Kentucky Saturday, Missouri Sunday

Our grand Kentucky escapade has come to an end. Saturday dawned cool and clear but stressful for me, since it was Classic Day. And stressful for Jane because, well, stress is just part of horse showing. The horses were not at all stressed, enjoying their morning amble and graze, followed by a visit from Jane McClaren for their Bemer treatments, which they both enjoyed.

Bart had plenty of energy, and warmed up really well. We were scheduled 5th in the order of 35 entries, with Emily scheduled to go 6th, so we warmed up together. I wore bigger spurs, and resolved to ride forward to end on a better note than Friday’s class.

Well, horse showing is a humbling sport. The jumps were bigger at 1.15 meter, but Bart has plenty of scope. I started to write a blow by blow of my round, but for the sake of brevity, I will just say it was sort of a disaster. We did finish with a good jump after a near fall at 10B, so it was a great “learning experience”. I hate learning experiences, and I was very sad that I probably embarrassed Kris with my performance. Of course, I wish that we could have ended on a good round, but I am not at all discouraged, only anxious to get back in the ring to redeem ourselves. It was a great course and a lot of fun, especially because I did not fall off, though I thought I might, for one awful moment!

Jane and Derry finally got to show out in the Walnut Arena again in the Low Adult Amateur class. She decided that Saturday would be her last class, too. The Sunday morning class was scratched, so that we could get on the road before the day got chaotic, as final days of horse shows do.

Again, Jane’s final round did not go as perfectly as we would have liked, but most of it was good, and we are encouraged for the future. Old ladies horse showing will continue!

To our delight, we met John Cheyne, Kris’ father, who visited from Florida. We were not at all surprised that he was likable. We are very grateful to John and Arlene for their son, Kris, who keeps the old ladies galloping and prevents them despairing. He is a horse trainer and a psychologist – and a friend to us. I am very frustrated that I failed to get a photo of Kris and John.

On Saturday morning, I got a text from Holly Sletten, the lady from Colorado who now owns Street Art. Maker’s Mark Secretariat Center had e mailed her to let her know I was checking up on Artie. Well, Artie has left Colorado and is in Kentucky with Holly’s daughter, Kari, who is in college in Lexington. And, what are the odds? Holly was visiting from Colorado and wondered if I would like to visit Artie!? Of course, the answer was “Yes!”, but the day was complicated. I could not believe it – Holly and Kari came to the Horse Park to visit, and had Artie haul in to say hello! He is living at Lift Off Farm, and the trainer, Ashley (I might be confused, so much has happened in such a short t time) was delightful, such a good sport about this silly old lady getting to see her former horse.

We didn’t even take him off the trailer – he was quite comfortable and enjoyed many cookies. I was overwhelmed and had a good cry, along with many laughs and much love. Oh, how the sight of that face affected me! Artie was going to be my “old lady horse”. He was not for sale, and I had great ambitions for my twilight years on him. I loved him.

Alas, his coughing and allergies required a move away from Missouri and I was incredibly lucky that Holly in Colorado was the home he found. It’s astonishing that he has not had any problems with allergies in Kentucky (though he was born in Kentucky). Holly can no longer ride, after two back surgeries, so daughter Kari has Artie to herself. (I assume it was the oak forests that surround our pastures here that sent Artie into respiratory troubles, but I am delighted that he seems to have recovered). And, oh, he is so loved! He looks great, and I think he was destined to be Kari’s horse. She loves him so much!

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After an unexpected and unforgettable reunion, I was sort of reeling. We went to the show office to check out, and found it locked – before 5 PM!! Jane was having none of that. She knocked on the door until they let us in, and they let us pay up so that we could vamoose at the crack of dawn.

We watched the Grand Prix (and had a delicious complimentary pasta dinner this time). It was a fantastic jump off with Brian Moggre winning by a whisker. Very forward riding indeed – those guys flat gallop to huge jumps, and it was a perfect visual for us to sleep on.

Packed up our stuff and took it to the trailers and got to bed way too late to blog, then up at 4 AM and homeward bound before the sun was up. By noon we were settled back into our hectic life here in Missouri, with plans for productive practicing this week, after Bart and Derry have a well deserved rest tomorrow.

I felt I had been gone for a long trip to another planet, and it was so good to get back to Harry and the dogs and cats and horses here! One thing about horse showing is that we tend to tune out the real world, so it was a terrible shock to learn of the two mass shootings on Saturday. I am too depressed to process it, and so privileged to have spent a week oblivious to all but jumping horses.

I have had a week full of kindness and generosity and friendship, and it just doesn’t seem possible that there is also so much heartbreak and trauma and evil in this country. And so many guns. We need more horses and fewer guns…