Some
of you
may remember that I fell in love with my Carrie (Carolina Knock Out - a
now 13
year old Cleveland Bay/English Thoroughbred cross) while on a horse
hunting
trip in Florida in January 2004. She was just out of quarantine, having
been imported
from England by
Ruthie Harbison. Before crossing the pond, Carrie led an active show
life in
eventing and dressage. For me, it was love at first sight and, for her
part,
Carrie seemed quite happy with her new "dad."
We
had a successful
first year competing in eventing and dressage but were then dealt a
tough hand
when Hurricane Katrina hit. I won't recount all the gory details but
suffice to
say that we've had an interesting adventure over the course of the last
18
months or so. As an aside, we still laugh that Carrie's stall has more
square
feet than the trailer my wife, Lolly, and I lived in for the first four
months
post-Katrina. Since then, we have moved our horses to our farm where we
can
watch them play from the front window of the house (well, trailer
really -
we're still trying to find a reputable contractor to build our house).
It's a
totally different lifestyle for us but one which we have really come to
love.
From
a competition perspective, we managed to finally get to some shows
in 2006
and Carrie really seemed happy being back in serious work. We placed
6th in the
USDF Region 9 Championship at 2d level and 8th at the USEA Region III
Championship at training level. We also placed well in our local GMO
year end
awards in eventing and dressage as well as placing regionally and
nationally in
the PHR's Silver Stirrup Awards program (again in eventing and
dressage). That
said, placing well in the CBHSNA's Performance Awards Program in the
Versatility group really topped it off for us.
All
in all, things are
definitely looking up and we are looking forward to a safe and sane
2007. As
for Carrie, I wouldn't trade her for anything and I just hope she
continues to
be as patient with me as Lolly has been over the last 35 years.
Congratulations
to all award winners!
