The Big Yin - Billy Connolly

Here's the excitement you've been waiting for; Scottish Comedian/Musician/Actor/Presenter Billy Connolly was here along with an 8 member British film crew. The ITV film crew will spend 2 months, starting August, following the footsteps of Sir Francis Drake and Captain James Cook navigating the North West Arctic route. This is for a new television series (4 Part Series) called Billy Connolly:Journey to the Edge of the World.
Our guests and staff really enjoyed the short visit from the film crew. Although Billy took the opportunity for a little bit of R n' R, the rest of the crew were out on horseback.
We really hope that this series they're filming takes off, and hopefully we'll get to run into Billy and his great crew again. Enjoy your adventure guys!

Let's Fire up the Grill

BarBQ nights are always a good social event for everyone, especially for people like Mike Savage and Anna Schweers who are taking this opportunity to pick chef Kim's brain for recipes. And as I was on my way to the BarBQ I ran into Gladys and Dugald McPherson and they were more than happy to pose in front of our traditional Baan Thai.

Here's Christopher and Stephenie Garrett spending some quality time with our pups as they wait to go on their 4x4 adventure with Brian. Speaking of him, there he is with Chris Schwob. Chris and husband Robert, shown on horse back above taking lessons, stayed on for almost 2 weeks at Echo Valley. They got to meet many interesting people during their stay here and participated in many activities. However you'll have to wait for the next blog to find out who they got to meet during their stay...stay tuned kids!

Finding Balance in a Busy World

With all the distractions of the city life, jobs, money etc...it's sometimes difficult to find a balance. The Rue Sri Dat Ton morning stretches class is designed to help to bring balance and harmony. It helps to get your body moving and feeling more energized. It's even rumoured that these exercises help in youth preservation. Being happy, active and feeling balanced are all very important in helping you remain young. When guests come out to Echo Valley, we hope that they feel relaxed and this morning... I found some very relaxed guests in the Baan Thai during the morning exercise.

Just sit back and Enjoy the Ride!

We tend to get a good number of visits from travel agents and so when we see them smiling as Joadey Caldwell is(pictured on horse Commanche), then we know we are doing

something right for sure!

The ability to give a massage is a wonderful gift to share but only half as nice as recieving one, especially if you're used to giving them. Hills Health Ranch therapist Cheryl and Sylvia enjoy a relaxing foot treatment in our Cariboo Spa.


And here come the cowgirls! Patti (left) and mother daughter pair Laurena and Tayne.

So you thought you knew about everything there was to do here...did you know there were also scenic flight available? You didn't?! Here's the Johnsons from Germany posing in front of Norm's plane before experiencing the breathtaking view from above. Talk about flying with the birds, EVR style!
But let's not forget why most people come here, the horseback riding ofcourse. Here's a pic of Mary and Ton from Ottawa, Ontario (so close to home for me). Mary called out to me, if I don't have a picture of this, no one will ever believe me I was on a horse! (Hope your friends aren't too jelous Mary!)
And last but not least is hobby photographer Patti Metcalfe. We (myself, Caroline, Patti and Mihoko) went on the Rheinhardt Hike together and we really had so much fun. Nothing like a bit of country air, right guys!

10 Year Anniversary

And this year's winner for our most lovable and popular guest is.....(drum roll)...Paula Disney. She's been coming here year for year for 10 years and is practically part of our team here at Echo Valley. We really all had a great time with you!
But our new guests are just as important as our repeat guests and it seems like Europe has developed a taste for our ranch. I think my favorite thing about working at EVR is that opportunity of meeting so many diverse people from different countries. Speaking of which here is the (r-l.) Duncan Family, Mr. Cliff, the Horner Family men and our Falconer Brian. He's blowing a little whistle to signal for the bird to come in....and here he comes.

So after lunch it's time to get back on those horses and work off all of Chef Kim's delightful food.

Alright, 1..2..3..cheese! Thanks Horner Family for posing for that wonderful family portrait. Speaking of which, let me take a moment just to tell everyone that whenever I take your picture, please feel free to approach me if you'd like copies, it doesn't cost anything. I would love for people to take those memories home with them.

And here comes trouble, another red head like me! That's Anna with Bubbles and her brother Henry with Nin. And let me tell you, watching these 2 in their lessons was so much fun...but I'll get to that later.

On my way to the arena I saw John Duncan and his daughters Elizabeth and Madeleine playing cards on the lawn. And you can see our puppy Joy all cuddled up to them too.

So in the arena we've got Bud Kanke with the best and most original hat I've seen so far at the ranch. Now Bud is a fairly laid back guy and so Ernie kept falling asleep in the ring. But let me tell you, I went off to photograph some more guests and when I came back both rider and horse were fully awake and going at a much faster pace.

I love watching lessons with kids (in particular funny ones like Henry and Anna). The activities the wranglers have them do are to build confidence but sometimes...they just look silly. Looks like Henry's about to take flight with Nin!









So throughout the lesson these 2 siblings were just full of giggles and saying the funniest things to their horses.

In the same week we also had 2 avid mountain bikers Christine and Rob Barker who had been here the previous year with their bikes frozen to their car. With warmer temperatures now, they were out biking every day and Christine decided to take advantage of some barrel racing lessons given by wrangler Kayleigh (pictured on right).

And there was a great deal of improvement from one lesson to the next. She was trotting around the barrels with our only barrel-racing horse here Bubbles.




The Duncan Family are all round animal lovers. So if they're not playing in the grass with the puppies, they're out on horseback.













Looks like a Norman Rockwell picture with the family altogether around the tractor. Sometimes you'll see me coming up to ask to take you family picture. And then when you get home you'll find it smiling back at you in the mail. Just a nice little souvenir to remind you of your time at Echo Valley.

The Iveson's LOVE to ride!

Let me introduce you to the Iveson Family from England. We begin with young Alistair, who dreams one day of becoming a barrel racer. And who better to help him out than Kayleigh, our former barrel racer Wrangler.










And then there's Poppy, the youngest of the bunch. Poppy was very easy to photograph until...she started to trot. Look at the photo below and imagine trying to take a picture of this giggling little girl having the time of her life. It was very hard for me to keep my camera straight.
Oldest son Oliver became the star of his dad's home video and his brother Alistair's picture camera too. As you can see he is training to play a role in the next Indiana Jones film.
And even mom made it on a horse, although looking a little insecure before, she looks quite confident in the saddle now as we can see!
And then there's dad. As you saw before he's a hobby video and photographer.
So the family is normal right....? So what are they all doing on the lawn at Echo Valley with fishing rods amongst hundreds of grasshoppers...fishing for grasshoppers?!?! Oh..I see...there's Flint, he's giving them fly fishing lessons. So sorry, carry on then, Happy Fishing!

Carving Carrots and Cucumbers

Spa Manager Jaranya is always happy to share her talents with others...like vegetable carving. She had all the kids attention on Thai night as the kids got to help prepare the plate decorations. They carved leaves and flowers to make all the dishes look extra special!

And there's Angelli, trying to hide a smile as she sits on Nin who's sporting a lovely new pink flower tattoo painted on by Head Wrangler Dirk.