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| New friends! |
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| A little uncertainty before the ride! |
One day late in June, Virginia was very excited because an email loop friend came to visit with her
husband and son. The group has been corresponding for about 5 years and most of the ladies had never met in person! I was
saddled up to give young Jeff a ride and I walked very carefully and gently so as not to frighten him. Here is a picture
of Jeff and me that his Mom sent to the loop after they arrived home...
| I have just found out that I am returning to Pennsylvania
in about a month. Well, it was a nice visit, although I will have to speak to Virginia about doing this in the heat of the
summer! |
January 2002
Well, it looks like my little "talk" worked! It is January, 2002, and
here I am back at the Rockin' "D". We had a safe and somewhat quicker trip this time because there were not so many horses
to drop off or pick up on the way. This time the trip took only four and a half days.
For all my trips back and forth, Virginia used the company called Horsein' Around, Inc. All their drivers took very good care of us, and even stopped to brush me off before we arrived at the Rockin' "D".
Mary and Virginia were so happy with the way they looked after us, they have recommended them to several people. Virginia
has a testimonial to their excellent hauling on their website (way down the list in July of 2005)!
"Hi, Guys! I'm back - it's great to see you!"
"Hey, Barb and Mary! I brought peppermints with me! I love peppermints; may I have some
now? Puh-le-e-e-ese? I will share them with you and the others - please, may I have some?"
(Editor's note: Mary gave Taffy a couple of her peppermints when she arrived.)
February, 2002
Virginia came to visit us for two weeks in February. Was I ever surprised
to see her! We enjoyed some rides, and we taught Kaladdinn that crossing the bridges over the canal is nothing to sweat about,
and of course, being the level-headed guy that he is, he took the bridges in stride. We are so proud of him!
August 2002
Well, it is August and guess what?
Virginia and her family have arrived back in Arizona!
I was so happy to see her, I could hardly believe my eyes when they arrived, even though Mary and Barb both told me she was
coming!We've done a bit of riding since their arrival, but Virginia
and Don have been busy unpacking after the moving van brought all their stuff! They have returned to the home they built and
had rented out for a year or so, and they are glad to be back.I
am so pleased to be partnered with her again, every time we ride I try to show her that I haven't forgotten what we learned
during our lessons with Kristin at Coventry Equestrian Center. By the way, Kristin has a website now: www.coventryequestriancenter.com, so go and check it out. Virginia says there are some links to interesting dressage sites on Coventry's site.
| Virginia's daughter, Sarah, took this picture... |
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| ... Christmas, 2002 |
December 2002
Virginia and Don have sold their house! They knew
they would be selling by the end of next year, so they decided to list it now and it sold in just two weeks!! They were amazed,
but the really amazing thing is that as we were riding by the house across the street from where I live, they were offered
it as a rental until it sold! Right across the street - I can watch her come out her door, and I can tell when she is coming
over to see me (well, maybe she is coming to visit Mary, but she always stops to see me first.) Then we might go for a ride,
too.
July 2004
Virginia came to visit! (In July...?). Yes, because Mary had hurt
her back and Virginia came to help her. When I heard her call my name, I had been snoozing and I thought I was dreaming! She
called me again and then a third time and then I KNEW I wasn't dreaming. I whirled around in my pen and whinnied to her...
then I gave her a "horse hug". It was so good to see her again! I didn't want to let her out of my sight!
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| Taffy and Kandi, July 2004 |
Virginia has always wanted a picture of Kandi and me together,
ever since Kandi grew up and she could see how much alike we look! It took 35 attempts before they finally were satisfied
with this one!
I am on the left of the picture.
Spring 2005
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This is Kameron having a ride. Kameron is Mary's grand-daughter,
the third generation
I am teaching how to ride.
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Here is Alyson having a ride, Kameron's sister.
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Maddy is not too sure whether she likes being up this high!
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November 2005
Virginia came for another visit in November, although a very short
one. I was so surprised to see her at breakfast time the next day, she says I looked like I was a whole foot taller with my
neck and ears stretched so high in surprise!
We had a couple of short rides while she was here, and she says she
will stay longer the next time!
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| Farriers appreciate a well-behaved horse! |
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| Ho - hummm..another set of shoes.... |
There comes a time in a gal's life when it is time to get new shoes....
well, I guess it comes very regularly if you are looked after properly as we are. However, although it is rather boring, it
is something we have to put up with, and our farrier is a good one. Thank you!
Here, I am saying good-bye again, but not forever, just before Virginia
left to fly home on Saturday morning, November 19/05.
May 2006
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| ZA Star Zapphire (Taffy) May 2006 |
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| Bold's Karmel Kandi (Kandi) May 2006 |
Mary took these pictures of me and Kandi in May 2006. She sent them to Virginia, who added them
my site. Not bad looking for someone in her mid-teens, with a grown-up daughter, do
you think? A lady never tells her actual age!
February 2007
Virginia came for another visit - this time to arrange for their
remaining belongings to be shipped to Canada. She says they finally decided where to ship them! Another friend from Canada
came at the same time, so they and Mary had a short reunion and went to the Scottsdale show together.
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| Riding in the Riparian Preserve |
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| Marsha checking the bird book ... |
We went riding a few times with Marsha and Kandi. Marsha is an avid bird watcher, and Kandi has learned
to saunter along as Marsha checks the book for the birds that she sees. There were orioles, a cardinal, herons, cranes and
an abundance of other water birds enjoying the ponds in the preserve.
There are many hummingbirds that nest in the mesquite trees in the preserve. Marsha and Virginia thought they
saw many more than they did until they noticed that one kept flitting from tree to tree and they realized they
had been counting the same bird more than once! There is one perching on the high branch of this tree, but I'm not sure if
you can see it or not... the branch looks like it has a lump on it.
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