In which I finally do a little catching up!

It has seriously been a while since I have posted anything - and while the blog hasn't changed, my life certainly has rocketed on a rapid pace.  The POS Ranger has been sold, geocaching on hold at the moment, and my life is a runaway train. 

Competition season is over.  As a friend said, this is the time of year when the horses are lame and the checkbooks are empty.  Not the case here but it is time for a welcome break and some re-tooling for next season.   Brynnie and I finished up a great year at the prelminary level, completing six competitions (five of them CDEs) and coming home in the ribbons, 4th or better, in five of the six.  It's been a great journey with him, and every day we drive we cement the partnership a little more.  I feel sorry for those eventers who will never complete a long format event, the time Bryn and I spend together prepping for our 13-14 kilometer marathons build a relationship that is hard to duplicate.  So without further ado. . . the 2011 Carolina Challenge Cup Winners - Preliminary Single Pony!



My heart horse Bo finished up a successful year with Boyd Martin - with a 15th place finish at the Fair Hill CCI**.  His dressage continues to improve daily and he has come so very far in the year he has been with Boyd.  I miss him very much but I know he is getting great care and the crew at Windurra enjoy having him around.  He successfully completed two advanced horse trials this summer with ease and top ten finishes.  He will be back out in 2012 with his talented stable mates and it should be a great year!!





The husband's horse spent the summer at Windurra learning his craft with great success - ending on a high note completing two training level events.  Bru, aka Krugerrand, is one of the nicest, calmest horses I have ever come across.  Lovely to ride, nice jumper and a pleasant boy all around.  He and Manny made their debut in the hunting world at opening meet this past Thursday, and handled most everything in stride.  Right up to the part where Manny forgot to steer, Bru jumped the four foot jump wing and popped Manny out of the tack.  Xrays are all clear, good drugs are involved, Bru is none the worse for wear and I have a promise they will only hilltop for the rest of the season!!

My son has passed in and out of my life once again.  Being a parent is one of the most bittersweet experiences I have had, and I struggled every day with the concept that my dreams for him are not his dreams for himself.  It was a pleasant departure this time, we chat from time to time and I hope that he finds his own path in life.  He should know that I love him with all my heart and that, just like that stupid song he doesn't like, sometimes goodbye is a second chance. 





In which my heart horse takes me for a ride!

Boyd Martin and Cold Harbor have been named to the USEF short list for the 2011 Pan Am games.  I am definitely thinking this is one of those be careful what you wish for deals.  I have know since Sunday, it's been killing me not to say anything, and now it's out there in public for all to see.  Whoa.  I adore this horse and he and his charming Aussie pilot have amassed quite a record this spring.  Whatever will be will be and in the interim it's gonna be a hell of a ride!

All dressed up at the jog for the Jersey Fresh CCI**

In which I introduce the equine love of my life

My heart horse.  Silly really, as I find him difficult to ride, but there is something about his goofy face that touches my soul.  I live to feed him peppermints and miss him when he is not in my barn.  He calls to me twice a day - it's cupboard love, I know that. 

He is Cold Harbor, aka "Bo".  Somewhere around the place I have a photo of him as a gawky four year old, named Hobo.  Hairy, gangly and just down from the Great White North, Bo is a Canadian Sport Horse, which seems to be horsespeak for "mutt".  He will turn 11 sometime in July, and I've been his owner for 6 years.  He was originally partnered with my son and they enjoyed a rare relationship together.  Bo ended up in a crazy, charming, confident Australian's eventing barn. What started as a temporary arrangement to get through the spring season has developed into a partnership of the first water - erste Sahne - as my german husband would say and now we eagerly await what the future will bring.  He has close relatives who reached greatness, only time will tell if he can follow their lead. 

Funding an upper level event horse is pricey, and I count my pennies at every turn.  Funny how the little decisions we make in life can have long lasting repercussions.  We opted to bring Bo back home for summer vacation after his last big event, to save a little money, and give me the opportunity to stuff peppermints at a truly unhealty rate into his snout.  The choice may well have been life saving as six of Bo's barnmates perished in a barn fire a week later.  I can't bring myself to ask if he would have been in that night, and I don't truly want to know.  May God bless those horses who perished, and grant their connections the peace and healing that time brings. 

Bo heads back to the crazy, charming, confident Australian in about a week's time.  I will miss his face in my barn, but look forward to watching him do circles in the sandbox, and run and jump the big fences and the funny colored poles.  And count the days until his face is in my barn once again.