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The Morningstar Learning Center benefited from the successful La Cense Open House that was held on August 15 at the Big Sky Town Center in conjunction with La Cense Montana’s program to showcase their famous Quarter Horses. During the evening, dozens of interested people from the Big Sky community turned out to see the high quality horses that are trained at the ranch near Dillon. A great benefit of the evening activity was the fact that proceeds from sales at the businesses benefited the Morning Star program that is so important in this community.
Morningstar’s vision is to teach our youngest children at a grassroots level about renewable energy, low impact environmental construction, conservation, recycling and other sustainable living practices. In this way, Morningstar will help create an ew generation of environmental stewards to whom conservation and preservation of our Earth will be as second nature as wearing seatbelts has become to babyboomers, while providing the need for early education childcare services.
After the silent auction for the golf package donated by Spanish Peaks for the La Cense event fundraiser for Morningstar, Jimmy Holmes was announced as the winner.
The open house also provided a way to showcase the expanding Town Center where local businesses provided food and drink during the three-hour event.
The LaCense program is the first of many events planned to highlight projects and the businesses in the growing Town Center. A Labor Community Appreciation concert and event is planned for August 31 from 12 to 4 pm at Fire Pit Park. The event will feature music by the band Steam Powered Airplane. Local businesses will have specials and raffle prizes will be drawn.
During the program on August 15, student riders from the La Cense horsemanship program demonstrated the methods they us to develop gentle, well-trained quarter horsesfor recreational riders. The horses are selected from ranches in the West because of their strength, temperament and outstanding bloodlines.
La Cense spokesmen said the contacts established during the program resulted in a number of Big Sky residents showing a serious interest in purchasing the six horses that were present.
Jeff Griffith of Gallatin Gateway directs the horsemanship program at La Cense. The four students from France enrolled in the program spent a year in their native country studying the La Cense horsemanship method and are now in the process of continuing with their studies for anther year at the Beaverhead County ranch.
Horses come to the ranch as “un-touched” two-year olds that have had minimal contact with humans.
By starting them properly at a young age, they never form bad habits that would be difficult to correct later. Following preliminary handling they are turned outon the 88,000 ranch for a year before they brought for extensive training. The training includes work in the arena and on trails so they meet numerous benchmarks for skill and behavior that includes easy loading, crossing water and bridges, and remaining calm during shoeing, bathing, clipping and grooming.
At the working cattle ranch with several thousand head of Black Angus cattle, the horses are given the opportunity to mature in a rich and varied environment that includes varied terrain and many real-life ranch experiences.
La Cense Montana serves as an educational partner with the American Quarter Horse Association and has produced the AQHA Fundamentals of Horsemanship Steps 1 and 2 series of training manualsand DVDs. The ranch also partners with the University of Montana– Dillon to offer the nation’s first bachelor’s program in natural horsemanship.
When the LaCense horses are offered for sale as four-year-olds, they are sensitive, responsive and solid and ready for a meaningful partnership with their new owners who are interested in following the popular western lifestyle.
