8/27/10


The World Equestrain Games which have never been in the U.S. are going to be in Lexington at the end of September. Walter and I will be in Lexington in about 2 weeks. It sounds like it's going to be a pretty incredible event so we are wondering if we should keep Soj with someone for a night and drive back to volunteer for a day. At the start of the games we will be 2 weeks (maybe 250 miles) past Lexington.

If we did go back because we somehow were able to volunteer then we could get tons of photos of the event and share them here. I don't know if this is a smart idea or not, but it sounds like it's going to be pretty cool. I don't know where we would stay or anything because the whole town will be a zoo, but maybe...I suppose if we should be there it will happen somehow...

Now how to begin...

I told you "wow" was the one word to describe The Rolling Hills Equestrian Center and I am having trouble finding words now to really describe the magnificence of the place and the people we met there.

Soj watching the sun set from his corral

Adrianne and David Garber put us up in the little white house down the way which was just as lovely as it sounds. A white house surrounded by white fences and beautiful rolling fields. Sojourner stayed in a corral right beside the house with plenty of tall grass and a couple of days to rest.

Melissa, who is a trainer at the ranch and an accomplished show jumper (what do you call someone who shows horses in jumping? I don't actually know. I'm just going to say show jumper...but that's not right, is it? Ah well....), picked us up in her pick-up truck and took us to an amazing, home cooked Southern meal that was waiting on a big beautiful counter in an open, happy kitchen at the Garber's place.

Walter and I had the most wonderful time. We met people that we later talked about together all evening after we had gone home. People often remind you of other people and one woman reminded me so much of my mom so I instantly just adored her. We all laughed and talked and ate and Walter and I loved every second of it.

The only thing is...we left the card for the camera in the computer so I don't have any pictures!! Some pictures were taken though so I'm hoping some will pop up in my email soon and if they do I will put them up here in a future entry!

Walter pried me away from the house this morning as I hung on with all of my might.

Look at this sweet little house...!

Adrianne even absolutely STOCKED the fridge full of food!

Then we joined forces and pried Sojourner away from the lovely field he was in and tacked up in the backyard.

I met some very excited, screaming kids who came to see Soj and give him a little love, an old man who sat rocking on his porch and yelled out, "that's the first horse I've seen in a very long time!", and a man named Kenny who showed us his lovely horses, one of which was half Arabian.
We are now at The Bittel Equestrain Center where the Dream Riders of Kentucky operate. Their mission is to provide those with physical, mental, and emotional needs an opportunity to bond with horses and horseback ride.

Walter and I had lunch today with the Vice President of this organization, Suzy, along with Kenny and Judy, who also work with the Dream Riders.

Judy and Suzy watching Soj at the home of the Dream Riders.

Judy of the Dream Riders

Cooperate, Soj! Ears forward, look nice!

President of the Dream Riders, Mike Clark, and Vice President, Suzy Higdon. Mike said he would trade the horse and truck for his bike. Maybe we can just trade the truck and I can be on the horse and Walter on the bike! Now that would be my style!! Nah, that truck's part of the family. (It was just a joke, Yota.)

"She's so incredibly talented and so amazing with the kids", Suzy said to me when Judy left the table to head to the buffet.

Judy had caught us earlier eating some muffins out of the back of the truck after we put Soj up because Walter and I were starving.

"You put that up!" she said as she came to us and closed the container to the muffins. "We're going to get you fed now and then you just head up to the house and relax for the evening."

Before we went out to eat we met Kenny who helped us get a betadine bath ready for Soj and then shaped his hooves a bit with his file.

Me and Kenny with the Sojer. Soj looks like a mini pony next to Kenny! And I look like a mini person!

Dr. Hanson, the nicest vet in the world, came out today (Sunday) to give Soj a check up and make sure he's not feeling sore anywhere. I had been a little concerned because he hadn't had as much pep in his step the last little while. I had forgotten that Soj is a little anemic and one of the first things Dr. Hanson wanted to check was to see if he might be anemic. I told her he in fact is a little anemic and that we have an iron supplement (red cell), but we never really use it because he gets so much grass. She told me that with the amount of work he does he can use the extra iron. She was pretty confident this would help boost his energy.

"Walter, Linny! I didn't brush this morning! You didn't tell me a pretty woman was going to come open my mouth today! Oh man...Oh gosh....oh this is just awful. Oh gosh."

Not only did Dr.Hanson come out on a Sunday with a huge smile, but she donated the visit. As I took the health certificate from her I asked her what I owed her and she said nothing. I couldn't believe it.

After the vet gave him a thorough check-up we put Soj up in the corral and he took off trotting around. Then he decided to do a little jump for joy that he was getting a clean bill of health and threw his back legs high into the air with a good buck!

This tool checks for any sensitivity in his hooves. Nada sensitivity.

She is flexing his leg and then I will take off in a trot with him. This is to check to see if he gets at all gimpy. He'll favor one leg if there is any pain.

After we put Soj up, Judy, Suzy, and Kenny told us to take the 4-wheeler to scoot around while we're there. Judy patted the truck and said that old guy needed a rest, too.

We headed up to the house which is owned by Donnie and Bonnie Bittel. Now if those names don't go together, I don't know what names do!
Again we have a whole house to ourselves! It's a beautiful home with a pool and Soj is just down the hill in a spacious corral that goes into the barn so he can get cover if he wants it. Judy left wine and cheese in the fridge for us and Bonnie bustled around showing us where things were while assuring us that we could call anytime if we needed anything at all.


I am kind of at a loss for words at this point. When I think back to the beginning of this journey at all the people who have helped us and opened their home to us I am left with a blinking cursor in front of me and no words that could do them or what I feel justice. It has not only been my, Walter, and Sojourner's journey, but so many people's journey.

It started with a dream that my dad told me I could do. A little girl looking out of the car window watching a pretend horse run. Can I? Is it possible?

"Yes, Doodle, yes it is."

Thank you, my Daddy. Thank you for making me believe without a shadow of a doubt that you can do what you love and, in fact, to never do anything but what you love. You planted the seed that this was all possible and along with you so many others have come together to make sure it is so.

Sunset in the desert in Arizona many miles ago...