June 2009

Last night the Chef's Best dinner was fabulous. Ryann was able to come with me and we had the best time. Today we're going to Morven Park for a meeting about the Middleburg Classic. We may head over to Upperville for a little while too.

Remember our horse show June 13. This one is VHSA/THSA rated. It starts at 9:30 a.m. We have a few stalls available to rent for the day if you need one. At all our shows Pre-entering by Wednesday before the show is required. This helps us decide if we have enough entries to have the show. If we hold the show you will be able to post enter but you will still need to contact us before you come. Click here for a prize list.

We are planning several "Barn Days" for Children and Adults. Contact us for more details at 757-357-7471 or amazinggraceva@aol.com.

WOW - this week has flown by. Well you know what they say - time flies when you're having fun. And we have been having fun this week.

Monday and Tuesday Ryann and I were in Washington D.C. for the Chef's Best dinner which is always AMAZING. Then on Tuesday we went to Morven Park in Leesburg for a meeting about Middleburg Classic. It was perfect because the stall tents were going up for Loudoun so we were able to get more of a picture of how that looks. It's amazing how much more room we're going to have than we ever had before - which is a good and a bad thing. We like "landscaping" and "tents" and we're going to have to be careful to not get carried away. There is a lot we could do. We are excited about what we have planned so far and think it is going to be an extra special show for everyone.

One of the changes we will be making is that we are going to start the show on Wednesday instead of Tuesday. There is a dressage event on the weekend before our show and that doesn't give us enough time to get set up for a Tuesday start. In the past we have started working on the show grounds on Saturday before the show but the dressage event doesn't end until Sunday evening. Soooooo - we are going to be hustling to get it all done for Tuesdays move in - but we can do it because we have the best crew in America !!! We have a lot of ideas to make it feel like "Middleburg Classic". Caroline has all sorts of plans so I know it is going to be a great show ! So mark your calendars for September 16 - 20. You can visit our web site at www.middleburgclassic.com for hotels and in a few days (hopefully) I'll put up some directions to Morven Park.

I just finished putting in the last entry for Deep Run. I love Deep Run. It has always been one of my favorite shows. All those ladies that work so hard on it year after year. The old grandstands are so special - they give you a good nostalgic feeling. And thank God for the all weather footing. That was a tough decision when they went from grass to all weather, but they should be very glad they did it. Grass is definitely a thing of the past. We found that out last year when we held Middleburg Classic at Oakley Farm. It is beautiful - but it just doesn't work in today's show world. Unless you have absolutely PERFECT conditions the exhibitors don't want to show on it. And when I say perfect I don't just mean no rain the day of the show. You have to have had perfect weather for weeks before the show. The temperature has to be right, it can't have been too hot or the grass will be brown and the ground too hard. Grass is just too complicated. Poor Upperville horse show. They had a couple of perfect days, then they had rain and had to actually cancel one day of showing. I feel so sorry for them because that is such a beautiful horse show.

This week is going to pretty much be dedicated to Deep Run and Middleburg Classic. I'll be at the barn, but mainly working on these shows. I'm also doing a new show called the Old Dominion Horse Show which is held at the Deep Run show grounds on July 15 thru 19. It is AA rated. Ellen Shevella is the chairman and she is doing some really neat things. I'm sure it is going to be a very nice show. And for all of you looking for the 2'6" divisions for horses there are some of them. Prize lists just went in the mail, so let me know if you don't receive one in a week or so and we'll get one out to you.

Bethel is starting a new series this week on "Joy." That Pastor Glenn is something else and a better speaker you'd be hard pressed to find. We are sure blessed to have him at Bethel. The praise and worship portion of the service is from 9:00 until around 9:30 and Pastor Glenn starts the service between 9:30 - 9:45. Try and come out. You'll love it ! Then Healing Waters starts at 10:45 with praise and worship and Pastor McCarty (who's also wonderful) starts the service at around 11:15. I can usually make it to both services and I love them both. Try and come out, we'd love it.

Please let me know asap if you are planning to come to our show next Saturday, June 13. It looks like the shows that were scheduled for this weekend have been re-scheduled for next weekend because of all the rain. So - I would like to have an idea asap if we are going to have enough entries to hold the show so we can make plans.

Denise came over with Sydney again this week and oh my goodness she is the sweetest horse in the world. She is so brave about the jumps and jumps great ! She even did a lead change. We love that horse, and the Denise should be soooo proud of her and of herself for the great job she's done with her.

Here's Denise and the precious cubs at the Norfolk Zoo. Aren't they the cutest things you've ever seen.

This is a photo of me with the three boys, "Ajani", "Dakari", and "Razi".  The 
girl, "Zarina", was out in the yard with her mother.  The other photo is of two 
of them on the counter and is just the cutest photo ever!

It doesn't look like we have enough entries to have the show on Saturday. I love pre-entering. It makes it so nice to know ahead of time. Right now our ring has been "Kristinfied" with bounces, combinations, jumps on a circle, etc. So we're having fun with all that and weren't ready to tear it down and build a show course. And with me leaving for Deep Run next week the girls can continue changing the combinations etc.

Denise and Sydney came out again yesterday. That is one amazing horse. I just love her. They don't come much easier or more agreeable. She jumped outrageous - again - never questions anything we ask her to do AND does her lead changes. She's ADORABLE. She spent the night last night because Denise is going to come back today to take a lesson and jump her for the first time. That is going to be so much fun. Sydney was so cute because when Denise pulled out of the driveway she was standing at her stall window looking out and started whinnying to her. She didn't understand why Denise was leaving her behind. But then she settled right in and was fine. That's interesting too because she's use to be turned out 24/7. I hope being in that stall for the night didn't make her crazy. We'll get her turned out today until Denise gets there to ride and hopefully she'll be just as good as she's been being.

We have some fun and exciting things coming up. June 27 from 11:00 - 2:00 is Family Fun Day, with pony and horse rides for children and adults, a dog contest for the smallest, biggest, funniest, smartest, and a 50/50 raffle. Then at 3:00 we're having a Pleasure Horse Show with Beginner Walk Trot Pleasure, Junior Pleasure, Adult Pleasure, and Western Pleasure. The horse show requires pre-entering so be sure to call us at 357-7471 or email us at amazinggraceva@aol.com if you are planning to attend. We hope to see you !!!

What a beautiful day today is. I wish we had been able to have the show because it is gorgeous out. Oh well, gives me more time to get ready for Deep Run Horse Show. I am leaving to go up there early Monday morning. If any of you have any questions about the show you can email me at deeprunhorseshow@aol.com . I am also sending out Trainer Add Scratch Sheets and Stall Billing Reports, so if you would like to receive that also email me so I get your email address in the computer. I may already have your email address at amazinggraceva@aol.com or even middleburg@aol.com but it is much easier if it is in the horse show it is related to. So please, if you haven't already received these reports send me an email to the deeprunhorseshow@aol.com address and I'll get it out to you.

I'm looking forward to Deep Run. It is always such a nice show. Hope you get a chance to come out to it.

Well - good thing we didn't have the show today. At around noon the bottom DROPPED OUT !!! I don't think I've ever seen so much rain come down so fast. And lightning and thunder. We thought we heard lightning strike and sure enough the top of a big tree in one of the front paddocks got hit. Scarey !!! Thank God that was all that got hit.

Anyway - let me tell you about the lesson with Denise and Sydney. P E R F E C T - just like I knew it would be. Denise was smiling from ear to ear - just like I knew she would be. Denise had the best time, Sydney had the best time, and I had the best time too. It does my heart good for someone as deserving as Denise to have this all work out for her. You'd be hard pressed to find a nicer person.

And Kendall had a great time too. She rode Rex - and he was such a good boy. Kendall has been wanting to ride Rex for the longest time and since Topper is up in Charlottesville at customers - tonight was the night. That Kendall can ride. I was proud of Rex because the lesson is at his turn out time. He was very good. Kendall's mom, Robin, came out and we had so much fun. Then a bunch of us went to our favorite restaurant - El Burrito's !!! It's "Girls Night Out" on Thursday nights. Come join us if you'd like. The more the merrier.

Ryann's having a pajama party tonight for the youth girls at the church. Becky, from Master's Commission is also here and Brittany (Davis) is staying over too. Becky and Ryann have an amazing, spirit filled night planned for the girls. What a wonderful blessing for these kids. I'm so proud of my Ryann. She just does my heart good. Hunter is off to the National Guard for the next two weeks for his two week drill. We're gonna miss him !!!

Here's another video of Sydney. I LOVE HER. She is the sweetest, smartest, tryingest horse I think I've ever seen.

I'm at the Deep Run Horse Show and everything looks beautiful. The schooling area for ring 2 has been enlarged. Everyone will love that. They've moved the in-gate for ring 1 in hopes of less congestion. The "Deep Run Ladies" were all here today putting on the finishing touches. They are all so cute. It's always nice to see them. And it's always wonderful to see Leslie Jones who comes back to Richmond to help with the show. Leslie was one of the top Amateur Adult riders a few years ago. She rode at the Barracks and Glenn was her teacher and best friend. I know he misses her so much. And I'm sure Leslie misses him AND riding ! She was quite good and always a top competitor. Leslie is married now and she and her husband, Bo, have moved to Maryland. Betsy Tompkins is the show chairman, replacing Polly Bauhan who headed it up for quite a few years. Polly came out today and helped, and she has certainly helped make the transition go smoothly. It was so nice seeing her. She is a wonderful lady ! Betsy has some big shoes to fill and she is doing a great job. And of course I love seeing and working with Scott Nunnally. He's so laid back and easy going - but gets it all done. Milky is the stable manager again and he's great to work with. And this year J.P. Bordeleau, who is our technical coordinator at Middleburg Classic, is helping with the show. I believe he's doing in-gate. J.P. and I may head to Morven Park on Monday so he can see the facility and I can go over with him what we've come up with. We have some ideas and things we want to do to make it feel like "Middleburg Classic."

Deep Run definitely has its own feel. The minute you drive onto the property you go back in time. So many memories rush into your heart. I've got to say - today I had a few funny moments - remembering the good ole' days when I came to Deep Run with our Hunter's Way gang. We had such a great time. We had a barn full of kids, and everyone would look so forward to Deep Run. It was our highlight show of the year. We would all get excited about decorating the tack stall, setting up a "kitchen" in the tack room, having cookouts back at the barn. We would sit around at the stalls after the show ended each day and the kids would play horse-less horse show, jumping things like buckets and grooming boxes. And they were all such good friends. I must say I do miss those days. But such is life, and seasons come and seasons go.

It was a drizzly, cloudy day today - and a bit chilly too ! This has been some crazy weather this year. I think every show in Virginia has had at least one or more yucky days. I feel so bad for all the exhibitors - who spend thousands of dollars to be at an "A" show and have the weather be bad. I guess we were fortunate because several exhibitors who drove in today said it was pouring where they were. It didn't really pour, just drizzly. I think today was the end of it and it's going to be pretty from here on out. I sure hope so because this is such a nice horse show.

Just like most of the shows this year - entries are down - but that is mostly because of the elimination of the 2'6" divisions. The show ended around 5:30 in the main ring and 4:30 in Ring 2, which is a reasonable hour. Tomorrow looks like an earlier ending in both rings.

I'm so excited because tomorrow night I'm going to a pajama party at Kim Gottwald's house. All six kids are home !!! We are going to have soooo much fun. Those girls - all four of them - are the most precious things I've ever seen. Kimmie and Lilly are clones of Nancy and Caroline. It is so AMAZING how much alike they are. Adorable. And B. and Hayes are home too, so that is going to be extra fun. I haven't seen Hayes in a long time. I probably won't even recognize him. I was blessed several years ago of being able to train him at his first show jumping. It was in Culpeper. Bob was out of town and he asked Peg to train him, but for some reason Peg didn't go to that show. I don't know, she was sick or out of town or something. Anyway - I got to be his trainer, and we had the absolute best time. That was when Paul O'Keefe was just starting to show and those two boys were so cute. They both won blue ribbons and I have the cutest picture of them standing in front of the banner with their ribbons. It was so much fun. Tomorrow is going to be a perfect day to go there for the pajama party because of the show ending early. I won't be so exhausted. I can't wait. I love Kim and those kids and sure wish we lived closer.

J.P. and I got to chat a little bit today about Middleburg Classic. I'm really excited about the show being at Morven Park. Caroline has all sorts of fun things planned. That girl is amazing and when she says she's going to do something you know it's going to get done - and to the fullest. She's a true blessing to me and to the horse show. If you know anyone who does pony rides and/or a petting zoo please let me know. We are planning a "Family Fun Day" for Saturday, September 19th. I would love for Christie from Smithfield to come with her "Critter's of Inspiration" but she is booked that weekend. I'm hoping to drag out, restore and bring the "horseless horse show jumps" that Chuck built years ago. The kids (and some of the adults) love the horseless horse show. If you have any ideas that would be fun let us know.

Ron and Danny are here with lots of rescue dogs. If you're looking for a dog please come here and pick one out. Ron says that they are now getting dogs from foreclosures. One they just got was left in a house alone for seven - yes seven weeks without food or water. He says he was so skinny and pitiful. When the people found him he had eaten the drywall, and the pipes trying to get water and food. How sad. Hurricane Katrina started a lot of the rescue work they do and it has gotten worse and worse for them. They went from Katrina, to bait dogs from dog fighting, now to the foreclosure dogs. It is unbelievable the work they do. If you can, please make a donation to them. Visit their web site at www.dannyandronsrescue.com and you can send a donation thru Paypal. Also - next month, right here at the Deep Run show grounds - Ellen Shevella is putting on a "AA" rated show to benefit them. So this will be a show to add to your calendar. The dates are July 15 - 18. Ellen has lots of nice things planned. I'll get something on the web site soon about it for you.

Just as I thought - I had a wonderful time last night with the Gottwalds. What a precious family !!! Everyone of those children are so well mannered, polite, and personable. I just love them. I would have never recognized Hayes. He is so tall, and grown up. He has a deep voice now and is talkative. He use to be so shy and quiet. Adorable. Kim, the little girls and I played "Scattegories" which was lots of fun. My favorite answer of all was from Lilly, when you had to name something at the beach that began with an "F". Her answer - "friends and family." Howwwwwww cute !!! The new house is AMAZING. It is so beautiful and comfortable. All the Kim Gottwald touches. They just moved in two weeks ago and have a lot of unpacking to do. But for the most part a lot of it has been done. One of the coolest parts of the house is the basement which has about five rooms in a row which are for all sorts of things. The "Picture Album Book" room which is incredible. Stacks and stacks and stacks of picture albums - most of the pictures taken by Kim. A "Gift" room, a "Riding Clothes" room, a "Dark Room." There were (I think) two more but I can't remember what was in them. The house is wonderful and has a warm comfortable feel to it. I think Kim Gottwald is an amazing woman. To raise six children who are all so personable, polite and well mannered is quite an accomplishment. To keep up with one child is a hard thing to do, and she has managed to do it - and quite well - with six. God bless her !

Yesterday was a very nice day at Deep Run. The weather was good, the day ended around 4:30 and everyone had a great time. My favorite horse "Casallo" was Champion Pre-Green. I love him. He has sure learned a lot since the last time I saw him last year at James River. It is soooo easy for him. Bob thinks he's going to skip the 3'3" Pre-Green and move right up to the First Years. Diane and Susie's horse is very nice too. He was a little frisky here - which they say is not part of him, but he sure can jump and is very pretty. Bob has a very nice group of horses - and a very nice group of customers.

I'm excited because Ryann is coming up today. I miss her so I can't wait to see her. And hopefully Donna is coming tomorrow. Ryann is so happy because Claiborne is letting her ride Luna today. Ryann loves that horse. She is praying for Claiborne to give her to us when they are done with her so we can breed her and have Luna babies.

I'm at the show grounds in the announcer stand writing this because I'm locked out of the horse show office and waiting for someone to let me in. This is the only place on the show grounds I can get on line. I was the first person on the show grounds this morning and it was so quiet and nice. It's getting busy now with everyone warming up. This was the first year Deep Run has allowed riding in the rings in the mornings. Everyone is taking full advantage of it too !

Today just couldn't have been better. It got a little "warm" towards the end of it, but for the most part it was very nice.

Shannon Bartlett was Champion of the middle Adults. I love her new horse "If Ever." He is absolutely adorable. Quite flashy - brown with a white blaze and white socks, and cute as he can be. He looks a bit like a trick ride - mainly (I think) because he's young - but probably because he's a little cocky because he's so cute. A little tough about the lead changes - but not too bad. But that Shannon is one talented rider and she knows just what to do and when to do it !!! He jumps great and is the cutest looking thing going around. You've just got to love him. They are going to be tough to beat. And I'm so happy for Mrs. Holmes. She gets sooooooo excited when Shannon does well - as she should. You go girls !!! You've got a good one, and you sure deserve it !

Lindsay Kramer and "Escapade" were Reserve Champion in the younger Adults. That Lindsay's another one that rides great. And Linda Hill, who owns "Ty" is such a nice lady, and Lynne (Lindsay's mom) is one of the nicest people you'd ever want to meet. So they all had a great day too !

You know - when I think back about it - Shannon and Lindsay were very similar to teach when they were little girls. Both of them were laid back, easy going, and rode well then too. They were always a pleasure to teach, and always a pleasure to take to the shows. Hmmmmm - some things never change. I'm so happy for both of them and their moms. They have been doing this a long time and deserve all the success there is to have.

Ryann had a blast riding "Luna." She brought her a bag of Twizzlers - always Luna's favorite treat. And Ryann thinks that Luna didn't know who she was until she gave her that first Twizzler. Then of course she was all about getting that treat. That was very nice of Claiborne to let Ryann ride. We both really appreciate it.

I'm falling to sleep at the computer so I'll tell you more tomorrow. We sure had a blessed day today.

We had a wonderful day today at the horse show. Everything went so smoothly. It was really nice. Betsy Tompkins has done a great job taking over for Polly as Show Chairman, and as I said earlier - those were some big shoes to fill. Polly would be proud of her.

That Peyton Smith is such a good rider - AND more importantly, such a nice young lady. She rides GREAT. They have a new horse they are trying. Yesterday was their first time out together and they were Champion Children's Hunter. It is the cutest thing you have ever seen. Dappled grey, and looks like a big pony.

Today at the show I had further confirmation about the Gottwald children. They are soooooo amazing. Kimmie (who has just started showing over fences) and her beautiful, wonderful FOUR YEAR OLD pony (who has also just started showing over fences) had a little bit of a hard time today in the Children's Pony. Kimmie was so upset after she came out of the ring and her big brother, B., went over and put his arm around her and consoled her. That was the sweetest and best thing that could have happened for that precious little girl. I told her the love and concern that her big brother showed her far outweighed whatever went wrong in that ring. Those kids love each other so much. And they all love Kim so much. It is just incredible to me. Kim has done an amazing job raising SIX amazing children. God has truly blessed her with those children and the best part of it all is that Kim knows that God has blessed her. She recognizes what our God does for and how his grace has gotten her through some really tough times. Our God is good, isn't he?

My friend Diane Burt was reserve champion yesterday with Lissa Bachner's wonderful horse Milo. Milo was the first horse that Bob ever imported. He has been a great one for Lissa and now Diane is getting to enjoy him. I am so happy for her. She did really good with her own horse "And Then Some" too. Diane had a great show, and she certainly deserves it.

Well, I'm off to bed. I've got a busy day tomorrow with everyone checking out, plus J.P. and I are going to drive to Leesburg after the show ends.

I am so happy I went back to Morven Park today. I was really able to look around and vision where the tents are going to go and how the grounds are going to feel. And I know Glenn (Moody) is going to love being the course designer because he is going to be able to be "an artist" as he likes to call it, which always makes him happy. Glenn - in my opinion - is one of the best course designers there is. He puts so much thought and effort into it. As a matter of fact, I'd venture to bet that he has already started drawing the courses. If you were at Loudoun you are familiar with the gigantic main ring that they divide into two hunter rings because it is so big. Well - in an effort to keep the same feel of the Middleburg Classic with one main ring being highlighted - we are going to use the gigantic ring as one ring - but it will actually be a ring within a ring. In other words, it will have the look and feel of an outside course - big and roomy, but for most of the classes we will only be using the inside perimeter of jumps. So, imagine a course set up in the regular space of a normal size ring in the middle of that gigantic ring, but on the outsides of it will be other jumps that are only jumped occasionally - like in the stake classes and handy classes etc. We are going to order extra jumps for the main ring so it looks full but it won't take so long to go around because for the most part the classes will be in the middle section. And - our wonderful landscape designer - Kristin Heider - is also going to have a blast landscaping that ring. I'm sooooo excited. Glenn was very happy when I told him how we want to do it. His artistic talents will definitely be able to shine !

I was very happy that J.P. was able to go with me and see the grounds. J.P. is our technical coordinator for Middleburg Classic. He was with us last week at Deep Run working as the starter for ring one. It is going to make it much easier for him to plan the crew and equipment now that he's seen the grounds. It is not an easy thing for us going to these show grounds for a one time a year - one week event. It takes a lot of planning and organizing. Now that he's seen the grounds it will help.

I was also able to sketch out the show grounds better and know "almost" exactly where the tents are going to go. Tent placement is a very important part of Middleburg Classic. We put up lots of tents. We have the main hospitality and patrons tent, which will be on the hill by the main ring, plus we have lots of other tents for horses to stand under, tents that we're going to put bleachers under, tents for in gate, tents for judges and announcers. I LOVE TENTS !!! Isn't that crazy, but I just think that tents make a show grounds so pretty. And I'm so blessed that I have such a wonderful board of directors who also want to make this horse show as beautiful as we possibly can. I'm excited - can you tell !!!

Lee and Scott Nunnally are a true blessing to me with the tents. They own Virginia Tent Rental which is now a gigantic company that does work all over the east coast. For Middleburg Classic, they throw lots of tents on their trucks and then we go around putting tents everywhere. It's really hard to "guess" where you may want a tent - especially for a first time event. Sometimes you need to see how it looks after most of the tents have gone up and then you may need to add one here and there. Lee and Scott are wonderful because they understand the running of a horse show and how it all works. I can't imagine working with any other tent company for this show. It would be a nightmare. Can you imagine me telling a non-horse show tent company that I need another tent at the in-gate of ring two for the starter. They wouldn't have any idea what I was talking about or where ring two even was. Plus - because they know horse shows, sometimes they suggest putting a tent somewhere that I may have over looked. They are a true blessing to me.

I've known Lee and Scott since they were teenagers and I've watched them grow up and turn what was once just a "summer job" into a big business. They use to be the jump crew at the Virginia horse shows - just something for strong teenage boys and their friends to do to earn a little spending money. Well - they quickly learned that there are pretty girls at these horse shows and they started taking on more and more shows. Then they started a business called Jump Crews of Virginia - which was simply them lining up their high school buddies to come out and move the jumps around and jump crew when needed. Scott and Lee made $10 a guy a day for the headache of handling the crew. We horse show managers loved it and didn't mind a bit paying them the $10 because that was one less headache we had. Lee and Scott knew the guys - they were all buddies - and they all worked great together. Jump Crews of Virginia branched out and started doing shows outside of Virginia and they became a huge business. Then Lee and Scott put up a tent at horse show for an in gate or something, and they realized they could put up tents AND jump crew. Why not - they were on the grounds anyway with a group of strong guys. A little side job - which has now turned into a huge business for them. They put up tents all over from Florida to New York - and probably beyond. And they both married horse show girls - who's names are both Amy. Isn't that cool !!! Actually - the white peaked tent that we use at Middleburg Classic for the Patrons' Tent was purchased originally by Virginia Tent Rental for Middleburg Classic. Years ago I talked with Scott about wanting that "look" for the show but they didn't own a peaked tent at the time. He told me if I would promise to rent it from them for three years they would buy one. Well - the rest is history. We've been renting it ever since - much longer than three years - and I'm sure it is not the original peaked tent. They've probably purchased many more since then for all the weddings and other upscale events they do. Virginia Tent Rental is a huge business that started with two young boys having a good time at horse shows meeting pretty girls. That's our AMERICA !!!

Deep Run Horse Show was such a nice horse show. It just goes to show us not to be too quick to judge a situation. When the prize list came out and there were no 2' or 2'6" divisions everyone - including me - thought they had made a big mistake. But at the end of the horse show we all agreed that the show had a much calmer feel to it. It wasn't nearly has hectic. Of course, they didn't make nearly the money either - which is obvious when you eliminate the big "money making" divisions. But it certainly made it more enjoyable for the exhibitors who were there and for the staff. Everyone felt better !!! And the neat part about it is that the committee knew they were going to lose that income but they did it anyway to try and put on a quality horse show that everyone would enjoy. Well my hats go off to those ladies for taking a big chance but accomplishing exactly what they set out to accomplish !!! We all had a great week at Deep Run. I was sad to see it end.

Remember - next month - The Old Dominion Classic - at Deep Run show grounds. Ellen is so excited about it. This is her first time putting on a horse show and she's doing great. She has a lot of fun things planned. I'm trying to put the prize list up here but the file is too big to open. I'll keep working on it and hopefully in a few days I'll get something up for you. In the meantime, if you're interested drop me an email at amazinggraceva@aol.com and I'll get something out to you. I'm excited about getting to go back to Deep Run again in a few weeks. Ellen and I were able to spend a little time together going over some ideas about making the show have it's own feel - something a little different than Deep Run - not that there is anything wrong with Deep Run because it's a wonderful show, but it's nice for your own show to have it's own feel. Just like we want Middleburg Classic to feel like Middleburg Classic, not like Loudoun. Anyway - you know how I feel about tents - and Ellen and I went over some tent ideas. We talked about moving the hospitality tent closer to the rings - over where Chuck Pinnells tent was at Deep Run. And the vendors are going to be more in a row rather than leaving the middle open. Plus the green and white striped tent won't be at the end of the ring because there will be no need for it if the hospitality tent is moving up to the ring. There's also going to be a winners circle like we do at Middleburg Classic which will be nice. That is always good especially if you have long days because you can do all the presentation stuff outside of the ring which doesn't slow the ring down and the Champions are still getting their deserved picture and trophy presentation time. Soooo - even though the show is at the Deep Run show grounds I think it is going to have it's own feel. I hope we see you there.

Our God is so good. We live such privileged lives. Just think about it. We "horse people" are truly blessed.

We had such a nice time Saturday at our Family Fun Day. We had lots of children come out for the pony rides. To me the best part was the dog show. The winners were "Tink" (owners Jackie & Sven Sharp) winning Smallest, Tinker Bell (owners the Camp family) winning Biggest and Whitest, Halo (owners Ryann & Hunter Winn) winning Blackest, Roxi (owner Annia) winning Brownest, Snuggles (owner Nardeen) winning Smartest and Faith (owner Nardeen) winning Funniest. The dogs were all so cute - and I do believe they knew they were being judged. It was hilarious.

Today was busy, busy, busy. Denise brought Sydney and there is no more for me to say except I LOVE HER !!! The horse is incredible and she jumps great. I LOVE HER !!!

Kristy Morrill brought "Teddy", aka "Stewart." We use to own "Stewart" and sold him four years ago to Kristy as a pleasure horse because he was so ridiculous about jumping. First of all, we could hardly get him to jump. He was scared to death. And when he did jump he squatted down and brought his knees back behind him. I must say in my many years of doing horses, I've never seen a horse jump as bad as him. The other day Kristy and I were talking about him and what she was doing with him now. I said I would love to see him again and see if growing up these four years had changed him at all. So - Kristy brought him over today and Donna rode him. Well - he is HUGE - about 17.2, still beautiful and moves great. He was whinnying and whinnying - totally distracted. But - he did hack around our ring, quiet as could be (except for the whinnying) and even passed the jumps and circled around the jumps - which use to be a big issue when we owned him. Well- I told Donna to walk him up to the cross rail and flower box and see what he would do. He didn't seem to mind it too much. He put his head down and sniffed it and that was about it. Believe me - that would have been impossible four years ago. So, I told her to trot over it. I couldn't believe my eyes. He trotted right over it and even jumped it good !!! In the several years we owned him he never jumped a good jump. So then he jumped the cross rail and flower box on the far side of the ring - equally as good. He jumped those two cross rails eight or ten times - and in good form every time !!! Isn't it amazing what giving a horse time to grow up will do for them. Kristy was tickled to death - as was I. It just did my heart good to see that horse do what I hoped he could do. And that Donna - she did an amazing job riding him. She is so soft - and the horses LOVE HER !!! So - we'll see what's going to happen with "Teddy" aka "Stewart." He may end up a show horse after all.

Simone brought her mother's horse "Isabella" to the barn yesterday. A Fresian mare! I am not a big fan of Fresians. I usually think they are too course. But I must say - this one is beautiful. She has a TB looking head and a beautiful neck. Much prettier than any Fresian I've ever seen. Simone's mom raised her. She owned her mother and bred her - the whole nine yards. So I'm very impressed with this mare. We'll see what she is like.

I've got lots more to tell you but I'm falling to sleep at the computer, so it's off to bed for me.