I had an incredibly relaxing and fun weekend. We went out to the farm for Mother's Day and it was a blast. We got there on Saturday night (a little later than expected, but I had to see the new episode of Doctor Who before we left) and I gave my nephew T the present I got for him. The look on his face was totally worth it! I got him an autographed picture of Lady GaGa. Now T is obsessed with GaGa so I knew he'd love it, but I didn't realize how timely my gift would be. When we arrived he was watching the GaGa live from Madison Square Garden special. I now officially hold the titles of "Auntie of the Year" and "Awesomest Aunt Ever". This did also mean that I had to watch the Lady GaGa special 3 times in a row with him that night but it was worth it.
The next day we got up after a bit of a sleep in and had a great breakfast and just lounged for a bit. I ejoyed a couple of hour of reading and then we headed out to see the new corrals for the horses. It is so nice to spend time out in the field with the horses. Time and stress just seem to evaporate and you just live in the moment. I played with the new colts for a while and then Jack came in from the field.
This is Simple Jack. I fell in love with him the moment I first saw him. As you can see in the picture, he has a lip deformity that causes his lower lip to hang open all the time. I thought it gave him personality. As sad as this is, most ranchers never would have invested the time and money into raising a horse like Jack. In most cases he would have probably ended up at the slaughterhouse. He would have been deemed "unsellable" and not worth keeping. But my father-in-law is a great man with a heart as big as anything. He saw me go out to the field time after time to visit Jack. One day we were sitting out on the patio enjoying the sun after a long day of farm work and he turned to me and said "If you pay to break that horse, he's yours". Just as simple as that. I was elated! My very own horse. I've had a lot of experiences with horses in my life as my own grandparents used to have a few and I used to ride them daily, but this is the first time I've had one to call my very own. Last year I sent him off for training for a few months, but due to unforseen circumstances I never got the chance to ride him. Yesterday when he came in from the field, My father-in-law B handed me a halter and I caught him and brought him into the round pen to work with him. I took him for a walk and brushed out the remaining winter hair and just hung out with him for a while. Then B went into the tack room and grabbed a saddle and I finally got to ride him. It was a pretty awesome feeling and I rode for about 4 hours before I was ready to get off. I have to say I am paying for that today though. My legs and backside are so sore it hurts to sit. But it was worth every minute. Especially when B and I sat down after I was done, had a drink and he said he wanted to go for a long ride with me next time I'm down. That's a statement not to be taken lightly and it makes me feel pretty great.
I was sad to come home as I usually am when we leave the farm. One day I hope we never have to leave and it will become home.
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