ADVENTURES IN BABYSITTING AND OTHER HAPPENINGS

New shoes for Coco

Kelli's needed break

and April snow

Plus...Tom announcing at a gymnastic show

Can't believe we got 4" of snow on Friday! Where is spring? Usually our creek is running by April 15th and it's been so cold it hasn't even started yet! If it warms up fast we'll definetly have a bit of flooding.

Kelli took off Thursday for a much needed break- her first from her boys. I took up the slack time between her leaving and Jason coming home from work- only 4 1/2 hours- but boy was I tired when I was done! I don't know how she does it all and keep a smile on her face! Brad and Jensen were great- it's just that there's TWO of them! But I LOVED spending the time with them, they are so cute. I think Kelli and I must sound a like because sometimes they would look at me startled when I would laugh or say something.

Cari had a booth at a trade show and I stopped by there for a minute while they were setting up to help with Kaylee. She is still really small- but that doesn't hold her back- she's so active- both physically and mentally- she really reminds me of Cari at the same age. She was hungry and there was some Costa Vita burrito thing there so I fed her the beans, rice, lettuce, and steak-pretty much any of it and she LOVED it all! She cracks me up. Congrats Bill on running your first half-marathon!!

Here's a picture of Tom multi-tasking (it doesn't happen very often so I was glad to capture it on film ;-) I was getting ready to show the Center to someone so he took over holding Coco for me.

That's aREAL cowboy shoeing him- Mitch is great and, infact, Tom home teaches their family and his wife visit teaches me. They asked Tom to annouce at a Gymnastic/tumbling exhibition their daughter was in Saturday to raise money for her and her team mates that qualified for nationals! Tom did a great job and it was a fun evening.

Tom and I have actually been riding 3 times this past week. Vet orders that I have to take it slow on Coco- so Tom's been coming with me on Annie for the 20 minute rides around the block!

Beautiful today- but I see snow in the forcast-ARE YOU KIDDING ME????

GOOD NEWS, BAD NEWS PART TWO

So... to finish the story...

That afternoon I had 2 Sport Horse under saddle classes. Coco worked a lot better- he's still a bit "green" as far as the show ring goes- doesn't like horses getting too close to him, etc. But the judge obviously liked him because despite a few minor errors, she place us 2nd out of 8 and 5th out of 12! Both placings give us the needed point to qualify for the nationals in those classes! We were very happy.

Here's Coco (the grey horse) and me at the trot.

A picture of part of the class line up waiting for the awards to be announced.

But my happiness is short-lived until we can diagnose what's going on with Coco.

Later that evening, we were at the Saturday evening Stake Conference Adult session and ran into an old friend. She had heard about Coco's problem and let me know they were having this special horse vet out to look at some of their horses. He does chiropractics and acupunture for horses.

So on Thursday, Dr. Monroe took a look at Coco and diagnosed a possible hip injury. He gave him an acupuncture treatment (I'm not kidding) and said to walk him every day for 20 minutes for the next two weeks, then he'll check him again to see what kind of progress is being made. Horses are very hard to diagnose, so this is only a guess, but hopefully it is the issue and he can get better sooner than later.

This week we've been SLAMMED at work- so Tom & I have been in the office 12-16 hours every day. Except for Wednesday- we had a business meeting and then a training session down in Provo with a possible client.

And now Spring is here and the yard work begins. We also need to get the Center ready for the first of June to start renting.

GOOD NEWS, BAD NEWS part one

The good news is we've qualified
But then the news, (Oh, I sighed)
Something's hurting on poor Coco
So to the vet, we now must go...

The first part of the past week was crazy busy- spending long hours in the office so I could take off for Thursday afternoon, Friday and Saturday. I worked Coco only once on Tuesday for about a half hour- he did really well, so my hopes were high.

His first class was Thursday evening- I knew something was wrong right away. His usual pleasant attitude was sour. He was constantly switching his tail- wouldn't stop without throwing his head up. Very nervous/upset, etc. I was there by myself, as Tom was coming up after a business meeting he had on Friday. I braided Coco's mane- but he'd shake his head and it came out. So finally I did what I normally do- did a weaves pattern. But that was 10 minutes before his class and so I ended up with white Coco hair all over my black jacket! I tried to brush as much as I could off- but it didn't do much good.

Well, needless to say the class was a disaster- I was so tired by then (9 PM), that I'm sure that added to my perception of things. We took 3rd out of 3. I then got Coco put up for the night and was headed back to my hotel room only to discover when I went to take a nice hot shower, there was no shower curtain! I called to the front desk and they said they would send one right up. WAITED. Nothing after a half hour. I called again- "sorry- it will be right there" I fell asleep waiting and was woke up by the knock on the door- it was almost 11 by this time.

Now that may not seem late to most, but I had been up since 4 AM- So I finally got my shower and got to bed at almost midnight.

I had planned to go to the Temple on Friday, since it was our Stake Conference Temple day, and while I couldn't attend the Manti Temple, I could make it to the Bountiful. I also had volunteered to help the announcer at the show starting at 11:30 AM. So I got up at 5 and went to the 6 AM session, came back to the hotel, had breakfast, changed clothes and headed for the show.

While I was helping the announcer, she overheard a phone conversation I was having with a friend about the obvious pain Coco was in the night before. I knew he had fallen a month or so back and I suspected he may have pulled a muscle or something because he had been off ever since. Anyway, the announcer asled why I hadn't used any bute on him? I thought (because 20 years ago when I was showing) bute was against the rules. She said no more, it's like Ibuprophen. So when Tom arrived later, we gave him some bute.

The next morning, Coco seemed much happier. His movement was freer, and no switching tail. We got him all "prettied up" for his halter class.
Tom was a TON of help- it's so much easier to show with an extra set of hands!

Here we are in the "Half Arabian Sport Horse Geldings In Hand" class. Coco was a perfect gentleman- trotted the pattern nicely and stood up for the Judge. The judge LOVED his front end-but not so much his hind-end. She made the statement that it was like looking at 2 different horses. I realized that Coco has not been using his muscles in the hind quarters due to the injury, so they lack the development the front end has. I figured due to her comment, we wouldn't place very high in the class. Boy was I surprised when we won! His scores on everything else were so good that it overcame his lower score in the hidquarters! He ended up taking Reserve Champion overall! So we were very happy- one class for the Sport Horse Nationals qualified for!

FUN, FIRST "A" SHOW

First "A" show

Lots of fun

Ribbons, bunnies,

And a little sun

The Deseret Arabian show started on Friday. I drove up thursday afternoon to give Coco a chance to work in the arena and get used to it before the show started. The show was held in South Jordan, Utah- a beautiful complex- and *heated*. It was so nice since most of the weekend was rainy and cold- we only saw the sun for a few minutes each day.

Our first class was Friday afternoon- Hunter Pleasure 40 & over (otherwise known as The Old Fart Class). There were only 4 entries. I was just hoping we got through the class with picking up correct leads! Coco did a nice job overall- including... getting his leads! We ended up 2nd on both of the judge's cards- so we were pleased with 2 red ribbons!

I have to say though, I was so touched by the next class- a "Walk-Trot" 10 & under pleasure, where a little girl (not more than 8 years old) with only one arm, showed. She sat up so tall & was so cute. Her horse took every step carefully and was so obedient, as to not unseat the precious cargo it was carrying. I thought about the parents to this child and kudos to them for finding a way to help their daughter feel strong and confident. Tom & I were amazed at how well she rode!

On saturday, Cari & kids came for some of the "Easter" festivities- Kyle's lead-line class, and Ryan's stick horse class, and Easter egg decorating and baskets priovided by the show.

Kyle had a moment of shyness when the judge asked him what is your horse's name? She then commented that it looked like he had been riding a while. But Kyle's serious face broke into a smile when he saw a big stuffed bunny with a blue ribbon coming his way!

Ryan's stick horse class was cute- the judges asked them to "Walk your horses", "back up 5 steps", and "gallop." We were glad that usually shy Ryan got out there and did his class without any of us going with him. I think we all agreed that class was the most fun one to watch! The kids were hilarious. Ryan getting his bunny and ribbon.

Ryan commented that next time he wants to ride- he didn't like getting all that dirt in his shoes!

Bunnies, ribbons, and Easter baskets.

Saturday afternoon, I had another class- this time with 6 entries. We did okay- there is definitely a difference between the polished, seasoned show horses and Coco. We ended up with a third and a fifth- out of 6 horses. One judge saw a bobble that the other judge didn't see- thus the descrepancy in placings. My good friend Graciela came for the afternoon to watch- which ended up being a HUGE help as Tom had to go to the airport to pick up Angelique and visit quick with grandkids. The class schedule went quicker than anticipated and he missed my class. Graciela was very helpful in getting me ready (mud wiped off boots, etc) for the show ring and to cheer me on.

Overall I know what I need to work on to improve our scores, and I know the judges like Coco- he just needs to be more consistent.

CLIPPING COCO

Hairey horsey Coco

Needs a good shave

To look better for the show

And to help him behave

With our first class "A" show approaching and despite all my best efforts of daily grooming, Coco wasn't shed out enough for the show. The long hair on his face made him itchy everytime we worked and he was constantly trying to rub his head on anything he could. It also took a lot longer to cool him off after a work out. So I decided to shave him. I had sent my clippers off to get sharpened and serviced, but their "4 day return policy" took over 2 weeks and left me in a pinch. Luckily one of my friends, Paula, had a set of body shavers and lent them to me. Unfortunately the only day I had left to do it on was a very cold, windy day. Needless to say I had white hair everywhere, including my eyes!

Coco was apprehensive at first- the clippers make quite a racket, but as soon as I started, they seemed to have the effect of a massage and he stood quietly while I did my job. I used smaller clippers for the face and ears- they are much quieter- but he did not want his ears done, so Tom had to come help me by "twitching" (gently) one ear while I worked on the other. He figured out quickly if he didn't fight it it took less time and there was no pain.

Of course we had another gasp of winter after I clipped him- but he was nice and warm in his winter blanket.