Update!

It's been a while since I have given an update that is becuase of 2 things...

1. I've not gotten a chance to get a whole lot done around the farm the past week or so.


2. I've been busy!

So, panels will hopefully be painted tomorrow by my farm helper (husband). I've been trying to ride and shoot more to pratice for my horse show on Saturday in Colfax, NC.

Let me explain... I'm involved in the Cowboy Mounted Shooting Association (CMSA). I'm a member of Double L Bar Shooters (www.doublelbarshooters.com) which is our local group of shooters in the CMSA. Check out the CMSA website for more info.... www.CowboyMountedShooting.com

Basically we have all of the equipment at the farm to pratice shooting! We have the PVC posts which hold the balloons and have an air hose that goes to the arena to blow up the balloons. It's tons of fun and very convenient for us to pratice at the farm rather than having to trailer our horses elsewhere.

In other news... we officially will have our first boarders as of October 1st!! They are actually current boarders who we've known for quite a while and have had their horses on the farm for a few years now.

I anticipate having 1 stall available within the next week, however there are a few housekeeping items that I'd like to get accomplished before we really begin advertising for boarders. Fences need to be checked, there are a few boards that need replacing and other odd tasks that need to be accomplished.

Next post... our plans for a new run in/corral!!

My New Favorite Quote:

"Opportunity is missed by most people because it is dressed in overalls and hard work" - Thomas Edison

Work, Work, Work!

Ok, so I greatly underestimated the time it takes to paint panels!! I got 3 and 1/2 done. In about 3 1/2 hours. I have 13 total to do, so 9 1/2 more to go! I have plans to work on this again on Sunday. It's a boring (and it was hot, so sweaty too!) job, but MAN does it make a difference!

Once I complete the painting with the roller, I still have to brush the corner spots that the roller couldn't get. I'm using oil based hunter green paint... which I'm still finding on my legs and arms!

Progress is being made and it gives me such a feeling of accomplishment!

Weekend Plans

... Include the following:

• Painting panels (already have all of the supplies... woo hoo!)


• Checking the fence lines.


• Dragging the arena and setting a CMSA pattern so I can...


• Ride my horse and shoot!


• Other misc. yard work... like mowing grass, weeding, trimming hedges, and picking up limbs.

Our First Post!

Hey Yall! Welcome to the Bryley Stables blog!

To get started, I'll give you a brief overview of who we are and what we do. My name is Melissa and I own a small, private horse boarding facility in eastern North Carolina. I've been involved with horses for 18 years or so and have competed in barrel racing and currently compete in Cowboy Mounted Shooting. I have decided to take on boarders recently and have plans to expand our facility as it grows. We currently have a 6 stall barn with 10 x 14 stalls on 38 acres. We also have a concrete wash pit, round pen, and outdoor riding arena. We will be adding a run in (with corral) within the next 3-5 months (depending on weather!).

So I decided to begin blogging about this to track our growth, progress, hurdles and accomplishments. I will be updating the blog periodically as work gets going around the farm.

This past long weekend (Happy Belated Labor Day!), we repaired the fence in several places. One was damaged from hurricane Irene where a tree fell over it, but luckily the repairs were minor and didn't take long at all! We also moved about 3 trees that had been cut into logs from the back acres to the barn. This took quite a while as we (my father and I) could only load 2-3 logs on the tractor at a time due to their size/weight. We also bought paint to spruce up a few faded panels that we currently use as the gates for the riding arena and barn.

In business news, I have come up with a fee schedule. I'm also working on the barn rules, board agreement and waiver that each rider/boarder will need to sign.

I have to say that I'm excited about the fact that last week, this was an idea and we are already moving forward with great strides to make our little boarding facility a reality!

Happy Trails!