A Great Night at Masterson....

Tonight Leigh and I loaded up and met Hilori at Masterson for a quick outing with the horses. We had a great time. The horses worked great and we were very happy with their performance. Tonight we didnt work on the barrel pattern, it was for conditioning only. I was trying out a new bit on Drifter and he seemed to really like it, so I am very happy with my purchase.

Stay tuned for more updates.

CONGRATS!!!!!

Leigh and I just wanted to take a moment and send out a HUGE CONGRATULATIONS to Gina and Brent on the birth of their adorable baby boy Ridge!!! We love you both very much, and Gina we are so proud of you, and so glad to hear your home birth went so well! Love you all!! Kisses to Ridge.

Barrel Practice.....

On Wednesday after work Leigh and I ran home and loaded up the boys and headed to Versailles to our first barrel practice. We took all three boys and they seemed just as excited as we were. We arrived at Hodge Arena around 7:15 and unloaded. To our surprise we were the only souls there!! We had the entire outdoor and indoor arena to ourselves. We got everyone unloaded and saddled up, Leigh and I worked Dually and Drifter first while Rebo stood tied to the trailer.






It was so nice to get to warm up in an arena!! Dually was a pro, he never spooked at anything, kept his mind right and never got excited. Leigh warmed him up real good, trotted the pattern a few times, and then he loped through like a complete champ! He is ready to go! He looked phenomenal and held his form through the entire pattern. He is really coming along nicely.

Drifter has never seen the barrel pattern or been to many arenas but he did a great job. He warmed up nicely, was a little skittish, he wasn’t real sure of his surroundings, but he quickly settled down. After a few trot throughs, I decided to see if he could lope through the barrels! He did really well for his first time out. We continued to work on the barrels and I know now what he needs more work on. It was a great night for Drifter.

Leigh got Mr. Rebo out, the MAN, of the farm, and he has been through this many times. However he gets real excited and only wants to run the pattern and with the footing in the arena we didn’t feel that was a great plan for him. Lets just say, asking Rebo to go through the pattern slowly was quite comical, he of course does know everything!!

All in all it was a wonderful experience. We left the arena around 9:15 and got back home around 10:00. It was a great night for all the horses, Leigh and I couldn’t be more proud of them. Stay tuned for updates from weekly barrel practice!!!

Our weekend update....

Our weekend was full of wonderful adventures. Friday night, Leigh and I stayed in and decided to make a veggie pizza. It was so yummy! It was covered in great toppings, onions, artichokes, green olives, green peppers and cheese. It was a wonderful ending to the hectic work week.
On Saturday morning Leigh and I got up around 7:00 and decided to take advantage of the cooler weather. We wanted to take all three boys, so we called our great friend Hilori and she was totally pumped about riding our amazing Rebo.

When we arrived at Masterson we had lots of company. The Bluegrass State Games were going on and there were many saddlebreds flitting around, but we had an amazing time. I think it was the first time Drifter had ever laid eyes on a saddlebred, but all the horses did great. We worked in the dressage ring for a bit and then cooled them off by walking the entire park. It was a great morning of riding.

Saturday evening we met Whitney and Cavan, Hilori, Josh, and Anna at the Red Mile for Quarter Horse Racing. It is a tradition with us, we go every year, and it is always a blast!!! Silly me didn’t get any pictures, because I was having to much fun! However, I did purchase a raffle ticket for the QH they raffle off, as did Anna and Paul. Three chances in one group!! However we didn’t win, which was a blessing because that is the last thing we need.

Sunday Leigh and I worked around the farm, and got our mowing done and ready for the work week. Hope everyone else had a great weekend as well!!

Fresh from the market...

Anne and I have really been concentrating on our health these last two weeks. We always try to eat pretty healthy but we get off track sometimes just like everybody else. Our big cheat nights are Friday night. That is our "girls night." After Anne and I finish our chores we love to chow down on some very bad unhealthy processed food while watching DVD's in our den and enjoying the beginning of the weekend. It is something we look forward to every week. Instead of eating Fat Katz Hawaiian Pizza and Breyers Vanilla ice cream we are trying to be healthier on our weekends. We have been eating a lot of fish (tilapia, salmon and sushi) and lots of fresh veggies and fruits. We are staying away from processed foods all together. It really isn't that hard to do and the difference you feel is wonderful. I have also been reading a book called 8 Weeks to Optimal Health by Dr. Weill. My friend AnnaMarie turned me on to it and I have really enjoyed it. It is about adding something healthy to your diet/life each week for 8 weeks. I love that it isn't just about your physical health but about your mental, emotional and spiritual health as well. He is a huge advocate of mediation, yoga and walking. I have been trying to practice what this book preaches for the past two weeks and it has been great!! So this is an update from our end. Other than working on our physical, mental and emotional health we have also been riding 4 days a week and the horses are doing great. Of course the horses do help Anne and I with all avenues of our health!! I hope everyone is doing well. This weekend is Quarter Horse racing and I am so excited. I can't wait to go see some amazing horses while enjoying TWO big hotdogs from the Red Mile. See, no one is perfect and trust me, I am never giving up hotdogs!!! ha

It is DEFINITELY Summer...

Well summer is finally here! Sorry we haven't blogged in a while but life has been busy! The summer time is defintely upon us and for the Walkups that means mowing, riding, and hanging with good friends. For the past month we have been working extensively with our horses and getting them in good shape. We hope to be exhibitioning the two young ones with in a couple of weeks and then we will be ready for North American come November. We have been hauling to Masterson riding and of course riding at home and the boys are doing great! We have also gotten to hang with some great friends since we posted. Hilori came out to the house last week to drink a couple of beers on the deck and catch up. We had a great time with her! Over the holiday weekend we had the Allen's out for dinner and it was wonderful to talk with them and make more plans for the summer and fall. Of course the rest of the summer will be just as busy as the last couple of weeks. This week Anne and I will be riding, attending Jr. League with some friends (and the guys) and this weekend we will all make our annual trip to see the Amish to buy some wonderful goodies and later that night we will see the Allens again! In the next week or so Quarter Horse racing will be here which is always a "must" in our schedule for the summer. So, things are busy on this end as I am sure they are with everybody else. I hope everyone is enjoying this summer and getting out doing things. We hope to see you all soon!!

The Bluegrass Festival....

WHAT A BLAST!!!!! We had a wonderful time at the BG Festival! It was a portrait of wonderful music, amazing people, cold beer, and great conversation. Leigh and I had to go back and forth from camp and the house, but we had a splendid time. Wednesday night we got out there around 8:00 and got to meet AnnaMaries bestfriend, Carrie. What an amazing woman! We all immediately clicked and talked most of the evening. We also got to see the WONDERFUL Ms. Dottie!! My goodness, is there a more genuine soul than Ms. Dottie? I would have to say NO! She is a breath of fresh air and it was a great feeling to know we get to see her for another week! Timothy was also at camp, he had flown in from Chicago and even though we met him briefly last year, it was nice to know we were actually going to get hang out with him this year. Leigh and I didnt camp that night, but we did stay until around 12:00.

Thursday we got to camp around 8:30 and we decided to stay that night, which was such a nice feeling, to know that when we got tired we just got to crawl in tents and fall asleep, all the while listening to the odd conversations still taking place at camp. Thursday night was much more low key than Wednesday night, I would say, the word hangover would definitely come to mind, but we still had a great time.

Friday was WET, but fun! It rained and stormed until around midnight, but we all weathered through. We sat in the wonderful kitchen that hung in there through the storm. It had only one mishap, but everyone sprung to action and fixed it and we were right back under it, eating BOILED PEANUTS!!! Yep, you read that right, Ms. Dottie made boiled peanuts and they were PERFECT!!! After the weather finally broke, Josh, made a great fire (thanks honey), and we all sat around and recounted on the evening.

Saturday was the final night of festival and we had an eventful time! We got to camp, each grabbed a beer and AnnaMarie got out her guitar and it was so soothing and relaxing. It was as if everything at camp was so perfect. I must say the best song the group did was "Asshole"!! When Bret launched into the solo, it couldnt have been more perfect!! We actually got to hear it twice,and I could have heard it 20 times more, it was a hilarious song for the group. Most of us ventured up to the main stage and sat out on a blanket, with our drinks and listed to the world known "Seldom Scene" close out the night! They were so good, and it was a perfect ending to a wonderful 4 days. We all returned to camp and enjoyed our last night of great friendship around the campfire.

I want to give a quick thanks to Roy and Anna for including us in this family tradition! It is an experience I will always hold dear to my heart and will look back on with great fondness.