whitney is growing up

Remember Lill Whitbit? when I started Blogging she was 6-7 years old...and a thumb sucker





Today she is.... a Happy 12 year old who is in the 7th Grade !!!!
Whitney has been very active at the barn still and now is showing a Saddlebred. she is an amazing rider who has blown her trainers away with her talent.

we are busy from May - October traveling to shows almost every other weekend. which is alot of traveling but so worth the miles.
whitney has her room bordered with lots of ribbons but her very last show of the season this lil Girl took home Reserve champion...here she is above riding Nikki ( show name Nic Nac Caramac) on her victory run with her champion ribbons. Whitney has worked so hard in her showing which requires daily training she has proven herself and now was asked to go to World Champs in Louisville KY which is a week long show in August. she is now doing fundraising and working at the barn and for her Grandparents business to help save for her Kentucky fund. she needs to know that these shows are not cheap and she needs to do her part.
Here is whitney here at home with our Horse Bull run...he isnt savvy enough for Kentucky but he is a great friend to have at home to hop on and get a ride fix on :)

there alot of videos of whitney riding ill post a few here and there... but here is one of Her Trainer TJ and her on a Horse we have been thinking about buying for her for Kentucky.. here is Whitney and TJ riding on Spranza. whitney is at the tail end of the video but here is a quick sample of her trying out Spranza...

Ona Happier Note...Whitney learned to canter her horse!

well after almost a year of training Whitney set a goal to Canter her horse Princess with in a year.... the second video is her very first canter ever... just a few weeks ago, Last night her Trainer knew she was sad and needed a pick me up so her trainer put her up on a world Champion Saddlebred show horse named Noah to canter on...This put Whitney on Cloud nine and lost all those sad feels of her Daddy being sick... Whitney rides 3 nights a week...I still am trying to balance a normal life for the girls and still making time to do the things they love most...and Whitney's passion is her horse riding...

the post below this one is a Bradley Update for today..................

Willow Update and Fun for Whitney

We are nearing the end of the school year and Whitney's school had a 5th grade dance for a farewell dance before the leave to another school for their Middle School years... it was a Luau theme...Whitney won 2 contests and her trophy was a coconut and a Pine apple... here she stands with one of her classmates who also won a coconut.... she had a (fake)parrot on her shoulder before but the Bird didn't survive the night of dancing...the poor fake parrot was found stomped on the floor........

oops? how did this get in here....anyway... the next time I post Bull his Barn will be stained a dark red....

Now.......WILLOW update!! she is a trooper. she did so well during the surgery and waking up from the anesthesia they called us to come in for a visit to see Willow she wagged and wagged her tail and tried to stand up...They said she could come home with us since they saw how happy she was to see us...The said they normally wouldn't let an animal go home the same day with that type pf surgery but she seemed well enough and gave us strict directions for her before we took her home.. we wrapped her up in a baby blanket and she sat with Brad on the way home...she was like taking care of a new born baby...we got up with her during the night to help her with her pain, carried her outside all hours pf the night to go potty and to make sure she was comfortable in her crate. she loves her crate. we let he hop around the house a little but if she sees the door of her crate open she will hop on in and lay down... she knows it is her safe resting place. we took the lampshade thingy off. she has not even tried to lick her incision at all...she lets me apply a warn compress to it and clean it... she is taking this well and is such a good lil patient.

I counted 20 stitches...thats a big incision for a lil Puggy

Whitney and Daddy giving her Loves

she was shaking so bad when i was taking these pictures....she was so weak...she only sat like this for a short time...Poor lil baby.

Here she is at home resting in her Crate.... Brad had her up on the bed in her crate lastnight watching tv together.... this is his nighttime Buddy and he thought she'd like to still have their tv time together so her carried her up into the bed in her crate....

Girls like to get dirty too! whether it is fishing or scooping horse poop!

Whitney can't get enough of riding....in fact we both can't. It has taken over our weekends and a few nights during the week days. Whitney is pretty independent on her horse now and goes out to the paddock to get Zee and leads her into the tacking room to get tacked.Then goes for a ride.... she is making great progress and was asked to attend a Horse show this weekend. They make a great team. Here is Whitney in her new riding helmet I ordered her....a Pink Camo Helmet...how cool is that?after Whitney and I rode Whitney volunteers her time on the weekends and one night a week to help out at the stable, Her Duties are.......

Racking up the old Hay in the Paddocks.........


Scooping Poop.........

This Little girl rather clean a stall than her own bedroom!After Whitney cleaned 8 out of 14 paddocks she was slowing down so I offered a hand in helping her.....it was a very hot and warm day once Whitney cleaned the paddocks and stalls she helped her instructor give Tee-Berry a bath.
The instructor told me that Whitney worked her Butt off and worked harder than some of their employees......Whitney worked 5 hours straight never giving up.As hot as it was and as dirty as she got she got she loved every minute of it. On the way home she told me that " This was the best day of my life....it was like I was living in a dream" I had more fun there than I did when we went to Florida!..
Now I think this girls is a true horse lover...she showed intrested in all aspects of a horse owner... proper care, proper grooming, tacking and all that is involved in caring for a horse....

She is going to continue volunteering and the more she works the more she will learn. and have all the knowledge under her belt before we take on having our own horses here.

I am Hoping Santa gets me this Handsome man for Christmas........ This is the "Other" man in my life.....BULL... he is my training horse and he just went up for sale...we have a special Bond and I would Love to be His Momma. Fingers Crossed~

While Whitney and I spent the entire day at the stable Bradley took Tori and her friend Mitchell Deep Sea fishing. They all caught a fish and Tori even fillet her own...... Brad said Tori is a true DeepSea fisherman and they plan on going back again next weekend since they all had so much fun while Whitney and I attend a horse show.

Tori caught the biggest fish! Haddock and Bradley caught COD and when they got home last night at 10pm I cooked it up and we all snacked on it for a late night snack. Yum! it was soooo good!

Giddy Up!

Back to the stables early this morning .... we stopped at a farm stand to buy the horses some fresh carrots for a treat. ( we also made the instructors Oatmeal Raisin cookies last night) we try to treat the instructors and horses nice since they are so nice to us. I can see why Whitney enjoys riding. we had such a great time riding together today. so much we are taking a few house tomorrow afternoon to ride again since it will be Whitney's last day of summer vacation. ( school starts on Wednesday!) then Whit and I will ride on Saturdays and one day after school during the week.......
Here is Whit-Bit posing with the bunch of carrots she picked out for Bull and Zee......

This the stable we go to.....( one of many )Whitney always likes to get Zee all fancy and Pretty before a ride...today she decided to brush her tail and put it in a braid..... This in MJ he is the FATTEST kitty I have ever seen...he is the Barn kitty...he must eat out of all the horses troths!

This is Bull.... his name is Bull Run he is 24 years old. he and I make a good team. we both did well together so he is now my horse at the stables for riding...
I can't wait to get back on him tomorrow afternoon......
( Somer?? notice my necklace? click on the picture to see it better........)

Whitney is really getting involved with the horses so much that we enrolled her today with the 4-H equestrian program to learn the proper care for a horse and go to shows and fairs. The first class starts next month.. she is really excited for this program as am I. I told Brad with the way things are going we need to plan on building a barn out back on the hill...I see horses in the future with a Sheep or 2...heck lets get Chickens and Pigs while were at it! LOL
Like a Pug rescue...there are Horse rescues in our area....Hmmmmmmm???
we would love to own horses someday...but not in the near future..if we do they will be boarded at the riding stable. I told Bradley. If Bull goes up for sale..We are buying him!

Whitney and Zee

This summer Whitney started Horse Riding lessons each Monday and Thursday Mornings. She has always showed interest in horses and riding, She really has come a long way with her riding and really knows how to handle and control her horse. I have enjoyed watching her in her lessons so I decided to start lessons starting this Monday........

Here is Whitney leading Zee into the riding arena before her lesson........( I love this picture, it is like Whitney is really thinking hard about what is going to be learned today......)

As I sit and watch this kitty named Little Grey always comes in and keeps me company. she is so cute with double paws.


Whitney really is enjoying her lessons, so we are going to continue them through out the fall and winter......

Whitney trotting.......


Whitney leading Zee back to the stable after her lesson........
after the lesson Zee is treated with Animal crackers and a peppermint for a treat.......( yes Zee loves those red and white spiraled peppermints!)
Whitney waiting for the instructor to unsaddle Zee so Whitney can groom her.....
This is Remington..... Whitney rode Remington when she first started her lessons...Now Remington is retired due to a Tumor,

I fell in Love with Remington..... he is a sweet and Gentle man.... He even got a sip of my coffee I am holding. He loves his morning Coffee too~