A little brag on the daughter...

[BrokenolMarine]

She is a creative thing... but then Y'all can be the judge. Oh wait, the judge was the judge. They put on a horse show down her way... across the border in Texas... charity thing. She had to put together a few costumes for the costume contest. She made one for herself, one for my Granddaughter and one for another gal in another class. They all lined up in her class for the costume contest...the rider and the horse have to "Costume up."

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I won't keep you in suspense, Jessie put in a lot of work and she took first place as a Ghost Rider.

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The Judge told her later that her costume was just "Freakin' Scary."

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My Granddaughter was in the same class as her Mom, and went as Barbie and Barbie's Horse... Very Creative in my book. The Mattel Label on the horse's flank is a paper plate....

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Granddaughter took third.

[North Country Gal]

That looks like a LOT of fun. Bet the kids had a blast.

[fortyshooter]

Yep....Like that ghost rider setup!

[daytime dave]

That is a great looking costume. A lot of time went into it.

I like the Mattel label on the grand daughters horse, lol.

[Hatchdog]

Will done on both costumes. Two ends of the spectrum, evil ghost and Barbie. Love it!

[BrokenolMarine]

Jessy has been so busy with so many things the last couple years she hasn't been able to show. They used to show a half dozen times a year and win a lot... but she took her friend's mare and showed her in the English Class. The friend did no work with the horse over the last few years, but Jessy put her thru the paces. They didn't place at all, but she showed the horse as she promised.

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This was the only jump the horse cleared without a touch or tap.

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She is a beautiful horse, but the lady has pretty much lost interest in the horses, due to her age and health, but won't sell them. She boards them in Jess's barns and they are basically retired as well. What a difference a couple years makes... I think this was 2021... Jessy was training and showing several of the ladies horses at that time, and they were showing at least once a month during show season; in Texas and Oklahoma.

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[cooperhawk]

When we lived in Virginia we had Appaloosas and my daughter rode them in Green Hunter competition.
She trained her own mare and at 12 years of age won the grand champion ship. In Virginia that was a
really big deal. She's almost 60 and a Psychologist in New York. We talk a lot and she says she's still my
little girl. love her to pieces.

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[cooperhawk]

The thing about this is that at that age most young girls are thinking about boys. My daughter
at that stage was mucking out stalls and caring for her horses. When school was out she would
pack a sack lunch and then spend the day at the stable which was a couple of miles from the
house, then I would pick her up at supper time.
When I purchased the first mare I told her that I bought the horse but she needed to buy her own
saddle and tack. Immediately she started cleaning houses all over the neighborhood. In a short
time she had the money and then she spent all her time cleaning stalls at the stable to pay for
the boarding.
It built character.
Keep your daughter going. It's sometimes hard to see them take risks but it will work out in the end.
Seeing my little girl jump that mare over four foot fences was hard on my nerves.

[BrokenolMarine]

Jessy was all about horses all her life. Still is. When she was a youngin, she was always ready to work in the barns her mother managed so she could ride, and when we finally bought the small farm in Central VA and had horses she was happiest when she was with them. Whether she was riding, washing or braiding them, or just mucking the stalls... it was all about horses. When she and her husband were both in the Air Force she worked for people who owned horses so she could ride. Later, they bought a farm and she began boarding horses, giving riding lessons and training / showing horses. Her mom taught her, and now she has passed the love of horses to her daughter.

I found a used pony cart for sale when the girls were young, and we restored it. Miss Tina trained our Welch Pony to pull it and the girls drove it in the Christmas Parade. Yup, they were all about horses. Her younger and older sisters drifted away to other things, but Jess never did.

Her husband is a smart man. Jessy's boarding barn pretty much supports her addiction... but he has never once complained. They have been married twenty years, but if he forced her to choose...
... he might lose.

[BrokenolMarine]

The little welch pony was all white and the Girls named him Casper... wonder why. He and Jess were best buddies. She could actually ride him with knee commands and no saddle but mostly she'd throw on a halter and trot around the yard. He loved her and would follow her and Miss T around like a dog.

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He is the one who pulled the cart in the Christmas Parade. It was Christmas, and the girls couldn't wait to cart the parade route and toss candy to the kids. Here they ready the pony and cart with their Grandfather before the parade starts.

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But the temps plummeted after the parade started and the girls were not enjoying the experience.
When they were invited back the next year, they said, "NO Thanks."
That's our youngest on the left, Stefanie, and Jess is on the right in the pic below. You can't tell they are cold, can you?

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Jessie also appeared on a local TV station in a feature where a sportscaster had a weekly deal called "I challenge Jeff" or whatever. You challenged him to compete against you in YOUR sport. He had to drive Casper and the cart over a course Jess set up. They did it at a Horse farm where Jessy Volunteered. This 5013c provided riding experiences for Special Needs Kids. The segment served to bring attention to the program and donations poured in. A win/win situation. The station donated as well.

Ride? me? Nope... I sometimes cleaned a stall, or went to the horseshows with my gals, and of course I covered what Miss T's work didn't to support the cost of horses and the like. But I did enjoy seeing the horses in the pastures and the joy they brought them. We had some beautiful ones over the years. Casper was the last... once the girls left, Tina said she was done. Tired of the work and all the riding and showing had ruined her ankles. Foot position can win or lose a class in a horse show. (So she tells me.)

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[cooperhawk]

We had started off with a 5 gaited pony that proved to be mean as hell. It tried to hurt Holli on
different occasions, so it was sold off.
The sad part was that after she had won all those trophies her Mother and I split. I came home from
work one evening and they were gone. It was five years before I saw my children again and then I
gained full custody. My Ex has mental and alcohol problems sadly.
I finally sold the horses because I did not have time to take care of them. Believe it or not I sold
them to Arthur Godfrey. He had a ranch in a valley not far away and his manager came and looked
them over and bought them on the spot.