I haven't posted for a few days because I've been out adventuring with my wonderful friend Julie. Julie started Phoenix for me last year, and ever since then she's suffered from a case of what I like to call "Arab Envy." Every time she rode the lovely red mare, she wore a grin the size of Texas. Zeplin's forwardness and work ethic, even as a young three year old, always drew her appreciation. Even Caly had Julie yearning for the "go" of an Arab, because her Arab side came out on the trail when she would stride off with confidence and joy, eager to keep trucking along for the fun of it. Their sweet temperaments, gentle natures, and desire to just be around people sealed Julie's desire to have an Ay-rab to call her own.
Julie picked me up Thursday evening after work. I let the ponies out with their round bales and plenty of water for the weekend. Quimby was given a pail full of dog food. I trust her to stay out and watch over the house when I'm not around, even for days at a time. I packed up my clothes and some food for the trip. As always, I managed to forget a few things, but I survived regardless.
I stayed overnight at Julie's house so that we could leave early. We wrapped Christmas presents for her mother and sister's family since we would be seeing them. Her husband's sister and a friend had been staying with them, and they planned on leaving in the morning as well to head back to Texas.
It didn't take long to get the truck packed in the morning. Julie had already hooked up the trailer and loaded the necessities for our return passenger. It was grey and chilly with a stiff wind from the South, which meant we would be driving into a headwind the entire way to Oklahoma.
It's been awhile since I've gone anywhere, and I desperately needed some sort of "away" time. Julie and I had a blast driving down, chatting the whole way. The trip flew by! Before we knew it, we had already passed out of Iowa, through a small part of Missouri, driven down through Kansas, and crossed the border into Oklahoma. We are both seasoned travelers, and we only stopped for gas and to use the bathroom. I made my signature wraps to take along with us along with some other food and some sodas.
Darkness had not yet settled when we reached Julie's sister's house just north of Tulsa. Lisa and her husband, Brian, along with their younger son, John, were gracious hosts. They welcomed us and cooked us steak for dinner that first night. We enjoyed easy conversation about horses and equestrian events occurring in Oklahoma City. Julie and I were both exhausted from the drive, though, so we didn't stay up very late. The plan was to head out early to pick up the new filly and return in time for a clinic being hosted at the house.
Still tired, we awoke early in the morning and hurriedly dressed. After breakfast at a local BBQ, we were back on the road and driving South towards Tulsa.
The morning was lovely, with clear blue skies and a brightly shining sun smiling down on us. Our exit was off I-44 and on the famous Route 66. We didn't have any difficulties locating the drive where the farm was located.
When we pulled up to the silver barn the breeder told us we needed to find, three dogs came running up to welcome us. The lady came over as we climbed out of the truck. A few curious and heavily pregnant broodmares peered out at us from behind a fence nearby.
Quick introductions were made. Heather, the breeder, told us a bit about each of the mares in the pasture and invited us into the barn to meet Julie's new filly's sire and a few other show horses. There was an old infertile stallion, a Bask grandson, named Topaz. He was small but friendly, and you could tell from his kind eyes that he used to be quite something in his day. In the stall next to Topaz was a three year old chestnut gelding by the same stallion as the filly. Hero was breathtaking, a purebred, very tall, sabino-marked boy. He was also for sale, but for far more than what Julie wanted to spend.
In the third stall next to the big boy was a small half-Arab filly out of a Standardbred mare and by Heather's beautiful stallion. She was only 6 months old and a lovely bay with a large stall. She was also under the weather, sporting a snotty nose and an injury to her front left ankle.
Across the aisle from Topaz and Hero, Heather pulled out her prize stallion, Spirit Thyme. She pulled off the blanket covering his beautiful, shiny coat, and led him outside. She released him into his pen next to the broodmares, and he spun around and floated to the divider to greet his girls.
"Now it's time to meet your girl," Heather told Julie. "I've saved her for last to try to build up the anticipation." She led us around to the other side of the barn where a lone filly stood across the fence from her sire. When she spotted us, she moseyed over, her small face alight with curiosity.
Julie tried to mask her disappointment upon first viewing the bay girl. Her coat was dull and covered in rough scabs, most likely from rain rot. Her toes were long and clearly hadn't been trimmed in quite awhile. She was covered in small yellow botfly eggs from the shoulder down. However, she poked her nose through the corral panels and whuffed at Julie's hands, clearly interested in the new person. She had beautiful tipped ears and a lovely and kind dished face. Heather opened the gate and we entered the corral with the filly.
Julie was still fighting to overlook the filly's condition. She asked for a halter and lead, and she had me lead her new girl towards and away from her while she studied her walk intently. She frowned and declared she wasn't going to buy the filly, worried that she had a clubbed foot and walked crooked. I didn't say anything, just continued leading the girl as she asked so that she could further evaluate her. Little bay girl did everything without complaint, and she led easily and willingly.
"I can get her to run, if you would like to see that," Heather said. She disappeared into the barn to bring out the other filly and a couple of plastic bags for encouragement. "She is so laid back, she needs the plastic bag to get her to move out," Heather explained. She handed one bag to me and used the other herself to wave the girls into movement.
Julie's filly took off cantering along with her younger half-sibling. When she slowed we would wave her into flight again. Eventually, the younger filly dropped to a flashy trot with very high knee action while Julie's girl continued to canter, tossing her head now and again with typical Arabian flare. After watching her filly run, Julie changed her mind and decided to give her a chance.
Before we headed to the house to sign papers and pay for the girl, Heather brought out her show boys for our enjoyment. First up was her pride and joy, Spirit. We watched him run and buck, showing off his fluid grace and athleticism. Wow!! What a fantastic stallion, and he also had a disposition to die for!
It wasn't difficult to see his quality and why he had already earned a few national titles.
Topaz used to travel with the World Famous Lippizaners, and he knew many advanced dressage moves. Hero was an attention hog, and wanted our focus to be on him while Heather tried to demonstrate some of Topaz's moves.
The paper work took some time, as Heather wasn't completely prepared. Afterwards we headed back outside, still discussing our common passion, horses.
I took some pictures on our return trip of Route 66. I joked to Julie that we didn't see Mater from the Cars movie, but we did see some places that seemed to influence that movie. By now it was overcast again and lightly spitting. The wind had picked up, although not nearly as strong as when we drove down the previous night.
The clinic hadn't yet started upon our return, but there were many trucks and trailers parked along Lisa's driveway. We pulled back next to the barn and Julie unloaded her new (unnamed) pony. The bay girl unloaded just as easily as she had loaded, completely unphased by a new location and strangers all around.
Julie hand grazed her awhile, then put her in the large stall reserved for the newbie.
I watched some of the clinic, but the man hosting it did not speak to everyone present. He went from rider to rider and discussed concerns on an individual basis. Lisa offered to let Julie ride one of her horses, a big sorrel mare with a wide white blaze and one blue eye named Misty. After Julie's ride, I climbed on Misty for a short time, but she was clearly tripping and slightly lame, so I didn't ask much of her. I slid off after just a brief period, handing her reins to a young girl but letting her know she should only walk the mare.
Saturday night we had dinner at Julie's mom's house. I had met her mother and husband, Phil, the previous Thanksgiving, and they were delighted to see me again. We visited until it was time to eat, but Julie couldn't keep her eyes open and laid down to take a nap. Dinner was homemade chicken and noodles, mashed potatoes, salad, and corn. It was a lovely time, but we had to head back to Lisa's house for the night. On the drive back, Julie and I discussed our future plans for our Ay-rabs. We laughed so hard I was crying and my stomach hurt, hashing out plans to race across the desert Hidalgo-style being chased by angry Arabs who called our non-purebreds "infidels" (Julie's filly is 7/8ths Arabian, out of a pinto mare, and I have my 97% Arabian gelding, Zeplin).
We had planned to leave early Sunday morning, but we both overslept. Lisa and Brian fixed us a delicious breakfast of blueberry pancakes, eggs, sausage, and fried potatoes. I told her I hadn't eaten so well in ages. Julie let her filly run in the arena outside to stretch her legs out before the long drive to Iowa.
The trip back was rainy and dreary. While we talked a lot, there were also stretches of silence because both Julie and I were exhausted. Darkness fell swiftly before we pulled into the gravel drive at Julie's house. We fed and watered the filly, letting her check out her new digs. In the pasture outside the corral by the barn, the other horses lined up to check out the newest addition to the herd.
Through it all, the little bay filly remained calm and sweet. She followed Julie around and watched at the fence when we headed to the machine shed where Julie's husband, Brad, unhitched the trailer.
Julie drove me home where I was greeted by an ever vivacious Quimby and three friendly ponies. I hugged them all, glad to be back with my own little family. I look forward to more enjoyable adventures in the near future :-)
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