The Show Gods Demand Sacrifice

Back from the fairgrounds after getting Quzqo & "Spike" settled in. We got REAL nice stalls in an open-sided barn on the edge of the livestock area, so it's quieter and less commotion (perfect for harnessing, IMO). Quzqo made quick friends with the black QH gelding next door to him, and Spike is on his other side, with a BIG chestnut Arabian next to HIM! Lots of purdy horses, I'll have to get pix. There's a gorgeous rabicano QH there, def. want pix of him!

The horses enjoyed their dinner hay while we unpacked & tended paperwork. Around 7:30 we were caught up, and dragged the horses from their stalls, tacked up & rode a bit in the main arena.

Quzqo was a SLUG! Arrgh! He wasn't tired, he was being a butt! He was all Mr. Paw-The-Ground when I was tacking him up (I was being VERY careful to not get a leg broken), and started hiking off before I had my right foot in the stirrup, and very gung-ho was we walked towards the arena, but once inside, blaaaaaaah. Didn't have spurs or my crop, so he knew I couldn't do anything to him, ha! His performance was so dismal, I decided to switch bits back to his nice copper-mouthed snaffle from the kimberwicke for tomorrow...he "gives" to the snaffle; the kimerwicke, he sticks his nose out in the air. *sigh*.

To make things more interesting, he also got himself a BIG bite right on his throat... hair torn right down to the skin, and it was quite swollen. I put some Furazone ointment on it at the barn, knowing by morning he'd have greasy melted oozy yellow ointment running down his chest. I'll deal with it then.

Big happy surprise, there's another person doing Pleasure Driving!! A cute little old lady (me, in 25 years or so I envision) with a small roan pony (well, small horse, big pony...smaller than Coos). She gave me a friendly "So I've got a driving partner for tomorrow!" as we were unloading my cart from the bed of Sandy's truck! How neat! Bet she cleans my clock too, but that's all right. I was very happy to see she had a loathed, reviled, and disparaged "pipe cart" like I do! See, the folks on the Chronicle of the Horse disrespect those pipe-based Easy-Entry carts, preferring only imported Phaetons or whatevers...yeah, well, not everybody can afford a mahogany Amish-made Meadowbrook. I was feeling sort of insecure since my cart is a "pipe cart" with the reviled "pneumatic tires' (i.e. bicycle tires), but at least my competition has the same kind, ha! This'll be fun!!! Somebody BETTER take pix!

Sandy and I were moving our tack & stuff to empty stalls to store, when we heard the P.A. system request anyone with "medical experience" please go to the back of the fairgrounds...and moments later, a request to "hold on to your horses, there will be an ambulance coming onto the fairgrounds!" SH!T!

Minutes earlier, while I was arranging my stuff in the empty stall, I heard a HUGE commotion coming from a 3-horse slant-load gooseneck trailer about 100 yards away...BIG stomping /crashing, the whole trailer was shaking, everybody had turned to look...seconds later a young lady came rolling out the back and sat on the ground... other people walked by her, and it seemed she was just sitting there, like "oh, gosh, I'm a goof, I'll just sit here"...

Well, after the PA announcement, we looked, and she was flat out on the ground with people all around! Long story short, she (unwisely, IMO), ducked UNDER the divider in the trailer to unhook her horse, spooked him, and he effectively trampled and smashed her into the sides of the trailer before shoving her out the back!!!! She had at least a broken ankle, broken knee, and concussion with blood coming from her mouth!!! I tell you, both Sandy and I felt faint and nauseated, because it all hit very close to home. The poor gal was screaming in pain when the EMTs were trying to get her on the backboard (I can also relate to that), they finally did get her into the ambulance and took her away, leaving the horse still in the trailer.

Turns out she's a very popular, pleasant horsewoman in the community, who JUST gave birth to a daughter 3 weeks ago! Sh!t! Her parents were coming by to take the horse back home, then to go to the hospital... and she didn't have a husband, so I don't know how she's going to take care of a 3 week old with a broken knee and ankle!! Thankfully her parents are here to help...sheesh.

Earlier Sandy and I were joking how careful we both planned to be, because it seems the "Show Gods" demand a sacrifice, and we both made our contributions over the past year (turns out she also had a cracked finger and a huge hematoma on her upper inner thigh where Spike had trampled her the other week)...sheesh.

Left Quzqo in his vacation stall, looking at me like I should give him more hay...no, I don't think so, 2-1/2 flakes is enough for dinner. He's got a Pony Pop in there, so he won't be bored, and I'm sure he'll be able to share stories with his new neighbors.

Despite the accident tonight, I'm feeling pretty optimistic about tomorrow. It's kind of a relief that I'm NOT doing Showmanship or Halter, so that'll give me time to clean up the horse, put the shafts on my cart, have a snack, get tacked up at a LEISURELY pace, and get in a little warm-up drive around the fairgrounds.

Stay tuned.