Cardillo was the man both Friday night and today! Last night we headed to the match, got there to find out that they had to cancel due to the storm. The guy running the match is a friend though, and he set up anyway so that we could get both Cardillo and Calif into the ring and getting in some practice shooting. Cardillo surprised me in how good he was. We did two full stages of 10 shots, and he was great. Calif hasn't been shot off of in at least 18 months ( probably closer to 20-21 months) and he was typical Calif, took it in stride and was fine with it.

Today I headed out on the early side to go watch Alaina and Jose show at her 4-H County Show. Jose was very, very good. He and Alaina looked great out in the ring, they did a fine job representing the Paso Fino breed. After she was (nearly) done I headed toward home, picking up feed on the way. The CMSA match was on, so I started getting Calif and Cardillo ready to load up and go. Jim and Alaina joined me ( they had returned from the 4-H show) so we hit the road. Nicole and her Mom met us at Malibu Dude Ranch in Milford PA. We had no sooner pulled in and parked when they hollered that if I hurried I could make the 3rd stage, so we quickly tacked Cardillo up, I hopped on and I was in the ring shooting! He was fantastic. He did 4 stages today ( each stage is a run of 10 balloons, set in a pattern) and he really was good. Any mistakes that were made were due to rider error, not to the horse. Calif got his turn as well, competing in the 2 stage match that was help after the rifle match. Before that competition though, there was a bit of excitement. Someone hollered out that there were loose horses. Two horses came running toward the arena, having come out of the woods. Both were saddled, and the folks at Malibu quickly realized that they were two horses that were supposed to be out on a guided trail ride! Two of the wranglers hopped onto them and went to head out into the woods to find the riders. The first horse quickly disappeared down the trail, but the second horse wouldn't leave. I asked the rider if he wanted a lead out, and when he said yes I took the lead and we went out into the woods, through a creek and toward where we could hear the dismounted riders. They had unfortunately encountered a ground hive of bees and had to bail off the horses. All was well with them fortunately, so we all went back to the arena.

Tomorrow will be my first day off in over three weeks, if you can count a day off being house cleaning, weeding the garden and helping put in 4 wagonloads of hay.

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Finally home! It's been a long trip, lots of hot weather. We left my sisters on Tuesday afternoon to head to western Illinois. Stayed over and got up super early to go load up the three Pasos. We were on the road then, headed for Indiana. The weather was with us, 70's and drizzling, so the horses stayed comfortable. (I really dreaded the idea of trailering three horses in 100 degree weather!) Worked on about 10 horses in Indiana and then continued on toe central Ohio where we had stalls waiting. (Brecksville Stables is a great place to stay if any of you need a layover in central Ohio right off of 81!!) We got the horses unloaded and set for the night, and then headed back out as I had several barns to stop and work at. Didn't get done until 11! Hunter was an angel, that was a really long day for him. Since I knew that the horses were well tended to, ( again- kudo's to Brecksville Stables) and I knew we only had 7 hours driving to get home, I let us sleep in! Going for 19 hours the day before made for a long, long day. We got back to the Ranch at about 4:30 today. The girls had the stalls all set for us, and the horses gladly settled in. These are some very well bred horses, ones that I will enjoy working with and selling. With bloodlines including Prometido, 222, Plebeyo and such, it will be enjoyable to work with them.

I will have to hit the road again tomorrow! There is a CMSA match close by this weekend, and Friday nights practice rounds seem to make the most sense to attend, so it's on the road again. Sigh...I can't wait for Sunday, it will be my first day off in weeks!

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Tragic news. Our friends in Waverly Pa, owners of Over The Hill Farm have had a devastating loss. Their barn burnt down yesterday evening, and most of their horses were lost. There were a few that escaped un-harmed, some that were burned and are now at a vet's, a few that escaped and are still at large, but approx 20 were lost in the fire. This is a horrible thing, the entire equine community, and the community in general, have rallied around to help. Wish I was home to lend a hand. Please keep them all in your prayers.

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Big storm here at my sisters last night. Tons of rain and lightning and thunder. Hunter slept through it all, even with the house shaking from the booms. Hope it keeps things a bit cooler today. Yesterday wasn't too bad, didn't really heat up until after 2. Long day scheduled for today, I've about 5 stops to make. Tonight Hunter and I will have the house to ourselves, Robbie, Carol and the boys are going camping with the boys Scout troop. Hope there are no storms tonight!

Todays extra job will be working on filling out the PFHA Stallion Service Auction forms and sending in text and pictures. ( No, I will not be including Bg Rb into the Auction!!) I've other paperwork to attend to as well, but these are due by the end of the month so they get priority. Once I get home, Nationals paperwork has to be taken care of, forms and money have to be in by Aug 15th!

I'm quite excited about the three lovely Paso's that I will be bringing home from Illinois. They are well loved, well bred animals and I hope to do their owner justice by them. She has spent years cultivating a good breeding program and now finds herself in the unfortunate position of fighting illness, and has to sell her horses. Most of the bloodlines include Jarenero, 222 and Prometido!

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Yesterdays travels went well. We drove about 4 1/2 hours and started work. Robbie and Hunter well soon wisked away to the B & B that we woukd be staying at that evening to eat and watch tv. I worked on nearly 20 head, then got to go right inside to shower and cool off. The B & B at Horizon View Farm ( outside of Somerset PA ) was very nice, we had an extremely comfortable stay.

By 6 this morning we were back on the road. Had about 10 hours of travel to do. Hunter was great until about the last 45 minutes. Thank God for portable DVD players!! As the day went on, we watched the temperature go from 75 to 82 to 92 to 98 to 105!!! Chicago is hot!!

Heat is supposed to break tomorrow, and I hope the weathermen are right. My schedule is pretty full and I've already got waterbottles in the freezer in preparation for tomorrow.

Here is a picture of Azura, the new Paso mare. She's settling in just fine back at the ranch.

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It's just after 4:30 in the morning and I'm up and running. ( well, more like stumbling around the house waiting for the coffee pot to finish brewing ) Robbie will be up soon and we'll finish packing and be on our way west. Hopefully Hunter will travel well. Our first stop is a bit north of Pittsburgh, there are about 18-22 horses for me to work on there. The folks that own them also own a B & B and have asked us to stay over. Thurs morning we will continue on to my sisters in Illinois. After that I'll work for about a week, head to north-western Illinois to pick up some new Paso's that I'll be bringing home to sell, head for Indiana and Ohio for a bit more work, stay over in Ohio then head for home. Phew...

Got in a new Paso mare yesterday. She is 12 years old, was shown Fino in her younger days, and is now hopefully going to make someone a nice regional show horse and trail mount. The gals will enjoy riding her while I'm on my trip. I'll have her up on the website soon.

Rob will start tackling more hay fields while we are gone, he'll be at your place soon Michelle! The heat wave that is going on here is happening all across the states, looks like I'm driving through and into some record breaking heat! But, it will help dry the hay quickly.

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Cobleskill Show went very well. It was a small show, but there were some very nice horses showing and lots of spectators. We had a wonderful time getting to chat with folks that we only get to see when we are in the North East and it was a nice time.

One highlight for us was that Maribelle showed!!! She got up on Torey and was back in the ring. She's been riding a fair amount at home, we keep Torey at my barn so that she can have help right there for mounting and dismounting whenever the urge to ride hits her, and she looked great dressed up and out in the show arena. Great to see you out there Maribelle!! ( Good boy Torey!!- I've extra treats for you!!)

Another heat wave is upon us, and will be in the Chicago area the entire time that I'll be working out there. The boys and I leave tomorrow, we'll work in western PA tomorrow, then finish the drive to my sisters on Thur. Full days of work scheduled there for a week, then work in Indiana and Ohio on the way home.

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