Road Trip, Day 4: Assateague Island

We got up and got ready, packing up, as we would be leaving the hotel and heading home, after spending a day on Assateague Island.

We headed over and had breakfast at the little restaurant near the hotel.   The same couple that had been singing and playing their guitars, the day before, was out on the porch doing it again.   After we ate, we sat and listened for a little bit and then I struck up a conversation with them.   When they found out I sang, they encouraged me to sing for them, so despite my stage fright issues, I started to sing "Amazing Grace" for them.   My Mom chimed in, over to my right, while she watched my girls.

The couple complimented us and we talked a little bit more, before we had to get back to our room to finish packing and check out.

After the car was loaded and we had checked out of the hotel, we headed to a local t-shirt store and I got two new horse t-shirts with Chincoteague Ponies on them, my favorite being a light blue with a white pony running in the water, with a wave coming up behind it.  My girls each got a shirt and my oldest picked out one for her Daddy, who couldn't come with us on the trip.

After we were done shopping, we drove across the bridge to Assateague Island and we stopped at the entrance to the island and there was a sign that said no dogs were allowed, even in cars, on the island.  We told the ranger I had a Seeing Eye Dog and she, of course, said that was fine, but was happy I had told them, so she could radio the other personnel to let them know a Seeing Eye Dog was coming onto the island.  

We then stopped for a short time at the visitors center.  I wish we could have spent more time there, but we wanted to get to the beach.

As we drove across the island, we saw a lot of cars stopped up ahead of us and as we started to slowly pass them, we saw what they were looking at.   Over to our right, in a large meadow, was a herd of ponies!   My Mom stopped the car and rolled down the windows, so we could all get a good look at the ponies.   My oldest counted 13, which included two foals.   There were lots of different colors and patterns, mostly pintos of various colors.

We watched for about 10 minutes, Mom took some pictures, and then we headed back on our way to the beach, on the eastern side of the island.

We found a parking spot near the bath house and changed into our bathing suits.   We then grabbed what we would need for a few hours on the beach and headed out to find a good spot.

The wind was really blowing and we were having trouble with our unbrella, so some nice ladies came over and helped us.   Once it was securely in place, we laid out a few towels and a blanket, got our covers and sandals off and headed down to the water's edge.

At first I just kept Dextra on her regular short leather leash, but eventually I switched to her flexi leash and she had a blast playing in the water, like she always does, being a Labrador.

My oldest played near me, holding my hand as we stood in the waves and Dextra ran around us.

My youngest was a bit intemidated by the waves and didn't really want to go in the water.   My Mom tried a few times, but she really didn't want to do it.

After awhile, Dextra needed a break, so my Mom took her up for some water and to rest in the shade of the unbrella.   Dextra laid there on the blanket, with no one holding her, in a perfect down and rest for a very long time.   Someone was always with her, of course, it was just that she is so good we don't always have to hold onto her leash, if we are trying to do something else.   She is a wonderful dog and so well behaved, a perfect example of what a Seeing Eye Dog should be.

I had both my girls down by the water and my oldest wanted to go in, but my youngest still was not wanting to.   I picked up my youngest and started talking about how fun the waves were and she eventually let me carry her out a little bit, where my oldest could have some fun in the waves and when a few big ones hit my legs and splashed her feet, which were dangling down near my knees, she started to realize it was fun.

So, I took us back a bit and I sat down on the beach, in a spot where waves only occasionally reached us.   I started with having her sit on my knees, then she sat on my lap and eventually was willing to stand infront of me, as I stayed sitting.  

My oldest sat next to me, sometimes laying in the sand, so the water would come up around her, so she could splash in it, when the waves came up.   Both girls had a wonderful time and I was so proud of my youngest daughter for overcoming her fears and playing in the waves.

We let them play for several hours in the sand and in the water, before we decided it was time to pack up and start heading home.    We changed in the bath house, but unfortunately, the line for the showers was too long, so we could not wash the sand off of us, we just had to do the best we could dusting it off.   That was pretty hard, as the sand on the island is very soft and seemed to be more sticky than other places I've been.   My oldest had laid all over in the sand, so she had it everwhere, even up in her long wavy hair.

We loaded up and stopped at McDonald's for dinner, as we started our car ride back home.

We drove several hours south, down the eastern shore of Virginia and then crossed the Chesapeake Bay Bridge Tunnel right before dusk.   I think it was the first time I have actually been on it, so it was pretty nice to see all the water.  I was told there were ships in sight, but I could not see them, they were too far away for my limited eyesight.

We arrived home around 10 PM and my husband and I got the girls changed into their pajamas, dusting more sand off of them and got them into bed.

It had been a long day, fun filled, and one to remember.   It had been a wonderful 4 day journey, starting with Mount Vernon and ending with the beach of Assateague Island.   I hope I can go back to Assateague Island again soon, it was so beautiful and I want to see those ponies, again, too, of course.   if you are a horse person and have not been, you must go.   If you like nature or just going to the beach, you must go to Assateague Island for some great fun!

Marcus' Second Race

On Saturday, July 28, 2012 we had Marcus in the 9th race at Colonial Downs.  It was a true miracle that he was there, at all, after what he had been through on July 20th (see "Colonial Downs Doesn't Like Me").   Lot's of prayers had been sent up to God on Marcus' behalf from a lot of people and God had listened, as Marcus was 100% sound.

Prayers for weather, calmness, and more had also been sent up to God.   As the 9th race approached a storm approached the area.   This was Marcus 4th trip to Colonial Downs in 4 weeks, and the 3rd time a storm would hit the track or near the track.   The first time Marcus came to the track to race, a tornado bounced around the track facility and this has left Marcus afraid of thunderstorms.

As Marcus headed over to the paddock for his race, the lightning could be seen to the north and east, so we hoped it was passing by us, but it was close enough that Marcus was well aware of the storm.

Luckily, our wonderful trainer had gotten special permission to have the pony horse brought into the paddock with Marcus to help him during saddling.   The calm Paint Horse helped Marcus maintain his composure, so he could get saddled and the jockey could get onboard.   He was obviously a bit nervous, but the Paint Horse really helped.   I continued to pray for him to be calm and not get upset about the storm.

Once out on the track, Marcus appeared totally fine, during the post parade and warm up.

At the gate, several horses gave the starters a major workout, including the horse right before Marcus was to go in.   Marcus was the last horse to load, so he waited his turn, very quietly and patiently.   Once that horse was in, Marcus walked in like a pro and the gates flew open.

He was in post position 12, so when they got to the first turn, he was out wide, due to his post position and there being no where for the jockey to steer him over, just yet.   Marcus maintained 7th around the first turn, in the field of 12.

Once onto the backstretch, Marcus' jockey was able to move him over to the rail, where Marcus was moing very comfortably and moved up to 6th, which he held the remainder of the backstretch and onto the final turn.

As the horses came onto the homestretch, Marcus' ordeal of the past week caught up with him and he began to tire.   He faded to 11th, at the wire, but only was 16 lengths behind the winner, so the field was not that spread out.   In the whole scheme of things, he did not get totally destroyed in the race, as I've seen horses lose by a lot more, that have been through a lot less.

We are all very proud of Marcus, from his trainer and her husband, to all the partners.   I praise God that Marcus got a good experience this time and hopefully will carry this good experience to the next race, which will be at a different track, since Colonial Downs meet is now over.

I also praise God that Marcus has come out of his race sound, with no issues.   The jockey said he was moving well and the only effects he noticed was the tiredness at the end, which is very understandable.

Marcus will be given some time to fully recooperate and he will tell us when he ready to race, again, whether that be 2 weeks or 30 days, we'll give him what he needs.   He is a special horse to us all and we will take care of him as best we can.

Miracle for Marq Your Bible

An honest to goodness miracle has happened and I will proclaim it to anyone who will listen.

If you have been following the events of the last 5 days on my blog, you will know of what happened to Marq Your Bible on Friday night at Colonial Downs.  But just in case you are new to my blog and this amazing story, I will share some of what happened here.

Shortly after arriving at the paddock at Colonial Downs on Friday night, to be saddled for the 6th race, Marcus (Marq Your Bible) who was about to run in only his 2nd race, appeared to get startled by a nearby storm, with lots of cloud to ground lightning.   Three weeks before that night, he had been preparing for his first race, on the way to the paddock, when a tornado was sighted nearby.   So, it is understandable that he'd still be a bit sensitive to storms.

When he startled, he got away from his handler and raced out onto the racetrack.   Two outriders totally ignored the fact that a loose horse was there and kept on doing what they were doing, smoking, talking, etc.   Marcus made it to the barn area, where eye witness accounts have him crashing through a gate, then galloping over 1/2 mile down an asphalt road, then onto a gravel path, and when he spotted a way back onto the racetrack, he crashed through a chain link fence.   It was at this point, that someone got on the radio to the two outriders and told them to go get the loose horse.

They caught him on the backstretch, but instead of taking him to the barn area for a vet to look at, they ponied him all the way back to the paddock, where when he arrived, the trainer found he had a broken lead shank, so they would not be able to hold onto him properly, her fears were met when he easily got away from them again.   This time the outriders acted more quickly and caught Marcus, but again he was brought to the paddock, where he had to wait while the race was being run.

Back at the barn, a vet checked him over and only found two scratches and he appeared to be sound.   The trainer and I talked and I was to get a phone call or email Saturday evening with an update, as I knew injuries can show up a bit later.

Saturday, came and went and I heard nothing, but just kept hoping no news was good news.   On Sunday morning, the messages during Sunday School and during the service, by our new Pastor, spoke to me.   I am a Believer in God and talk to Him in prayer, maybe not as often as I should, but I felt God telling me to pray, as the sermon was talking about prayer.   God led me to pray a certain way during the service and then afterwards, when I was back at home.

I prayed for Marcus to be okay, to be sound, to not be hurt, I prayed for a calmness to sweep over Marcus and for him not to be that scared ever again.   I also prayed that his handlers would instinctively know what to do to calm him, like I was able to do with Marcus' mother, Red Devilette (Scarlette), when I was training her when she was a yearling and 2 year old.   I prayed that God would allow Marcus to be His champion, not a champion in the worldly sense, but God's Champion, meaning that his name, Marq Your Bible, might help plant seeds in people's hearts, that would open up and grow into these people accepting Christ and hence those seeds are to be seeds for Salvation.  Only God knows how he will use Marcus to be those seeds, but I had faith.

Sunday night I got an email from the trainer, she had called my cell phone on Saturday, but for some reason the network never gave me my voice mail.  She told me on Sunday night that Marcus was quite sore, so she had gotten an equine massage therapist to come out and give him a massage, which had already started to help.   She was concerned he had bucked his shins and wanted to have him x-rayed Monday morning to make sure there were no fractures.

Sunday night, I prayed again, for a miracle, for Marcus to no longer be sore, for him to have no fractures, no bucked shins, and again for Marcus to be God's champion.

I got a short email Monday morning, from the trainer, which basically said she was holding off one more day on the x-rays of Marcus legs, to Tuesday afternoon, when the vet always comes to her farm, because "Marcus is fine this morning."

I immediately started to praise God and knew He was working on a miracle.   I continued to pray off and on Monday and then Tuesday.

Tuesday evening, I got an unbelievable email message from my trainer.   Marcus' x-rays were totally clean, no signs of any kind of injury.  Not only that, but the vet felt he was improving so much that there was a chance he could race as soon as Saturday.   There happens to be a race for Saturday at Colonial Downs, so my trainer will enter him in this race.   She will monitor Marcus daily and if there is any concern in the least, he will not race, but if he continues to progress at the rate he is, he should be totally fine, could even be totally fine today (Wednesday).   We will not risk him in the race if he is not 100%, but there is a good chance he will be more than fine.

God is amazing!   In days we've gone from some of racing's lows to just in awe of God's wonder and love for a horse who He knows we love dearly.

I will probably never know why Friday's incident happened, but maybe it did to provide another miracle, something that will help people start to believe in God and His son, Jesus.   I know that God has granted a miracle, because all that Marcus did he should have a lot more than just some minor soreness and two small scratches.   God had Angels watching over Marcus, protecting him during his fearful run.

As a Christian, I know that some do not agree with horse racing, mainly due to the gambling aspect of the sport.   But God is in all things and He works through many ways to reach people.   I have felt Him leading me down the path into horse racing since 1985, when I saw Spend A Buck win the Kentucky Derby.  It would be wrong of me to run from God's calling, like Jonah ran.  This path has not been easy, this path with horses, the racing ones and non-racing ones, but I feel God led each of those horses into my life for a variety of reasons and those lessons were for me to learn, not others, and others just may not see those reasons, which is fine, but I pray they trust that God had his reasons and they should not question.

I've in fits of despair even questioned myself, why this path has been so hard, but God brings me right back to the understanding that this is where He wants me and what He wants me doing, no matter how difficult.   There are reasons I may not even see or know about, people I've touched that I don't know about, but God knows and it is His plan and I will follow the path He has laid out for me, no matter what others may think in my family, my church, or elsewhere.   From my Sunday School class, this past Sunday, we watched a video, and the message hit home with me, I strive to hear, when I get to Heaven, God say to me, "Well done, my good and faithful servant."   This is all that matters.   God's opinion of me is the only one that should really matter, as it is what matters at the end.

Please do not Distract Guide Dogs

On Monday morning, my youngest daughter had a doctor's appointment.  It is a building we go in a few times a year, so I know the layout and Dextra, my Seeing Eye Dog, has been there about 3 times, before.

On Monday morning, we were all walking down the sidewalk, I just happened to be following my husband, though I could have easily led, but just happened this way.   I was holding the hand of my 6 year old daughter and my husband had our 2 year old's hand.

As we approached the building I could hear the work truck idling in the area just outside the main door.

Dextra was doing a great job, not only guiding me safely, but trying to keep from running my daughter into things, as well.   As we made the right handed turn to head into the building, through the two sets of sliding doors, she calculated the turn so my oldest would not run into the door, giving her plenty of room on my right.   Dextra is awesome at judging clearances to my right and though not trained to keep my children from bumping into things, which sometimes does happen, more times than not, she easily keeps them from hitting things, as she loves my kids and takes her job seriously and seems to know that they sometimes forget to look where they are going, despite me telling them, "Dextra's job is to guide me, not you, so you do need to watch where we are going, so you won't hit things."   I tell them to duck behind me, if something looks too close.

As we get through the second set of sliding doors, the elevator is about 30 feet or so infront of me, but Dextra suddenly pushes me to the right.  I know to follow my dog, so I trusted her and went with her.   After about 10 feet, she suddenly jumps sideways into me, as if totally startled and caught off guard.  And at the same time, I hear my husband start to call out, "Sir, don't touch the dog!"  Dextra looked sideways again, and my husband said, before I could, "Sir, I said don't touch the dog!  It's working!"

Dextra swings me in a big arc around something and back to the elevators where my husband is waiting for us.

We enter the elevator and I then ask what had happened.   My husband explains that there were two men working on replacing lightbulbs in the lobby and they had a fork lift of some kind in there.   One guy was on the ground and the other up on the lift, which was up above my head.

My husband said he could see Dextra concentrating very hard on how to negotiate this situation, judging where the man on the ground was, the vehicle, the lift above me, etc.   And the man on the ground had been making arm motions, frantically, flailing his arms, but Dextra had ignored him, obviously not knowing what those arm motions meant.

Suddenly, this man realized I had a dog and went from those big flailing fast arm movements to instantly reaching out towards my Dextra's head, startling her, as she was not expecting him to try and touch her and he was acting odd, to her, so he was someone to be avoided.

No one should ever try to pet a working dog, who is trying to guide their handler safely, because any little distraction can cause injury to the person or even the dog.  

I was lucky Dextra's jumping sideways into me did not knock me off balance, which could have meant I would have stepped on my 6 year old's foot or accidentally knocked her down.  My 6 year old or I could have been run into a wall, a piece of equipment, or something else that could have hurt one or both of us.   It would not have been Dextra's fault, it would have been this man's fault and he would have found himself liable.   It is against the law to distract a working guide dog, because of how dangerous it can be if you do so.

I was lucky this time, that nothing happened, but thought I'd share this story to help educate about the dangers that could happen if you distract a guide dog who is working, especially in a tricky situation.

But even if the person is walking down an uncrowded and level sidewalk with no obstacles, you should never try to pet, talk to, make eye contact, or do anything else that might distract that guide dog.   It is a matter of safety and if anything happens, you are liable and breaking the law.

Always ask first, before acknowledging a working dog, most people with guide dogs and other service dogs are very friendly and willing to talk about their dog, but do not take it personally if you are not allowed to pet the dog, there are many good reasons and they can vary from handler to dog.   But the main reason being, that if the dog gets too people friendly and starts seeking out pets from people while it is working, this is also a major safety issue, so though most of us will be happy to talk to you about our dogs, we still may not allow petting, it is a matter of safety and could even be life or death, if traffic is involved.

So, if you take anything from this blog post, please do not distract any service dog while it is working.  While a person's hand is on that harness, even if they are standing still at a corner, that dog is working.   Always ask first and talk to the handler.

God Says "Pray for Marcus"

I have prayed for most of my life, as I became a Christian and a true believer in Jesus at a very early age.  True, prayer time and it's importance seems to vary at times, but I am trying hard to be a even more prayerful person.

I felt God leading me to horses shortly after I was saved and a few years later, I felt the draw to horse racing.  I knew then I would take part in the sport, at first wanting to be a jockey, but getting too tall and being already super thin, I was still considered too heavy at 118 pounds.  My lack of eyesight wasn't really the issue, so I then learned how to be an exercise rider and then started yearlings that were heading to the track.   This is when I met Red Devilette, who I now own and call Scarlette, back in  September of 1992.   Can it be almost 20 years ago?  Wow, time has flown.

I prayed a lot when working around Scarlette and the other horses at Longwood Form in Maryland and Scarlette and I developed a special relationship, which you can read about in an early post to my blog.  

God has given me gifts and sometimes I just know what to do to help calm a horse down that is upset or scared.  God showed me several things to do with Scarlette, all those years ago.

I have prayed for all my horses, including Marcus, Scarlette's youngest, who is now a 3 year old gelding and in race training.   I pray every night for him to be safe, stay sound, and not suffer any injury similar to his half sister, Glory.   I pray God help him be a nice race horse and race to his potential, showing the talent God has bestowed upon him.

So, before this past Friday's race attempt, I was praying, but it was just not meant to be.  I will never know why Marcus wasn't supposed to race Friday night and why things unfolded the way they did, read my blog post "Colonial Downs Doesn't Like Me" for the details.   As it was happening, I prayed for Marcus to be safe, silently, and I've prayed ever since.   I saw him afterwards at the barn and he had 2 scratches and seemed fine, but I have not received an update, as of yet, from the trainer, so I continue to pray that he is alright and that no news is meaning good news.

This morning at church, I kept feeling God was trying to tell me something.   During Sunday School, where we watched a video and were told and reminded not to worry so much about what others think of us, it is what God thinks of us that is the most important thing.  We strive to want to hear, when we get to Heaven, God say to us, "Well done, my good and faithful servant."   We should not worry so much and stop trying to please everyone.   We also need to stop trying to conform and realize, "I am an original masterpiece, made by God."   Flaws and all, He loves us the way we are.

So, my heart opened further, I was ready to hear the sermon, by our new pastor, and it really hit home.  As I said, I do try to pray, I probably pray more than I realize and think, just don't keep track of how many times a day I do, but I know I can do better and do more.   Then God spoke to me, "Pray for Marcus!"   Yes, I have been, but this time I knew what God meant.

"Dear God, I pray for Marcus.  Not only that you keep him safe and sound and free from injury, but that when he is scared, you will teach those handling him what he needs to calm down.  Have those handling him instinctively do what Marcus needs from them.  Amen."

I prayed longer than that on this, during service, several times in fact.   But that is the main point of my prayer.

So, we came home, I ate lunch and I had a slight headache, so I went to lay down for a little bit.  Instead of allowing myself to drift straight off to sleep, I made the decision to pray, yet again, for Marcus.

So, I started the prayer above, again.

"Dear God, Please help Marcus, keep him safe and sound and free from injury.  Please do not let him be hurt from this past Friday's incident.  Please Lord, teach those around him what needs to be done to help calm him, when he is afraid or nervous.  Lord, like you taught me to circle two fingers on Scarlette's neck, when I rode her, to calm her down.  Lord, like you taught me to gently tap my fingertips on Bunny's forehead to get her attention back on me and not what was making her nervous or afraid.  Lord, what can they do to help Marcus.   Lord, if you could tell me, maybe they could do something like..."

And then a word popped into my head, "Sing!"   It said.

"Lord, was that you?  Do they need to sing to Marcus?"

"Sing!"  I heard it again.

"OK, Lord, I hear.  I will tell them and glorify you.  I will praise You.   Lord, I know you can do miracles, Marcus could be a champion, not in the worldly sense, but for You.   Lord, make Marcus Your champion.   Let people hear the name Marq Your Bible and know.   Let it be a way to open doors to help me tell people about You and what You have done for me and others.  You are in control and I know Marcus will be as goood as You want him to be and You alone will dictate how well he does in the worldly sense.  Yes, Lord, I want him to be a successful racehorse, but You determine that level of success.  Please continue to keep him safe, You know I love him and consider him a gift from You.   Amen."

So, because I feel led by God to do so, I am sharing all this on my blog.   And I will also try to get out to see Marcus before his next race, because I feel God telling me to directly pray over Marcus, lay my hands on him, and pray, and maybe God will lead me to sing to Marcus.

If you are a believer in God and the power of prayer and that God will answer prayer, I ask you to please pray with me that God protect Marcus and teach those handling him, from his trainer, to riders, grooms, etc what needs to be done and when to help Marcus and if it truly is to sing, that they will just start singing and not know why, but those of us who believe, will know exactly why they are singing to Marcus.   But if there is something else they can do, that God will lead them to do so instinctively, as well.

Some might think it silly to pray for a horse, but those who have known the love of a horse or any other animal, will know why I ask this.   Especially, if you have seen God work through animals, like I have  that you will understand and join me in Prayers for Marcus.

Colonial Downs Doesn't Like Me

Should have known it was going to be a bad evening when it took the waitress over an hour to bring me my dinner and those of my 2 children's on the 4th floor of Colonial Downs.   My husband and one of the partners that was with us, got theirs very quickly, but the stupid waitress actually thought she had brought all our meals, even came to the table twice to refill drinks, and obviously couldn't count plantes to people.   Then blamed it on the kitchen staff.   At least we got our meal for free, but still had to pay for drinks.

We went down to the paddock and, of course, a storm was brewing, some lightning in the distance and a little sprinkling, but they were not holding off races, as lightning was far enough away.

Well, Marq Your Bible aka Marcus gets brought up to the paddock to have his lip lifted and I'm not sure exactly what happened, but he reared, his handler went down and off Marcus ran.

The outriders just sat there as if "Oh, there goes a horse.  Hmmm..."   None of them went after Marcus and shouting crowd members got jeers back from the outriders.  They did absolutely nothing until someone got on the radio and said something like, "Hey, you better get to the backstretch and catch that loose horse."

I thought their job was to go after a loose horse as soon as it was running off, what on earth is wrong with these people?   If they had gone after him, things may have turned out a bit different.

So, they finally go get him, and instead of taking him to the receiving barn, on the backstretch, where they catch him, no, they bring him back to the paddock with a broken lead shank!    So, yep, another flash of lightning and he rears and gets away a second time, because the handler had no shank to hold onto.  

Crowd comments, "Wow, that's a fast horse."   Doesn't make me feel much better, even though it is a compliment.

He's caught a second time and, yep, brought back again, to the paddock, where he stayed until after the race.   Friends and partners I was with reassured me he was walking sound and didn't look too sweaty or like anything was wrong.   So, i did breathe a little sigh of relief, but when the race was over and the horse he beat in his last start was 2nd, my heart sank, again.   Man, we could have done really well in this race.

Fast forward to the barn, where I meet up with my trainer, and am told all Marcus has are two small scratches, cooled out in less than 20 minutes, despite all the running he did.  

And then she proceeds to tellme how lucky we truly were, as a vet saw what he did on the backstretch and it could have been really bad.

Apparently, Marcus ran by other people who did nothing, as he ran off the backstretch into the barn area, he crashed through a gate and then through a chain link fence, to get back onto the track, and that is when the outriders caught him.   Vet said no one tried to catch him, just a people standing around dumbly just watching.

I mean, wouldn't you want someone to help if that was your horse?

I remember being on the backstretch in the early 1990's, and people helped each other.   They helped when horses got loose, helped with problem loaders into horse trailers, and so on.   What on earth is going on at Colonial Downs where no one wants to help someone who really needs it?

I'm really disheartened right now.   And just praying the report from the trainer, tomorrow evening is that he is fine.   I know injuries can show up later and I'm praying hard he has nothing but those two little scraches.

So, now, most likely he is on a Paddock List and will have to school at a track on a race day and get cleared before he can enter to run again.

Only thing I can think of is the storm had him spooked.  Three weeks ago when he was being brought over for his first race, a tornado danced around the parking lot and then the infield.   They just barely got him back to the barn area, where he spent the bulk of the storm in the receiving barn, but he isn't stabled there, when he ships in, so it was not "his" barn and other horses were acting up.

As we drove through the barn area tonight, we saw other horses acting up with the approaching storm, so we know it was not just Marcus who was possibly haveing a flash back to the tornado.

But, man, what could have been, with the horse he beat finishing 2nd.   I hope this means something and hope he can prove it in a few weeks.

But I'm really starting to think Colonial Downs doesn't like me, especially when you also consider his half sister broke down there almost exactly 2 years ago (July 17, 2010).

When will things go right?   I hope one day I can look back on this night and laugh or tell it as a tale of what happened on Marcus' road to success.  But for now, all I want to do is go have a nice cry.

Oh, yeah, today was our 10th wedding anniversary, so it put a damper on the celebration, for sure.

Please pray for Marcus and that he is okay after his solo tour around Colonial Downs.

Day 3 of Road Trip: Chincoteague Pony Center and Visiting Baron

We had a busy Wednesday.  We were pretty tired from our late arrival at the hotel on Chincoteague Island, so slept in a little bit.   Luckily, the hotel had a small restaurant across the parking lot where we were able to grab a little breakfast.

After a filling breakfast we got into my Mom's car and headed towards the Chincoteague Pony Center to visit with some of the ponies and meet up with Laura, who now owns Baron (horse pictured in main blog photo with me).   Laura works at the Center and her mother and her had graciously invited us over to their house for a informal cookout after Laura got off work, so I could visit with Baron, who I had not seen in almost 3 years.

At the Chincoteague Pony Center, Laura introduced us to most of the ponies, including several descendents of the famous Misty of Chincoteague.      We met a gorgeous palomino named Sunfire that was a great great grandson of Misty and he found Dextra very interesting, sniffing noses with her through the fence.

Both of my girls got to ride another one of those Misty relatives, a chestnut mare named Sunny.

My oldest went first, as she has had a few riding lessons and I thought it would be a good idea for my youngest to watch her big sister and that might make her want to ride more, as she can be a bit more timid about things, at times.  

After 3 times around the small ring, my oldest got off and my youngest couldn't wait to get her turn.   The two boys working the pony ride helped her get on and while one led the pony the other held onto my daughter's left foot and ankle.  The whole time she was riding she kept a huge smile on her face and I was very happy to see this.

While Laura finished up her morning duties we went into the gift shop and my girls got to pick out a few things.  We got several small model horses, that are kid safe, and several horse books.

After Laura was finished and ready to head home, we got into my Mom's car and followed her the 25 minute drive back into Maryland where she lives.   Her mother met us at the car and was so sweet.  

They took me straight out to see Baron.  Laura went to get him, as he was a little ways away from the fence and when he got to me, he took in a long deep sniff and looked like he was thinking.   He then turne his head to Laura and I smiled as he was telling me he remembered me, but that Laura was now his person.   I was so happy to see him so happy, loved, and spoiled.

My girls played in the yard making friends with the Labradors that lived on the farm, while Laura's mother grilled hot dogs and chicken.

We decided to eat inside and had a lovely late lunch, talking and enjoying the wonderful food.   I am so grateful to Laura and her mother for inviting my Mom, my girls, and I over for lunch and to let me see Baron, what extraordinarily nice people.   You don't run across people like them very often these days.

After we ate, we sat on their porch and talked a little more, before I went to say bye to Baron and then we felt we had taken up enough of Laura and her mother's kind time and headed back to Chincoteague Island.

We decided to go for a little swim in the  hotel pool and enjoyed about an hour out there.   My Mom and I took turns holding each of my daughters, but my youngest wanted to stay with me, the most.  The temperature started to drop so we got out and went back to the room to get ready for dinner.

We found a nice Crab Shack on the island and had a late dinner.  I got snow crab legs, which always take forever to eat, but oh so worth it!   Everyone was patient and let me finish and enjoy my dinner.   Luckily the restaurant had a nice outdoor area where we sat and then after my Mom and girls were done, they could get up and play a little, while I finished.

It was another late night, but it had been a full day of fun with horses and friends!