Of all the luck!

McLain Ward of the USA tries to regain control of his horse Sapphire after the metal bit broke during the final round of the individual jumping competition at the 2004 Olympic Games at the Markopoulo Olympic Equestrian Center near Athens, Friday, Aug. 27, 2004. The combination was forced to retire from the competition. (AP Photo/Susan Walsh)

August 31, 2004:

We really enjoyed watching NBC's coverage of the Olympics in Athens, Greece, over the past two weeks. We thought Rachel would enjoy watching the women's gymnastics because she takes gymnastics at school. She sat down and watched it with us, and seemed a little confused. We explained that all of the events (balance beam, uneven bars, vault, etc.) were gymnastics. She watched with interest as Carly quickly flip-flopped across the mat landing hard and striking a graceful pose.. Her only comment was, "my gymnastics teacher doesn't know what she's doing!"

Each night we'd relax while watching the gymnastics, diving, swimming, or track events. I do remember seeing a mad game of badminton, too. Who knew? Overall, NBC did a great job! But, my major beef was the abbreviated coverage of the equestrian events as well as showing the equestrian events during the wee hours of the morning or at other odd times. They kept jumping back and forth, showing 20 minutes of this, then 20 minutes of that, which made it hard to record the equestrian events while I was at work. I know the gymnastics got a lot of attention, especially Paul Hamm and the controversy surrounding whether or not he deserved his gold medal. Yes he did, IMO. Yet, so many people did not get to see coverage of the US Equestrian Team, more specifically, McLain's bit breaking during his ride. What rotten luck! After working so hard to earn his spot on the team, I'll be damned if his bit didn't break in the middle of his ride. Take a look at McLain's face. Even Sapphire looks confused. What happened? As riders, we are taught to always, always check our tack before mounting, making sure the buckles are buckled, the keepers are in place, or the stitches haven't come loose. But one can never prevent a piece of equipment from actually breaking. It was just a terrible freak accident. Unfortunately, McLain didn't get a *do over* because, unlike Tonya Harding and her broken shoe lace, McLain didn't get another shot due to equipment malfunction. It seems the ice skaters have their own set of rules and regulations that allow for a *do over* if a lace breaks. Not so for the equestrians. McLain was shit out of luck and forced to withdraw. I was so disappointed for him. He has such a great work ethic and earned the right to compete. How could his bit break in the middle of his ride? It did. Damnit!

Signed, Sealed & (soon to be) Delivered

Carly Patterson Strikes Gold in Athens

August 20, 2004:

Instead of shopping on my own for a horse, this time, I decided to use an agent. I hired Patti because she is the best. Here’s why: (1) She has an eye for horses; (2) she has a sixth sense about long-term partnerships; (3) she can look another horse person in the eye, ask pointed questions, and not accept evasive answers; (4) she is direct, honest, and has never let me down; and (5) after riding with her for 7 months, she knows my riding level and my potential, and I trust her judgment. In short, she delivers the goods.

On Tuesday Patti called to let me know she was negotiating with the seller’s agent. They traded calls all day. The seller’s agent was leaving for vacation on Wednesday, and they were eager to get this deal wrapped up before she left town. She called back to say, “you bought the horse.” I was very pleased with the deal and beyond happy to own *this* horse. At the same time, I felt a wee bit numb.

Patti is leaving for vacation next week. With Patti out of town, the horse will not be shipped in until Labor Day weekend. I will just have to sit on my hands for a few weeks until the horse is delivered. In the meantime, I can still ride Sail. And there are plenty of things to do. I made arrangements for a stall in Patti’s barn, the stall beside Sail. I hope they get along. Sail has been really pissy with her present neighbor, Ruben. He is young and she has absolutely zero tolerance for his antics. She constantly pins her ears at him. Ruben is moving out this weekend. I made a list of a few things I will need to buy, like a breastplate, a gel pad, some fly spray. I have all the major tack and supplies. Jerry will get my tack box out of the garage this weekend so I can get it ready to ship to the barn. I plan to use the barn’s regular vet and farrier for now, but I will probably get my favorite vet in soon. I need to find an equine insurance agent.

Let’s see. I need to come up with a new name for this horse. His barn name is “Slick” and I just don’t like that name for this horse. He doesn’t look like a Slick. Jerry thinks it is unheard of to rename the horse. He used Sanders (our dog) as an example. “What if we just started calling Sanders by the name of Cowboy? What do you think she would do?” Well, a horse is not a dog. They don’t necessarily respond to their names. They recognize the sound of your voice, they can tell by the tone and pitch of your voice whether you are happy or upset. I could stand and brush my horse for 3 hours, all the while talking to him, and he wouldn’t know what the hell I was saying, but he would be content with the sound of the voice. They are trained to respond to sounds like clucking and kissing. They respond to the sing-songy high and low pitches of the voice. “Whoa” is said in a deep, low voice, very slowly. “Clucking” will make them trot. “Kissing” will make them canter.

For the record, the horse is a dark bay hunter gelding (that's a dark brown BOY horse). He was born on St. Patrick's Day. For now, I'll take name suggestions. We may even have a contest. Thanks to Corrina (SeaShe) for all the encouragement and to the rest of you for the private links and suggestions.

A visit from the Tooth Fairy

August 16, 2004:

When I picked Rachel up from school on Monday afternoon, she gathered her backpack and came running to me from across the gym. “Mom, mom! My tooth is wiggly!” She pointed at her lower tooth and I noticed there was a gap. The tooth had already fallen out. I asked her what happened and she said her tooth was loose. She showed me her other bottom middle tooth. Indeed, it was loose! So, she had lost her first tooth and will soon lose the second one. We have no idea what happened to the first tooth. I called Jerry on the cell phone to let him know about the big milestone. We used this special occasion to get her in bed extra early. You have to be asleep by the time the Tooth Fairy flies by your window. Those are the rules. Rules made up on the spot. She was full of questions like, “how will the TF know where I live?” and “how will she know to visit me if I don’t have a tooth to put under my pillow?" Jerry sat down and wrote a note to the TF and, together, he and Rachel slipped the note under her pillow. The Tooth Fairy (Jerry) snuck into her room in the wee hours of the morning and hid a dollar under her pillow. When she woke up, she pulled back her pillow and—voila—there was her dollar.

Getting Punk'd

Getting back to my story, Patti and I left the restaurant on Sunday night at 10:15. I had to drop her off at the barn before going home. We talked about the horse and our plans to make an offer before the seller’s agent left for vacation this week. I told her I wanted to think about it on Monday and not make an offer until Tuesday. I wanted to talk to Jerry. I needed to make arrangements for a stall in Patti’s barn. At this point, we were heading south on Barker Cypress and came to a red light. Someone pulled up on the left side of my car and I could sense frantic arm waving. I looked over and saw an SUV with 4 young men inside. I rolled down the window and the driver pointed at my car and said, “Hey lady! Your hydro-defibrillator fell off your car.” I said, “What?!” He repeated, that “your hydro-defibrillator fell off your car, it’s a very important part, and it’s hanging underneath your car.” I looked at all 4 of them and then turned to Patti. What the hell is a hydro-defibrillator? The light turned green. They turned left and we drove forward. The highway was dark and unpopulated. I told Patti that I thought they were pulling my leg, because “hydro” means water, and a “defibrillator” is used to restart a heart. But, what do I know? I slowed down and asked her to get the driver’s manual out of the glove compartment and check in the glossary under the H’s. There was no such word in the manual. Patti was worried that they may be part of a tag team to set us up to pull over and then another car would pull over behind us. It didn’t sound good. We continued along and I noticed no lights or alarm bells going off on the dashboard. I told her I didn’t want to stop in the deserted stretch of the highway. But, feeling vulnerable, I also didn’t want to drop her at the barn and then be stuck alone on the side of the road. We pulled into a well lit Kroger parking lot. Both of us got out to look under the car. There was no sign of any foreign objects hanging from the car. I noticed another driver across the parking lot on his hands and knees looking underneath his car. We both felt relieved that it was just a silly prank. We were officially Punk’d. Cripe! I'm sure it was just payback for the many Chinese firedrills I participated in when I wore a younger girl's clothes.

An Appointment with Slick

August 15, 2004:

I thought this day would never arrive. Like a kid waiting for Christmas morning, I’ve been counting down the days until today. We went to look at the horse that I’ve been drooling over for the past three months. I first rode the horse back in May when it came to our barn on approval for another client, Beth. We shall call said horse Slick. She fell in love with Slick and I was shocked when Beth decided to pass on him and bought another horse—a mare—instead. I’ve been in phone contact with the horse’s trainer who is the agent selling the horse for the owners. It was tough nailing down a date that we could all agree on. There were plenty of reasons: It rained for nearly a month, trainer/agent was on vacation; Patti was on vacation, we went to San Antonio, etc. Finally, everything seemed to be in place. The stars and moon were in alignment, everyone was in town, and the weather was fine.

After a weekend of yard work and errands, I was so ready to get to the barn to pick up Patti. When I arrived, she was finishing up a lesson with two young girls. I helped them untack their horses while Patti was changing. We drove to the trainer’s barn which took about 90 minutes because neither of us thought to ask for directions. On the way, we talked about the horse and our strategy. If everything went well, she wanted to make an offer and wanted authority of $-x-. I told her I wanted to make the decision with my head, not my heart, and that I wanted to discuss it with my husband first. I had packed the SUV with my saddle, bridle, girth, saddle pads, video camera, digital camera, boots, half chaps, carrots, helmet, etc. Patti said that we were not going to take pictures of the horse nor would we take any video. She knew what she was doing, so I deferred to her expertise. We drove through the gate and parked near the barn. I carried my saddle in and Patti took charge. We met the owners/trainer and went outside to see Slick. He was brought in and I could tell that he had been groomed to the nines. His coat was shining and he had a kind eye. Vanessa helped me put the saddle on and we led him outside. I knew that the facilities didn’t have a covered or indoor arena, so we were prepared to ride outside. They had some jumps set up over very, very dusty footing. There was another lady riding in a lesson and she was kicking up a storm of dust. It was like watching Pigpen from Peanuts. As she rode, the horse was surrounded by a cloud of dust up to the rider’s hips. It was hard to watch the horse’s tracking and I wondered how she could see over the jumps. Patti got on Slick to warm him up and run through the paces. Now there were two horses kicking up dust a-la-Pigpen. I sat down on the sidelines with the owners (mother/2 daughters), the trainer/agent, and another man. We watched the horse move well in both directions and then it was time for me to get on. I told Patti that I didn’t want to feel nervous with a crowd of spectators watching me try out the horse. As I ran to the car to get my helmet, Patti told the spectators to disappear so we had the quasi-arena to ourselves. We walked and trotted in both directions and I didn’t need a stick. He basically is the same horse I rode in May. He is recovering from a slight scrape to his knee which happened last Monday when he bumped his knee on the gate. There was some moderate swelling. As a precaution, the owners trailered him up to A&M where the vet drained the knee and sent him home. He is perfectly fit and sound, but the tube will stay in the knee for another 3 weeks. It looks kind of creepy and weird. The owner/mother is an RN, and takes care of bandaging the knee every day.

After the ride, I dismounted and Patti and I conferred in the arena. I was obviously very interested in the horse, but I didn’t want to make an offer on the spot. I was a bit concerned about the knee, and didn’t want to take the horse until it recovered from its knee injury and until Patti returned from her vacation to California the first week of September. Patti went in to the barn to talk with the trainer/agent and the mother and Vanessa and I stayed outside with Slick feeding him carrots and talking about Slick’s jumping career and Vanessa's future riding aspirations.

It was after 9 p.m. when we pulled out of the driveway. The phone rang. It was Jerry asking if I bought a horse. Not yet I said. Patti and I realized we were both starving, so we headed in search of a good restaurant that was open late on a Sunday night. Patti spotted a billboard for a Babin’s near Willowbrook. We pulled in at 9:15. The front door said they were open until 10, so we got in just in time. We sat down to a great meal of Mahi Mahi and shrimp. On the way home we got Punk'd, but I’ll tell you all about that in my next post.

Horse Shopping

August 12, 2004:

Jill and I have been riding together on Thursday nights for the past few weeks. Jill is an English teacher and just started back to school yesterday. She recently returned to riding after recovering from a shattered knee which happened when her horse (Donato) spooked in the arena in April. What a disaster that was. At the time, she was riding alone, although Patti and several others were on site. Donato & Jill were coming down the rail and Donato became startled and took off in a full gallop. When she reached the end of the arena, she skidded, turned sharply unceremoniously dumping Jill who landed on her face and knee. Jill yelled for help and Patti came running. It was the first time Patti said, “let’s go to the ER,” instead of, “let’s get back on the horse.” Jill had surgery and pins put in her knee. She was on crutches and watched from the sidelines for several months giving moral support. She helped clean tack and trimmed some of the horses. She is now approaching the tail end of her physical therapy and is slowly getting back in the saddle.

A Canadian cold front blew into Houston earlier in the week which made the temperatures unseasonably low for this time of year. It was in the mid-80’s that evening with an occasional breeze. We groomed the horses and tacked up together and then led the horses to the arena for our lessons. Sail was peppy and ready to go, go, go after our initial warm-up. Donato was a bit slow and lazy. We tried to pace ourselves to leave a nice distance between the horses, but Sail wanted to pass. After the lesson ended, Jill and I led the horses back to the barn and talked while putting our tack away. Patty sat down on a tack box and we made plans to meet at the barn on Sunday. We have been shopping for a horse (for me!) and have an appointment to, as they say, “see a man about a horse," on Sunday.

First Day of School

August 11, 2004:

Rachel’s first day of kindergarten was today. Last night, I read through the stack of materials given to me by Miss Brown. Rachel needed to bring a backpack filled with: (1) her lunchbox; (2) a water bottle; (3) a snack packed and labeled separately; (4) two changes of clothing. Everything had to be labeled with her name. I got out the Sharpie and neatly wrote her name on the inside of the backpack, inside her lunch box, and on her water bottle. I printed out a sheet of labels with her name on them. I put her snack in a Ziploc bag and stuck a label on it. Then I packed two changes of clothes into two separate Ziploc bags and labeled them. I got up extra early to make a PBJ sandwich. I packed the sandwich and some snacks into the Bratz lunchbox along with some juice and then stuffed it in the backpack. Everything was ready by the time I woke up Rachel. She dressed and put on her new shoes and then we woke up Mitch. I put her name tag label on her chest and we headed out the door. She rode the bus to and from school. She was both nervous and excited. She didn’t really understand how the bus driver would know who she was and how to get to the school and back, but it worked out just fine.

When she got to the classroom, she put her snack in the snack box and her lunch in the lunch basket. She learned that Miss Brown had moved her desk to the one beside David’s desk. David is one of her boyfriends, and they have a lot of fun together. She ate lunch with David. He brought Cheeto’s. She brought Pringles. They shared. Rachel likes to remind David that he is her boyfriend. He seems to have no problem being the boyfriend. But he has his boundaries. David told Rachel that he “is not the marrying’ kind.”

When she got home, she was really excited and very tired. As I unpacked her backpack, I was glad I had used Ziploc bags because her water bottle had leaked and soaked everything. We sat down at the kitchen table. I listened to her tell me about P.E., the lunch room, recess, the water fountain, David’s Cheeto’s, and Chloe’s purple lunch box. I’ll never remember every detail, but her eyes were wide with excitement as she sat and relayed the details of her very first day at kindergarten.

Meeting Miss Brown

August 10, 2004

This morning Rachel and I went to the elementary school to meet her teacher, Miss Brown. We held hands as we walked down the hallways which were packed with other children and parents looking just as lost as we felt. We eventually found Ms. Brown’s classroom. She knelt down and shook Rachel’s hand. She asked Rachel if she was excited about school and Rachel said yes. Then she looked at me and asked, “how is mom doing with all of this?” and then my eyes began to water and I turned my head to dab at my tears. What a dolt! A parent—not the kid—tearing up in front of the kindergarten teacher. She patted my hand and said it would be fine. Cripe! Here come more waterworks from me. I thought kindergarten would be a breeze, after all, I don’t have to do anything at all. It’s all up to Rachel. All I have to do is let go.

She handed me a packet and showed us Rachel’s desk and locker. David and his father walked in a few minutes later, and we were happy to see familiar faces. Ms. Brown told us about the bus schedule, the lunch room, snacks, backpacks, and school supplies. We found our way to the gymnasium and got in line to buy school supplies. We held hands walking out the door and down the sidewalk. Rachel is excited and anxious. She’s ready to go. All I need to do is let go.

San Antonio Zoo

August 8, 2004:

The kids were worn out and slept in on Sunday morning. Rachel & I went downstairs for a hot breakfast in the atrium while Jerry read the sports section and waited for Mitch to wake up. The guys went downstairs to eat while Rachel and I showered and dressed, and then we packed and loaded the car. We went to the San Antonio zoo. We rented a wagon at the front gate to pull the kids through the attractions. Rachel got to see her pink flamingos and Mitch got to see one tired, skinny-ass giraffe from a distance. They enjoyed feeding the birds nectar out of small cups. The birds sat on Jerry’s hat and ate out of the kids’ hands. Mitch was a bit nervous and accused one of the birds of trying to eat him. They played on the slides in the petting zoo and had snow cones. It was a muggy day. We drove downtown to the Riverwalk and had lunch at the County Line. We watched the boats float by and the kids drew on their menus with crayons. We took a walk along the river but decided to ride the boats the next time. The line was too long, and we wanted to get on the road. It was a great family weekend.

Sea World

August 7, 2004

We spent the weekend in San Antonio. We drove over on Friday afternoon. There were a few episodes of “he’s touching me!” and “quit looking at me!” and we did have to pull over one time for Jerry to lay down the law. But, after that, we enjoyed a peaceful ride down I-10. After checking into the hotel and getting our things settled in the room, we decided to go out for dinner. We ate at the Black Eyed Pea. Back at the hotel, we swam in the pool before putting the kids to bed. On Saturday morning, we had breakfast at the hotel and then drove to Sea World. The skies grew dark and somehow I knew it would rain. We parked and stood in line to buy tickets. Jerry and Mitch went to the restroom, while Rachel and I waited in line. We heard thunder and then the rain began to pound down on us. We were soaked with no choice but to stand there and take it. I regretted leaving the umbrella in the car along with my hat, but what are you going to do? We weren’t going to let a little thing like rain ruin our day. What’s another bad hair day? The shower turned into a light drizzle as we headed to Shamu Stadium. We decided to sit about 10 rows up from the ground level tank so the kids could see the whales and we would be in the splash zone. After the show, we stood in line to have our picture taken with Shamu. Mitch kept calling him Shampoo. We had a nice variety of things to do. We saw 4 shows (Shamu, Sea Lions, Ski Show & Viva), the kids rode on the rides, played in Shamu’s Adventure Harbor, we saw lots of animals, including Rachel’s pink flamingos, the penguins, and the Clydesdale horses. We snacked, had dinner, and swam in the Lost Lagoon before heading home. When we got back to the hotel we caught the tail end of Big Brother 5, and then rented Shrek 2 on the hotel TV.

All tuckered out after a day at Sea World of Texas