Happy Trails: Friday Night Fun

 I'd told the entrants to Happy Trails that they were welcome to come early and set-up Friday afternoon and, if they wanted, go out to the barn to meet Abby and tour Tim's vehicle collection. Several were all in about that!

Jamie Rott, Pat Reed, Liz Cory, Kelsey Kramer, and Yvonne Rott handing out candy canes.

It was chilly and drizzling, but none of us cared!

After we'd exhausted my supply of candy canes, we headed into the new barn.

The 1822 paddy wagon is always a hit...

and Yvonne checked it out a little more thoroughly than the rest of us!

A quick freshen up at my home followed, and then we headed out to Mountain Jack's for dinner.

We ate and laughed and ate and shared and ate and laughed some more!

I took a few last photos of the house after I got home. 

While no one had actually unpacked their models,

lots of things had been brought in and were ready to go for Saturday's show.

It promised to be a fun day (and it was.)

Pony Pal Mila Goes to Jail

Kids some times make incorrect connections as they try to figure something out, and the results can be hilarious. Earlier this week on a beautiful sunny day, Pony Pal Mila met me out at the barn where she did just that.

 Mila and Cowboy Lukie could not wait to get to the horses. (Neither could their Grammy.)

With help from Aunt Lisa, Mila hopped onto Hokey and went for a little ride.

A visit to the tack room in the new barn to try out a saddle or two is always a must.

As is clambering up into one of Tim's carriages or wagons and pretending that you are going for a ride. 

See those black bars to the left of Pony Pal Mila? Here's a better look at that vehicle:

It's an antique paddy wagon that Tim restored. In this picture from a few months ago, the kids are in the driver's seat, but sometimes they like to go back into the jail portion and be "put in jail." 

So, is it any surprise that, when Mila looked across the indoor arena at the stalls,  she put two and two together and came up with seventeen?

She asked me, "Grammy? What are those jails for?"

Oh, my! I had to contain my laughter as I didn't want to hurt her feelings. And, considering that she'd just been looking at the paddy wagon, it was a reasonable connection. There are metal bars on the stall doors just as there are on the paddy wagon.

We walked over to the other side of the barn so that I could show Mila the stalls and explain that they were where the horses stayed if they were sick or needed to be indoors for some reason.

After playing with the longe whip (Aunt Lisa had been showing the kids how to make the end pop and snap) and running up and down the aisles of the barn for a while, it was time to head back home.

Despite mistaking stalls for jails (as well as vowing that she still likes unicorns better), this girl sure has started down the path of being horsey. 

I hope it becomes a lifelong passion for her, too.