December 15 2022
We're already in December and Christmas is quickly approaching. I love that it's the holidays and school is out. I'm not a fan of the upcoming cold temperatures though, I saw a HIGH of 34 and a low of 16!!!!!
We're already in December and Christmas is quickly approaching. I love that it's the holidays and school is out. I'm not a fan of the upcoming cold temperatures though, I saw a HIGH of 34 and a low of 16!!!!!
November 29,2022
Happy late Thanksgiving everyone! I hope you had a great holiday and some relaxing times as well as fun with friends and family.
Happy late Thanksgiving everyone! I hope you had a great holiday and some relaxing times as well as fun with friends and family.
November 15, 2022
I survived turning the big 50, and since today was gross,cold, and rainy, I added a few photos here and there.
I survived turning the big 50, and since today was gross,cold, and rainy, I added a few photos here and there.
NOVEMBER 14, 2022
HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO ME
The big 5-0 today.
HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO ME
The big 5-0 today.
November 11, 2022
Just a quick post so you know that I haven't forgotten to edit things. All is good here, I'll try and make a detailed post in the next day or two.
Just a quick post so you know that I haven't forgotten to edit things. All is good here, I'll try and make a detailed post in the next day or two.
October 6, 2022
(I just wrote a long post and hit CTRL instead of SHIFT and deleted it!!!)
(trying to re-write it below)
Happy Fall y'all!
Yes, it is already too chilly for me. I miss my morning breakfast feedings wearing a t-shirt. It was 43 degrees for breakfast today, and 44 degrees last week. Some of the horses are already wearing their sheets.
I do however, enjoy October for the fun fall month that it is. Festivals pop up everywhere, costume contests and parades for people, dogs, and horses start happening, CHOCOLATE and CANDY, pumpkin decorations, Halloween displays, the color orange everywhere, etc. October is always a lot of fun.
This year, I must also shout out to recognize that October is breast cancer awareness month since I am now 1 in 8 who has developed breast cancer. My single mascetomy with immediate reconstruction was just 3 weeks ago. Recovery is going tremendously better than I expected, Praise God for that! His hand has been with me throughout the whole journey since it began in January of this year. 10 months so far and we are getting through it together. I haven't started teaching lessons again yet, but it shouldn't be too much longer. So along with all that orange out there, we must also wear pink!
Winnie's IEA dressage season kicked off with their first 2 shows Oct 1& 2 at Chase Meadow Lane Farm in Carrollton. Winnie lucked out in her horse draws and was able to ride one of her favorites twice, as well as another one she enjoys, and one that was new to her. Winnie moved up a division this season and finally competed in her first ever dressage test. On Saturday she placed 1st and 3rd, and on Sunday she placed 2nd and 3rd. this show was really fun, everyone from every barn helped out and supported each other, cheered for each other, just a really friendly group. The organizer, Dede, was amazing and even held a hotdog/ smores cookout complete with a few team bonding games after Saturdays show. There's even a short video they put together of the weekend on the IEA website. To top it all off, we had beautiful weather. Winnie's team was 3rd on Saturday and 2nd on Sunday as well.
Our horses have had a slight vacation again. For one reason or another, Winnie hasn't been able to ride them as much as usual, and of course, I'm not back to riding either. They are also starting to get their fluffy, fuzzy coats since the air is getting chillier. Just as I am not riding, I'm also not able to do my normal barn chores. Winnie has taken over most of this load, but I need to say a huge THANKS to Kim for stepping in and taking the majority of the breakfast shifts. She was a lifesaver! Also, thanks go out to Victoria and Samantha for also pitching in.
Fly decided we needed a little excitement around here since it's been a bit boring in the barn area with me on limited exercise while I recover. He produced a huge, super painful abscess in his hoof that started bothering him on Thursday morning. The only way to get relief is for the abscess to pop/drain. Without the rain, his hard sole was making that difficult. By Saturday morning it was becoming harder and harder for him to walk, and by Sunday mid day he was so painful that he wouldn't move around at all. Except for holding the sore foot in the air. He did this for a good 6 hours straight which really stressed the rest of his body, especially since he's 35 years old. An emergency trip by our awesome vet as we returned from the show helped to find a hole for the abscess to start to drain and give him some much needed relief. That was huge progress and Monday & Tuesday were awesome for him. The vet returned Monday afternoon to make sure all things were still going good, and Tuesday went flawlessly for Fly. Yesterday evening though, Wednesday, his stomach got a tad crampy and he pulled a mild colic to get him another emergency visit from the vet. All went well, turned into a short visit, and he's still feeling like his normal self today. I think this was his first abscess ever, and probably his first colic ever too.
The beginning of October marked Hunter's 7th anniversary with us. What a perfect dog he is! The beginning of October also brings our student Joy's birthday and our moved away student Laura's birthday. In September, Tommy & I celebrated our 18th anniversary.
I'm glad I remembered to update this today, because that is a whole lotta stuff. Enjoy!
(I just wrote a long post and hit CTRL instead of SHIFT and deleted it!!!)
(trying to re-write it below)
Happy Fall y'all!
Yes, it is already too chilly for me. I miss my morning breakfast feedings wearing a t-shirt. It was 43 degrees for breakfast today, and 44 degrees last week. Some of the horses are already wearing their sheets.
I do however, enjoy October for the fun fall month that it is. Festivals pop up everywhere, costume contests and parades for people, dogs, and horses start happening, CHOCOLATE and CANDY, pumpkin decorations, Halloween displays, the color orange everywhere, etc. October is always a lot of fun.
This year, I must also shout out to recognize that October is breast cancer awareness month since I am now 1 in 8 who has developed breast cancer. My single mascetomy with immediate reconstruction was just 3 weeks ago. Recovery is going tremendously better than I expected, Praise God for that! His hand has been with me throughout the whole journey since it began in January of this year. 10 months so far and we are getting through it together. I haven't started teaching lessons again yet, but it shouldn't be too much longer. So along with all that orange out there, we must also wear pink!
Winnie's IEA dressage season kicked off with their first 2 shows Oct 1& 2 at Chase Meadow Lane Farm in Carrollton. Winnie lucked out in her horse draws and was able to ride one of her favorites twice, as well as another one she enjoys, and one that was new to her. Winnie moved up a division this season and finally competed in her first ever dressage test. On Saturday she placed 1st and 3rd, and on Sunday she placed 2nd and 3rd. this show was really fun, everyone from every barn helped out and supported each other, cheered for each other, just a really friendly group. The organizer, Dede, was amazing and even held a hotdog/ smores cookout complete with a few team bonding games after Saturdays show. There's even a short video they put together of the weekend on the IEA website. To top it all off, we had beautiful weather. Winnie's team was 3rd on Saturday and 2nd on Sunday as well.
Our horses have had a slight vacation again. For one reason or another, Winnie hasn't been able to ride them as much as usual, and of course, I'm not back to riding either. They are also starting to get their fluffy, fuzzy coats since the air is getting chillier. Just as I am not riding, I'm also not able to do my normal barn chores. Winnie has taken over most of this load, but I need to say a huge THANKS to Kim for stepping in and taking the majority of the breakfast shifts. She was a lifesaver! Also, thanks go out to Victoria and Samantha for also pitching in.
Fly decided we needed a little excitement around here since it's been a bit boring in the barn area with me on limited exercise while I recover. He produced a huge, super painful abscess in his hoof that started bothering him on Thursday morning. The only way to get relief is for the abscess to pop/drain. Without the rain, his hard sole was making that difficult. By Saturday morning it was becoming harder and harder for him to walk, and by Sunday mid day he was so painful that he wouldn't move around at all. Except for holding the sore foot in the air. He did this for a good 6 hours straight which really stressed the rest of his body, especially since he's 35 years old. An emergency trip by our awesome vet as we returned from the show helped to find a hole for the abscess to start to drain and give him some much needed relief. That was huge progress and Monday & Tuesday were awesome for him. The vet returned Monday afternoon to make sure all things were still going good, and Tuesday went flawlessly for Fly. Yesterday evening though, Wednesday, his stomach got a tad crampy and he pulled a mild colic to get him another emergency visit from the vet. All went well, turned into a short visit, and he's still feeling like his normal self today. I think this was his first abscess ever, and probably his first colic ever too.
The beginning of October marked Hunter's 7th anniversary with us. What a perfect dog he is! The beginning of October also brings our student Joy's birthday and our moved away student Laura's birthday. In September, Tommy & I celebrated our 18th anniversary.
I'm glad I remembered to update this today, because that is a whole lotta stuff. Enjoy!
September 6, 2022
Not too much new to report since my long post last week. Our hot, hot, hot weather turned a little less hot and we had a few inches of rain on and off for the holiday weekend. This means our grass arena has been way to wet to ride in, but todays sunshine will hopefully help dry us out.
Not too much new to report since my long post last week. Our hot, hot, hot weather turned a little less hot and we had a few inches of rain on and off for the holiday weekend. This means our grass arena has been way to wet to ride in, but todays sunshine will hopefully help dry us out.
August 31 2022
Hello, hello, hello!!! Seems 3 months have come and gone since I last updated. I can't believe how much normal stuff I have missed posting about. I left the whole summer blank on here.
I mentioned birthdays, the weather, lessons, horse shows, and my cancer update the last time I posted. It's really all of that same stuff again. When I look back through the calendar:......... Winnie spent a good bit of the summer mornings volunteering at her IEA huntseat trainer's farm. We both were auditors/spectators at a clinic taught by trainer Heather Steinman out of the Alpharetta area, we attended Cowboy Church in June, we went to Conyers to watch friends compete in a horse show, we celebrated Thunder's 14th birthday and Ben's 30th birthday, my mom's dog Curly turned 3, we had a nice Father's day with family, I joined the Kel-Mac association and went to a meeting and learned a lot about serious wound care from Dr. Jarred Williams from UGA, Buster celebrated his 14th birthday, and that's just June. in July, Hunter turned 7, Ben has been with us for 18 years, Hunter had a successful surgery and recovery removing a mass bump from his lower eyelid, we attended Cowboy church again, I was able to 'Ring the Bell' because I finished all of my chemotherapy treatments, my brother celebrated turning 52 by buying a new jeep truck, and we went to support friends showing in Conyers again. And this month, August, school started back for everyone. Besides that, Winnie went to watch some of IEA dressage teammates get a lesson in North Georgia from a different instructor, again we went to Cowboy church, Tommy went deep sea fishing with plumbing buddies in Alabama, we went on a outing to Alpharetta for tack shopping at Dover and Snooty Fox as also stopping by Will's park to check out the updates in the past decade and we found friends showing there, and this past Saturday we took buster to compete in a horse show at the Conyers horse park.
Added to that 3 month summary is of course, lessons! I did not teach like I have in summer past though, it was very limited this summer and I think we took the whole month of July off from teaching. It was a very hot summer with hard ground, or else it was pop up thunderstorms. It was great getting to see friendly faces again this month. There was also a visit from our farrier in there a time or two, and our friend Dr.Holly came over to give Bobby his rabies vaccine.
Our saddest news of the summer (a reason why I didn't post in July) is that our best cat ever passed away unexpectedly. Elite didn't feel super one night, and by 8:30 am the following morning she had passed on while surrounded by love and prayers trying to comfort her. it's hard to write a tribute to her because of ALL the memories in the 13 years that we were together. I remember her first day very clearly and she will always be remembered for all her awesomeness.
Hello, hello, hello!!! Seems 3 months have come and gone since I last updated. I can't believe how much normal stuff I have missed posting about. I left the whole summer blank on here.
I mentioned birthdays, the weather, lessons, horse shows, and my cancer update the last time I posted. It's really all of that same stuff again. When I look back through the calendar:......... Winnie spent a good bit of the summer mornings volunteering at her IEA huntseat trainer's farm. We both were auditors/spectators at a clinic taught by trainer Heather Steinman out of the Alpharetta area, we attended Cowboy Church in June, we went to Conyers to watch friends compete in a horse show, we celebrated Thunder's 14th birthday and Ben's 30th birthday, my mom's dog Curly turned 3, we had a nice Father's day with family, I joined the Kel-Mac association and went to a meeting and learned a lot about serious wound care from Dr. Jarred Williams from UGA, Buster celebrated his 14th birthday, and that's just June. in July, Hunter turned 7, Ben has been with us for 18 years, Hunter had a successful surgery and recovery removing a mass bump from his lower eyelid, we attended Cowboy church again, I was able to 'Ring the Bell' because I finished all of my chemotherapy treatments, my brother celebrated turning 52 by buying a new jeep truck, and we went to support friends showing in Conyers again. And this month, August, school started back for everyone. Besides that, Winnie went to watch some of IEA dressage teammates get a lesson in North Georgia from a different instructor, again we went to Cowboy church, Tommy went deep sea fishing with plumbing buddies in Alabama, we went on a outing to Alpharetta for tack shopping at Dover and Snooty Fox as also stopping by Will's park to check out the updates in the past decade and we found friends showing there, and this past Saturday we took buster to compete in a horse show at the Conyers horse park.
Added to that 3 month summary is of course, lessons! I did not teach like I have in summer past though, it was very limited this summer and I think we took the whole month of July off from teaching. It was a very hot summer with hard ground, or else it was pop up thunderstorms. It was great getting to see friendly faces again this month. There was also a visit from our farrier in there a time or two, and our friend Dr.Holly came over to give Bobby his rabies vaccine.
Our saddest news of the summer (a reason why I didn't post in July) is that our best cat ever passed away unexpectedly. Elite didn't feel super one night, and by 8:30 am the following morning she had passed on while surrounded by love and prayers trying to comfort her. it's hard to write a tribute to her because of ALL the memories in the 13 years that we were together. I remember her first day very clearly and she will always be remembered for all her awesomeness.
May 29 2022
I've been meaning to update this section soooooooo many times in the last 2 months! Everything has been going super well here, and somehow I just never make it to the website for an update. First off, cancer treatment is going extremely well, no complaints in that department.
Barn life is as fabulous as always. Since I last wrote, we've been riding and riding and enjoying our horses losing their fluffy winter coats and becoming slick and shiny. Shedding season has come and gone already! The grass is also growing nicely, so everyone has been gaining weight and things are just beautiful around here.
Lessons have been as great as expected, just a bit more inconsistent than previous springs. My chemo threw a little wrench in the plans, as well as the weather. It's been too cold, then too hot, then too dry, and at one point is was even too wet. But when we do ride, it's been awesome.
Buster has made his horse show debut at 2 laid back hunter shows and has done extremely well traveling off property by himself. Heather, my former student from a decade ago, has returned to Athens for the summer and she has been helping out with various things. She rode Buster first at the first show, just to make sure he wasn't full of surprises. Heather prepped him so well at the first show, that Winnie was able to do everything herself at the second show.
Winnie finished up her first IEA season competing successfully on 2 separate teams, both hunters and dressage. Winnie made it all the way to Nationals in dressage and placed 4th out of 12 qualified riders in Harrisbug Pennsylvania at the 20th anniversary show. She made it to regionals in Hunters, and placed 3rd there.
We also celebrated a lot of birthdays since the last update. Winnie turned 15, Westley turned 25, Fly turned 35, and Wendy turned 28. Fly has now been living with us for almost 16 years, Wendy has been here with us for 18 years, and Thunder has been here for 5 years. In just a couple of weeks Ben will celebrate his 30th birthday and will have been living with us for 18 years. He came to us just a month or so after Wendy arrived. Thunder & Buster both will turn 14 in just a few weeks.
MARCH 2, 2022
As I say every year, MARCH is one of my favorite months. To me, it makes me think that springtime has arrived and the winter is behind us. I start looking for the green grass, the longer day light. the shedding horses, sunshine and tank top weather, birds singing, and of course, birthdays. Magnum's birthday would be March 7th, and in a lot of his birthday pictures over the years, I was able to wear a tank top or T-shirt. Winnie's birthday is March 10th, Westley's birthday is March 21st, Magnum became officially mine on March 21, and Batman's birthday would be March 11.
Last year, March 2021, tried to mess with my normal happy March vibes by giving us a huge tragedy at the farm. At the end of the month, just before daylight, a crazy, out of nowhere, loud house shaking lightning bolt struck our farm and God took 2 of our horses to Heaven. They are still deeply missed everyday but we do find them crossing our minds a good bit thru the antics of the other horses here.
At the end of March 2019, it was time to let our Immy pony go to Heaven.
This March, 2022, is also appearing to be a challenging month. This year, in early January, I was diagnosed with stage 2 non-aggressive breast cancer that is also in some lymph nodes. So this March (yesterday to be exact), was my first Chemotherapy treatment. I will have 2 more treatments in this favorite month of mine.
BUT......I still love March. I wore tank tops 2 days already, so the weather has not disappointed me. Things are still turning green, the horses are shedding, and lessons are still happening. My first day of chemo was great, and today/ day after treatment, has been great. Fingers crossed that all the rest will be great too!
(If you are on FaceBook, send me a note and I'll send you an invite to my private group that is updated daily about my treatment,) (or, send me a note to get an invite to join my FaceBook Making Strides Equestrian group, or look for Making Strides Equestrian on Instagram)
As I say every year, MARCH is one of my favorite months. To me, it makes me think that springtime has arrived and the winter is behind us. I start looking for the green grass, the longer day light. the shedding horses, sunshine and tank top weather, birds singing, and of course, birthdays. Magnum's birthday would be March 7th, and in a lot of his birthday pictures over the years, I was able to wear a tank top or T-shirt. Winnie's birthday is March 10th, Westley's birthday is March 21st, Magnum became officially mine on March 21, and Batman's birthday would be March 11.
Last year, March 2021, tried to mess with my normal happy March vibes by giving us a huge tragedy at the farm. At the end of the month, just before daylight, a crazy, out of nowhere, loud house shaking lightning bolt struck our farm and God took 2 of our horses to Heaven. They are still deeply missed everyday but we do find them crossing our minds a good bit thru the antics of the other horses here.
At the end of March 2019, it was time to let our Immy pony go to Heaven.
This March, 2022, is also appearing to be a challenging month. This year, in early January, I was diagnosed with stage 2 non-aggressive breast cancer that is also in some lymph nodes. So this March (yesterday to be exact), was my first Chemotherapy treatment. I will have 2 more treatments in this favorite month of mine.
BUT......I still love March. I wore tank tops 2 days already, so the weather has not disappointed me. Things are still turning green, the horses are shedding, and lessons are still happening. My first day of chemo was great, and today/ day after treatment, has been great. Fingers crossed that all the rest will be great too!
(If you are on FaceBook, send me a note and I'll send you an invite to my private group that is updated daily about my treatment,) (or, send me a note to get an invite to join my FaceBook Making Strides Equestrian group, or look for Making Strides Equestrian on Instagram)
February 17, 2022
Hi! January seemed to hurry by and now it seems like February is doing the same thing. We've had our normal cold, icy mornings and we've had 2 sperate days of snow. We've also had the typical Georgia crazy weather like usual, where the warm weather mixes in. Today reached the 70's! Ponies are still sporting their winter coats, lessons are still going strong, everything is good.
I edited all pages of the website today, just mainly changed some of the wording around. I'm still wanting to add more photos, but it's difficult because of sizing issues and technical stuff.
Hi! January seemed to hurry by and now it seems like February is doing the same thing. We've had our normal cold, icy mornings and we've had 2 sperate days of snow. We've also had the typical Georgia crazy weather like usual, where the warm weather mixes in. Today reached the 70's! Ponies are still sporting their winter coats, lessons are still going strong, everything is good.
I edited all pages of the website today, just mainly changed some of the wording around. I'm still wanting to add more photos, but it's difficult because of sizing issues and technical stuff.
January 1, 2022
Wow, it is crazy to write 2022. Just crazy that another year has come and gone. As always, 2021 had some challenges and sadness, but also lots of blessings and rewards. I'm looking forward to another year of blessings and happiness and whatever else happens along the way. Each and every day is a brand new adventure. Enjoy the ride!
Wow, it is crazy to write 2022. Just crazy that another year has come and gone. As always, 2021 had some challenges and sadness, but also lots of blessings and rewards. I'm looking forward to another year of blessings and happiness and whatever else happens along the way. Each and every day is a brand new adventure. Enjoy the ride!