It's not all champagne and roses...

Today was one of those days that truly tested my strength and patience as a person. Without the Lord, I would be a useless human being on days like today (well, actually, on any day...but ESPECIALLY on days like today). It went from a balmy 80 degrees yesterday to 40 degrees and really windy today...naturally, the horses reacted by erupting into sillies whenever possible. As did everyone else's. It suddenly seemed as though every horse in America had inhabited Churchill Downs and that they were all around me every time one of my kids decided to throw a happy fit. And I reacted by shutting down emotionally and just wanting to go home.

Stormy was pretty well behaved, actually. He's always my big horse and I love him for it. We did have a tough gallop, though, because we somehow got stuck in a pack of horses who egged him on...luckily, he even pulls like a big horse, so he's easy to hold. He's switching leads better than ever and relaxing so much better into his gallops. I LOVE that horse.

Sought was next...she was *such* a brave little lady as we navigated the very full jogging path of "evil" horses who couldn't keep all fours on the ground. She looked at them with big oogley eyes, not sure what to think or how to react, so luckily she just kept jogging. We finally made it around and she decided to freeze in the gap and rear up for approximately two straight minutes. I had to just sit and wait for her to finish her fit, and then she finally took a deep breath and walked off calmly. I was frustrated, no doubt, but she's impossible to be mad with.

Flash seems to be feeling more like his old self every day, and the cold wind didn't deter him at all today. He drug me around and felt very solid underneath me, with no ill effects from his work. Now that I've worked him a couple of times, I think I've figured him out and next time will not hesitate to get after him...he is a very lazy work horse, and he has no excuses soundness wise, so I think I have him figured out now!

Dancer was good, although a bit hairy coming off the track...never met a horse who hated and yet loved other horses so much. He's another one that I can't possibly get mad with. Love him to bits and pieces. Then came Butterlicious, and he may have been the first horse all morning that truly got a smile out of me. He galloped like a total pro! Wind and all, nothing bothered him. He relaxed and grabbed the bit and was better than ever with his leads. His class comes out more and more every day and I am really excited about him. What a good looking horse he is, too. He gets to start going to the gate next week.

Finally was BoldBold. Big test for him today, the gate. He had a lot of trouble with the gate in his first race and today was to see where we stand with him. He let me know right away how he felt about this idea...by doing a quick 180 when he caught sight of the gate. Trembling, he let the outrider lead us up and into the gate. He started shaking all over and looking around and freaking out...my poor boy. They really did a number on my baby boy...but we will work through all of his confidence issues and get him back on track. He did break, which surprised me...deep down he knows what to do, they just threw too much at him at once and he lost every ounce of confidence he had. He broke fast and straight, and once he heard my enthusiastic "Good BOY!!!" he pricked his ears and galloped like a big horse...then pranced the whole way home. I LOVE THIS COLT.

And to top off the excellent end of the morning, ROCKET is BACK. He ran in the 1st race today and under a hand ride from Calvin, he won. The call was amazing.."And he is in CHARGE! Ready's Rocket is BACK!" Thank you, little big man, for our first win of the meet! He always comes through. What an incredible little horse he is. We are very blessed to have him in the barn.

And I am very blessed, even on rough mornings like today where I just want to throw my hands up and go home. My Lord always gets me through tough situations and then reminds me of how truly blessed I am to have these horses and these people in my life. I don't want to imagine my life without them.