Busy, Busy Bumble Bee
Weekend
I know that our road to Rebecca will be super busy with shows, work and family life so this past weekend was no different but here is a quick look into my "weekends" off with Charlotte.
Monday through Thursday consists of Working midnight to 11am and then driving out to the barn to keep Charlotte fit. Wednesday was a much needed Dressage lesson with our encouraging Trainer Jenny Holbrook and then a group jump lesson Thursday after work. Followed by "beauty day" Friday morning, in which Charlotte received the royal spa treatment and a hair cut! We cleaned and packed the trailer to prepare for our schooling show Saturday morning.
As most of you know I am a 911 dispatcher for King county and I do love my job, all things considered. It is one of the most rewarding jobs I could have chosen to be apart of and even though there are a few difficult calls, I am blessed to be able to serve my community and help people every day..... My partner on the other hand is a Fire fighter for East Pierce Fire and Rescue going through the 15 month training program and currently in the active fire academy. #powercouple
He is one of my biggest supporters and loves Charlotte! A little secret, he is afraid of horses! Which works out in my favor, I get to hang out at the barn and have "me" time.
Alright, back to my blog ...... So Friday I rushed home after a morning full of horse grooming, to get ready for Family day at the Fire training academy in the Lakewood area. It was my turn to support him this time, and meet up with our family while we watched the fire academy show everyone what they have learnt the past few months. 3 hours in traffic later...... Finally made it with only a few minutes to spare I sat down with my family to watch the event. My younger brother is only 5 and absolutely loved the show! I am so proud of my partner, he truly is a blessing in my life and I could not be who I am right now without his love and support. It takes a special kind of person to tag along in the horse world, especially when you are taking a Clydesdale through the levels on the #roadtorebecca2018 .
After rushing off, back to the house to pack and prepare for the schooling show in the morning I was finally in bed around 11pm.
Early morning, rising at 430 am to be out at the barn, loaded and on the road by 6am for our drive to yelm, WA. On our way to the fabulous and beautiful Aspen Farms in Yelm, WA ... It was the perfect day for it, not too hot just a little bit of cloud coverage to keep the horses cool. But of course we love the no rain part!! I drove myself that morning, following behind the horse trailer due to an obligation that required my attention after our jump rounds. Charlotte and I did not compete until 130 pm so we spent the morning hand grazing, videoing other team mates, and catching up with great friends! The best part of waking up is folgers in your cup ..... just kidding haha!! The best part of the show weekends is the friendships you create along the way. The support system is incredible, I have never been in a team oriented atmosphere like the horse family!!
Charlotte was a rockstart out on the course, we were galloping around and finding all the great spots before each jump. I had the biggest smiling on my face and I fell more than prepared for our first Novice recognized event the second weekend of May down in Spokane!! The height did not seem to bother Charlotte and the course had many questions that made her and I think about the approach of each jump, including an up bank to a down back with 5 strides to a verticle. Charlotte had a blast, she loves the challenge!!
Charlotte and I were on cloud 9 while cooling down and untacking for the afternoon. She was absolutely amazing, reading every fence and working as a team. She received many cookies and lots of scratches while she ate her favorite snack of alfalfa! you can watch our video on youtube at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Eugp1Qh14Og
After Charlotte was cooled down we checked in with our trainer, Jenny because she was going to take Charlotte home, back to the barn for us! The main reason I had to drive my self to the show was due to an event I was invited to later that evening. So I drove to a faithful friends house on the way to the event (so I didn't have to drive all the way home than back up to the event) to get ready!
Just a short back story of the event : about two years ago, on April 11th I had only been released from training to take 911 phone calls only, for about 1-2 weeks. I received a call from a frantic wife of her husband whom collapsed in his office. Through encouraging words I provided life saving CPR instructions over the phone, which she preformed strongly. They not only saved his life but, the Cpr preformed broke 8 ribs ! (which is a good thing) He was "revived" or his words "resurrected" and then rushed to the hospital where he underwent surgery in the utmost care facility. His lovely wife was told he had about a 2% chance to live. After he woke from his coma the blessed couple wanted to meet the entire team that helped save his life, including the 911 call receiver/dispatcher. This was a great honor, normally in a life threatening situation no one remembers the calm voice on the other end of the phone. I had the great pleasure to meet them and take a picture that ended up in the city of Bothell newspaper.
Fast forward to the afternoon of the show ( Saturday) : I was invited by the couple to attend and be an honored guest at there table during the Overlake Bandage Ball fundraiser.
