The Prelude to a Nightmare....

It's hard to wrap my head around the fact it has been nearly two years since this latest journey began. Just before it started, it felt to me like one painful chapter in the book of my life was coming to a close and a new, more hopeful one was beginning to open.

Boy was I off track but it's important to note the state of affairs here and my mind set as this new storm hit to better understand its impact on me, my family my farm and my Arabian horses.

 While you might expect my trip driving alone across the country and back for the US National Championship All Arabian Horse Show in Tulsa should have built me up,  the almost immediate collapse of that fateful relationship at Opus Arabians and its resulting lawsuit really drained all of my resources physically, financially and emotionally. I was as low as I have ever been at that point and wondering how I had managed to get myself into such a fix.

Only once the lawsuit was behind me was I finally able to begin reflection on that whole experience. With that came some understanding of  how I had been manipulated to such an extent that such a fraud could be and was perpetuated against me. Along with that understanding I could finally forgive myself for the jeopardy I had put Storm and my other horses in, not to mention my farm and my dream.

Even though my efforts as my own attorney certainly garnered the desired results,  it wasn't until my work with Storm allowed him to reclaim his equally shattered confidence and Legs finally crossed the gap from guarded, protective movement into the natural, gifted gait he'd been born with but lost so early in his life, that I began to see the possibility there really was a rainbow beyond the storm caused by my interactions with Richard Galarza, Angie Miller and their Opus Arabians.

Despite the fact I was still reeling from the betrayal by my daughter, Colleen, and my granddaughter, Rachel, with the resulting hole in my heart deep and fiercely painful, I was beginning to reassemble the pieces of my shattered confidence and self esteem.

As my understanding of the events grew so did the realization of the profound impact this experience had on my life. I had made breeding decisions and other financial decisions based on that fraud and the ramifications of those choices were just beginning to unfold as the economy plummeted even further and the horse market all but nearly collapsed.

Fortunately like all the other storms that make up my history, I had once again emerged out the other side and I felt better prepared for whatever the future might hold. I was looking forward to the new show season and another trip to the National horse show. This time I would make the trip with two stallions bred by me and going competitively. I was convinced the road ahead would be filled with the sunshine it takes for a rainbow to materialize.

It is not the inaccuracy of my projection that set me up but my lack of total understanding of the events past.  I had only peeled off a layer of the onion that is my ability to read people and protect myself. My short sightedness certainly set me up for what was to follow.

To be continued.......

A Return to the Journey of 2011


NOTE:  As you probably noticed I have used the names of the parties involved in the lawsuit which I have not done in the past. I have come to realize that not doing so is a mistake. This lawsuit and its information is a matter of public record and I am within my rights to post it. Part of the purpose of doing so was to protect others from making the same mistake either with these people or with others and it is obvious from some of their latest antics, they are still up to their old tricks. I will not enable them to take advantage of others by keeping silent and I will be updating my other posts to fix my past mistakes.