Now, where were we?

Hello everyone!  It has been a few weeks since I have blogged, but only because I have been super busy with work.  I have a lot of exciting things to tell you about, and I'm going to try and keep it short and in some sort of orderly fashion...so let's see what happens.

Quiz Answer
In my last blog, I gave you a hint on something very exciting that was supposed to happen with Smokey and a certain professional 3-Day Event rider.  But due to the need for Mother Nature to blow up a big snow storm on the East Coast and Smokey's back problems (more about that later), it didn't get to happen.  Those of you who guessed Allison Springer were correct!!  I know, I know...that would have been super cool.  It just wouldn't have been fair for Smokey to get evaluated for his potential without being 100%. 

Cool Stuff I Get To Do And Call It Work!
As you may or may not know, I have been working as the Performance Horse Nutritionist at Buckeye Nutrition (Mars horsecare us, inc.) for about a year and a half.  I love my job and I love helping people feed their horses better.  Last year in September, I had the opportunity to sit down with Allison Springer about working with Buckeye Nutrition and she is now sponsored by the company. 

Allison & Destination Known, AEC's 2011

Of course, we knew that the Rolex KY 3-Day Event held each year here in Lexington would be a big event for Allison.  It is the only 4 Star International Event that takes place in the US, and this year, it happens to be an Olympic qualifier.  Allison was coming off of a win in the Advanced Division at Red Hills with her Irish Draught Horse, Arthur, and Rolex was going to be key to her chances at making the team.  My "team" (Amber and Sara) joined me for the entire Rolex weekend to serve as the official Buckeye cheerleaders for Allison & Arthur.  And what a weekend it was!  Those of you eventing fans probably saw the results, but Allison & Arthur ended up 2nd overall (only to William Fox Pitt of England), received the Pinnacle Cup from the USET Foundation for highest placed American Rider, and most important to us, Best Conditioned Horse!!!  Now, there are many factors that go into the conditioning of a horse, and one of the factors is GREAT NUTRITION...shameless plug for our products will now commence.  Check him out!!

Alright...so, besides being super excited for Allison, and crying about 3 times that weekend because I was so happy for her, we did get to do some pretty special things, like meeting Arthur!! 

The Superstar!!  Arthur, Grace (Arthur's groom) and me!

I was giving Arthur a little pep talk about cross country...I'm sure it made all the difference!

It was a wonderful weekend for everyone, and I have my fingers' crossed that she is chosen to represent the USA for the Eventing Team this summer.  This is a really special pair-Allison bought Arthur when he was 5 years old and brought him up through the levels, so they are truly a team. 

To top off that wonderful weekend, I then HAD to travel to Middleburg, Virginia to check up on some pretty special horses this past week-the Mars horses.  Talk about an awesome place!  It's like the summer home for all eventers in this cute little quaint town (Upperville and The Plains as well).  The coolest thing Amber and I got to do was to check up on retired Upper Level guys, and I think we counted 5 Olympic medals between the 4 horses in one field!  Am I the luckiest girl or what??

Last, but not least, the official Smokey update
So, when I last blogged, Smokey was getting ready for a massage with Michele for his sore back.  After that, he didn't show any improvement in his comfort level, so I had Dr. Cook from Woodford Equine take a look at him.  He was basically in agreement that his muscles over his topline and hindquarters were really tight, and prescribed a bit of stall rest and muscle relaxers.  I bought him a Jolly Ball in case he got bored, but had no idea if he would play with it or not.  Well....this picture says it all!

Hehe, I threw my Jolly Ball out of the window!!

I guess that is how he feels about stall rest!  Don't worry, there wasn't any glass on the window originally.  He is much better after those few days of R&R, and should be back to work next week.  However, now Texas has caught the "sore back" issue, at least I think that is what is ailing her at the moment.  It must be contagious!  Her and her mom, Krista, had a very successful show last weekend at Lakeside Arena, and I cannot tell you how proud I am of those 2.  They have come so far since first showing and it is just fun watching them work together. 

Texas and the Texan!

Right now, there isn't anything on the schedule in terms of shows, and I'm okay with that for now.  I'm anxious to get back to riding and hopefully will be able to do so by the end of May.  Yes, this is later than I originally planned (and I did argue with my doctor about this), but after seeing the x-ray for myself, I agreed that it still needed time to heal.  So, 3 more weeks of "stall rest" for me. 

Next big thing for Smokey-some cross country schooling!!

The Kentucky Derby
Happy Derby Day tomorrow!!  Who is your Derby pick?  I love LOVE Tiznow, and I have to go with his son, Gemologist.