Sorry guys, I'm just now getting to Day 2 of the 30 day challenge :( Exams start tomorrow and things have been hectic the past couple of weeks as the semester winds down. The question for day 2 is: Your most intense/exciting moment at a show
Hmm I would have to say that this honor goes to Limerick, though it really wasn't his fault. We were warming up for dressage at the KHP 2 years ago when all of the sudden, this horse on the edge of the warm up ring freaked out and dumped its rider. Said horse then turned and took off like a bat out of hell, of course choosing to run straight at me and Limmers. Limerick, trying to save both of us (or prolly just himself - let's be real) from certain peril, launched himself out of the way while simultaneously throwing his head/neck up in the air and smacking me in the face. So that's how I got a bloody and very sore nose at my first ever event ;)
You guys aren't going to believe this, but someone bought Limerick today! Crazy, I know... we sent him up to Pennsylvania a week and two days ago!! It's bittersweet, but I also feel like a weight has been lifted off of our shoulders. Now I can go to Florida and just enjoy the experience without having to worry about anything else horse related. On that note, the Florida trip is still on for Thursday and I'm pretty sure we're going to find a horse down there. I really hope that horse is Apollo, but I'm trying not to get overly excited about him! He's just so stinkin' cute <3
I'm sure you're all wondering what kind of person snapped Limerick up so quickly... feast your eyes:
I shit you not. A FOOTBALL PLAYER bought my horse. Not just any old football player either... he was on a Super Bowl winning team!!! I'm comforted by the fact that he certainly has the means to take care of my boy, but rest assured that I will run him down in my truck if he even thinks of mistreating Lims. Hehe ;)
Thank you all for your support during this time, it means a lot! I know that we obviously chose to sell Limerick, but I still couldn't contain myself in the days before he left... I was a total wreck. Hillary was there for me through it all and I don't know what I would do without her <3
Just to catch you all up with everything that is going on... First, Limerick left on Monday to be sold. Seeing him walk onto the trailer and pull away from the farm was the hardest part. I was not sure when exactly he would leave (the hauling company said any time on Monday or Tuesday), so I went ahead and scheduled a lesson on my trainer's horse for 12:00 on Monday. Wouldn't you know, the hauling company called Sunday night and told us that they would pick Lim up at 11:00 the next morning. Impeccable timing. I decided to go out to the farm early so that I could start getting both boys ready before I had to say goodbye to Limmers. At about 10:30, I decided that I wanted to take Limerick out and let him graze on the yummy KY grass one last time. Right as I was getting ready to attach his lead rope, I heard the ominous sounds of a large rig pulling into the parking lot... the driver was 20+ minutes early. Cue the water works :( I managed to hold it together well enough to call my mom, sign some papers, and load him onto the trailer, though I think the poor Brook Ledge man was probably scarred by the whole experience and definitely concerned for my wellbeing (haha).
Probably the last time I'll ever see this sweet face :((
Following that terrible-ness, I went back into the barn to get Stormy ready, AKA The Perfect Storm. And perfect, he is! E's youngest daughter rides and competes him at training level, and he's a total saint. He definitely has the potential for some pep, but he mostly jumps anything and everything you point him at without question. He's calm/easy/relaxed, he thinks things through, he's a great jumper, and he's exactly what I want in a horse. My trainer of course knew this, hence why I had two lessons on him this week!! These videos are from the first lesson:
We had to re-do the barrel jump because of our slight wobble in the first video... He's so darn eager that he locked on to the wrong fence!
Stormy on a hack
Meet Stormy! I wish I could just buy him....
In other news, I'm trying a few horses next week. I will post about each one after I see them, but here are the preliminary details that I have gathered:
