Blast in Boise

A horse show, some soccer, a BBQ and more...
Always lots in store...
When we go to Boise!

Well I have a few pictures of our trip- thanks to Marie. Somewhere lies our camera and I haven't found it yet- not to mention IF I do find it, I lost it the first day.

We left wednesday afternoon after being up at 4 AM so I could get as much done in the office as I could before we pulled out. Coco trailered well- but it's a lot slower in a truck pulling a trailer (can't go our usual 78) we stopped once and let Coco walk around to stretch a bit. The orders from the vet were- go and show, but don't school him too hard or over work him. His back is better- but not even close to 100% yet.

The kids feeding Coco his favorite treat- APPLES!
The Idaho Horse Park was AMAZING!! What a great place to show! It was very well kept and the facility was a horseman's dream. I would love to go back and show there some day in the BIG arena!

Thursday we took most of the Grandkids over for turns riding Coco. Tyler and Kalia remembered riding Jigsaw- and both commented on "how much he'd grown." I explained this was a different horse. Kalia remembered what she had learned last summer and took right to holding the reins and sitting up nice and tall. I could tell she was a little intimidated by the height of Coco- but she quickly adapted. Tyler has also a little intimidated, but was quick to raise his hand for a second ride when there was a chance. Last spring, when we watched them, he had a grin from ear to ear on his face when he was on Jigsaw. It was the same on Coco.

Jackson STILL loves the horses. He climbed right on with no objections- which amazed me. Aiden was fearless as usual and also had a grin on his face.

Some liked the riding better than others... Maybe Ethan will feel more comfortable on something closer to Jigsaw size. One more practice for her class on Saturday.

After the rides- we took Coco to the washrack to get his bath. There were lots of questions as we bathed him and I think the kids thought it was pretty funny squirting him with the hose that made bubbles. But what I thought was really cute was after the bath, we needed to walk Coco around to dry him off. The kids all took turns leading him around- until at one point most of them had at least one hand on the lead rope and were walking Coco...

(or was Coco walking them?)

We went back to Aaron & Caroll's house for a yummy BBQ. Marie brought over some food and it all was delicious! Aaron's place is so fun- as Tyler put it- "we have a park for a yard!" Daniel, Hannah, and Colin joined their cousins in playing on the jungle gym. It was great to see them again.

We went back later to check on Coco- he hadn't been eating or drinking- and I was concerned he might have been colicking. He felt warm and there was no sign of any "movements" so I took him over to the vet there at the horse park. But, just like when my kids were young and would get sick and you finally decide to take them to the doctors and then when you get there they all of a sudden feel better and start playing... the same happened with Coco. When I pulled open the trailer door, there he was munching on hay and, yup, there was some poop- so I knew he wasn't really bad off. The vet did a courtesy temp check- it was normal. So we didn't waste the $100 exam fee and just took him back to his stall.

Friday was a looooong day- we had classes through out the day and into the evening. It was a bit of a waste of time as the judge preferred a different type of horse. I wish I had known she was a hunt judge rather than a dressage judge. She placed all hunt types over the dressage types. But that's the way it is. Last time I thought the judge was very generous to us in our placings. So it goes. Our best efforts were a 5th place out of 9 horses.

Saturday AM we went and watched Tyler and Aiden score big time at their soccer games. Tyler was super competitive and knew just what to do. Even when a member of the other team was tough, Tyler hung in there. At one point he ran over and plopped down in my lap and gave me a BIG hug- what a sweetie! Then he remembered he was a boy and tried to rub his sweat on me- laughing the whole time of course!

Afterthe games, we hung out at Alex's. Kalia was very excited for her show later. We played a game with alex until it was time to leave- oh by the way- I just play games to make everyone else feel smart. Tom & Alex tied for first and I was a distant second... But onto the show...
One of the few times Lincoln actually let one of us hold him- He's a BIG kid!

A very brave Kalia did a spectacular job riding Coco. I was so proud of her. She handled it like a pro! We talked as we practiced before going in the arena and she reminded me about the first time she rode (I think she was not even 2 yet) and how she wanted to ride but wanted her Mommy too. And how she was fine riding until she thought of her Mom, then she wanted her and would cry. We both laughed about that and it was evident that her confidence has grown considerably. She was so cute she kept saying "Grandma Jerri. I'm sitting up straight and keeping my chin up and squeezing in with my legs." And she did a great job! There were 3 entries and they called her number out first- and she was so excited to get a blue ribbon and a troophy!

I LOVE the look on Kalia's face here- Marie did a great job capturing it!

It was so nice of Tom's brother and his wife (Terry & Dana) and his sister and her husband (Karen & John) to come watch and support us. It was great to see them and spend some time with them.

"I got a trophy AND a blue ribbon!"

We got up early Sunday morning and retreived Coco from the horse park- got ready for Church- went to Alex & Marie's meetings (it was the earliest) and then ate lunch with them and hit the road. It took a bit longer getting home- we were trying to get better gas mileage. But we finally got home around 9:30 PM! A long drive. I think Coco was never so happy to get out of the trailer! But the trip was very fun and worth the effort. Thanks Aaron and Caroll for putting us up! And thanks for the game and lunch Alex and Marie! I must say we have some really cute Grandkids in Boise!