A year ago today Cherokee Lady moved to Nebraska from Oklahoma (through a storm on one of the coldest days!).
She has grown into a lovely, long-legged girl who will do nearly anything for horse candy. I can’t believe how much she has grown. I guess I shouldn’t be surprised after buying her groceries. 🙂
I went riding again (!) yesterday. Laura had me going up and down hills that I never would have tackled alone. I have SO much to work on so I can improve, but riding with my friend gives me confidence. Thanks, friend!
P. S. Next time I will reward myself with a soak in the tub.
Now, I realize that this wasn’t that long ago, but it’s a day I love to recall. Friends+horses=happiness. It’s a simple equation.
Time with my horses is never wasted.
Meet our latest addition to the family. She was adopted from a kill pen in Oklahoma at the beginning of June. She spent a month in the quarantine facility, and then my friend, Jeannette, took me to pick her up. Here you see our first meeting, her freedom ride and Topaz at home. She’s a very sweet mare, and she knows she is loved.
Yesterday was perfect for Wordless Wednesday, but I didn’t post because I have a lot to say!
My new filly, Cherokee Lady, usually plays in the corral during the day. With the gate to the big pasture closed. My friend, Charlotte, lives right there and is kind enough to let me board two horses with her. She generally keeps an eye on everything. I arrived yesterday to find that Cherokee’s stall was empty…and the gate to the big pasture was open. We are still not completely sure how that happened. Charlotte and I were also unsure of how to get Cherokee back where she belongs. I was relying on Oreo, my daughter’s horse, and oats to get the baby to come visit with us.
Oreo did not let me down! I yelled for her, she stopped eating hay and starting sashaying in my direction. We looked closer, and Cherokee was in Oreo’s pocket! They both got oats, Charlotte and I breathed a huge sigh of relief, and the world was right again.
I have a super big announcement to make! Yes, there’s a new baby in the family! She’s a darling who never cries; she does, however, whinny.
I saw a post on Facebook about a filly, Abby, who needed a home. Abby and her mother were rescued from a kill pen in Oklahoma, and her picture caught my eye. I took a closer look. And then another look. I was very interested, but I wasn’t sure how to make things happen. Horses can be quite expensive, so I hesitated, but I kept going back to Abby.
I already own one horse, Oreo, who lives across town. After chatting with the property owner, it turns out that there was room for one more with Oreo. That’s when I made a decision to go ahead and buy that filly. Then things miraculously started falling into place. The first step was to contact the people at the hub and make arrangements to pay her adoption fee. That was accomplished fairly quickly. Other details had to be arranged like a vet certificate, board until I could get her off the lot and hauling. That’s when things got really interesting.
The vet check was handled easily, but I got a bad case of sticker shock when I called horse haulers! The range was between $500 and $850! Abby was paid for, my mind was made up, so it was crunch time. I was already in love with Abby, and she was coming home.
I messaged friends in my area who have horses and “know people.” It didn’t take long for a friend to message back. Jeannette was a true hero! She offered to make the nine-hour trip (for gas expenses) on her days off from work. I was gobsmacked at this point. Her days off exactly coincided with when Abby needed to be off the lot—-one week’s board was free, and Tuesday was the deadline. Abby was about to take her freedom ride!
Jeannette set off early Monday morning, but the weather was threatening to slow things down. I worried (as usual), but I knew my friend (and hero) would get Abby home safely. The original plan was to spend the night before coming home, but snowy conditions changed the plan. Jeannette got Abby to her place in the wee hours of the morning, unloaded, fed and watered. I’m sure Jeannette crashed hard after that!
I took a personal day off from work (Tuesday) to welcome my horse home. I was so glad to meet her. I was sad for her because she came on one of the coldest days of the year! We are still getting snow with super cold temperatures.
Abby is safe and out of the elements. She also has a new name—Cherokee Lady.
My daughter spent two days last week babysitting a few miles out of town. On the way there and home, we took advantage of the scenery. My daughter was able to get a few shots of things we take for granted sometimes.
Saturday rodeo and my day off…..it was a miraculous sort of day! I got up a bit earlier than my body wanted, but after a pep talk and a cup of coffee (not in that order), I managed to shower and get out the door by 7:40. Hyannis is about 45 minutes from home, and I wanted to be there early enough to get a good parking space. I also knew that Deb and Scout had to be ready by 9. It was a bonus seeing other people from my (adopted) town once I got there.
I love taking pictures, and horses are always fun to photograph. I figured out how to take video with Bela’s camera, so it was a fun day.
Crow’s nest
Bernice is ready to roll.
I’ve never seen an ugly horse. 🙂
Another beautiful equine specimen
Warm up time in the ring
For some reason, I woke up before the 6:30 alarm went off. I spent a few minutes taking dogs out, feeding cats and reading a chapter over a cup of coffee. I had been anticipating rodeo day, so maybe that’s why I was earlier than the clock.
Since I was at the fair grounds by 7:40, I had time to observe some of the preparations. There were a lot of riders in the arenas warming up. One big space had been divided in half to be able to have two events going on at once. Goats, horses and steers were unloaded and penned for the events. I had time to roam around and snap some pictures. There were plenty of beautiful horses on the premises, that’s for sure.
Sometime after 8, someone in the crow’s nest started the country music blaring. I could almost feel a subtle change in the atmosphere as the riders (and horses) made the mental shift from warming up to competing. The power of music is amazing.
Crow’s nest
I was all set to work one of the gates for goat tying. Things started close to on time at 8:30. Girls were making good time on their runs—some of them at least. If I tried to dismount while the horse was still running, I’d end up flat on my face. Kudos to these talented, determined kids!
Storm brewing!
Rain was starting to fall, but the show went on for a bit. As soon as the lightning started getting serious, the announcer told us all to take cover. I didn’t need to hear it twice; people scattered and put their horses in the trailers to wait out the storm. Many were ready for rain—yellow-clad people were all over the place! Even saddled horses had rain slickers on because, as my friend Laura said, “Nobody wants a wet bum!” After about an hour, the rodeo events started again. The goat tying event had 37 girls lined up to compete, but it went by quickly. My gate time was up before I knew it.
Rain slickers were everywhere!
An English translation of Yoani Sánchez's blog Generación Y, from Havana, Cuba
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