Fun Show Weekend!

Hi everyone, we had a fabulous weekend at the Arabian Community Horse Show in Clarcona this past Saturday! Tarryn Paterson and Angel were amazing to watch; they performed in Show Hack, proving to be a wonderful pair to exhibit this very difficult class. This team gives encouragement to any riders working toward a goal. It has taken three hard years of practice and now these two are often winning their under saddle classes! Katie Noon also proved that she has been practicing hard with Rio as the two won numerous classes in walk/trot/canter hunter under saddle. Megan Rae Bowers and Rio were also a winning combination in Western Horsemanship walk/trot; this class included a difficult figure eight pattern which Megan aced! Sabrina Land and Buddy entered the open (non-Arab) classes and won both the grooming and conditioning class and showmanship! Buddy still has tons of energy for a 21 year old horse, and Sabrina had to slow him down a few times! Great riding girls!

The second day of the show was an open fun show and we had two exhibitors showing for their very first time! Katelynn Painter was up on Buddy in walk/trot, winning two of her classes and taking two seconds! Amazing! Also competing for her first time was Julia Cook riding Rio in walk/trot hunter under saddle; Julia and Rio also won two classes and took home two seconds! The Orchid Hill Stables team was really taking home the blues this weekend! An additional compliment to Tarryn Paterson who, with her total of five years show experience, took Beyond Ali into his first classes at a horse show! She worked very hard to make certain that Ali was calm and attentive to her signals. What a proud weekend for all of the parents, the exhibitors, and of course this trainer!

Our next horse show is scheduled for January and will be an A rated Region 12 qualifying show. Everyone getting ready for Regionals in May needs to start practicing for this show!

Hope I’m not overwhelming anyone with this long email, but I also need to mention that we will be giving pony rides at the Spring Lake Homeowners Association Annual Bar-B-Q this Saturday from 10:30 – 2 P.M. If you can come and promote Orchid Hill Stables by passing out business cards, and helping with the horses please let me know. I do have new t-shirts if you need one to wear for the pony rides.

Ok, have a wonderful week and look for more updates on our newsletter blog at http://www.orchidhillstables.com/newsletter.html You can even post comments!

Remembering Jack

It was quiet in the barn this morning, the yapping of our old Mr. Jack was silenced Monday morning. I won’t go into details of how his four legged life ended, but he was with Lawerence and I as he took his last breath.

Most people will remember Jack dog as the Jack Russell Terrier that always seemed to be antagonizing a horse or barking at a squirrel, but for Lawerence and I Jack will always be remembered as our first little buddy. We had only been married 5 months when we got the call that a 1 year old Jack Russell pup needed a new home. The first time I saw his big brown eyes, he nearly jumped into my lap, and I knew we were adopting our first pup as a couple. Jack would soon be seen everywhere with Lawerence on new construction sights around Highlands County. It is quite possible you live in a house that Jack helped build. Work stress melted on the jobs where Jack would be found lying on a cold slab of concrete, or underneath the work truck. On cold winter days Jack had to have his coat and rarely left the warmth of the truck seat. In our own home a stocking hung in the doorway with bones and toys, and was opened on Christmas morning by a happy Jack.

Every vacation we took included Jack. He loved to go fishing with us on Sanibel Island, where he’d nearly come unglued when someone caught a fish for him. Our very first ocean fishing experience was in the Outer Banks (OBX) of North Carolina. We rented a three story house with a pool just for Jack and by that time Jill too. Those two played in that pool for hours. Jill would run around the side and jump on Jack’s head, pushing him under water. It was a game that lasted until their bladders could not hold anymore pool h2o!

All of these wonderful memories are gifts from God! Those sweet newlywed years made even sweeter by our first pup, Mr. Jack. Rest in peace little buddy.