Passing the Torch-A new era

Casey and Tarj after their ride

Casey and Tarj in the practice arena

Casey and Tarj just waiting for his hooves to dry

Casey getting Tarj all prettied up.

For years, my little bay gelding and I have competed for the chance to ride at the Fall Championship Show. And we've been there, repeatedly. He busts a gut to run hard -- he's my partner, my friend, my love.

And now, he carries my daughter. And whats more, he cares for her. He makes sure she doesn't get hurt, that she has fun, and that she knows he loves her.

So when she qualified for Champ Show, we didn't tell her we were gonna send her. We told her that we weren't sure, that finances were tight...and so when we were watching High School Rodeo at the State Fair, she remarked that it seemed that there was very little room after timer (in the Coliseum) to get the horse stopped. I told her "well you better watch and figure it out...you're gonna have to do that in a few weeks." I might as well have told her she was gonna be Homecoming Queen. Her eyes went starry and she leapt up and was so excited.

The big day came. We loaded up the truck and went to the Fairgrounds. We decided to leave Tarj home til the day she was going to ride as he gets an upset tummy being in that noisy barn. So we unloaded all our stuff and padlocked into the stall.

By mid-day I realized she wasn't gonna want to leave when I wanted to, so I reasoned that she needed a shower before she competed. She was so dejected -- she didn't want to miss any of the experience. That's when it dawned on me: part of the Champ Show experience is LIVING there. So I told her we'd shower her there. They have a (nice?) shower facility and we found a place that had shampoo and conditioner samples. Well by the time we got to their booth, only conditioner samples were left, so we bought some tea-tree shampoo (for horses) and picked up a condition (DOG CONDITIONER!) and grabbed the ShamWow out of the tack trunk. We rinsed it out and wrung it out, then waved it around in the sun for a half hour or so.

We got her into the shower and lathered her up. Got her squeaky clean, and then dried her with the ShamWow. It was hilarious -- this cloth was only 12" wide by about 24" long. Worked great!

So we got to stay later, we stopped on the way home for KFC, and got home to sleep.

The next morning we were up early, loaded Tarj in the trailer and got him to the fairgrounds. He wasn't thrilled about going into the stall but he did. Casey and I went to watch an event and I explained the holding pen system to her and showed her how to get up the ramp into the Coliseum.

We then went back to pretty Tarj up. We put blue glitter on his hooves and haunches, in his mane and in his tail. He loves this attention so he stood half asleep with a little cud of hay in his mouth, lazily chewing with his eyes mostly closed...

Joe, Hannah and Chip showed up about the time she needed to saddle up and get ready. There were over 100 kids in her class -- I knew she had no chance of placing, but she kept saying "When I place, I'm gonna give you and Dad the money I win!" I let keep that dream.

Tarj carried her calmly into the Coliseum and waited patiently for his turn. I walked beside them and when she said she was ready, I turned them loose. It was a major thing for me...I've seen her show before but this was a new day. I felt like I not only lost something but gained something as well -- my baby rode away that day and my fellow horsewoman rode back to me.

She knocked the last pole but her smile was as wide as the sky. Dan Dolan, the voice behind the mike for WSCA said "She tips a pole but DID SHE HAVE A GREAT TIME!!!!"

We loaded up and headed out soon after that. A storm was brewing but we stopped for dinner anyway. Tarj was loose in the trailer and eating. The family headed into the restaurant and I stood with him for a minute. He put his head out to me and I whispered a "thank you" as I kissed him.