It is the middle of May and sparkling snow still decorates the rocky tops of Sierras surrounding the "biggest little city in the world," Reno, Nevada.
Tall, colorfully illuminated casinos and hotels, the Reno lights were a welcoming sight as we drove into town late Wednesday night excited as ever, not about the usual Reno scene, gambling and shows, but the 2009 Parelli Celebration held in the Reno livestock center.
I was one of the few lucky ones chosen to volunteer at the event and needles to say, I was ecstatic.
Thursday morning we were at the event arena at 7:50 AM. After a short orientation, we spent most of the day setting up the retail area for the weekend. Teamwork seemed effortless with like minded people, who all had such a positive and progressive attitude. It was great to work along with the Parelli celebration team. People who are nothing less but celebrities for us. And on the brakes we had the opportunity to watch some of them play with their horses in the arena.
The chosen "savvy spotlighters" had also arrived and getting ready for Friday's show. Heaps of savvy filled the arena as everyone was playing various versions of the seven games with big smiles on their faces (except for the occasional "shwiegermutter" looks) having so much fun and doing the most amazing things with their horses. Amongst them Cici Bowers and her horse Magic from the Bay area savvy players group.
My job for the weekend was to answer questions on the floor and to help people sign up for Share Parelli. And oh boy was it busy! I bet most of the nearly 2000 people that attended wanted to sign up. I thoroughly enjoyed meeting so many new people who all share the same great passion, as well as reuniting with friends we have made at various other Parelli events in the past. This is truly a community where everyone speaks the same language and what is best, everyone is smiling, happy and united no matter what level of savvy they are at. I am so honored to be part of it.
It was also interesting to be on the "other side of the curtain" and see what happens behind the scene.
At the end of each day Alain Martignier, the celebration manager asked what were the highlights of the show. There were so many to pick from, but for me, just one of the many a hug from Walter Zettl.
Linda and Remmer did beautifully under Walter's coaching. It was remarkable to see how Linda always put the relationship before the task, and how Remmer seemingly enjoyed the lesson as much as Linda did.
Kalley Krickeberg with the Atwood ranch yearlings was phenomenal!!!
Lauren Barwick, a gold medalist at the China 2008 special Olympics performed her winning program and after ending her story with a thank you to the Parellis... Wow! Not a dry eye in the audience.
And of course it is always so refreshing and inspirational to observe and listen to Pat. It was most fascinating to see how much progress he made in such a short amount of time with the rescue horse donated by the United states humane Society.
The savvy spotlights on Friday were fantastic! It was so great to see ordinary people, like us doing such amazing things with their horses. There was an extraordinary aura of support and understanding in the audience even when horses fell right brain and things didn't go according to plan. This is definitely not something very often seen in the normal competition world.
Amazing, amazing weekend!
We were still in high spirits on Monday as we left the snow caped mountains behind and headed home. Car packed with new Parelli tools, singing along with Virpi on the guitar. All excited to see our own horses again.
Lauren Barwick and Maile
Kalley Krickeberg with yearlings from Atwood ranch.
Pat playing with the rescue horse
Pat and Walter Zettl.
Linda Parelli and Remmer getting ready for a private lesson with Walter.
As nearly 2000 people watch, pat sets the rescue horse up for success, then takes cautious steps to ensure she is left brain and calm before getting on and riding around. This is just minutes after she blew up into a bucking fury. But Pat's timing was perfect. His ability to read the horse is so profound. I wish I could just "right click" on his brain, copy all the knowledge and paste it into mine.
