Good things...
Hi again! Well life is rolling along at SLU I guess. I’m still not back to work yet, but am doing a little better every day. The docs are hopefully that I can head back in another week or so. I’m ready to get back to work!
I have enjoyed spending time with my family, but a girl like me can only take so much lying around. I’ve been able to start exercising a bit. It’s going alright but is often frustrating. I’m a rather competitive person, and so it is hard to struggle to walk for 10 minutes without passing out when I’m used to running. Oh well. Whether I like it or not, I am learning to be a patient person!
My doctor, realizing that I desperately needed a boost to my mental health, agreed to let me travel to Louisville, Kentucky at the end of August to attend our World Championship Horse Show. It was a short direct flight, and I was driven from the hotel to fairgrounds in a golf cart (thankfully our box seats are close to a coliseum entrance!). EMTs are always on scene due to horse show regulations, so I was happy to assure the doc that if anything happened, I could get help there faster than I could get an ambulance here at home. I was only there for three days, but it was wonderful to be there. I enjoyed seeing my friends, and frankly was just happy to BE SEEN. The rumor mill being what it is in the horse business sometimes, there were a few people who’d heard wild stories like I’d had a stroke and couldn’t talk (now that would be something!), had a heart attack, etc., so it was nice to ‘set the record straight’. I got to visit with friends from Canada and South Africa whom I rarely see, and enjoy the sight of the world’s most beautiful Saddlebreds. Some very close friends managed to win World’s Championship titles, so it was especially fun to be there in person to cheer them on. I also was able to participate briefly in a presentation with the US Saddle Seat World Cup Teams (you may recall from previous posts that I help to run the US World Cup organization). It was tough as I was in the hospital during the big World Cup fundraising gala, and I will not be able to attend the upcoming event in South Africa later this month for obvious reasons, so seeing them to wish them all luck before they left was a great feeling. I was very tired all the time, and didn’t do much of anything in the way of post-show festivity in the evenings (as is the tradition there), but just being surrounded by friends and my beloved Saddlebreds was good for the soul.
Freedom Hall, home court of the University of Louisville Cardinals, is transformed into a beautiful show ring each August to host the World's Championship Horse Show. The event is the premier event for American Saddlebreds, Hackney Ponies and Standardbred show horses. This is a daytime photo – the stands are full at night!
I’ve been ‘horseless’ myself personally for a good while, but all that changed not long after I got back from the World’s. As a trainer’s kid, I’ve spent lots of time helping to arrange presentations for horses being given to our customers as surprises. I’m all about the big red bow around the horse’s neck, the big speech, and helping to create a great memory as I know it is a moment they won’t forget. Now I’ve had some great horses in my time, but they all belonged to someone else (at least on paper) - my grandparents, my mom, etc. But I’ve never had a show horse presented to me until now.
The most amazing gift...
On August 29, I became the proud owner of a GORGEOUS black mare. My mom presented her to me in a quiet but incredibly emotional ceremony on the farm. She was awaiting me with our assistant trainer, Jenna Domanico, in a back field under a tree with a beautiful big red bow around her gorgeously long black neck! I had to be chauffeured to ‘the back 40’ as we call it (even though it’s only 10 acres!) by my mom’s neighbor Dick Wilson in his golf cart. God bless him, what a man he is. And really, everyone have their very own ‘Wilson’ for a neighbor (for you young people reading this, catch an episode of Home Improvement on cable to get that joke). Anyway, he drove me back there to ‘see what the ladies were up to’, and then she came out from under the tree into the sunlight and I saw the red bow. Tears flowed…words would not. It was a perfect moment.
She came in with a less than elegant sounding name, so I changed it. She is now Narcisse. It is the perfect name for her as she is stunningly beautiful and she KNOWS it! And she is kind of a diva...so just a one word name is perfect. Cher, Madonna, Beyonce, and most of the supermodels go by one name so it fits. But that is what I love about all good Saddlebreds…they LOVE to show themselves off. Doesn’t matter if anyone is watching or not – they seem to just be ‘on’ all the time. So her barn name is ‘Emmy’ (her previous show name had Empress in it so they've always called her that - saw no need to change that). I had a great time taking pictures and sending them to my horsey friends. I particularly enjoyed sending a message to my dear friend Carson Kressley (if the name is familiar, yes he is the Queer Eye/How to Look Good Naked guy). He’s also an Emmy winner. I got the pleasure of telling him that he had his Emmy, and now I had MINE! =)
So Emmy and I will be getting to know each other. I won’t be allowed to ride at all until after the first of the year most likely, but she has been showing in driving classes this year anyway, so I can get busy driving her now! Although I’ve had a lot of time off work recently, I’m excited to know I will have to be extra cautious with my schedule next year as I will have the pleasure of traveling to some horse shows to compete with her! I doubt we will see the show ring this year as the season is winding down. Maybe we’ll consider our local show here in November. We’ll see. Right now I’m just reveling in the fact that I own this gorgeous and sweet animal. It’s rare to find such a combination of beauty, talent and disposition in a horse (or in a person for that matter). I often wonder if I should count her as a miracle too, but since that would further deplete my already waning supply of miracles, I think I will just consider her as a wonderful blessing. I think my luck is finally changing!
My beautiful Narcisse from the show in July where my mom bought her for me (I know it says 2007 but it was taken in 2008)
Let me leave you with one of my favorite quotes, as it is certainly more true for me now than ever before:
“There is something about the outside of a horse that is good for the inside of a man.” – Winston Churchill