July
23, 2010
I am really late in writing
this news. I guess that I have not done
that much other than take pictures during
the interim. I was lifting 3# weights while
I was recovering from my knee surgery and I
tore my rotator cuff. Well, I am sure it
was torn a long time ago and I suppose the
little bit of lifting in a different
direction, tore it completely through. I
was supposed to have surgery on July 22 but
I postponed it until the end of August. All
of a sudden, a lot of things have been
happening and "there is just no time for
surgery" right now. Isn't that a great
excuse?
I have come to the
realization that I am going to have to put
Miss Bunny Tardee down this summer. She has
had the bowed leg for quite a few years and
we have been able to maintain it with a shoe
with an extension on it. However, recently
the "good" leg has started to collapse and
her suspensory ligament is not going to
support it anymore. I am soooo sad and I
have been spending time with her. She
stills eats well but she lays quite a bit
and she has never done that before. I will
not let her suffer and when I am ready I
will have Dr Fox put her down. I intend to
have a place out front for her so that I can
still spend time with her after she is
gone. We took a few picture of her on June
3 and I will show them to you. She has
deteriorated quite a bit since then.
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thumbnail below to view larger.
 On
another sad note, we had to put Rebecca's
colt down. While I was recovering from
surgery, the farrier was doing his feet and
he flipped over on the cement aisle and
fractured something in his neck. We tried
everything, but he continued to get worse
and I was afraid that he would fall on
someone and hurt them. I took some pictures
of him and reluctantly will show them to
you. He was really turning into a nice colt
and NN besides. I am hoping that her next
year's baby by Mr Elusive looks as good as
he did. Yesterday Leah was here and I am
trying to learn how to take 3/4 front
pictures of horse so we practiced with
Rebecca. It was difficult as she does not
know how to set up and besides that, she is
so lazy and does not look a bit perky. I
am not happy with the angles of the pictures
so Leah suggested we try with a Breyer horse
and perhaps in that way, we can figure out
the correct angles. I will show you the
results once we master them. Meanwhile, I
will show you the first attempt so that we
can compare how much better I will be at the
angles the next time.
I will include pictures in
this news that I took since I last wrote.
There are several of Mike cutting hay, the
cats, and our flowers, horses and other
things. Speaking of the cats, Mickey, one
of the two barn cats (the other is named
Minnie) is now a "high dollar" cat.
Remember, our farrier brought these two
"mousers" to keep the mouse population under
control at the barn. Mike "adopted" them
and they are now on full feed and I think
they would be afraid of a mouse if they saw
one. Well, Mickey became very ill and we
thought he would die. Mike took him to the
small animal clinic and told the vet to do
whatever it takes to save him.. It was a
good think that the vet called me before
they did an MRI and major surgery on the
cat. I told her to be conservative and the
cat is home now and doing just fine. We
made an important discovery while the cat
was at the clinic. They asked me if the cat
was a female or male as they had on her
records---neutered male and spayed female.
I told them that it was a girl as that is
what I had been told 3 years ago when we got
them. Well, low and behold, Mickey is a
boy!! I guess you shouldn't assume
anything----I still can't believe that we
have had "him" for 3 years and did not know
he is a male. Live and learn, I guess.
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Now to the exciting part of
the news. Lanis, our partner and friend
flew into Neenah on a Thursday and the
following day he and I drove to Dixon,
Illinois to Rita Crundwell's sale. We met
our great friends, Jackie Hardwicke and
Jackie James there. They are from Australia
and they are the ones who bought Shanes
Night Lady from us. Jackie Hardwicke and I
have been the best of friends for years, in
fact, she is like a sister to me. She calls
on her way to work and we talk horses nearly
every day. It amazes me the difference in
time---I am getting up and she is going to
bed. Jackie James was also here before and
talk about a classy lady----they don't come
any better. Well, the night before, we
went out to eat and then arrived at the sale
early on Saturday, July 10. Rita's place
is gorgeous and immaculate and the sale is
really first class, from the food
and entertainment the evening before to the
helpfulness of the sale personnel. Jim
McKillips took us out in the pasture to see
the foals by their stallions out of Rita's
World Champion mares and they were a sight
to see. The highlight of the sale was when
the "Jackies" as Lanis calls them bought
Subtle in the sale. He was the high selling
horse and is a World Champion. They already
have him booked full in Australia and he
hasn't even left to go into quarantine yet.
After the sale, Jackie and
JJ decided that they would ride with us to
Neenah as renting a car meant they had to
drive on the "wrong" side of the road for
them. Lanis, Mike, Jackie, JJ, and I had
a wonderful meal at the Roxy on Saturday
night and then Lanis left to fly back to
Mississippi early on Sunday morning. The
following day there was a lot
of arrangements to make in order to export
Subtle to Australia. We relaxed and then
had another wonderful meal and did some
shopping. The girls flew from Neenah to
Chicago and went to various places from
there. I don't know if it was the
strawberry margaritas or the good company,
but Lanis and I agreed to meet the girls in
Dallas (in fact, I met them in Chicago
and flew with them there). Now let me tell
you about our trip.
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Picture Jackie took of Subtle after
the sale |
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We arrived in Dallas after
noon and Lanis was already there. Being the
great chauffeur he is, he had an ice chest
and soda already in it. Besides that he
had snacks. He didn't tell me until after
the trip, that his wife, Kathy had baked and
intended to send chocolate cookies, which he
forgot. I guess I will have to forgive him
for that. We had to get a large Chevrolet
Tahoe in order to carry all of the luggage.
It was a very comfortable car and we had a
great time visiting as we traveled first of
all to Todd and Kathy Snodgrass's ranch,
which was about 3 hours from the airport....
The country around them is beautiful and
they had a gorgeous NN filly by CK Kid.
They are both so pleasant to visit with and
I had never met them in person. From there
we went to Rancho Poco Loco. Judge
Atkinson, his wife Bobbie, and manager Mike
Ochetto showed us all the gorgeous mares and
their stallion, The Exceptional One. We
loved the horses and the hospitality and
Bobbie raises Bengal cats, which were really
neat to see. I am happy Mike wasn't with
me, as I am sure we would be bringing one of
them home. Most of their mares were NH but
I enjoyed seeing such quality. We were
supposed to be back in Tyler Texas and
meet Ken and Gayle Hamlin Steidel, Steve and
March Ferguson and their lovely daughter
McKenzie along with Terri and Dennis Darryl
for supper. We were a little late because
we got lost and then we were stopped by the
Tyler police for going a bit over the speed
limit. The policeman was very nice and only
gave us a warning. I guess we were
extremely lucky ---but then Lanis never
speeds. If you believe that, you are really
gullible.
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Janie--Kids Classic Style Mare |
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On Friday morning, as usual,
we set the alarm at 5:30 and left our motel
at 6:30. We drove to Twin Lakes Farm which
is owned by Terry and Dennis Darryl.
Steve Ferguson and Terry were there to greet
us and show us their fantastic horses. We
got to see Gayle's great mare Miss
Miraculous. Talk about an NN mare with
body. I think Rebecca has met her
match-----and such a great conformationed
mare besides being so sweet. I am wondering
as that is the same disposition as
Rebecca has---maybe they get tired carrying
all that muscle around. Lol I loved the
foals that we saw----in fact we did not see
a thing that would not be competitive in the
show ring. We were at Twin Lakes for an
hour and then sped to Jim Snow's ranch in
Quinlan, Texas. Since we were only looking
at NN mares, we were limited in what we
could see. Jim's Touchdown Kid mare out of
Kids Cupie Doll is as good an NN broodmare
as you will find. I loved her. He also had
a very nice CK Kid mare and his two year old
NN stallion by CK Kid is really nice. Both
Jim and Georgia were so hospitable and they
invited us into their home and even invited
us to stay another day for Jim's birthday.
I was able to get a quick look at My
Intentions while I was there and he looks
great.
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Mickey and Minnie |
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From there we went to Clark
Rassi's. Craig Parmeley was there and they
showed us the NN mares that Clark has for
sale. What a nice group of mares. It was
hard to decide but the Jackie and JJ bought
a daughter of Statuatory bred to Fearles for
a January foal. They will send her here to
foal as they cannot take a mare to Australia
that is that close to foaling. I am excited
and anxious to see the Fearles baby. By the
way, Fearles looks awesome and so did
Clark's new superstar, Telasecret. He is NN
and he exemplifies everything that Clark has
been breeding for.
Of course, we couldn't go to
Texas without shopping. It is a good thing
that we had such a large vehicle as I think
the girls bought "half of Texas" lol
"CeCe--4 year old TD Kid mare"
After shopping, we
started our long journey to Oklahoma
City... We intended to see Russell
MacIntosh early on Saturday morning. Of
course, as long as we were so close, we
decided to go to our favorite eating
place in OKC-----The Ranch. We had the
most awesome meal and a wonderful
visit. It was so enjoyable and
relaxing. The next morning we were up
again at 5:30 and out at Russell's at
7:00. The Austalians really liked
Russell's Supremo mare. Russell is
such a great person and I enjoy visiting
with him and listening to him tell us
about his horses. His stallion,
Extraordinaire is really coming on. He
is NN and a full brother to My
Intentions. Russell has some great
mares bred to him so look for some
outstanding babies next year.
After less than an hour, we
were back in the vehicle and on our way to
Thackerville and Terry
Bradshaw Quarter Horses. My good friend
Connie Mason came in on her day off to show
us the stallions. We were very impressed
with Self Employed----in fact so impressed
that the Australians plan to export frozen
semen from him to Australia. Keep in mind
that they were only interested in NN horses,
therefore we did not spend much time looking
at CK Kid and Stemwinder, both of which look
great. I have always loved the beautiful
landscaping at Bradshaws and Connie is
always so gracious to show us everything we
want to see. From there, on to Dallas and
the airport. Of course, we had to stop at
Clark's Bar B Q for some slices of coconut
cream pie. We made one more stop at Clark
Rassi's to get another look at the mare they
bought and then a bit more shopping and on
to the airport. I flew home and Mike
picked me up at 9:30.. It was our
anniversary and what a way to spend it. We
did celebrate on Sunday. It was a
wonderful trip with wonderful people and I
wouldn't have traded it for the world. An
indication that I had a good time was that I
gained a few pounds.
I have not seen Fred
(Classically) for quite a while but I intend
to make the trip and take some pictures
before my surgery. In fact, it is one of
the reasons that I postponed it. Melodie
Argyle went there and took some pictures for
me. She is a good friend and a wonderful
photographer. I wish that I could do half
as well as she does. If you notice in the
Journals, she is doing more and more of the
horses photos.
Fred's pictures taken by Melodie Argyle
On a bright note---my
friends Denny and Mary Beth Reiners placed
third at the Palomino World with their
Casino Cool weanling stud colt. I am so
happy for them and also for my best friend,
Joanna Strickland, the owner of Casino
Cool. It couldn't happen to nicer people.
 Some
sad news from Thursday July 22. My dear
friend, Vicki Livasy had to put her special
paint stallion, Sparked by Precision down.
What a loss to both the paint industry and
to the Livasys. The stud contacted EPM and
could not get up. Vicki spend so much time
trying to save him but to no avail. My
sympathy goes out to the whole Livasy
family.
I think I have written
enough news to make up for all the time that
I didn't write. I promise to write again
before my surgery.
May
31, 2010
May 31
It seems as though a month of my life has been
lost. On April 28, I had a total knee replacement
and I did not realize just how much it would affect
my life. I "assumed" that after a week I would be
back working with the horses---WRONG! The doctor
told me when I left the hospital that I should not
go into the barn for 6 weeks for fear that I would
get an infection in my new joint. I also had to
rest for most of the day and could only be out of
bed for an hour at a time. I have to admit, I did
what I was supposed to do because the consequences
would be that I would not get total movement back in
my knee. Of course, I had my husband Mike keeping
me in line. He called himself a "male nurse" and he
did take good care of me. He waited on me hand and
foot and he and Bob did a fantastic job taking care
of the horses. We only had one catastrophe----the
babies chewed on their mother's tails so some of the
mares have pretty ragged looking tails. Anyway, it
is good to be up and about. I need to catch up on
everything that happened before my surgery---that is
as much as I can remember.
Mike, Molly and I left Wisconsin and
drove to Alabama on April 9. Our purpose was to
see Fred as it has been quite some time since I had
seen him. We planned to meet Lanis at his place
in Kentucky so that we could see the paint filly out
of Laced N Sensation and Awesome Looking Kid.
Well, Lanis was driving his Porsche and was about 45
minutes from Mayfield, when he blew a rod through
the engine. He had to wait for a wrecker to haul
him and the car back to Jackson, Mississippi so he
was not able to meet us. Mike and I didn't spend
much time in Kentucky but I was able to get a few
pictures of the filly and also of the beautiful
scenery. The property is so beautiful with the
lakes and the rolling hills. Chuck May takes care
of the horses in Kentucky and he does such a good
job. I absolutely love the paint filly. Talk about
class and body for an NN baby. Of course her sire
is a good one and her dam is by Socketts Sensation,
the world champion and out of Sonnys Red Lace, the
quarter mare that sold twice for $100,000.00.
Anyone who gets this filly will have a show horse
deluxe and an incredible NN broodmare. She was
born March 14 so is not quite a month old on the
pictures.
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The following day we arrived in
Ohatchee Alabama. I was nervous to see Fred whose
real name is Classically. I am sure you remember
that he is the NN 2 year old stallion by Kids
Classic Style out of Miss Bunny Tardee. In fact, he
is the last embryo that we have been able to get out
of the 24 year old mare. Donna Preskitt was gone so
her son, Warren showed us the horse. I was
extremely pleased with how Fred is maturing. He is
close to 16 hands now and they have broke him to
ride.
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I agree with Donna that riding
is excellent for a horse's mind and Fred, being a
stallion, needs a job to do. I still have not
decided what course to take with him but I think it
is imperative that I make up my mind soon. He is
the results of my years of breeding and I absolutely
love him. After looking at the horses, Warren gave
me a tour of the surrounding area. What a beautiful
place it is----on the banks of the Coosa River with
awesome scenery all around it. I snapped a few
pictures but they don't do Fred or the scenery
justice. That evening, we met Warren and his
girlfriend, Sheena and David who was riding Fred,
along with our dear friends Marion and Bill
Brakefield for a wonderful dinner and then the
following morning, Mike, Molly and I made the long
trip back to Wisconsin. We went through Chicago on
the return trip and although it was shorter, I think
I prefer the route though Illinois. Scenery and
less traffic appeal to me more--- I guess I am a
country girl at heart and the busy traffic makes me
nervous.
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Mike and Molly in Alabama.
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Alabama Scenery |
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I spent time taking pictures in April before my
surgery. I took new pictures of Rebecca---You Bet
I'm Cool and also a few of her dam, Miss Bunny
Tardee who is also the dam of Fred. This will be
the first year that Rebecca will carry her own
foal. We just didn't get the recipients timed with
her and everyone tells me that it is good for her to
carry a baby anyway. We bred her to Mr Elusive this
year. I am afraid when the time gets close for her
to foal, I will be living in the barn with her. She
is such a baby anyway and I can't imagine her going
through the birthing process. I guess nature will
just have to prevail.
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We have sold some horses since I
last wrote news. Scotty is going to go to Ireland.
He is such a beautiful colt and his color had us
all baffled. I now think he is going to be a dark
buckskin---kind of like the color of Mr Ice Te.
Whatever he is, it is a very striking color and
the girl from Ireland who bought him is so excited
about him being the "sire of the future" in
Ireland. With his pedigree, class and
conformation, I totally expect the same of him.
My good friend, Jackie Hardwicke
from Australia finally talked me into selling her
Shanes Night Lady and her Mr Elusive stud colt.
Jackie has always wanted that mare and as you know
me, I have never wanted to part with her. I will be
so sad to see her go but I know that she will have
the best of care in Australia and if I can't have
her, there is no one that I would rather see own her
than Jackie. She will breed her right and I think
"Angelica" will help the quarter horse breed in
Australia. I am hoping that her Mr Elusive colt
will also make a great stallion for Australia. He
is only 3 months old but he has so much muscle and
correctness that I don't see how he can't be a great
sire prospect.
Speaking of Australia, the produce
of An Obsession have been doing very well at the
show. Jackie sent me some pictures of some recent
winners at the big Australian National Show. I will
have Vicki put up their pictures and
their accomplishments. An Obsession is sired by
Kids Classic Style and is out of Cooleah. This
makes him a full sister to A Classic Edition, high
point halter mare in the nation the past three
years and also of Valentine, the NN two year old
filly that we have here. As soon as I am able I
will take some new pictures of the two year old
fillies as I am really pleased with the way that
they are maturing.
Australian National Champions by An
Obsession |
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Back to the "forgotten April". The
week before my surgery, Lanis, Vicki Benker and
I flew to Oklahoma City and drove to Texas. The
purpose was to see some horses and some babies and
to just get "away". We had a great time and the
weather really cooperated. We arrived late morning
on Friday and drove to Russell MacIntosh's
place. Russell has been a good friend of mine for
years and I was happy to see him so involved with
the horses again. He has raised so many good horses
and deserves credit for what he has contributed to
the quarter horse industry. I don't know where he
is finding them, but he has found some awesome mares
to breed to My Intentions and Extraordinaire. I
wish him the best of luck.
Leaving there, we proceeded to Terry
Bradshaw Quarter Horses where my good friend, Connie
Mason spent a lot of time showing us horses. I was
impressed with CK Kid, Self Employed and Heza
Stemwinder. Terry's place is so beautiful and what
a beautiful day we had basking in the sun and
enjoying the landscaping and the horses. Lanis and
I wanted to see some produce of Mr Elusive and we
got to see some of the very best by him. We invited
Connie to eat with us but she had to deliver meat to
one of Terry's charities. I did not know that Terry
developed "Pigs for Jesus" which feeds homeless
people with pork that he raises on his place. We
had made plans to spend the night in Ardmore
Oklahoma and eat at Two Frogs. Abby Castle had told
us about the place and we have had many a good meal
there.
The next morning, we drove to Jim
Snows in Quinlan Texas where Chip Knost met us and
he and Jim showed us the horses. Jim is a bit out
of the way but the quality of horses that he has
makes it well worth while to go there. He had some
awesome NN mares and some really good babies by My
Intentions. From there we drove back to Aubrey
and went to Clark Rassis' I am never disappointed
in Clark's horses. Fearles looked great and seeing
the young stock that Clark raises further enforces
what we are striving for in the quarter horse
breed. After a really good lunch at Subway, Chip
took us to Danny Salsmans. It was like dying and
going to heaven to see all of Rita' Crundwell's
world champion mares in one place. She has flushed
several embryos out of each of them by her different
stallions. I think I could have stayed there for a
whole day and admired those mares. We also saw My
Intentions and he looks great. I have Janie (Kids
Classic Gal) in foal to him and it made me more
excited about the baby that is coming next year.
Finally we stopped to visit Jerry Vawter. Both
Jerry and Gwen have been friends of mine for years
and it is always a pleasure to see them. Their new
place is so beautiful and Jerry has some really good
broodmares and colts.
Before we headed back to Oklahoma
City, Chip showed us the new house that he and Sue
Ellen are building. It is in a gated community and
talk about a gorgeous home with a perfect setting.
I have been wondering how Chip could give up his
"horse place" but after seeing this, I can totally
understand. I am anxious to see the finished
product and fully intend to take him up on their
offer to show it to me.
Now, to Oklahoma City and the finale
of our trip. On the way we stopped to visit Juan
and Toni Caride. I knew them before they bought I'm
Kiddin. In fact, Juan had a pawn shop and a lot of
the gold that I currently have came from him. I
watched his girls grow up into beautiful and smart
young ladies. We had quite an experience at Juans.
They had just gotten a young camel and he was the
friendliest thing. I had never been around a camel
before and believe me, it was quite an experience.
Juan and Toni are buying some really good Mr
Conclusion mares to cross on I'm Kiddin. We got to
see the stallion and he surely is not showing his
age at all. He has so much class with all that
muscle. We left there and made our final trip to
Oklahoma City. Lanis is the perfect host and he
had The Ranch Steak House programmed in his GPS.
What a lovely meal we had and what a perfect ending
to a wonderful trip. I knew that when I left that
Sunday, the following Wednesday would be my
surgery.
I am sorry for the lack of news but
to be honest with you, I really didn't think I would
be laid up this long. I want to thank all of my
wonderful friends who have kept me company while I
was icing and elevating my leg in bed for the past
month. The doctor told me to stay away from the
horses for another month but that is going to be
difficult to enforce, as I am afraid I have already
been out taking a few pictures but I know that I
have to take it easy. I get tired easily but I know
that I will be a better person once I am fully
recovered. Thanks for being so patient with me.
 Sandy
April
4, 2010
April 4
Today is Easter and as I reflect on the past month and
my life in general, I thank the Lord for giving me the
life style that I have. I have always loved horses and
so enjoy raising good ones. I cannot imagine what I
would do if I didn't have them to fulfill my life. Of
course, things would be a lot less hectic, but each day
would be boring for me. I am lucky to have a husband
that tolerates my "horse addiction".
Please click on each
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 We
finally have a filly----in fact we have two fillies!!
One was born on March 14 in Kentucky. She is a
colored filly out of our paint mare Laced N Sensation
out of Scott Francois' paint stallion, An Awesome Kid.
I liked Scott's stallion from the time he brought him
here for Dr Fox to collect. He is out of a Tee Jay
Roman mare and you know how much I like that breeding.
"Lacey" as we call her, is by Socketts Sensation and out
of the $100,000 mare Sonnys Red Lace. I have not seen
the filly but Lanis sent me some pictures that he took
on his phone. They are not very good pictures but I
will have Vicki put them up anyway. Chuck who manages
the farm in Kentucky has named her Ivory as she has so
much white on her. I am anxious to go to Kentucky
and take some pictures of her.
 The
other filly was born on March 23 and she is by TD Kid
and out of That Perfect Clue. Now, I see this one
every day and she is something else-------baby doll
head, incredible neck, back, hip and hocks and as much
class as you could put on a baby. She is special and
she knows it. I have a few pictures of her on the foals
page and will try to keep you up to date on pictures as
she matures. Her sire, TD Kid is one of my favorite
stallions. He is double registered and NN and I am
trying to get an embryo out of Miss Bunny Tardee and
him. Keep your fingers crossed as she is 24 years old
and the last colt she had was Fred who is now 2 years
old. She is going to ovulate tonight and we will flush
her a week from Monday. I really hope we get an
embryo. Dr Fox says it is like breeding a gray haired
grandma because of her age. This will probably be the
last time that I try. She has been so good to me and
she deserves to live the rest of her life here.
Speaking of the Tardee mare---my good
friend Joanna Strickland bought CJ Miss Cool Tardee from
my other great friend, Carri Jones. This mare is an NH
full sister to Rebecca (You Bet I'm Cool) and also a
half sister to
Classically (Fred) Bonnie as she is called, is also
the dam of Caribbean Kid and is in foal to
Joanna's wonderful stallion, Casino Cool for a May
baby.
 I
hated it that Carri sold the mare but Joanna is like a
sister to me so I am happy that Bonnie got such a great
home. I will be sure to show you pictures of her
baby when she foals. Speaking of Fred-----you are
probably wondering why you haven't seen updated pictures
of him. Well, it is because I haven't seen pictures of
him. We saw him in December and have not seen any
pictures since then. In the next few weeks, we plan to
take a trip and I promise to take a lot of pictures of
him. As you can imagine, I am dying to see how he has
matured. He is by Kids Classic Style and out of Miss
Bunny Tardee and is palomino and NN. I am planning on
him being my future stallion.
I don't know if you know or not but A
Classic Edition was the High Point Performance Halter
Mare in the nation for 2009. She earned 152.2 points
last year and I received a check for $324.22 for being
the nominator in the Incentive Fund. I also noticed
that Mike and I are second on the list of breeders
of performance halter horses. That is really quite and
honor as we only bred the one mare.
I heard from Jennifer Lemon from
Canada and her mare by Kids Classic Style out of Dandy
Dee Gal earned 37 halter points last year. She was a
yearling at the time and if you go back you will see
pictures of her---we called her Sissy. Jenn plans to
show her again this year and promised to send me some
pictures.
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Angelica |
Angelica |
I have a few pictures that I took of
the cats and the scenery and various things around the
place I will continue to update the foals page and
also all of the happenings here at the farm. Have
a Happy Easter.
March
2, 2010
Something must have happened to
February as I just sat down to write new news and
discovered that I did not write any in February.
Looks as though there is some catching up to do and
I hope that I can remember everything that has
happened.
The babies are here, all except the
last one which will be by TD Kid out of That Perfect
Clue. I am hoping and praying for a filly as we
have 4 stud colts. Each time a mare goes into
labor, I want so much it to be a filly and up until
now, they have all been stud colts. I have hope for
Sally as she is bagging early and TD Kid seems to
produce more fillies than colts. I can't imagine a
year of all stud colts.
Please click on each thumbnail below
to view larger.
Let me tell you about the
babies. Vicki has been keeping up with baby pictures
on the foal page so I am sure you have seen them.
Scotty is the first on and he is by Malibu Ken and
out of Kids Classic Gal. Talk about unusual----he
seems to be a grulla and if he is, he will be the
first one that I have raised. My "color expert"
Russ Ellis tells me that less than .07 percent of
registered quarter horses are grulla and it is a
very rare and desirable color. I was also surprised
to find out that he is NN as he has so much muscle
definition. What an opportunity he is for the
color breeders with his gorgeous head and huge hip
and all that class.
The next stud colt born was Romeo.
He is out of Shanes Lady Romantic and Mr Elusive and he was born on
February 1. He is a bay but could turn gray as his
dam is gray. He has the shortest back and such
gorgeous hocks. His neck ties in real high and
knowing what the Cool Skip mares do, I would almost
guarantee that it is going to get real long. He is
named Romeo because as I sat at this computer at 4
in the morning sending his newborn pictures, I typed
Romeo instead of Romantic and the name has stuck.
In fact, I like it.
Next came Rudy, born on February 12.
Rudy is out of Rebecca (You Bet Im Cool) and JMK
Malibu Ken. He kept me awake
for days waiting for him to be born. I kept
watching the monitor by my bed as the mare was so
much overdue. She is a recipient named Ivy and she
is a wonderful mother. We bought her from Gary and
Sally Rudolph and that is why he is named Rudy. He
also is NN and certainly has his "real" mother,
Rebecca's body. What a stallion prospect he will
make for someone.
The latest stud colt was born March
1 at 3 AM. What I nice delivery this was. I
listened to my friend, Carri Jones and had Dr Fox
sew a foal alert in the mare. This time I didn't
have to try to stay awake all night watching the
monitor. At 3:06 my phone rang and I quickly went
to the barn and there were two hooves sticking out
of the mare. I helped her deliver the big stud
colt. Still can't believe that I have 4 stud colts
and no fillies. I am running out of barn names for
stud colts. Donna Davis was trying to help me name
him and came up with Don Juan but Lanis and I
decided we like Cheeto better as I am always eating
Cheetos. I am thinking that Chico may be a better
choice though.
My breeding is not going that
well. We cut down on our recipients and only
planned to flush the 24 year old Tardee mare and
Rebecca this year. Well, the Tardee mare came with
a big follicle and ovulated and I had semen here to
breed her but none of the recipients cooperated.
So, I had to skip her and wait for her next cycle.
The same with Rebecca---the recipient had fluid so
Dr Fox advised against flushing her. What a way to
start the breeding season.
Other news that has happened in
February. Our weather was better than normal. My
friends in South Dakota and Iowa were hit with the
heavy snow but for some unknown reason we had mild
weather. Vicki in Florida had an unusually cold
month as did both Donna Preskitt and Donna Davis in
Alabama. I guess I should say we were lucky and
spring seems to be coming right around the corner.
Of course, I can be fooled and we could get some
really bad weather yet.
We now have an expensive barn cat.
Remember when we got Mickey and Minnie to keep the
mice out of the barn? Well, Mike has adopted the
cats
 as pets and now they are on full feed. They
do not mouse at all----sleep in the office all
day. He says they are retired but I know that they
are just lazy. Mickey got an ear infection so Mike
took him to the vet and the first visit was $100 for
medicine. That didn't seem to do any good so we
took him back and they put him to sleep so that they
could find out what was going on in his ear. It
seems as those he has broken his ear drum so now we
are trying to give him medication to head the
infection that is in it and then we are supposed to
take him back in 10 days for further diagnosis. Of
course the last visit was almost $200 and I can see
more expense ahead. I will keep you informed as to
the outcome of our "expensive cat".
Lanis and I sold Casino Clu to
Joanna Strickland. She is the owner of her sire,
Casino Cool and she always loved that mare. We
decided that there is just too much work for me and
we need to cut down on horses. Clu has been at
Lanis' place in Kentucky so it was easier for me to
part with her. She is such a gorgeous mare and
Joanna plans to breed her to her young stallion.
Rebecca, Rudy's dam.
Please click on each thumbnail below
to view larger.
Angelica
Please click on each thumbnail below
to view larger.
I am a bargain shopper and found
some pretty neat things on Craig's list. I bought a
dump truck that we can use around the farm to haul
things. We haven't picked it up yet but plan to
soon. I will show you some pictures of Mike in his
dump truck when it comes. I also found two 10 ton
grain bins and bought them. Then I had to call
some friends of ours to move them. I took a few
pictures of them being moved.
Please click on each thumbnail below
to view larger.
I also took a few
pictures of Annie, the orphan filly playing in the
snow. I did a few photos of Shanes Night Lady
(Angelica) the day before she foaled. I also took
a few pictures of Rebecca (You Bet I'm Cool) She
is the "real" dam of Rudy. You can see why Rudy has
so much muscle and is NN----Rebecca is NN also.
Other than that, I spent all my picture taking time
on the babies. Look for updated pictures of them
often as I plan, if the weather permits, to keep
adding new pictures to the foals page.
Sandy
January
23, 2010
January 23, 2010
As I
sit here waiting for
the championship
football games to
begin, I have been
reflecting on things
that have happened
since the last time
that I wrote news.
In fact, it is
getting hard to
remember everything,
but I will try. The
winter has been kind
to our area this
year (so far) We
have not had the
terrible cold or
snow like so many of
my friends have had
west of here. Carri
Jones told me that
she had so much snow
one day that one of
her mares got stuck
in a snow bank and
she had to shovel
her out with a
shovel. I can
remember when we had
snow like that and
we were afraid the
horses would walk
over the fences on
the high drifts. It
is raining right now
and will probably
change to snow
tonight. I took some
pictures of the
horses during one of
our snow storms and
will have Vicki put
them on this news to
show you. They
actually enjoy being
out in it, except
when the wind gets
so bad.
Please click on each thumbnail below
to view larger.
Please click on each
thumbnail below to view
larger.
Fillies |
Ginger |
Ginger |
Ginger |
Rebecca |
Fillies |
Please click on each
thumbnail below to view
larger.
Janie |
Romantic |
Romantic |
Romantic & Janie |
Romantic |
Romantic |
Mike,
Molly (the dog) and I went
to see Fred the middle of
December. We drove and had
such a wonderful time and
met so many great people. We
stopped at James Kifers and
saw his horses and I was
very impressed with his
program. Rodger Shabel met
us there as did my good
friend, Donna Davis. Despite
the pouring rain, James took
us out to the pastures to
see the mares. He has
accumulated a great band of
mares to cross on
Supernatural. Fred Reese,
his farm manager, and I
attended a course on
artificial insemination and
ultrasounding years ago, so
I know Fred pretty well and
he is a first class person
and a great horseman. The
next day, we drove to the 5W
Ranch where Fred is. I
cannot begin to tell you how
impressed I am with the
place and with Donna
Preskitt, her son Warren and
everyone there. Our friend,
Dickie Kaufmann drove over
from Panama City where he is
spending a couple of months.
We met so many wonderful
people and got to see the
whole operation. The
underwater treadmill is an
amazement. There is no shock
on the horses legs while
they are in it. Her Spookles
program is also so good for
the horses and they
certainly learn to accept
all sorts of noises. Donna
Preskitt is as good a
horsewoman as I have ever
met. She is an expert in
nutrition and conditioning
and I have never met a
person who works so hard and
is so dedicated to the
horses in her care. She
has rehabilitated horses
that vets had given up
on and they now live a
normal life. I am so
pleased to have found her.
Marion and Bill Brakefield,
our good friends who owned
Malibu Ken and now own The
Malibu Kid, met us there and
we all went out to eat that
evening. We intended to go
to the Brakefield's the next
day, but the weathermen were
predicting snow around
Chicago, so we decided to
drive home. Fortunately we
were able to get the Green
Bay Packer game on the radio
and that made the drive so
much easier. If you want to
check out Donna Preskitt's
web site---it is
www.5wranch.com I
think you will be very
impressed.
Please click on each thumbnail below
to view larger.
Foaling time
is finally here. It is the most
exciting time of the year for
me. We have a baby already.
Janie (Kids Classic Gal) had a
stud colt on Tuesday night.
Donna Davis and I have been
waiting and waiting for our
mares to foal and we even took
pictures of their udders and
sent them to each other.
 Well,
Janie did not look close at all.
He bag was not completely
filled. I did not have a foal
alert in her and I didn't have
the cameras working. Mike was
gone to Madison and I happened
to come out to the barn around
9:30 to find that she was
foaling. The birth went very
well. I really want fillies so
when I looked at the head on the
foal, even though it is
gorgeous, I thought that it
could possibly be a boy. I was
afraid to look so waited until
the tail moved just right to
confirm my thought. Yes, a boy
he is and I am guessing that he
is a buckskin. The other
buckskins that I have had were
golden
and this one looks more like a
grulla. There is no brown to the
color so I am betting buckskin.
I will take new pictures soon
and you can decide what color he
is. I think we are going to call
him Scotty, after the Republican
that won the Massachusetts
Senate seat. After all, Mike is
a Republican senator so I have
to add a bit of politics to the
horses.
We should have
2 more babies before the end of
January. The recipient carrying
the embryo of Rebecca (You Bet
I'm Cool) and Malibu Ken was
bred the same day as Janie and
she is due on January 25. She
doesn't look close at all but
Janie sure surprised me so maybe
Ivy will have a beautiful
palomino filly for me. Romantic
(Shanes Lady Romantic) is due on
January 30. The "filly" will be
by Mr Elusive. I will certainly
keep you up to date on the
foaling and this will help me
stay current on the news.
Sandy
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