The Blog is Back

I am back to blogging. I know, an over one year break seems a little excessive. I have been kind of wallowing in self pity regarding the horse segment of my life. Sorry Amy, I know I have been kind of despondent regarding horses the past year and probably not a great traveling partner. This is not a new year's resolution, I really am not into those and it is a bit late, but I have decided that things are what they are and I really can't do anything with the things out of my control. This is really hard for my type of personality that likes everything to be planned out. The 11th year anniversary of my dad's death is coming up shortly and I know he would want me to get back in the saddle and start enjoying my horses again rather than just going through the motions of horse ownership. Dad was often my horse adventure partner.

It's a bummer to not have reached the goal I had aimed for with my horse. I know 11th out of 26 at the world show is still great, but I was so close to my top ten dream. It's disappointing to have lost three horses over the course of two years that were to be my new show horse. Flipper shattered his hock some how in his stall, Dusty broke his neck in some freak accident with the hay feeder, and Elmo twisted his small intestine in one of the worst knots our vet has ever seen. Flipper and Dusty were subjects of earlier blogs, but I just couldn't write about Elmo last summer. I didn't even ever get a picture of him before I lost him at 2 months. He just floated when he moved on his long legs, even while in pain at the end. Right now I was supposed to be preparing a four year old to show this summer, not anxiously waiting the birth of my new show horse (Elmo's full sibling is scheduled to arrive February 17th).

But this blog is marking a declaration of a change in my internal attitude towards my horse life. While I didn't reach all my goals, I should celebrate the ones I did attain. I did breed, raise, train, and show an AQHA Champion. I do have a special once in a lifetime horse I love. I do have the financial ability and time to attend some horse shows. Of course, like nearly every horse owner, winning the lottery would greatly enhance my horse experience! I have a family that shares my love of horses. Okay, love of horses might be stretching it for the husband. It might be more accurate to say he 'likes' the horses because he loves me.

The recent roadblocks I have hit in my horse journey are maybe just what I need to get me traveling down a new road towards some of my other horse goals and dreams I have put on the back burner. As a teenager I always dreamed of becoming an AQHA judge. I had, and still do, an admiration for the men and woman standing in the middle of the show pen. I have been judging open shows, some other breed's shows, and 4-H shows for the past few years. Maybe it is time to pursue the AQHA judge dream? I have the time as I wait for my new show horse to be born and grow up. I have also dreamed of trying some other horse show events. Maybe it is time for my AQHA champion to come out of his semi-retirement and let me try ranch sorting and team penning, after all he does have points in heading and barrel racing, and he has won a ranch cutting or two with my son. It is also probably time for me to sit back and enjoy watching my daughter show her horse. I am excited to be a part of her dreams and goals. Maybe she will even let me take her horse for a class or two just to give me that show ring high. The arrival of foals still gets me excited to run out to the barn at all hours of the night. I would have to love it to do so in our chilly South Dakota winters. I love to write. I love horses. I will have to blog more often.