If we were to sum up our year in one word, that word would be
horses. Much of what we did during 2009 revolved around Joe and Bud, our team of Percheron draft horses. Training them, training ourselves, buying tack, improving the facilities; if it had to do with horses we likely did it at some time during the year.
Beth has been taking driving lessons at the Gayla driving center, while Doug spent a week in Holmes County Ohio
learning to work draft horses from Alvin Yoder, an Amish farmer who helps us "English" become competent driving horses. Beth and Doug also took a series of 3 classes on driving horses at the Kentucky Horse Park.
We’ve also stayed busy taking care of the team’s needs. From hauling hay to building stalls to rehabilitating and maintaining pastures, it sometimes feels more like a full-time job than a hobby. But it’s more than worth it, as anyone who has ever owned a horse can attest.
In other animal-related news,
our retired greyhound brood has increased by one. After losing Buddy in 2008 we decided to wait a bit before bringing another rescue home. That changed this past fall when we adopted Kindred. He’s a 4 year old who looks amazingly like Buddy, has “freakishly soft” fur and has the energy and curiosity of a puppy. That has made for some interesting episodes as he discovers what he can and can’t get away with. He’s slowly settling in, though, and both Jazz and Cork have adapted quite nicely to having him around.
We did manage to break away from time to time to enjoy something other than the horses and hounds. We spent
a fun four days in New York City in April; the first time either of us had ever been to that city. July found us hosting friends and family for
Beth’s 50th birthday. It was the highlight of the local social scene, if we do say so ourselves. We made our annual trip to the Wayne County (Ohio) fair in September in order to - wait for it - watch the draft horse pull and hitch classes. Finally, in November we took advantage of an offer from the Honorable Order of Kentucky Colonels to
spend a day at Churchill Downs enjoying the races from the comfort of Millionaires Row. Now if we could only do the same at the Kentucky Derby.
On the work front, Beth is still Krogering in Mt. Sterling and Doug, when he’s not playing stable boy, continues to work at building his speaking and consulting practice. And, on a whim, he spent three days working as an extra in the movie “Secretariat.” Look for him in the Belmont scenes when the movie comes out next October.
On the whole 2009 has been a good year, filled with both blessings and challenges. We’re excited about what’s to come in 2010, and hope that you and yours are as well. Here’s wishing each of you a very Merry Christmas and a happy and blessed new year.
The last week of January 2009 will be forever remembered thanks to the major winter storm that blew through Kentucky. 36 hours of non-stop precipitation - mostly freezing rain but also just enough sleet and snow to make things interesting. Hundreds of thousands lost electricity, tens of thousands lost water, roads were icy and impassable and broken trees littered the landscape.
