staunton State Park’s varied geology, soils, water features, and climate support rare and unexpected plant communities and a rich diversity of wildlife and provide a myriad of outdoor recreation opportunities including  over 15 miles of trails for horseback riding. Colorado’s newest state park opened to the public on May 18, 2013. The park is located approximately 40 miles southwest of downtown Denver, north of US Highway 285 and about six miles west of Conifer. The Park sits divided between Park and Jefferson counties, in Pine, Colorado. For more information visit the Staunton State Park website.

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