Good Bye Dusty

I think I am not supposed to have a new show horse. Last year my yearling gelding I had kept to be my new show horse broke his leg at his hock and I had to put him down. I then showed "the old man" (Daddys Legacy) another year. It was a good year, but I was looking so forward to showing my new two-year-old. This summer I kept a different yearling to be my 2-year-old project to start and show this fall, Dusty. Well, yesterday he broke his neck in a freak accident in a hay feeder. Seemes he stepped into the feeder, reached his head around the next bar, went into a panic, and broke his neck. At least this is the scenario we are thinking happened as all we found was a dead horse draped around a hay feeder. He was fine at morning chores, but dead as a door nail when Stan went to blow snow out of the bull yard after lunch. I was so looking forward to showing him this summer. I had been taking my time letting him grow. Every time I would try to push him a little more with grain, hoping to show him at halter as a yearling, he would grow taller. This fall I decided that was fine as he was going to be big enough for a riding horse for me. He was already 16 hands when he died. Of course it had to be him that decided to be stupid. The one I had picked to be mine rather than sell. I guess if I decided to show this year it will have to be the "old man" again this year. Maybe I will just be a horse show mom this year with Joellen and her horse. I really like to ride her horse. Maybe she will share Uno with me and we can show some trail too. I guess it will be two more years now before I have a two-year-old to show. I better make sure not to doom them and pick them to be mine!

Merry Christmas

The weather outside is frightful this Christmas Day. A blizzard has swept accross much of our state and neighboring states. As the rest of my family watches movies, I have spent much of the day catching up on websites and blogs. If you haven't seen our world show pictures online at http://www.gonsoirquarterhorses.com/ I will share them with you here. Looking at these pictures help me remember that winter will not last forever! In a few hours I will have to bundle up once again to go outside and do chores. The snowbanks continue to form between here and the barn. When I went out this morning, they were knee deep. My poor rat terrier, Trigger, felt the need to accompany me to the barn. The snow was over his back, yet he kept leaping along side. He was ready to go inside by the time we were done. As I have gone to walk him periodically this afternoon, he looks at me like you have got to be kidding? You want me to "go" (either since of the word) out there? Well it is nearly time to trade snow storm activites- the kids want to have a competitive game of Wii golf.

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!

Home Again

Wow, what can I say about my AQHA World Show experience. It was a great five days and it will be hard to return to work tomorow. At first I was a little disappointed to not make the top ten in open performance stallions. 11th out of 26 was close and really great considering the super nice horses that were in the class and the world class exhibitors of those horses. I think I did fine. The nerves seemed to disappear as we walked into the ring. Bud seemed to really be on his game. As I stood at the gate, I took a deep breath and said enjoy this. And I did. It was such a thrill to hear my friends and family cheer as my horse and I were announced. They were a small but mighty cheering section. It was so neat to see my name on the big screen as exhibitor, owner, and breeder. I was the only one in the class to have my name in all three spots. People noticed that too and commented from the side lines to me that it was neat that I owned and bred Daddys Legacy. As the class went on, my cheering section seemed to sound louder. When I asked my kids about it after the class, they said everyone in the section they were sitting at had joined them in cheering for us. It was cool to hear them all clap, whoop and holler when we were placed in a line up. I was only left "at the wall" under one judge. Being left at "the wall" did have one postive aspect- I got to hear from people in the stands that they really loved my horse. Too bad they hadn't been doing the judging. As I look at the results online at home I realize that 11th was darn good for an unknown person with an unknown horse at their first world show. One person told me my 11th was really first of the "no names". A different perspective to consider. I plan to be back someday.

8th Place AQHA World Show Amateur Aged Stallions

Daddys Legacy and Amy made the top ten! I didn't get to watch in person, but I did catch most of it on the live webcast. Timing worked out great. The class started just as the students were dismissed for the Veteran's Day program. It certainly wasn't as cool as being there in person, but it was neat to see my horse live on the Internet. I can't wait to leave for the world show myself Tuesday. I still can't believe it will be me in the show ring on Thursday living my dream. I hope we can do as well in Open Performance Stallions.

Amateur Aged Stallions- 1 Day to Go!

Daddys Legacy made the trip well. He is looking nice, but we know the competition is very tough. He is by far the oldest stallion showing in this class tomorrow. Amy is keeping me posted via cell phone and I think she is very nervous. I can't wait to watch tomorrow on the live webcast at www.aqha.com. My students will have to understand. It is probably good she doesn't have my nerves there too! Amy was going to go out for a short practice tonight. Thank you to everyone for all the well wishes here and on facebook.

On The Road

The plan is my horse should be on the road some time this morning! The "jam" came out of the quarter crack, the draining stopped, and a shoe got put back on Friday. Yesterday (Saturday) he got worked with no problem! This is great news. He is normally very good at trailer rides, so I don't anticipate any problem with the 8 hour trailer trip. I on the other hand, may not handle it so well as I would like to be going with him. Amy will leave tomorrow to get to Oklahoma to show on Wednesday. I hope I can talk our school into unblocking the AQHA website so I can watch her show from school. She has promised to call as soon as she is done.

World Show Problems

Yesterday Daddys Legacy opened up a quarter crack. It is small. It does not go all the way through to the bottom, but does go all the way up to the top. It does not spread, but he is a little sore. It has bled a little at the coronet band. What rotten timing. Only two days until he travels to Oklahoma City and only five days until he shows isn't a lot of time for a quarter crack to stop hurting in the coronet band. While I know his care is in capable hands, I really wanted to hop in my car today and drive to Yankton to see him in person. Tonight's report was better as he was not sore at all at a walk. Didn't want to trot him until he gets a better shoe on to support. Everyone cross there fingers and send good vibes that the new shoes tomorrow work out well for him!

16 Days and Counting

Next Sunday my horse is off to Oklahoma while I will prepare to teach young minds the intricacies of chemistry. Monday I will guide kids as they make their first polymer of nylon in our Chemistry II lab and then I will review with my Chemistry I kids for their test over the quantum mechanical model. Will the kids be able to tell my mind keeps wandering to a barn in Oklahoma City? Did Daddys Legacy trailer well? Is he eating and drinking like he should? What was running through peoples' minds as they saw him come off the trailer. Did people stop and stare at the big grand white horse? Did he do his usual announcement whinny as he backed off the trailer? I have had horses hauled by others before, but just not to the World Show. I don't have any reservations about the capable hands I have left my horse in, John Kabiesman of Yankton, SD. I do have some horsey withdrawl going on as I am used to be very hands on with my own horses.



While it wasn't a hard decision that someone else would have to help me fit my horse for the World Show, it does seem out of character for me. I have been Daddys Legacy's handler and trainer all the nine years of his life except for a short interval while he was being trained for roping. I have always traveled with him. I have always been a part of getting him ready to show. I seem a bit lost not being actively involved in his preparation right now. As I said before, I have no reservations about his care. I just miss being involved in it. I faced reality right away after I decided to take him to the World Show. I am a high school teacher and coach. Once school is going I don't have time to keep a horse in a full time conditioning program, let alone a conditioning program for the World Show. I also don't have the facilities to keep a horse in South Dakota in tip top hair coat condition in November. While our temperatures haven't been too bad, we have had one of the wettest falls on record so mud is the most common form of soil one can find. Maybe working in mud would have provided some excellent muscle work?



I couldn't go completely cold turkey from my horse. I have made several 4 hour drives to visit my horse in the past month. I always secretly hope he will lift his head out of his feed and whinny in recognition for his long lost owner, but no such luck. I should be glad my arrival finds him contently munching on feed with alert eyes and ears. He is a pampered horse living in a heated barn, eating top of the line feed, getting daily brushing. He is being treated like a king. His white coat glistens. His long mane however, is soon to be short. Silly horse had to rub a 4 inch section out in August. What was he thinking? He knew I had entered him in the World Show! At least the bald spot has grown to at least four inches so the whole mane can be shortened to look good. I am secretly glad I am not having to deal with the new mane look. I can keep my focus on chemistry, at least until my mind wanders.



16 Days and counting until he and I walk through the gateway.

The AQHA World Show Countdown!

Nineteen days until I step foot, for the first time, into the AQHA World Show arena. I am so excited, yet nervous at the same time. Don't tell my husband, but I think I am nearly as excited for this day as I was for our wedding. I think I have done as much planning about what to wear as my wedding and between the boots and hat I have probably spent nearly as much. I do plan to wear the hat and boots again, unlike my wedding dress. Sometimes, like right now, I wish I had my horse in my barn so I could go and burn off my nervous energy giving him a good brushing, but I know the reality is that with work and all our mud I wouldn't be able to keep him in proper condition for the World. So instead, what do I do? Watch World Show clips on youtube. I think I have watched every AQHA world show halter clip I can find on youtube. I have read the World Show Program at least ten times.

Competing in the AQHA World Show has always been a dream of mine. I knew I had qualfied for the world show in open aged stallions early in the spring, but had put it out of my mind because A. my horse is a bit old for a World Show halter debut B. I am a high school teacher and November isn't a good time to take a week off C. High school teachers in South Dakota are not high on the pay scale D. I have never gone before. In June my mind set started to change. First I finished my open performance ROM which meant that I could potentially show in performance halter where my horse may still be one of the oldest, but he isn't as much older as the others. Then I decided, if the June show got posted in time, I would try to qualify in performance halter. Show got posted. I got qualified. As an added bonus to the show where I qualfied for performance halter, I also finished up Daddys Legacy's Open AQHA Championship which was another item on my bucket list. Speaking of bucket lists, as I was still torn in my own head about going to the World Show, my Horse and Rider magazine arrived and low and behold, what was one of the main articles about? Horsey bucket lists! I read it and cried and knew I had to go to the World Show. I also knew it was sign when one of the editorials was about fathers (another story as how Daddys Legacy got his name). So 2009 has given me the opportunity to cross two things off of my bucket list- raise, train, and show an AQHA Champion and show at the AQHA World Show. My Dad would be so proud!