Daffodil................Hey, Lady! That's a Stallion

Part 1

I'm not going to tell you that blue ribbons and even red ones aren't a thrill for me because they are. I haven't been doing this so long that ribbons don't mean much BUT they are not my primary goal. That is about getting this horse trained to the level a top notch professional would do. Ribbons are only one measure of that as an accomplishment so they are only part of what gets me excited about showing.

Getting it "right" is as important to me as that darn ribbon. Getting through that select rider class with a clean go meant far more to me than those ribbons. It meant I could take my horse back into a difficult circumstance without the benefit of schooling through it so to speak and still come out the other side. To me, that was a huge milestone. I was floating on air walking back to the barn.

Coming through the door, I ran into that same woman. She was again working on horses in the barn aisle. She spied my ribbons and I'm thinking from her reaction she was beginning to wonder just who I was. We struck up a brief conversation on our way through and she again commented about the manners of my horse.

As we walked a little farther off, I heard her say, "Hey! He's still a stallion!" The surprise in her voice was obvious so I turned to her to nod my agreement. "Yes, he is." and the following conversation ensued.

Her "Is he on regumate?"

Me "Nope"

Her "Has he bred mares?"

Me "Lots"

Her "Not live cover"

Me "Yupe, live cover"

Her "How can that be?"

Me "They have to have manners like this to live at my house."

Her "Who's he by?"

Me "GS Khochise"

Her "What kind of a mare is he out of?"

There in lies the thing that draws serious breeders together in search of that perfect horse and builds relationships. I told her I'd put my horse away and I'd be back so we could talk.

After I got done putting my horse up and getting my clothes changed, I went back to talk with this woman. I found out she'd been a small breeder in the Arabian industry much longer than me and she lived on my side of the state.

She was showing a couple of purebred hunter horses at this show, hence the barn aisle work braiding and unbraiding for classes. Without knowing their pedigrees I'd guess they are somehow related to my horses just by their look. I'm going to check that out later and let you know what I found..........but I might even be willing to bet money on it. They had a look that was very familiar to me.....

We ended up going to the chili bake off together and talking some more about breeding. Mostly she wanted to talk about Legs and his disposition and that of his get. It was clear she just didn't think stallions could be as quiet as Legs. It was clear that Legs had acquired another fan. Before the bake-off was over she had volunteered Legs and I to present the American flag at the evening's opening ceremonies.

I laughed at the thought of my horse scared to death in that arena that afternoon presenting colors at night..........and obviously declined. Boy, could that wreck my afternoon's work in one instant and it could have turned out to be one h*lluva ride. Not that I don't think the day will come when Legs can present colors............it just isn't here YET !

I explained the situation to my new friend and she understood. She was unwavering in her admiration for Legs and his temperament even knowing we were dealing with fear in the ring. Being a long time horse owner she understood they are still horses and sometimes life gets in the way and messes with their heads. She had no doubts that Legs will conquer his fear.........and I'm hoping she's right.

To be continued................

Pink Night


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