Let me first make you guys aware that I only have thirteen days left until I am heading off to Florida. As you can see by the continuous mentioning of this trip, I am quite thrilled. (: Since I'm already talking about countdowns, why don't I just add that there are only nine days until my birthday and less than four weeks until Stoney runs his first prelim. Now that I think about it, thrilled doesn't even begin to describe it all.
Where to begin... I guess I'll start by saying I had an enjoyable time getting to spend the month of December in Arkansas and seeing friends and family. Then again, you have to remember it is Arkansas, and the cold winds and continuous rainfalls did not make for great days for riding. I couldn't help but look forward to leaving.
A few days after Christmas, we took everything and hauled down to Louisiana where we over nighted at our family's farm. I got to spend time with the family that afternoon and had a great time. The next morning, we were on the road to Texas. Yes, good ol' Texas. The Ehlers are incredibly amazing and have offered to let me live in their house and board Stoney at their place. And yes, I know I move a lot. I have a feeling by the time Florida rolls around, it will be a natural thing to start packing up all my belongings again.
Let me just stop and say how awesome my horse was for staying over night on a farm by his complete lonesome self. He received my bragging points on here for that one. Of course, the goodness and maturity didn't last too long. Since being at the Ehlers, my horse has not only lost his grip from the unusual sighting of the zebra across the street, but he has also gotten scared out of his skin by the cattle when out on a hack....even after living beside a cattle farm for two years. I don't think I'll ever fully understand this horse.
Seeing as my mind can't seem to think straight today, let me jump back to the whole Florida situation. Yes, I know you already know I'm excited to be going, but what you didn't know is that I have a full time job down there. Mike, being the incredible man that he is, is letting me work for him in Florida with feeding, turning out, and blanketing all the horses. Unlike most of everyone who is going down on the 21st of January, I am going down on the 17th with Stoney when Mike makes his first trip to Altoona (which happens to be 19 terrible hours) hauling all his equipment and a few horses. While Mike flies back to Dallas, I'll stay there for the next three days taking care of the horses and preparing all the stalls for the horses' arrivals. Since Mike drives all the way through, he will be arriving with around seventeen horses in the middle of the night. By the time you add up all his clients who are hauling their own horses to Rocking Horse, I think there will be more than 30 horses to not only prepare stalls for but care for after arriving. It's safe to say I'll be back to working 10 plus hour days. However, I'm quite sure he's bringing one of his workers, so hopefully the days won't ALL be never-ending. Since we will be competing every weekend we're down there though, I'm not holding my breath. I might as well start stocking up on coffee now, seeing as it'll probably be the only thing to keep me going when down there.
I can honestly say I am living the life right now. Not only is it because of the opportunities I have been blessed with this past year while not in school, but mostly because I am as happy as can be right now. Stoney is at a great farm and being taken care of wonderfully, I only have to walk fifty feet to get to the barn, and days have just been relaxed lately. I'm sure that may change once I get home from Florida and am forced to get a job, but I may just be a little less energetic; not unhappier by any means. The Ehlers have taken me in as their own and are the best people I could have ever imagined getting to live with, and I think I've already met more new people within the week I've been here than the entire time I was in North Carolina. Yes, it is definitely true in saying I am enjoying life right now. I plan on living it to the greatest I can before heading back to school in the fall as well as keeping everyone (everyone being the few people who care to keep up with my hectic life and read this) up to date on it all.
