Suave sorry about the job thing!! 
I would just die if I was downsized from my 15 hour a week job right now, with Poncho’s ever increasing Vet bills and moving to my new stable and trainer.
Which photos on the provided site are yours?
I have my first lesson with my new trainer on Thursday night 
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I am praying we do not make fools of ourselves. haha 
First and foremost, TuxWink: Good luck and have fun!! 
Second, you don’t have to braid if it’s truly only a schooling or Tri-Valley/San Fernando Valley/LA County B show. If it’s an LA County A show, however, you’ll probably want to braid. And since hunter folks are of the “more the merrier” variety when it comes to braids, you’ll need to get at least 20 in that mane.
The black coat is fine. The gray breeches are not “in style” but there is nothing “wrong” with them. Personally, I’d stick to the white shirt but others may disagree. You’ll see a sea of navy, green, plaid and other colors of coats with the TS pea-green breeches, but for the classes you’re doing, you’ll be fine.
Now about that show bow … Merry will no doubt weigh in on this. So let me save her the trouble: You don’t want to wear it to a hunter show. Really. Honest.
After my ride yesterday,I found muscles that I forgot existed.
Well I am now off to clean the house, it is going on the market on Tue, if we get water at the hopefully new property on Mon. SO every one Please jingle those curb chains and think positive thoughts about water wells on Mon. for me. If theis doesn’t work I am on to plan B. There is one slight problem though, I don’t know what plan B is. 
Do you realize how fast the 41+ is approaching? Like - were I still hunter show ring inclined - I could do this in like 18 months?
Ya know, I went to bed one night and was 22 and then suddenly I was 39 and I dunno what the hell happened.
Need to add HACK & RACK for those of us sporting Zimmer frames…
A Hamlet for the ages.
Olivier was a great Othello, though.
Insomnia must have been contagious in our case, but you definitely beat me out with your 3 am-ish post… Amazing we were both up and functioning this morning!!
Merry, don’t you know that bumpkin (our West Coast Duffy) has WAY too much taste for any of the junk hawked on QVC??? 
MO, Wash rack came from some horses that think going into one of them is a form of torture. Just like the ancient “civilaztions” had the torture racks.
Show bill is the bill you recieve from your trainer after the show, the one that has your share of the 5star hotel and resturants and any thing else the trainer “needed” at said show.
What a nice horse, I still am rather amazed that I pulled off beating Linda with my Maggie, but she was a pretty good girl herself!!! Here we are doing the 1st year green at the California State Fair the prior year…
My non-horsey husband is getting a big laugh out of all the funny horse stories you have been posting and what characters so many of them were/are, starting with Willem and his bunnies, and proceeding through all the people food they like to eat!
But wty, your story of being dumped so your horse could make a beeline to the soda machine had him chuckling the most… Of course, he was laughing WITH you, not AT you…!!!
[This message was edited by dublin on May. 02, 2001 at 11:55 AM.]
Rusty so very sad to hear that the barn didn’t work out but there’s got to be something better around the corner. Keep your spirits up
And Chef…hopefully construction will be swift and relatively noiseless.
Good luck Merry! How about a blender of Rusty’s margaritas for The Hambola? Let us know how you do in the Hack & Snack Division. If you ever need a HSM, let me know. Hey about about a CA clique HS support team (When Therapy isn’t enough or your trainer has had a meltdown, like mine did in Indio LOL!Lucky Wty with organized, sane trainer!!) WE’ll come move those jumps, school those horses, make those margaritas, drink those margaritas, rattle those 18k curb chains and bring your Manolos so you have something to slip into apres HS
Now for my bedtime Mantra: Fix Chef’s Barn,Fix Chef’s Barn,Fix Chef’s Barn,Fix Chef’s Barn, then fix Chef a margarita!
Coreene: See you tomorrow!!! Suave Reno jangles her curb chain and prepares for dreamland
They don’t always shave under their arms either!
Seriously, though, the Europeans (Germans, Swedes, etc.) believe that it is animal abuse to remove parts of the animal that nature had a use for. They are opposed to removing dewclaws from dogs, to neutering, unless there is medical reason for it, and probably think that whiskers serve a purpose as the horse’s antennae, thus opposing cutting them off.
You should read some of the discussions of EU animal protection legislation relating to dogs. There is legislation proposed that would prevent breeding any dog with genetic flaws–and that means dogs like bassetts and dachshunds. Dalmatians couldn’t be bred because of the genetic trait of deafness and kidney stones. It’s AR to the extreme.
Oh, Suave … I feel your pain. And while I LOVE the idea of just taping a note to the dog’s collar, I think I’d opt for a short letter delivered in person and few, BRIEF minutes of firm conversation. You need to keep things as civil as possible, because, TRUST US ALL, you will run into the trainer again … and the trainer’s clients. That will be awkward enough even if there hasn’t been a “scene.” Sometimes, hard as it is, you just have to hold all your anger and be the cool, calm, collected one. GOOD LUCK!!
Elizabeth … the site of Merry and Hammie’s next excellent adventure was revealed by TuxWink a page or two back. It be tomorrow.
Ahem, now onto another matter…
Yes, Beezer, your watchful eyes did indeed spy a bag of horse cookies from Horsemart. I suppose the fact that the Labradors keep confiscating and eating the bags of horse cookies doesn’t negate the fact that I’m still compelled to buy them. And I went by Horsemart because… well, it’s down the street from Leather 'N Spice… and gulp… “I did indeed buy another bit,” Merry said sheepishly. "A slow twist eggbutt. So there! And it’s not gold!"
And about the chaps: Look, one pair is my old split leather cowhide ones from Stateline. They’ve served a purpose for 6 years, but the knees are ripped out. Then there’s the old Leather 'N Spice ones. I still wear them, but when I ordered them I was wearing breeches under my chaps, and now I’m into jeans, and they’re a tidge tight… and the knees are about to split. Then, pair #3 are the custom ones I got from Dover last year. They’ve never fit me correctly. So, you see, I only have THREE other pair, and none are perfect. And I’m 46 and at this stage of the game I’ll probably never need another pair of custom chaps again , and I deserve them. So back off, baby sister! 
Oh, and by the way, they’re a medium chocolate brown with a tooled leather yoke with a deep purple piping and buckstitching.
I am having a senior moment, so I have know clue who is in the picture.
Merry, I know what you mean. Our barn has 12 years left on the lease, but we’re already starting a big happy information campaign. Our problem is that, since we’re on city land, there’s always a few whiners who will go to the city (or call) and complain if they think their stall wasn’t cleaned well enough that day. And no matter how many times you 'splain to them that this is NOT the way to go, they do it anyhow.
I think this is so cool. my husband showed me this tonight. Check out this link and do the card trick
http://www.timwike.dircon.co.uk/card.html
I can’t figure it out but it’s really weird. You all should enjoy it!
Ahhhh junk food, it’s everyone’s downfall. But hey 1000 calories a day is very low. Popcorn, isn’t that a diet somewhere?
A/A you do make me laugh.
Good luck and keep us posted on how every thing goes. Definately post the pics.
Yes, well, instead of me judging today (Saturday) and Beezer showing jumpers tomorrow, due to the inclement weather (i.e. gray, cold and breezy) we shall make a field trip and go up to the local equestrian park to watch the BLM auction of mustangs and burros. Oh, it should be a site to behold! This happens twice a year here. People from all around converge to get a nearly-free horse that, of course, they will bond with and teach it to be gentle and kind and love humanity.
Yeah, right… are those pigs flying yet?
The local cowboys/horse whisperer types get quite a bit of business out of these BLM auctions. About 30 days from now, when the new owners are still unable to even touch their glorious mustang, they finally decide maybe they’d better pay someone to gentle it for them.
The engineers at your office must be related to some of the architects at my last office…My boss, Mr. Black BMW driving-Armani wearing-zone dieting-Architect, oh sorry - DESIGNER…used to give himself a manicure WITH HIS EXACTO KNIFE! There would be little piles of cuticles, nail bits and under-nail dirt on his desk. His nails and cuticles were constantly a mess…bloody, ragged, disgusting! He used to give me back reports to edit with BLOOD SPOTS all over the pages! However, this job, like yours, had minimal overtime and good hours for riding…needless to say the, uh, eccentricities, of my boss got to be a bit too much and I moved on. But I totally understand the position you are in! Good Luck!
I just typed up a long and really witty (ha) thing regarding my chance encounter w/ Coreene yesterday…and infopop deleted it…and I am too lazy now! What’s up with that? Anyway…she rocks but I am sure you all know that…
and congrats to AAJumper…
