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[RC] Tally update - sandy . l . holderHi folks, It's been quite awhile since I've been on ridecamp. Between work, a pasture full of ponies (mine and a friend's), and fulfilling a couple of lifetime goals this year (Tevis, Virginia City & 20 MT), I've been a little busy. That and tragedy struck as well. . . For those of you who don't know me, I'm the "crazy girl" from California. Although as my license plate frame contends "CRAZY - doesn't even BEGIN to cover it!", this compliments of my wonderful daughter. . . the same one who slapped a big custom sticker on the back of my trailer that several Japanese photographer's enjoyed taking pictures of at Tevis this year. . . you might have seen the picture: with running horses in the middle, it says "100 miles in 1 day - Can Your Horse Do THAT?". . . some sense of humor that girl has!! I finished 3 - 100 milers this year, loving each of these events and finishing them because the wonderful owners of some quality horses allowed me to ride them. I finished each with a woo-hoo and a big smile on my face. Saturday I finished 6 amazing miles with tears in my eyes more times than I can count with my wonderful love Tally - and I wasn't even in the saddle. My Tally boy, he an I did what I thought he'd never be able to do again, we completed some miles together, on the trail again - continuing our journey together. You're probably confused as to why I'm so thrilled to have completed 'just 6 miles'. Well for those of you who know and/or who've heard of my travails with the love of my life (Metallica, aka "Tally"), it's been a year of success and a difficult year of troubles. You can probably check the archives if you'd like the details (as well as some good stories) of my beautiful boy. Needless to say, we had a terrific ride at the beginning of this year and then the accident. Tally was injured in February of this year, and the outlook was pretty bleak. A lot of my friends now KNOW I can drive from Gilroy to UC Davis blindfolded as many trips as I took. Yes, this was the year that I learned how to put vet bills on my credit card (instead of pay out of my secret stash), the year I learned how difficult it is to say 'no' to the one horse in the pasture who will come to me in any shape he's in when he sees a halter and lead rope - lowering his head to ask to go for a ride, and the year a great friend loaned me his trusty mount so that I could still ride - and succeed with some of those lofty goals I'd set. I'll try to give you the short version though. It took a lot of time, more patience and the magical hands of a 'horse fixer' (ok, so she is also a DVM, chiropractor and certified accupunturist), to get Tally to the point where he could actually get into a trailer and go for his first walk in the park on Saturday. But it was fabulous, I mean - it was really unbelievable!! Through the rain I lead him on a familiar path to see if he was capable of 'going the distance' - in this case, 6 miles of flat walking, most of the time off line, completely at liberty. He's the only horse I know and trust enough to actually unsnap the lead line to be next to me at his choosing. Friends - "don't do this at home" definitely applies. He's a one in a million. A saddle has still not touched his back in a long time, but soon. . . maybe soon. It was raining and cold so there were the same amount of folks in the parking lot when we returned as when we left. . . but it didn't matter - we had done it! We walked most of the time and when I decided to finally 'test him' I started to jog . . . and there he was, my beautiful boy, silently striding right beside me. He was sound, supple and round with that spark of joy in his step that I had yearned for so long to see. He was sound. . . he IS finally sound. . . And so, the next phase of our journey begins. We don't know if he'll make it back to the trail with me on his back yet but if you see me on a big beautiful flashy looking white horse, then you'll know. Until then, I hope each of you reach for your dreams and don't give up. . . the path is not a straight one but it can be rewarding in the long run. Oh and thanks for all the hugs and support that you've given me (both in person and over the internet). I rode the 100's this year with my friends in my head and Saturday I went on a trail with the horse of my heart. Hugs back! Sandy _________________________________________________________________ The information transmitted is intended only for the person or entity to which it is addressed and may contain confidential and/or privileged material. Any review, retransmission, dissemination or other use of, or taking of any action in reliance upon, this information by persons or entities other than the intended recipient is prohibited. If you received this in error, please contact the sender and delete the material from any computer. PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP is a Delaware limited liability partnership.
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