Hello again...

It seems I keep doing the same thing. Big update and then nothing for several weeks. Talk about no motivation! Not that I'm not on my computer each day. I just don't have much to say I guess.
I've been crazy busy here recently. I started Sealy back in work on some of our warmer days. She was pleasant and agreeable. Then BAM, she trips and goes down on her nose. I didn't see it coming. Never had a chance to even TRY to stay on. We were attempting to make a new sale video. Figures. Anyway, the fall itself didn't look bad (yes...it was caught on tape) but the the landing.....oh how I had forgotten that both my horse's head and the ground are much harder as one grows older. I'm fairly sure nothing was broken but I had some good bruising to my ribs and my breast bone.

Let's see....Dh and FIL made a trip down to SC to build some run-in sheds and paddocks on the property down there. We are hoping to send several racehorses down there with my in-laws for a few months for a lay up. They were gone a little over a week. Once they came home....FIL and MIL took off to southern VA for a Penning. Home for 2 days and DH and FIL went back down to SC. I see a pattern here....seems I'm not getting any of that warm weather travel.....hahaha

The guys should be home late tonight. Us girls here will just worry about our men getting home safe in the midst of this nasty storm blowing through.

I had a buyer come and try Sealy last weekend. That didn't work out real well. Sealy was in a mood and decided to unseat the rider. Everyone was ok....except of course my nerves. I was mortified that my horse was so bad. I think she's trying to tell me something.

Hannah is getting so big! She has her own wheelbarrow now. She won't let anyone pass a stall that has a pile of poo in it without picking it up. Good girl!

My bestest friend Carie and her hubby Marty had a little girl on Oct. 29. Her name is Kadence and she's perfect.

Pics to come....but dinner calls!

Oy Vey

I can't seem to keep this blog updated regularly. What's up with that? Hmmm....how about more pictures? Mom came to visit for a few days so we decided to go get some professional pics done. It took two tries on different days to get a happy baby in the pictures...

A new picture of Tipping from today. It has been six months since her last race. I think she likes her new job.

Finally, some sad news. My old racehorse "Knight's Agenda" aka Toby has passed away. He was only 10 years old and living the life of Riley with a Mom andher daughter in VA. He fell in the pasture and broke his pelvis....leading to being put down. I'll always think of him with a smile....he was a very special horse.

New pics

I decided it was probably time for some new pictures of Hannah. Not much else to say really. Just enjoy her cuteness please!

Lots to say...

Yikes, here comes a big update folks.
First I wanted to share a pic of Tipping jumping cross country at the mini trial from a few weeks back. I LOVE this picture! She's such a cool mare.

Too bad I haven't ridden her in a week and a half! Things have been crazy busy here and I have not had any extra time at all. It really kind of blows because I had just started working Sealy again and now we are at a stand still. *sigh*

Last week Hannah and I ventured up to Presque Isle twice for races. Wednesday we watched our two year old run his first race in Maiden Special Weight (allowance). He ran second and made us all very proud.






Then we went back on Saturday to watch the other two year old in his second start...in a 100k stakes race. He ran a solid 4th only getting beat for 2nd by a total of a length. It was very exciting!

All our horses came home from Presque Isle on Saturday night. The meet up there ended and it was time to ship everybody here. Make that 16 head in the barn....ekkk. Sunday morning Big Lou and Sharon headed to KY to the Fall Yearling sale at Keeneland. Our owner wanted to buy a couple of babies because prices were down. This meant we could possibly purchase something REALLY nice at a much lesser cost than what they would normally sell for. They returned home Monday afternoon with news that we'd have two long yearlings the next afternoon.

Tuesday evening they arrived. A gorgeous, thick bay filly and a very flashy chestnut colt. We are in the process of getting to know them and discussing what they will be named. Both are beautiful and very well taken care of. Neither looks their age though. I'd like to know when people started growing them so big???

Hannah is doing well. She is growing so fast! The things she learns are just amazing.





Lou was in the wash rack the other night and handed Hannah two feed buckets. He asked her to take them to the feed room. She picked up on in each hand and walked them to the other side of the barn and set them down in the feed room. Then she came back to him to help again. This time he had a feed scoop that we use in the beet pulp barrel. She took it to the correct barrel and started scooping it out and dropping some into each horse's feed bucket. She loves to help and take things to people. The only problem I've found with this so far is that so always take the TV remote to Lou! He gets a real kick out of it!!
Tonight we were in the living room playing fetch with Jade. Hannah walked over to the window in the dining room and was pointing at the horses. Then she came out to me and was standing right in front of me (I was on the floor). She patted her hands together and then started to scream. She cried like someone hit her. Lou and I were stunned and had no clue what was going on. She kept grabbing at her right hand and crying. Turns out she got stung by a bee. We didn't figure it out until a few minutes later when it went buzzing up to the light. Poor thing! Her palm swelled instantly and I had visions of allergic reactions (I'm allergic). We put some ice on it right away and then some of my Mom's "magic cream." She seems to be okay now but I know it is sore. I thought we'd made it through the summer safely without a bee sting....and here she gets one in the house.

Last bit of new news.
We had two horses get hurt Tuesday night while turned out in their pastures. One of our neighbors can't seem to keep her own horses in her own fences. Not that she's done much to fix those fences.....anyway her horses seemed to have had a party down in our yard overnight. One of the horses that got hurt because of this party is a racehorses who was going to get back into training in the next few days. He's been on a break all summer without incident. Well tuesday night he got caught up in our fence and cut his hock right down to the bone. The wound was such a mess that it could not be sewn. So this means 4-6 months of wound care and wrapping. He will not be able to go back into training for at least that amount of time. That is....if there are no injuries to the joint or joint capsule. We won't know that for another week or so when we do x-rays. If that is the case the horse will never run again. This is the injury right after I cleaned it up:

Please cross your fingers that this heals up well. This horse was a 20k claim for our owner and he has only run one time for us. It would be a shame to have to retire him permanently.

Due to the same neighbor and her horses, a second horse was injured that night. This one was in a completely different turn out area. He is my MIL's foxhunter and a super cool horse. His injury is less severe than the first horse but still nasty. He looks like someone took a filet knife to his back shin.

This pic is before I cleaned him up and it's a bit dark but you can get the jist without all the gorry details. He now has two rows of stitches in hopes of reattaching the 5 inch flap of skin that was hanging off. The vet was not real sure that it would work because these types of wounds tend to have to also heal open....meaning that flap usually dies off.
Either way he should be fine once it heals. But again...lots of shots of antibiotics and pain killers for both horses. Lots of wrapping and care too. I think we have all just about had enough of our neighbors. Why do people even own horses that can't take care of them properly? Why do WE have to be the ones that suffer for it? It just makes no sense! After we told this woman what happened she said how sorry she was and that she'd pay our bills....but not now cuz she has no money. Hmmmm....I won't hold my breath.

Sooooo....I thought I was supposed to have my appointment with the hand specialist today. I had the dates wrong and actually do not go until the 8th. I'm glad I've had a little break form galloping the last few days (lots of rain and cold) because my hands and wrists have been feeling a little better. I imagine once I get back to riding more though....it will return. I'm not really looking forward to the doctor visit because I think everyone and their family have told me how much cortizone hurts but on the other side....I'd like to be feeling better....yesterday thanks.
Ahhh well....I better end this novel soon....night all!

My Pretty Pony

Here are some shots of Tipping and I in our dressage test from last sunday. Thanks to Kim for taking them!
I love this mare! She's wicked cool to ride. Just needs some confidence jumping. We have a hunter pace this Sunday so we'll get some more practice!

Ouch

I've been having a bit of pain in my hands and wrists for a few months now. It has gotten worse in the last 3 weeks though. Pains that shoot up to my elbows, weakness with grip, a bit uncoordinated....MIL says this is carpal Tunnel. Oh joy! SO I've done a bit of reading on it and decided to start wearing braces at night and my magnet wrap during the day. I think I'm going to have to go to braces during the day as well though. I didn't really want to because it definitely limits the things I can do physically.

In other news I had a horse show yesterday. I took Tipping to South farm for an unrecognized horse trial. It was the first one for her and I think she did well. Her dressage score was really good for a first time. She scored a 33 and was sitting 3rd. Three refusals in stadium eliminated us from being scored. Bummer! The course was maxed and very colorful. She gave me a big, "not today Mom" and that was that. We did complete our cross country course though. One refusal at the second fence on course and then she attacked the rest of the jumps. I think it was definitely a good learning experience.

Hannah has yet to start talking to us. She does let us know in her ways what she wants and doesn't want. She makes me laugh constantly. I just love being a Mom....maybe I will retract that statement at some point but for now it's pretty cool.

My friend Laura was supposed to be induced today. I've been wondering how she's doing and if that baby has arrived yet. Hopefully all is well!

We've had a few races recently. My favorite horse in the barn, For Pete's Sake won his first race last week. We had a couple of seconds and thirds as well.

I guess that's it!

Winna Winna Chicken Dinna!

John's Burger won a starter allowance race last night! He's the same horse who ran second in a stakes race on West Virginia Derby Day. Very exciting race! He sat back in 5th most of the race and let the few ahead of him duel it out. Then turning for home he made his move. Switched leads and shot off to the front! He won by 1 1/2 lengths. Ahhhh....so nice! Not only that, he's a pretty cool horse to be around which makes it all a bit more sweet.

Thanks Dad.

Today we ventured out to try our hand at a Hunter Pace. While I've been on several....some have gone really well and some really bad.....this was a first for Tipping. She is very green and this was our second time riding off the farm. Sharon came with her gelding, Rusty who is a paint/TB cross. Telese also came with her -fresh of the track - gelding Jack. This was also his first time. The weather was promising rain and the temps dropped to 65 with dark clouds and lots of wind. We were hoping to be done before the skies opened up on us!
So off we went onto a very muddy course. We started out in the ring and hopped over a couple of cross rails that were numbered at the beginning (in our division you can jump whatever jumps you feel like but do not have to jump anything if you don't want to). Off around the field and through a water complex....then down an electric line trail to the woods. MUD, MUD, MUD everywhere! This was something Tipping didn't like. She's not really into unstable footing so she had to get over it pretty quickly today. We had a rather steep and slippery hill to go down, then drop into a shin high muddy creek and back up a slippery incline. She didn't want to go at first but eventually decided it was better to go than stay there alone. We jumped several small coops and logs along the way. She was absolutely wonderful. We did a lot of walking due to the footing and figured we didn't place well on time since there were about 13 other teams.
Turns out we were wrong. We won!
We were about a minute off the optimum time and had no clue about it! I have to think that Dad had something to do with it. He always joked that I was going to school to learn how to shovel shit....and I guess that's kinda what I do.....but I also know he loved the fact that I loved what I did. I think had we not had such a fun day today I would have been dwelling on the fact that I miss him so much and might have blamed my mood on a bad ride.
For anyone who is reading and who does not know what I'm talking about....today marks 2 years since my Dad passed away. I miss him so much and think about him nearly everyday.
So thanks Dad for allowing me to have so much fun on "your" day. I guess it doesn't really surprise me though, you always put everyone else first. Love you forever...

Sweet smell of success!

Lou, Hannah and I drove up to Presque Isle yesterday to watch one of our horses run. He's a two year old we partly own and was making his very first start. The trip was well worth it. After months of training and getting ready, Midnight Medic won his Maiden Allowance race by 5 lengths! He broke sharp, went to the lead and never looked back. This was the first time that Hannah got to be in a win picture as well. Very exciting!

This weekend (sunday) I'll be taking Tipping to a hunter pace. This pace will give me an idea of how she'll be to ride cross country. I've already sent in my entry for a Mini Trial at South Farm on the 13th so I'm hoping she's a good girl!

Partly sunny skies with lots of thunder?

We are having a pretty loud thunderstorm. Big booms, power went out for a few minutes. Some lightening....and no rain. Hmmmm the sun is shining too. Very odd. Hannah and I went to lunch at Pizza Hut with Gammy. They have some really yummy pastas and so crazy pizzas! Then off to Walmart, Tractor Supply and Giant Eagle. Gammy walked Hannah Around Walmart instead of me pushing her in the cart. She had several people giggling at her silliness. She thought it was pretty cool to walk around the store like a big girl.

Last night during bathtime Hannah showed me that not only does she know where to find her: Toes, feet, eyes, ears, nose, mouth and bellybutton.....but she also knows her teeth, tongue, arms, knees and her butt.....the butt being the funniest thing she could possibly point out!

Back in the show ring!

After about 10 years I stepped back into the hunter ring this past weekend. I had a goal of taking Tipping to her first show to see how she'd handle the idea of all of it. I started her retraining a little over a month ago but did have some breaks due to mega amounts of rain. It's mostly been flatwork, getting ready for some dressage shows this fall. Of course I couldn't help myself though and started messing around with some ground poles and small cross rails last week. She was soooo good that I convinced myself we need to enter in some jumping classes as well. So Friday night I was in the barn until midnight braiding Tip's mane and making her spotless and shiny, packing up the trailer and getting all my clothes in order. Up bright and early at 5:30am....feed the racehorses and bring in the riding horses and then off we went. I was in the second division so I knew I had to be there early enough to let her see everything that was going on. The show started at 8:30am. Of course as it happened my class didn't run until 11:30......ugh, could have slept in a little bit longer than that. It was mega hot but Miss Tipping was an absolute saint. I couldn't be more happy with her behavior. We had never cantered a jump, let alone done a course. So I bit the bullet and she completely cruised around the ring! Happy dance, happy dance! I HAD FUN!! Yeah they were baby jumps but it was a proud moment for sure! We ended up with a 4th and 5th in the jumping classes and a 5Th and 1st in our flat classes. So the plan is to try a hunter pace on the 30th at the same farm. Maybe we will pop over a few cross country jumps as well.

Hannah is all better now form her bout with Roseola. Poor baby had a rough week. Lou and I are still hassled by a nagging cough but for the most part we are on the mend.

Jade is learning to be a good puppy. She comes when called now and keeps tabs on where I am when we are working outside. Tonight she was allowed to stay out of her crate when we went to dinner at Lou's Aunt's house. She's trustworthy with the whole potty thing now too. She still does silly puppy things (like barking madly at the horses or getting up on Lou's chair) but she seems to be getting better each day.

Sealy is still hanging out in the pasture. Theresa attempted to ride her for a new sale video but the ground was so wet she wasn't able to do a whole lot of jumping. Plus the air fern wasn't real fit so she got pooped out pretty quickly. Someday she'll find her soul-mate and will have a new home. I just don't have the time or energy to devote to her.

I can't remember if I posted about the tall, skinny gelding I am boarding for a friend or not. I bought him cheap and sold him to a friend (who will train him and sell him as a show horse) a while ago. He was a bag of bones when he came here a month ago. It has been a slow process getting him fattened up. Much slower in fact than I had ever expected. He was just THAT skinny, poor guy. Anyway, he's been named "Amos" and will head to GA soon so he can start his new career.

Hmmmmm....I think that's everything for now. Had a few good races and a few not-so-good races since my last post. It's been super hot and humid here which makes training uncomfortable. I'd like to see the milder temps come back that we had for the better part of the summer. I can totally deal with that! Walking outside and sweating just standing there just isn't my idea of fun!

It's "snot" all that fun

Been sick since monday....the usual starting with a sore throat, then congestion and cough. General feeling like you've been hit by a train. The bad germies originally started with MIL and then Hannah for the runny nose, then me and now hubby has it. Yay....who wants the hot potato next? I started antibiotic the other day because 9 times out of 10 I end up with a sinus infection that lasts for two weeks.
Last night I took Hannah to the ER at Akron Childrens. Her temp was 104.5 and she was miserable. Apparently the doctor on call for my regular pediatrian coulnd't be bothered with helping me out much. Maybe I was disturbing her dinner but she didn't feel Hannah really needed to be seen. WTF????? Really? I asked her for the number for the ER and her reply was, "Well I don't carry around a phone book!" What a B*tch. I mean....are all on call Doc really that ticked off that they have to be on call? SHe was useless....and I'm planning on telling Hannah's regular doctor about it.
Anyway, Akron was really nice. We were there for two hours. They gave her Tylenol (which I'd given her and didn't work) and then monitored her temp. Poor baby was glued to my shoulder most of the time. We left with a temp of 102 and instructions to alternate the Tylenol with Motrin and go see her regular Doc this morning. They open at 9am and I'm sure will be just delighted to have to squeeze us in last minute on a friday morning....
I'm wondering why people get into this field if they don't like to see patients? Helping children stay healthy is what it is about right?

Aside from that, I've had sleepless nights last night and the night before. Up till 3am and then up every hour. Not good when you are sick. I'm hoping for a good nap today.
Well, I guess I should go get ready in case they can fit Hannah in first thing....it's a 40 minute drive....stay healthy everyone!

Anyone else want a hug?

Hannah was in a lovey mood yesterday and everyone, including Tipping got hugs and kisses.....


In other news....I've acquired a rather tall thoroughbred gelding. I purchased him last saturday and resold him to a friend.....but he's staying here for a few weeks for some TLC. Poor guy was not getting any feed and with his size he needed it badly. So far he's been nothing short of mannerly and sweet. His racing name is "Classic Fun" but we have yet to think of a suitable barn name. Hopefully I can fatten him up a bit and send him on his way to his new home in GA.

Catching up

A lot has been going on here. We've been so busy that by the time I plan on updating I decide to take that nap with Hannah instead. Haha! Anyway, she's sleeping now so I thought I'd do a little catching up. We've had several races up at Presque Isle recently. One thing or another has gone wrong and we've had some pretty dismal attempts up there. Had a third here at MNR the other night with Activator. The winner won by 15 or so and no one was going to catch him. This week we have Juju and Speedy running up at PI. I have some video of me working Speedy up our hill but have not figured out the software for the new camera enough to convert the files to mpegs. Once I get it all figured out I'll share it though!
Saturday is a BIG day. First one of my good friends is getting married. Leann was one of my bridesmaids and I can't wait to see her on her big day. Second it is West Virginia Derby Day and of course....we are entering a horse for a 125k stake race that day. Kentucky Derby winner "Mine That Bird" is running on the WV Derby and arrived down at Mountaineer a few nights ago. He's been all the buzz around the track. The horse we are running is John's Burger. Hopefully he'll get a piece of the winnings. That sure would be nice!
My In-laws have been traveling back and forth up to PI along with hubby taking horses back and forth for races and workouts. It's been a bit hectic around here.
Hannah is doing great. She loves her trips to the barn twice a day and definitely keeps me on my toes.
Jade has finally been let off her leash for some test runs back and forth to the barn. Other than being distracted by birds or bugs she's been listening really well (hear me knocking on wood).
Let's see....oh I have a new project horse! I bought him and resold him in the same day. His name is "Classic Fun" and we are having a hard time figuring out a clever barn name for him. He's 4 years old and nearly 17.1 hands tall. He's a skinny bag of bones right now so he's going to stay here on the farm for 2-3 weeks to get fattened up before making the trip down to GA to his new home. I'm really smitten with him. He's ten miles tall but very gentle and sweet. Poor guy, I feel so sorry for him.
I guess that's it really. I'm still trying to get Sealy back in shape and trying to sell her...Tipping jumped her first jumps today and did really well. I'm really excited about her.
Anyway, enjoy the gorgeous weather while it lasts!

Tipping

I didn't get a chance to update on Tipping before leaving on vacation. She's doing really well so far. Gaining weight finally and working softly under saddle. I'm hoping to take her to a local hunter show on August 15th and then a Hunter Pace at the same farm on the 30th. Then an unrated dressage show in early september. Crossing my fingers she is sane and quiet off the farm. So far she's been pleasant and smart to ride so we'll see how well she progresses.

Vacation

I guess I should catch up and share how our vacation went. I've been so busy here since we got home that by evening I don't feel like typing much of anything.
Lou, Hannah and I left on the 10th and headed to Mom's house. We met up with my brother and his family as well and headed out for the beach saturday afternoon. Lou and I ended up in the ghetto of Richmond somehow and made the 3 hour trip into 4 and a half. Mathews, VA is small but very nice.



We were in a house right in our own private area of beach along the bay. Lou and Paul did a lot of fishing together while the kids played in the sand making castles and forts.



Hannah seemed to really enjoy the beach and loved floating on the ripples of tiny waves that came in. Mom and I had a nice time in town on sunday morning. We took Hannah and went shopping and had a really, really good lunch. Then it was off to find where we could buy a bushel of blue crabs. The guys set crab pots out in the water and did catch a few but I think they were mostly females. So the next day Mom and I went and got the crabs and we all feisted for several days. YUUUUMMMMMMM. I've been waiting to chow down on those suckers for several years now.
One of the nights we had a fun game of pictionary and the girls won. Monday night Paul hooked a rather large "fish" as we had thought until closer observations showed it was a stingray! The guys got a real kick out of that catch and even the neighbors came down to check it out.



It was a good time! One tuesday Paul and his family went to Colonial Williamsburg while, Mom, Lou, Hannah and I went to a park in Gloucester and rented a John boat to go out on the lake. Hannah got really upset because she wanted to go IN the water....not ON the water.



Tuesday night we headed back to Mom's house for an overnight stay and back to Ohio wednesday morning.
I also got to visit with my friend Laura and her hubby while we were in Mathews. They came out to the house and stayed for dinner. It has been about 4 years since I've seen her so it was nice to catch up.



I needed a vacation to recover from my vacation by the time we got home. I'm sure my brother and his family are far more tired though after traveling to and from Colorado.
It was nice to have the whole family together. This was the first time Hannah had met her Cousins, Aunt and Uncle.
Thanks again to Mom for making this visit possible. We had a great time!

Holiday weekend busy-ness

Lou's brother caome to visit for the holiday. Along with his wife, step son and daughter. We had not seen them since out honeymoon a few years back. It was their first time meeting Hannah as well. SHe was, as expected quite shy at first but did finally warm up to them. She softened to her cousin Peyton first. A young girl is much less threatening than he adult relatives I guess.

They seemed to have a good time and it was nice to see Hannah make friends instead of attaching herself to my leg.

Friday night we all packed up and went across the street to the Hoppel's Rodeo. Hannah didn't have much of a nap that day and was a bit out of sorts with all the people and commotion. I didn't think she was THAT bad but Lou begs to differ on that. Maybe I'm more immune to any small tantrums but her little ones don't really bother me.
Saturday evening we went to a cookout hosted by our friends Sean and Angie. Lots of kids Hannah's age and lots of food. She really seemed to enjoy the fireworks and REALLY liked the sparklers.

Monday evening we had a cookout at the in-law's house. Everyone was there and it was a really nice time. We took a few rides on the four wheeler and had some smores later in the evening, caught lightening bugs (Hannah squished a few) and played with the dogs. Everyone got baby kisses and everyone seemed to enjoy themselves.

I've been riding with Courtney nearly everyday. Tipping is learning how to ride the trails and go in the river. So far so good. Counrtney is also getting more confident on Peppy and has done a bit of cantering when he's not being too lazy. Payton got to ride a bit as well. She took some lessons on Peppy and also cooled him out after Courtney's rides. I think she enjoyed that.

Friday morning we leave for vacation. Yeehaw! I'm so ready to stick my (freshly painted) toes in the sand and chow down on blue crab! I hope Hannah enjoys the beach as well. She'll be meeting her Uncle Paul, Aunt Adriana and cousins Dodge and Marina for the first time too. Gramma Rose will be there too and we know how excited she is to have all her babies in one house at the same time! Haha!
See y'all soon!

Playdate!

Hannah's little friend Kendall came over today for some playtime. We've been talking about getting together for a while now and for one reason or another it just hasn't worked out. Kendal is two months older than Hannah to the date. At first they were both quiet and shy. Not that they haven't seen each other before....but they both clinged for a little bit. So we decided to put them in their strollers and walk over to the barn to visit the horses. Both girls had a good time. Then we headed up to Gammy's house for some more playtime and a visit. They seemed to start enjoying each others' company at this point. Then back to the house to play some more. Kendall gave Hannah some hugs before they left and Hannah didn't know what to think of that!



Aside from the cooler weather (no play time in the pool as planned) I think both girls had a good time. Neither got a nap today. Hannah went to bed tonight at 7pm....two hours earlier than usual. She barely made it through her dinner.

Melissa comes to pick up Lego tomorrow morning. I'm crossing my fingers for a nice day so we can take a little ride first. It will definitely be a bitter sweet day.
Here is a shot form yesterday's ride. I'm on Lego with Tipping coming along beside me. Courtney is on Peppy. Courtney is Lou's cousin who is staying here for 6 weeks. We've been riding nearly everyday. It's been a good time.

The joys of motherhood

I actually had a pretty nice day yestreday. Barn work was fairly easy...nothing to gallop....went on a nice trail ride before the rain.....had a haircut at the spa.....picked up dinner at Boston Market and an iced coffee at Dunkin Donuts....headed home and then out for night chores a little later. Hannah was being silly with Jade....then bedtime for baby.
THEN it became joyous....(uh huh....right).
About 10 minutes after Hannah went down she started wailing. I waited a few minutes but it only got worse. Walked into her room and the stench was enough to gag a magot!
She's thrown up everywhere. EWWWWWWW. Had to change her clothes and wash it out of her hair and off her arms and hands. Lou came in to help but didn't last long in there so it was all up to Mommy to clean up the mess. Great. TMI? After cleaning everything up I had to peel the sheets and mattress pad off the bed (crib sheets are so much fun!) and run them to the washer. After cleaning up and putting on new sheets it took over and hour of rocking in the glider before she was ready to go back to sleep. Poor baby!
Her great aunt sits for her in the mornings while I'm in the barn and went a little crazy with the blueberries. She lets Hannah have as many as she wants even when I tell her not to. SO guess what was the only thing NOT digested after nine hours of eating them? Yuck. I guess I need to insist even more than she only gets a few and not half the carton. That wasn't fun.....at ALL.

Eckkkk....sad day....

First and foremost I wanted to mention the death of a "cyber friend." Nancy Lemon passed away this morning. She was a member of an online bulletin board that I've been a member of for the past 6 years. Nancy battled several health issues including Diabetes, which took both her legs. She still managed to ride her horses and show people how luck we are to be alive. She had flatlined two or three times and was revived over the past few years as well. I know she had other complications that she dealt with on a daily basis....but Nancy was always a shining star. She was the most positive, inspiring and couragous person I've ever NOT met in person. She was generous to a fault as well. Always knitting or sewing something and surprising an exracers member with a lovely gift. Nancy had a thoroughbred filly named SUmmer who was two weeks younger than my own Sealy. She used to joke that they were distant sisters. Nancy always put other people first. She was the kind of person that anyone would be blessed to have as a friend. She was be truely missed on our board and as part of our "family." Godspeed Nancy. Have a good run on those healthy legs and ride all the horsey superstars in heaven to your heart's content.
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Other deaths today were Michael Jackson and Farrah Fawcett. There was a spoof online about Jeff Goldblum dying but it was a hoax. Ed McMahon also passed away this week.

Randomness

Things have been pretty busy here on the farm lately. Lots of racing going on. The new puppy keeps me on my toes and Hannah has been doing the same. Last week Mom came to visit with Susan from the farm. They got here Monday evening after an interesting car ride. I think she did better getting here BEFORE she ever had a GPS. That night I had some type of allergy attack and was fairly sick for most of the week. So I was fortunate to have them here because not only did they watch Hannah while I was working but they did my laundry and cleaned my house. How's that for a visit?
We had a nice time though. Aside form the storms that blew through for the better part of the week. We had dinner at Mountaineer and played some slots. Susan got the grand tour of the farm and they both met all the new horses. Hannah had a blast with her Gramma and "Adopted" Gramma. It was nice to have them both here.
We have several races coming up this week. Ozzie runs Tuesday night, Winabull on Wednesday, Activator may run Friday night. The two year olds will be headed to Presque Isle for some gate training....so lots going on here.
Sealy has been a couch potato for a few weeks. I just haven't had the energy to keep her in work. I guess I need to motivate myself because I had someone email about her tonight. They are from Minnesota so I think I need to get a video done of her.
Lego leaves for his new home on July 1st. He's going to be in Indiana with a very nice lady who wants a trail horse and to do some flat lessons on. He'll be pampered and spoiled so I'm happy about that. Of course it feels really bittersweet as well.
Tipping is still hanging out in her pasture waiting for work to start. I plan on beginning some trail riding with her after Lego leaves. We'll see how things go as far as time is concerned.
Hannah is growing like a weed and amazes me daily with the things she learns or understands. She seems to love little Jade and Jade thinks Hannah is a fun play toy.
So I guess I owe some pictures huh?

Hello little Puppy!

She's here! Little Miss Jade is finally home after waiting for four weeks to get her! She had her spay and hernia surgeries done yesterday and they out a micro chip in for me as well. She's cute and sweet but utterly confused with this change of events. She has figured out how to walk on the leash....having a 16 month old drag you around probably helped. She seems in shell shock but is doing fine. She met Jorja and Coco and took charge of both bigger dogs first thing. I guess we'll be working on that little issue. She wans't too fond of the horses but we've got lots of time to learn about them. She's a good little girl and I hope she decides she loves it here.

Mission Accomplished!

I entered a show with the intention of riding Sealy in her very first "Mini Event." For those of you who do not know what one is....you compete in a dressage test, a stadium jumping round and also you ride a cross country course. The reason it is a "Mini" Trial is that the show is unrated and the division go to very low heights (as low as 6 inches) for people who are either starting young horses, little kids on their ponies or people who want to dabble but don't want to jump the big jumps.
Turns out that Sealy wanted no part of galloping cross country and tried her very best to get me off of her when I took her to a hunter pace a few weeks ago. She definitely convinced me that she needed to sit this one out. So Sharon let me borrow her horse. I had two weeks to teach him to put his head down and act like he knew what he was doing! He actually picked things up very quickly and put in a wonderful effort. He already knows hoe to jump because he's been a foxhunter for a while now. He had just never seen the brightly colored and decorated jumps in the stadium round. So this was the first time in years I had a horse that was not only capable to competing but sane and safe as well. Mission: go out and have some FUN!!
We did a lower division because, while the hunt horse knows well how to run and jump, he doens't know jack about circles, correct leads and all that mess. So
the division I chose was called "Very Greens" and allowed us to do a test without a canter....but the jumps were somewhat small (2 foot max) and Yankee was less than impressed.
Thanks to Kim for coming along and taking great pictures! She kept me organized and on schedule thank goodness!




All in all it was a fun day. We ended up second in our division! Surprise to me! Hopefully someday it will be Tipping out there competing, but for now Yankee was a great substitute.

Belmont Day

The last leg of the triple crown is this afternoon. I'm really hoping Mine That Bird runs them all down. I like to root for the little guy!

Lou and his Dad went to a car auction this morning. Sharon and I got the trailer packed for my show tomorrow. SHould be interesting. I have not evented in many years and my mount has only been leanring the ins and outs for the last two weeks. He's doing well though. Here's a couple of shots from yesterday:



Later we are going to a cookout/Belmont party. Thankfully it is only right down the road. I have to be up at 5am tomorrow!

Hannah and I went to visit our new puppy at the rescue's "Dog Park" today. I've finally decided on a name for her, "Jade."
She'll be coming home a week from today!

Did the REALLY happen?

I went out today on one of my younger horses. Sharon had ridden the four wheeler up the hill to try and get one of the neighbor's horses to go home. I went one time around one of our pastures (1/2 mile) and was just heading towards the far side of the pasture to make another loop when I see the neighbor's dogs right at the corner. Then I see a baby. I mean a human baby! These are the neighbors that always have loose dogs (that like to chase us on the horses), they shoot guns off into the field across the street at all hours of the night, they squeal their tires nearly each time they leave and their horses get loose constantly. But to see their 18 month old son standing outside, in a diaper only, in the muddle driveway by HIMSELF....not one single person nearby....just three of their dogs, just FLOORED me!!!!!
Petey (my horse) decided the baby was a little horse eating monster and began snorting and prancing....meanwhile I'm talking to the little one (he's now waving at me and giggling) and asking "Where's mama?" hoping an adult would magically appear. Little boy pointed at the barn but just stood there looking at me. I couldn't in good conscience go off galloping and leave him there. He was only about 100 feet from the main road where semi trucks travel at mach 10 carrying loads of coal back and forth.
Sharon saw me standing there on the corning with the fire breathing Petey prancing under me so she high tailed it back over on the four wheeler....thinking she was on doggie patrol. She too was shocked to find this little boy standing here all alone. She scooped him up and drove over to their house, calling for someone to come out because the dogs were sizing her up.
The "MOM" came out and bee-lined it to the baby. How on earth and someone be so ignorant to let their 18 month old find his way out of the house and around the corner, down the drive ALONE and not even notice he was gone??? She claimed she was cleaning the kitchen and didn't even know he'd gotten out of the house. COME ON. Seriously?? He somehow unlatched the screen door, walked down four porch steps and got partway down the driveway....and she did even know he was gone?? I'm not buying it. I should have called child services on her. Un-freakin-believable.

Bath time is fun again!

After an entire month of screaming bathtimes today was FUN! Woohoo! Hannah has protested her baths for far too long. They went from splashing and laughing to screaming and crying. Her bath had turned into a 30 second dash to get her hair washed and body cleaned while she stood in the bath red faced with tears rolling. We finally got over that terrible stage. I have no idea WHY it happened either.

I snagged this from a friend's facebook profile. It was just too good not to share. If you have neighbors that drive you absolutely batty with the stupid and ignorant things they do on a daily basis, you'll appreciate this:

Boatload of cuteness

Hannah and I went to meet our new little cutie today. There were about 30 doggs of different breeds running around playing when we got there. PAWS was having a 10th anniversary party and everyone brought their own dogs to play. It was a bit of chaos but we did get to spend a little time with the wee one. She may be small but she held her own nosing up to a 140 Great Pyrenese! Hannah didn't really know what to do with the leeeetle pup as she's used to 100 pounds of german shephard! After a while they played together and Hannah seemed to like her. She's super cute and really friendly. So I paid my adoption fees and we will have a new critter in the house after June 12th. I refuse to call her "Shamrock" as she's been named by the rescue....so any name ideas would be appreciated!




In other news my Father-in-Law got hurt today and was taken to the ER. He was riding one of our two year old racers and the horse started bucking. He pulled the horses head up to stop him and the horse reared straight up. Since they were already heading up a hill, FIL lost his balance when the colt slipped and over backwards they went. He ended up with a separated shoulder, a sore ankle, sore thigh and so cuts and scrapes. Bruised his pride I think as well. Luckily he was not hurt any worse. He was thrown into a ditch that runs along the fencline of our cow pasture....which is full of large rocks to help with drainage. He hit his head on the fence post as well. It was enough to scare the poo out of all of us. Thank
fully he's going to be okay.
People.....do yourself a favor....save your noggin and wear a helmet....