Sunday, March 25, 2012

Welcome to the Block Party Baylor!



Dear Big Blue Nation,

It's that time during the tournament that I get even more nervous. We'll all be tuned in tonight, from colts to fillies and mares to stallions (and yes even geldings), to watch our beloved Wildcats try and make it to the Final Four. I'll be pacing the field and my stall all day long waiting for the game to start. I'll be cheering on my favorite player the "Uni-blocker" Anthony Davis. Baylor doesn't know what a true block party is and they will find out tonight. Thats all for today though guys, I'm too nervous, I'm going to go back to my corner and try and shake all the nerves out of my head.

Go Cats!

-Will

Friday, March 16, 2012

Pursuit of Gre8tness

 
Dear Big Blue Nation,
 
I don't know about all you guys, but boy are all of us thoroughbreds pumped up about March Madness! I don't know if Maggie knows this but we've got a satellite dish and giant 55 inch TV out here in the run in shed. All the horses in the other fields are pretty jealous. We'll be cheering on the Cats every night they're playing. We're also cheering on the Racers too, even though their mascot gives me the shivers (brings back memories of the track). But listening to my Cats last night on the radio; the stupid dish wasn't working because of the storm, was exciting. We got a little sloppy out here in the rain...and cause of the cooler of beer Ransom snuck in. Which reminds me, if John is in town tonight, we ran out of beer and we need some more, and could you grab me a bottle of that new Town Branch Bourbon, its more my style. We can't wait for Saturdays game, I can't wait to get done at Snowbird in the morning so I can go ahead and start tailgating, I wonder if mom will let me go out early. We'll have our big pile of hay out here if anyone wants to stop by and grab a bite to eat. Murray Plays at 5:15 so that's when the fun really begins. We're looking forward to the Cats game at 7:45, the main event on Saturday, and mom better let me where my UK saddle pad. GO CATS! We're in the Pursuit of Gre8tness!
-Will

Thursday, March 8, 2012

Will Wants an iPad

Dear Faithful Fans,

Today I was perusing the internet in my stall when I came across a new iPad for horses! I think I need one- it's hard to update my blog by typing on my regular Apple, and all the other horses always want to eat it. This way I can keep up with Riley, too. I kind of miss his stupid face.


In other news, my mom has really been throwing me for a loop lately. I was really excited when I got to go out with all of my friends right after dinner last night, but she showed up and tried to catch me about an hour or two later. All I know is that when mom shows up at weird times, it means a horse show. I was really worried, so I let her know. It turns out all we did was a little bit of dressage and a big walk around the farm, but I swear it was a narrow miss.

Then this morning she did it AGAIN. I just knew I was going to a horse show! Why else would she wake up early enough to come see me before her morning class?? It turns out all I had to do was lunge, but that was almost as bad. Going in circles is boring, even if we do it in the grass field. I almost can't wait until my back feels better so I can stop doing all this circle crap.

Thinking of that, apparently mom came out early because one of my favorite people, Dr. Martha, was coming to visit. I love it when she comes to see me! She poked and prodded me in a few places that really hurt, but I know she always makes everything feel better after I tell her what hurts. Then she turned me into an equine pin cushion by sticking needles all over my body. The ones on my shoulders and back were ok, but the ones on my withers really hurt! And she didn't want to listen when I tried to shake them out- she kept sticking them back in. After standing with the needles in for a little while she took them all out and things felt a little better. Did I mention that I've missed seeing Dr. Martha?

Afterwards my mom was talking to Dr. Martha about what else to do for me. I overheard her mentioning Pam's name- I really hope I get to see her too! I always feel so much better after she adjusts my back. It's hard being the work horse for Team Riley, but there are definitely some perks to being a part of the team.

That's all for now guys- maybe I'll update more if someone gets me the iPad for horses!!

- Will

Monday, March 5, 2012

Team Riley Photos!

Stay Tuned!
Team Riley will have a photostream through Flickr up and running in the next few days!
You will be able to view pictures of your favorite Team Riley members and see all the action right on your screen. See everything from training to shows and just goofing around the barn (mainly making Willpower look as ridiculous as possible). So hold onto your pinnie and jump right into the action!

Also, Willard doesn't just love treats, he also loves fan mail. Be sure to send him an email. Who knows, you may just be lucky enough to receive a autographed glamor or action shot of your favorite thoroughbred, just leave your address for him to respond back.

-John

Thursday, March 1, 2012

Post-Entry Anxiety

I've always had some level of it, but ever since last spring, I've had a bad case of Post-Entry Anxiety. You know, that disorder where try as you might, you can't stop worrying that your horse is going to find a way to kill himself just as soon as you put a big entry check in the mail. There are many ways Post-Entry Anxiety may manifest itself, but the telltale symptoms include a terrible sinking feeling every time you imagine your horse rolling (getting cast), running in the field (tearing a tendon), or getting shod (and promptly pulling off the shoe(s)). Side effects include obsessively over-treating minor injuries and excessively contacting the vet who surprisingly still picks up my calls.

To explain the source of my anxiety, last spring Will decided to get what I have dubbed "the stone bruise from hell" one month before our debut event of the season, Spring Bay. I needed to go to Spring Bay because even though I'd gotten off the Crazy Train to the T3D (that's for another post), I still had the T3D on my mind and needed a spring warm-up horse trial to get there. Will suddenly "wasn't right" and after a vet appointment, Will was diagnosed with a stone bruise. I was pretty happy with that diagnosis because stone bruises usually take about a week to heal and are a minor bump in the road. Unfortunately I learned the hard way that most stone bruises are a bump in the road, and some are a big fat pothole that can put your horse out for a month and a half, make you lose your entry to an event, and put your future events in jeopardy for lack of preparation and fitness. 

I may not of been able to ride Will, but that didn't stop me from harassing him! My mom got him this sweet fly mask at Rolex and of course we had to make him model. 

The whole Spring Bay/stone bruise predicament turned out ok in the end- I scratched Will and was able to steal Riley away from Louisville (where he lives with his leasees) and take him Novice so as to not lose my entry completely. (And we actually got something like 3rd place- a whole lot better than Will probably would've done!) Being a Thoroughbred, Will was able to get fit enough for a T3D after his injury with only 4 weeks to prepare. The T3D turned out to be one of my best ever eventing experiences and Will even got the Best Conditioned award. But thanks to the ordeal, I now face some serious anxiety as soon as I mail an entry. 

Little Riley was quite the stand-in for his big brother. Photo by Kristen Janicki.

So now I get to the whole point of my post- I have a BAD case of Post-Entry Anxiety right now. I finally decided to stop sitting on the fence and mailed my Ark entry yesterday, knowing very well the consequence that I'm feeling today. Will's already been trying to secure himself a proper spring break (swollen knee, sore back, who knows what's next), but now I'm really worried he's going to find a way to get a vacation. Here's to crossing my fingers, knocking on wood, and holding on to any and every lucky trinket I can find between now and March 31 so that we make it to the Ark sound, fit, well-schooled, and successfully jumping prelim courses again!

- Maggie