Goodbye to a dear old friend....

October 8th, 2010, I lost one of my greats here on the farm. CBS Krystal Kat+ was only a 2 year old when I first met her, in the summer of 1986. I was Krystal's groom at Claire Boyd Stables, the show barn I worked at for over 10 years. Not too long after I purchased Krystal, broke her, trained her, I found myself in horse show paradise with this amazing mare. We were regulars on the "A" Circuit in the 1990's, winning many Top 5's at Region 12 and 14, but 1998 was "our year". We were Region 12 Champion in Hunter Pleasure, Region 12 Reserve Champion Green Working Hunter, Region 14 Top 5 Hunter Pleasure, and Top 10 at the U.S. National Championships in Hunter Pleasure in Louisville, KY.

After an amazing show career I began giving lessons on this angel. She was 16.1 hands but a giant puppy dog. Krystal taught so many riders how to ride, and was always so forgiving and loving. She taught my daughter to ride. I would put Gracie on her when Gracie was 2 years old and trust Krystal to take care of her.

October 8th was a good day. I was working for my boyfriend to help out since they were short handed at his shop, when my dad called to say Krystal was down and felt something was wrong. She was fine that morning when I fed her. I don't know why everything suddenly went wrong. Dad called the vet, did everything he should have done, but Krystal was just ready to go. We put her to sleep at 5:30 that afternoon, I weeping by her side. I've owned horses for over 25 years and never had a bad colic, so God has been good to me.

The vet thinks she may have had something worse going on inside, perhaps tumors. Krystal was almost 27 and had led such a dandy life. I will miss her so much, and will probably cry everytime I think about her. What a blessing she was. I own her half sister, Not Tu Shabby, who oddly enough has the same markings as Krystal, only she's black. I'm looking forward to getting this mare on the show circuit next year. I know my Krystal Kat will be smiling down on us from heaven! I told Krystal right before we put her to sleep to wait for me, that I would see her again one day, and I will...I know it.

Champion at the RMI in Atlanta!

This past weekend I was lucky enough to get to spend Mother's Day weekend with some great people! I coached Addison Howe on her medium pony "Bedtime Story" at the RMI "A" show at Wills Park in Alpharetta, GA. This was Addy's first "A" show, and I gave her the whole speech about how not to expect a ribbon, the competition is top notch in Alpharetta, etc. That speech was not needed for this pair as they were Division Champion against some serious competition! :) Thank you to the Howe family for trusting me enough with Addy and Storm! I had a blast!

First Place at the Hunter Pace!

This morning I somewhat cheerfully loaded up one of my horses and headed out to the Hunter Pace at Mercy Stables in Ringgold, GA. I say somewhat because it was storming here at Rivermont when I left. I was determined to do this Hunter Pace though! The pace was awesome! You rode at a canter most of the way, over hills, across creeks, over ditches and jumps! A true field hunting experience! (less the hunting though!) Maggie was a champ! However mid way through this 6 mile course a storm hit. Being that the one and only phobia I have is lightening, this was NOT a pleasant feeling for me at all! Maggie went into another gear for me at one point! Long story short, much to my excitement, we were FIRST PLACE in the Advanced Field Hunters Division!!! WOO HOO!!!!!!! Maggie wasn't nearly as impressed with her blue ribbon as she was her cupcake and slice of pizza I gave her afterwards! Apparently the horse loves pizza. Who knew?

Marisa Goode and the Mercy Stables group did an awesome job putting this pace together! I won a blue ribbon along with an embroidered polo shirt! Fun!

As storms continue to pound Georgia, I am home safely and about to take a nap! Maggie as well as all of her equine friends are tucked safely away in their stalls for the evening!

A horse show, Joyce Meyer Conference, 5K and a Hunter Pace!

I've been so busy lately and haven't updated this blog in a while. The month of April started off with a bang as we held another horse show at Rivermont. God is so good as we're seeing a ton of new, friendly faces! The show was packed and everyone was so wonderful...and seemed to have an awesome time! Quality horses too! I wasn't sure how the show would do being the day before Easter, but it was one of our largest shows in a long time. See, I had made a deal with God. I wanted SO badly to attend the Joyce Meyer Conference the weekend following Easter, so I told Him to please understand why I was holding a show Easter weekend! Apparently He understood because the turnout was awesome, weather was perfect and we had a great time! We had crowds from Cumming & Alpharetta, GA. Chattanooga, Gadsden, Rome, Chickamauga, Ringgold and a new group from near Huntsville, AL.

The Joyce Meyer Conference was the most AMAZING experience ever! I attended all 4 sessions with Katie White and Kassey O'Kelley. On Saturday morning my friend Marty Marrs went with us, oh and Gracie got to go to two sessions as well! I asked Gracie what she thought of Joyce (remember, Gracie is 8)and she said "Mom, I LOVED it!". I loved watching her clap enthusiastically as Joyce would say something so profound as if her little 8 year old mind really understood! Knowing Gracie, I'm betting she knew exactly what Joyce was saying! We ran down front row for the praise and worship (Martin Smith along with the Parachute Band), then had front row seats for Joyce. My soul felt completely renewed after this! God spoke to me clear as a bell at one point, and to the point it brought tears to my eyes! I have learned that no matter what, He is all you need. Period. God is good, all the time. :)

Then on April 17th Marty and I ran my second 5K at the Chickamauga Battlefield. I ran my legs off for the full 3.1 miles, never walking once. We ran it in about 29 minutes, which beat my time of 33 minutes at the last race. I came in 12th in my age group, so I was happy with that! I thought I would fall out towards the end, but kept saying out loud "The joy of the Lord is my strength!". Must have worked! :)

This Saturday will be the hunter pace at Mercy Stables. I am riding my lovely mare Maggie. This will be a great weekend!

So as we wrap up the month of April, life is good and I couldn't be more blessed! I am so glad I didn't give up, as I now see everything happens for a reason. God is my everything, my best friend, my teacher, my vendicator, my hope. Thank you Lord!

Thanks Summerville News!

Rivermont's first show of the 2010 Spring Circuit was held this past Saturday at the farm. The day couldn't have been more perfect! The weather was stunning and the faces were so friendly! I wanted to share a few pictures that were taken on show day, courtesy of the Summerville News. The Summerville News has set up a great website to help educate the community on what we're doing here on the farm! Click here to view this site.



Gracie showed her pony in a jumping class for the very first time! They looked great and won their class out of several riders!

The show had a great turnout with a lot of new friendly faces! I'm judging in Atlanta this weekend, then we'll have another show here on the farm Easter weekend. Busy busy, but life is good! What a great start 2010 is off to! :)

One New Years Resolution out of the way!

One of my New Years Resolutions was to run a 5k. To appreciate this goal, you must understand that I hate running. I have never been good at it, never understood why anyone with a brain would run when I was fairly certain that the reason God made cars and horses was to keep people from having to run. However, I am rather competitive and goal oriented, so I decided I would try something new. What the heck, why not? Right?

My friend Marty began running with me recently. Marty is super woman. She can do marathons for crying out loud. She has done a great job at pushing me beyond my max capacity. The weather has not cooperated so I have only run about 3 times since Christmas. No training time what so ever.

Sooooo, that being said, yesterday I competed in my very first 5K at Berry College. I ran with my buddy Terri, Marty and Meridith. It was 27 degrees, 8am, and in all honesty I thought I would die. I made it though and pushed through all the agony and pain! I ran 3.1 miles in 33 minutes! I came in 22nd out of 61 in my age group! Terri came in 2nd place in her age group, Marty 13th in hers. I'm so proud of the fact I set a goal and accomplished it in only a few months! I have set another goal, to beat my time the next race!

I love my life so much. God is so incredibly good, and my life is better than it has ever been! I'm gaining new students from out of the clear blue sky, so I'm enjoying teaching again along with everything else! Life couldn't be any sweeter!

When it seems to snow everywhere but here....BUT WAIT

Guess what? It has FINALLY snowed at Rivermont! I have lived on the farm for 7 1/2 years and we finally received a beautiful snow. Is this a sign that the tide has finally turned for me? Nothing is more beautiful than my farm covered in white! We got about 4" total, and it left as quickly as it came, but we enjoyed some sledding and good times while we could!

2010-02-13 snow day 2

2010-02-12 more snow

2010-02-12 and more snow

What's New in the land of Rivermont

I would have to say without complaining that this has been the most "challenging" winter when you make your living outdoors. It has been unusually cold (and consistantly cold!) along with wet what seems like every single day. We decided to move our "winter series" back to the farm because it seemed to snow in TN every weekend we had a show coming up! Also, much to my surprise was how many people preferred the shows being held at Rivermont. We are looking at the biggest season ever as we have not only our wonderful regular barns coming, but we have made a ton of new contacts that are planning on attending the horse shows as well! We have 11 dates for farm shows so far, and trust me...if the shows weren't doing so well there's no way I'd even try for 11 dates! I'm so excited that the shows are becoming so popular! :) We also have several clinics planned at the farm too which will be fun. I've already gotten some great sponsors like Valley View Ranch, Southern States Feed Company, Dover Saddlery, Farnham, Countryside Equine Vet (Dr. Wilson), Crossroads Equine Vet (Dr. White), Mercy Stables (Marisa Goode), and the list goes on. Sponsors are awesome! We love sponsors!

Here are a couple of pictures from the January Tri State show of Gracie and her pony.
The first picture is a favorite of mine! Gracie had shown in the covered ring and the judge (Susan Bowen of Atlanta) had called her over to talk to her. That would be me in the photo with the fuzzy hat. Susan was offering her an encouraging word or two! :) If I may take a moment to brag on my child....she was Champion that day! She's going to start showing my lovely mare "Maggie" this year too, along with her pony "Match Made In Heaven". It's so fun that we have something we can do together as mom and daughter that we both love so much!

Snow is predicted at the farm today, which I have mixed feelings about. Gracie would love to play in the snow, but on the other hand I selfishly want it to be 75 degrees and sunny so I can ride. 2010 is looking so much brighter than the previous year, and there are some other options I'm looking at right now in my life...so please be praying for me. God's about to swing some doors wide open, and I'm anxiously awaiting for the blindfold in my life to be taken off and for God to shout "SUPRISE!". Life is soooo good!

Twister, the horse who plays ball...has done it again!

Enjoy the latest video of Mr. Twister!

Twister is a local celeb!

Twister is a near 3 year old colt that I own. He is out of my old mare "Twist N Shout" and by a paint stud. I traded his mom for this little guy who I plan to breed to my Thoroughbred mare "Karma" and maybe "Maggie". He's a stinker, into EVERYTHING. He loves to play ball most of all! In 25 years of owning horses I've never had a horse play fetch...this one does! The Summerville Newspaper got ahold of this one and put him front and center on their website! http://www.thesummervillenews.com/ . In only a few hours Twister's video has had 120 hits! I hope his fame doesn't go to his head!

Here is the video for your viewing pleasure!

Back to work folks, it's horse showin' time again!

Christmas was amazing, New Years was good too! It has been so cold this winter so far, and January 16th is our next horse show in Cleveland, TN. I'm hoping the weather cooperates as I know the show will do well if we can possibly find above freezing temps without any snow. Apparently that has been a tough one this year so far though....warm and no snow that is. However it has yet to snow on the farm, but it has been bitterly cold!

I am going to post a couple of my favorite pictures from Christmas. Gracie got a doll house her dad made. She was so excited that she made a noise I didn't even know she could make when she saw it for the first time! It now lives in my office where daily I will find a little person hiding behind a huge doll house. It was a Christmas that was spent quietly for the most part, but on the inside I felt it was the most precious Christmas to date. We spent Christmas Day with the Nava's, whom I've claimed to be my blood for years! I just love them to peices. They are true friends, and as time marches on I sadly find that is a rare find.

I hope you all have the best year ever! See you at some horse shows maybe?