July 2009

JULY 2009

"Life is not about waiting for the storms to pass...it's about learning how to dance in the rain."

July 1, 2009

No way it's July. I just can't believe it. Well you know what they say !!!

July 4, 2009

Happy Independence Day ! Summer is FLYING by.

Remember our horse show next Saturday - July 11. Click here for a prize list. To pre-enter just email me the following info: Horse or Pony Name; Owner; Rider; Classes. That's all there is to it ! Let me know by Wednesday so I know if there are enough entries to hold it.

We are also having a SHSA show on July 25. I hope to get that prize list up soon. It will also be on the SHSA website.

Thank you Russ for all your help with our NEW computer! You are amazing and a true blessing to Debbie and me.

We had a fun time at my house Thursday night. Josh and Annia cooked dinner for Ryann, Hunter, Jason and me. Then they played games - and not high tech video games. Good ole' fashion board games. It was such a nice, fun evening. So - we are going to plan on doing that again this Thursday and we'd love for you to come over. I'm not sure who will be the cook - maybe Jason, because he's quite a good cook too! Anyway - come on over and hang out with us. The more the merrier. My cousin Joey and his family are here from New York so maybe they should cook ! Yeah, that's what we'll do - a delicious Italian dinner. Joe makes the BEST stromboli.

Okie Dokie. I'm off to the barn to teach a lesson, Jason's going to work on the ring, and then we're all going to Williamsburg to spend the day with the Carrs and the Griffiths.

Remember - let me know if you're planning to show.

God bless you,

Nardeen

July 7, 2009

The show for Saturday is looking good. If you are planning to show please e-mail your entries by tomorrow. Just send me the horse, owner, rider and classes. Click here for the prize list.

Also, next week is the Old Dominion Horse Show at the Deep Run Show Grounds. "AA" Rated - July 15 - 19. If you need any info let me know.

Those who hope in the Lord will renew their strength.

They will soar on wings like eagles; they will run and not grow weary, they will walk and not be faint.

Isaiah 40.31

July 11, 2009

Today was a beautiful, wonderful day at our show ! We had the absolute BEST time. One thing that made it so much fun was having Lucy, her wonderful little horse "Melody" and her AMAZING mother, Sarah with us. On Thursday Lucy called and said she wanted to show on Saturday but needed a ride for her horse. Well, I didn't think we were going to be able to help her because we were so busy. Jason happened to be standing by me when Sarah called back and said they really wanted to show and couldn't we help them someway. Well - Jason being Jason - said he would go and get her. So on Friday Jason picked up Melody and brought her to the barn for a lesson and to spend the night. It just made more sense doing it that way than to have them come early Saturday morning and be totally "frazzled" by all that goes into getting ready for a show. Everything worked out perfectly and EVERYONE at the barn hit it off with Sarah and Lucy. We ALL loved having them with us. That Sarah is the PERFECT horse show mom and PERFECT trainer mom. She came in the morning with the best home-made ham and cheese biscuits for all of us, then a delicious salad with home grown tomatoes for lunch. I LOVE SARAH !!! We all love Sarah.

Thank you to everyone who came out today. It was such a nice group of exhibitors. And we had so many nice people help us throughout the day with different things that go into putting on a horse show. We thank you ALL for your help.

Check out the Tidewater Horse Shows Association web site for points. If you would like your points to count for year end awards be sure to join. You will also be able to see who won what at today's show by checking the points.

www.tidewaterhorseshowsassociation.com.

Jason has been such a blessing to us at Amazing Grace Stable. We are prayerful that he is going to stay here and not move back to Montana.

God is sooooooo good.

Nardeen

HORSE SHOWS

July 25 - SHSA/VHSA RATED

Click here for prize list.

Please note the addition of Beginner Pleasure following Maiden Equitation.

Pre-enter at www.shsva.org.

The SHSA has an amazing feature of on-line entering.

Go to their website and enter the show. It saves all your info

so the next time you enter it is there. It also creates the class sheets.

It is a WONDERFUL feature created by a computer GENIUS named Russell.

The SHSA is sure blessed to have Russell.

August 1, 8, 15 & 29 - THSA/VHSA RATED

The August shows start at 9:30 a.m.

Click here for the prize list

Enter by emailing amazinggraceva@aol.com

your horses name, owner, rider and classes.

July 16, 2009

We are having a wonderful time at the Old Dominion Horse Show. The weather has been surprisingly nice. July can be a hot month, but for the most part it has been very nice. And - we are suppose to be having a "cool front" come in so it may only be in the 80s the next few days. Ellen has done a great job with putting on the show. It is a lot of work - and no one knows better than I do how much work goes into this. She is to be commended for putting this event on to benefit Danny and Ron's Rescue. God bless her !!!

My favorite horse "Casallo" was Champion Pre-Green Hunter. I love that horse. Ryann saw him yesterday and she loves him too. I told her to start praying that one day she'll own him, just like she prayed for Reese. Answered prayers. You've gotta believe to receive . I was over at Bob's stalls today and his tack stall was decorated with three pictures of Reese from the days that Bob was showing him. What a great horse that one is, and I STILL can't believe he's standing in our barn at Amazing Grace Stable. We are so blessed.

I've had the nicest time hanging out with some of my wonderful friends. Bob's birthday was on the 11th and we have done nothing but celebrate it ALL WEEK LONG !!! Danny and Ron are so sick of Bob Birthday Parties, and tonight we sang him "Happy Birthday" three times. Hilarious. Anyway - Kim Gottwald is truly AMAZING, as I've told you many times before. She had Ryann, two girls from church that she's baby sitting, Annia, Jackie and me over for a delicious dinner on Tuesday night. The woman is incredible. Then last night a group of us went to Brian Imperial's Condo for dinner - and it was fabulous. Brian's sister cooked it and I'm telling you what it was sooooooo good. Then tonight we went back to Kim's to celebrate Bob's birthday - AGAIN - and we had a wonderful comfort food meal of meatloaf, mashed potatoes, corn on the cob, green beans, a salad and an Ice Cream cake to celebrate Bob's birthday. It was so good and a big thank you to Kim and to Alexis Quinn for helping. We had a great time, and Ron was really into singing "Happy Birthday" to Bob AGAIN !!!

Okie Dokie - I'm off to bed. If you're not here at the show showing you should be. It is quite pleasant.

Take care, and God bless,

Nardeen

July 20, 2009

I can't tell you how enjoyable the week was at the Old Dominion Horse Show. It was absolutely wonderful. Perfect weather, wonderful exhibitors and just a peaceful, happy feeling all week long. Everyone was happy. Ellen did a great job and she had an AMAZING team. J. P. Goddard was the manager and he was such a pleasure to work with. Everyone was working hard for Ellen. And everyone on the team worked so well together. And, as I told Ellen, her most important team player was our God, who blessed her with incredible weather. He is soooooo good.

Ellen planned some really nice things, one being "College Night." It was a dinner at the Deep Run Hunt Club and several of the top colleges in Virginia had representatives available to answer questions. There were over 100 people in attendance. Lisa Cox catered the dinner and that girl can cook. Years ago Lisa would bring box lunches to sell at the horse shows to make a little money to help pay for her horse hobby. We would all "fight" over who got the lunches because she could only make 15 or 20 each day. It was so funny how we would all go running to her when we saw her driving in. She is such a precious girl. Anyway - it was amazing how many people came out for "College Night." And lots of dads too. A great idea !!!

Some fun things Ellen did was have a "Ride a Buck for the Pups" class which was a bareback dollar class . With inflation being what it is it was a twenty dollar bill ! Peyton Smith won that class and donated all the winnings to Danny and Ron's Rescue. There was also a Costume Team Class which all the kids had a blast in.

There was a Silent Auction - with the big ticket item being a week in Paris. That brought in $3,100.00 for Danny and Ron ! What a blessing. And a huge thank you to Lisa Rossi for that donation.

On Saturday was The North American Pony Hunter Futurity that Ellen started and has worked very hard on. Then she had such a nice ending to the week with the Children's/Adult Derby and a Pony Hunter Derby. Everyone loved it !!! I was amazed at how many people stayed over for those classes. The ring was GORGEOUS and J. P. did a great job with the course. It was "challenging" which it should have been for a Derby.

I met so many nice people and feel like I made some new wonderful friends. Terri Daugherty and her 23 year old daughter Brittany came all the way from Tennessee for the Futurity . I feel so blessed that I got to meet them. It was one of those things when you feel like you've known someone your whole life. And, they are beautiful Christians and love the Lord !!! Brittany showed one of their baby ponies in the "Pleasure Over Fences" class and he was such a good boy. He walked right in the ring - no schooling and just jumped right around. And he's just a baby pony. I was telling Brittany what a good boy he was and she told me that he is so broke that she could jump that course without a bridle. So - at the end of the show that day she did a demonstration for us. It was amazing. They jumped the entire course and even did several flying changes. What a broke to death pony that one is - and only five years old. Soooooo cute.

I had the nicest time !!! A truly blessed week in so many ways. It was one blessing after another. And you know what, before I left home to go to the show Ryann, Donna and I had prayer time at the barn and we asked God for the week to be exactly the way it turned out to be. God is so faithful.

Thank you Lord for all the wonderful blessings in our lives !!!

I have more to tell you, but I'm too tired. I'm off to bed.

Take care, and God bless you in all you do.

Nardeen

P. S. Take a look at Danny and Ron's website. We re-vamped it somewhat this week. We set up separate pages for male dogs, female dogs, puppies, big dogs, and a blog for Ron to keep everyone updated about their goings on. www.dannyandronsrescue.com

July 22, 2009

We have lots of events coming up at Amazing Grace Stable. This is what we have scheduled so far, but keep checking back because Jason has lots of ideas that we may add to this schedule. Possibly a "Mid-Week Horse Show", a "Novice Horse Show", and when Kristin gets back a "Jumper Show" and a "Jumper" Clinic. If there is anything you would like to see us offer please let us know and we'll work on it.

Things are "hopping" out at the barn Donna, Ryann and I are so grateful to have Jason. If you haven't met Jason yet you need to come out and do so. He is wonderful. There isn't too much he can't do or won't do. He has been a total blessing to us !!! Our God is so AMAZING !!! I'll tell you more about Jason soon.

Saturday - July 25 - VHSA/SHSA Horse Show - 8:00 a.m.

Monday July 27 - Thursday July 30 - Summer Camp - 9:00 - 2:00 - Pick the days you come

Saturday - August 1 - VHSA/THSA Horse Show - 9:30 a.m.

Saturday - August 8 - VHSA/THSA Horse Show - 9:30 a.m.

Saturday - August 15 - VHSA/THSA Horse Show - 9:30 a.m.

Monday August 17 - Thursday August 20 - Summer Camp - 9:00 - 2:00 - Pick the days you come

Saturday - August 29 - VHSA/THSA Horse Show - 9:30 a.m.

Thank you to Sue and Catherine Isner for telling us about the horses they saw for sale at Colonial Downs. We bought a four year old gelding, named "Bob" who is just about the sweetest horse I've ever seen. He is adorable. Bay with four white socks, a cute mover and "quiet". That's why he was for sale !!! Ryann and Donna have had a blast riding him. A group of us own him together. He's our "project." Donna, Kyle (Donna's son), Jason, Ryann, and the barn are all partners in "Bob." We are hoping to purchase a few more and do a similar syndication on them, so if you're interested in owning "part" of horse, let us know. It's much more affordable when a group owns one together instead of one person footing the entire bill.

I've gotta run finish up some Old Dominion Horse Show business and work on Middleburg Classic.

Take care, God bless and have a wonderful day !

Nardeen

I'm back. Boy - it's been a very busy day. I finished the Middleburg Classic prize list - FINALLY !!! I agonize over the prize list. It is such an important part of the horse show and I'm always so afraid of making a mistake. Plus, I was waiting on the pictures of the Grand Champions. Peggy (Smith) thought she had sent them to me but I didn't have them. And - to make matters worse, Peggy is in Alaska so she had to get the pictures to her then email them to me, who then had to email them to the printer. We were having internet connection problems and getting the pictures to the printer was QUITE AN ORDEAL !!! Things that should have taken me seconds to do would take HOURS, and I mean hours. It was nerve wracking, but it's finally done - thank God.

We're getting ready for the show on Saturday so we were all busy doing something. Jason bush-hogged lots of the grass, then Josh - our precious 13 year old neighbor came and used their Zero Turn mower and did the spots the bush-hog couldn't do. Ryann did the weed eating, her second time ever doing it !!! I worked on the stall fronts.

Remember the pony Trinket that I told you about that belongs to Diana and Butch Burris? They sent Trinket to us to get broken. Well, that is the cutest pony. Yesterday she did flying changes - perfectly !!! And she trotted a little cross rail. AND - Emma-Claire rode her yesterday and today. Emma-Claire is adorable. She's teeny. She's been hanging out with us at the barn and we thought we would see what Trinket would do with a little child riding her. Well Little Miss Trinket passed that test with flying colors. She is adorable.

We are having Summer Camp next week on Monday - Thursday. It's from 9 - 2 and it's $50 a day. You can sign up for one or more days. Jason made a sign and put it up on the road and we have had many people stop in to inquire about it. So - let us know if you, or someone you know is interested. It's going to be a "Bible Equestrian Camp". We're excited about it.

And - remember our horse show on Saturday. It is VHSA/SHSA Rated. Hope to see you there.

I'm falling asleep at the computer. I'm off to bed but will probably get up early and finish writing you. I have something I want to tell you about Middleburg Classic that warmed my heart.

Take care and God bless,

Nardeen

July 25, 2009

I want to tell you something about Middleburg Classic that warmed my heart. Well you guys who know me know I don't believe in coincidences. I believe in divine appointment by God. Well - at the Old Dominion Horse Show on the last day of the show I walked over to the stable area in the morning to tell Linda Foster goodbye. I looked around and didn't see her so I went into Bob Crandall's stall area and asked Brian (Imperial) if he had seen Linda. He had not, but while we were talking Linda happened to call Brian so he was able to relay my message to her. Anyway - when I was walking off Brian asked me when they would see me again and I said probably not until Middleburg Classic. Well, Javier (one of Bob's grooms) heard me say Middleburg Classic and he told me that was his favorite show ! I thanked him and told him I was happy he enjoyed it. Brian then told me that it's Javier's favorite show because he won the Grooms' Class last year. Well - INCREDIBLE JOY filled my heart because - well - CLICK HERE. Isn't that AMAZING. God is so good. I couldn't wait to tell Sharon Campbell (the wonderful artist) and Bob Crandall. I love our God !!! He's the best.

Our horse show today was - well - interesting. Lots of entries and lots of scratches. The SHSA has soooooooo many Pleasure classes that it's, well UNBELIEVABLE !!! There is basically a pleasure class for every horse, every age, and EVERYONE. If you want to show Pleasure the SHSA is the circuit to be with.

Ryann and Donna showed today !!! Hooray. I've been trying to get Donna to show for a year, and Ryann has only shown once. They both wanted to wait until they were PERFECT !!! Well, Jason motivated them and told them they needed to just get out there and DO IT !!! Reese was such a good boy and was Champion Open Hunter and Donna and Rex were Reserve Champion Open and Champion Green Hunter. Great job girls !!! And Ryann showed our precious new horse Bob and he was adorable. He is such a cute mover and the sweetest thing. I can't wait until he gains weight and is fat and pretty. He's already pretty but he's going to be beautiful when he fattens up.

God has done some pretty AMAZING things these past few day. He never ceases to AMAZE me.

God bless,

Nardeen

July 27, 2009

The first day of Summer Camp was wonderful. I'm so proud of Ryann for all the effort she put into making it a blessed day for all !!! Ryann loves kids. She opened the Camp with a beautiful prayer and a short devotional. Pastor McCarty was at the barn because his two children are attending this week. I know she was probably a "little" nervous but she did wonderful. I am sooooooo blessed with my beautiful daughter who loves the Lord with her whole heart and soul. She has a big week planned with these kids - and a sleepover Wednesday night, complete with pizza and banana splits. The girls are staying at my house and the boys are staying with Hunter at Ryann and Hunter's house. Fun, fun, fun !!!

Look - three boys. Isn't that AMAZING.

Thank you Lord for the blessings you've given us these past few weeks. You NEVER cease to AMAZE me.

Nardeen

July 28, 2009

We have Summer Camp again today, and tonight a wonderful COUNTRY DINNER at Ma Helen's house. Yum - we can't wait. Ma Helen (Chuck's mom) will be 84 years old in October. She is something else. She keeps herself busy with lots of church activities and cooks us dinner several times a month. And that woman can cook. I have the absolute BEST Mother-In-Law in the world. God certainly blessed me with Chuck and his family.

That Teddy (aka Stewart) is hilarious. He is jumping soooooo good - but he hates the cross rails. I've thought all along that was the case but it's hard to jump a horse over anything much bigger when they're so scared. But - he's gettin' it and he is jumping really good. He is such a beautiful horse and beautiful mover. I hope he comes along so he can be Courtney's horse. That would be sooooo great. Donna is doing an AMAZING job with him - and he loves and trusts Donna. He jumps gates and walls and flower boxes now, and he does his flying changes. Today we're going to skip the cross rail and start him right out over one of the other jumps. I think he just has a phobia about the rails. I use to own a wonderful little horse named "Blue Ridge" that also hated the cross rails. He wasn't scared of them like Teddy is but he never could maneuver them very well. He'd always leave way too long - didn't want to get anywhere near them - and many times he landed right on them and broke them. It was ridiculous. But - he ended up being one of the best horses I ever owned and was Champion of Virginia several times in a row in the Small Hunter Division - which back in those days had to jump 3'6". He was only 15.1 1/4" and the cutest thing you ever saw. But - he didn't like cross rails either ! So - we're being "prayerful" that Teddy will come around and "GET IT."

Then - we had Sydney - Denise's AMAZING horse - who is incredible. She walked right in the ring, jumped the entire course of horse show jumps, brush, flowers, and never looked right or left. And - she jumps OUTRAGEOUS. I told Denise now is the time to sell her if she's going to sell her. She could get a bundle for her. She's pretty, she's big, she moves great, jumps OUTRAGEOUS, she's brave, she's sweet, she's quiet, she does flying changes, is an easy keeper, and is barefoot !!! It just doesn't get any better than that. I absolutely love that horse and Donna has done a GREAT job with her. Denise is taking a lesson on her Thursday so that will be a lot of fun again.

Speaking of AMAZING - Diana and Butch's precious pony Trinket is adorable. Does her flying changes and jumped the ladder and the rolltop. And jumped really good - straight - and quiet. We're not going to do much more jumping with her because she's such a baby. But I'm telling you what, she is adorable.

Trinket & Emma Clair !!!

We have so many fun things going on at the barn right now. And we thank Jason and our God for sending us Jason.

God bless,

Nardeen

July 30, 2009

We ARE having the horse show on Saturday. It's going to be small, but it is going to happen. We will start at 9:30 as planned. If you haven't already entered PLEASE call me on Friday at 757-357-7471. Kendall Parks is the judge.

Summer camp ended today and I'll tell you what - we had the nicest group of kids. I am so proud of Ryann for all the work that went into putting it on. She planned the entire thing herself. Brittney, Sam, Courtney, Ashley, Anya and Josh - you guys did a great job helping Ryann and we both thank you.

We had such a fun lesson tonight at the barn. The most exciting thing was Denise and her AMAZING horse Sydney. That horse is something else, and tonight she was her usual perfect self. She jumped outrageous with Denise and did perfect flying changes. Denise found the jumps really good. Denise says Sydney is easy to find the distances on. The reason is because her rhythm never changes. She just canters along, happy as can be, and never speeds up or slows down. The worse thing she may do - and it's only once in a while is, she may get a little "crooked." Denise rode GREAT. What a fun time I had tonight with "my girls."

We have a new horse named "Coach." He's adorable. Plain bay with a small star. He's quite handsome. Ryann's going to ride him tomorrow and I'll let you know how he goes.

I am off to bed. I am EXHAUSTED.

Take care, and God bless you all.

Nardeen

July 31, 2009

We are going to cancel our show for tomorrow. The weather forecast isn't looking good. We have another one scheduled for next Saturday. Please get your entries in by Wednesday morning.

It is hard to believe that it has been almost a year since we became Amazing Grace Stable. This has been a wonderful year - blessed in many ways. We started out with just a few customers and it has been a peaceful and relaxing place with the joy of being around our wonderful horses. A week or so ago we prayed for God to bring us some new customers - mainly for financial reasons. Well - he has answered our prayers ABUNDANTLY - as he always seems to do. Actually, he answered so abundantly that Jason told me not to take any more horses because he has a few stalls he needs to do some work on before moving a horse into them. So - within a week of us praying for customers, God has blessed us with many.

We are happy to have been chosen to be the home for the Christopher Newport Riding Team. We are excited to have them become a part of Amazing Grace Stable. We will be holding an Open House for the riders and their families AND any CNU alumni are also welcome to attend. I'll let you know the day and time in a few days.

Today the barn was what I remember it being like in the good ole' days. We had a lot of activity with the nicest group of kids who love being at the barn more than anyplace else on earth. These kids LOVE their horse, love the barn and love learning everything about a horse there is to learn. I reminded me of Shamrock Stables. Thank you God for that answered prayer and bringing such an AMAZING group of kids to us !!!

Okie Dokie - I'm off to bed. Falling asleep again at the computer.

God bless you.

Nardeen

"I am the Way the Truth and the Life: no man cometh unto the Father but by Me."
—Jesus Christ, John 14:6

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