Exciting News . . .

Friday night we had a visit from our older daughter, Eyvonne and her family - Bobby, James, and Rachel. They has some exciting news for us . . . they are going to have another baby! Yes, Robert and I are going to be grandparents again. That will bring us up to four. What fun! Erin had suggested that they video tape telling the kids that they were going to have a little brother or sister. Rachel has been wanting to become a big sister for some time so we knew she'd be excited. I wish you could see the video. I have never seen a little girl so excited. It was just precious. Eyvonne tells us she is expecting the baby to be born on March 20th. Baby Ruby will have a little cousin close to her age. We'll all have a hard time waiting . . . especially Rachel. I'm sure it will be worse that that dreaded question, "Are we there yet?"

PA Visit

Robert and I just returned from a great visit with Bob and Marty Morris in New Bloomfield, PA. They are the owners of Mountain Vista Thunder. We had an absolutely wonderful time! Bob and Marty showed us around their 116 acre farm and we got to see some beautiful horses. Thunder had a full sister and a full brother there. There are also some great trail horses, two year olds, mares, and a super nice stallion named Judge. Robert worked with Bob in the round pen on Tuesday. They worked with a cute two year old colt named D.J. He's black with four white feet (looks like Merry Go Blue but he's by Judge). He's a really nice energetic young horse. They also worked with a couple of two year old fillies - Addy and Heidi. Robert rode one of the in a little less than two hours. Bob had done a great job with them though. They were no trouble to bridle and they weren't at all head shy because they'd been worked with already. After the round pen sessons, Bob and Robert saddled the horses and took a short ride. It was a beautiful day to work with horses. Marty did a great job keeping us all fed and comfortable. We really appreciate their hospitality and the opportunity to get to know them and their horses better!

We Got People

We have much to be thankful for here at Stoner Ridge Farm. We did have a great show at White Pine this weekend but we are also very thankful for the friends with whom we show horses. On Thursday, when we arrived in White Pine, Charlie noticed a lot of water under the F 450 Ford truck that we used to haul the nine horses to the show. They looked under the hood and found a hose that would need to be replaced. Fortunately, they were able to get the truck to the garage on Saturday. The garage even was even open until 8 PM which allowed us to show horses without much interruption to our schedule. Tim and Marcia Spencer were a great help all weekend. Tim and Mike went to pick the truck up when it was finished. Well, that isn't the end of the story. When we were pulling out of the Great Smoky Mountain Expo Center (we were still in sight of the facility) there was a pop and a puff of white smoke. The Turbo blew . . . we've had trouble with a specific hose so we carry one with us. Unfortunately, that wasn't all that was wrong. Marcia and Tim were following us to begin with so they were there. Larry and Vera Patterson stopped to help. Cassie and Robin Tucker stopped as well. So did some folks who had come from NC to show. We thought the truck would be ok (but slow) so we pulled out on to I-81 and discovered there wasn't going to be enough power to get over the mountains pulling over 20,000 pounds of trailer and horses. We turned around. The VanBert crew along with the Lazy K crew, Summer Shade, and EmDee Mountain Horses all waited patiently while we came up with a plan. At first we thought we could hook Lazy K's truck to our trailer and have Van Bert take their 3 horses. Unfortunately, that truck would hook up to our trailer - the fifth wheel wasn't set up for our type of trailer. Finally, we unloaded our trailer, Larry unloaded and reloaded his trailer with our horses. We put the yearlings in Judy Brummer's trailer and Little Anne in the Kleier's trailer. We still had to have one yearling in our trailer. Tim and Marcia hauled Larry's golf cart in the back of their pick up to make more room in Larry's trailer. We pulled out with a huge caravan all traveling slowly (30 - 40 mph) up hills and coasting over the other side. Finally, we thought to have some friends of Charlie's come to our house in Paris and get our Dodge. The met us about half way between and we hooked the Dodge to the trailer to help get over the mountains. That way, we were able to let everyone else move on out in order to get home. It was a little like that riddle about the man who had some corn, a goose, and a fox that he needed to get across the river. The only catch was that he could only take one at a time. If you leave the goose and corn together, the goose will eat it. If you leave the fox and the goose together, the fox will eat it. All I can say is how thankful we are that we weren't on Clinch Mountain when the turbo went out. I can't imagine being on the interstate with horses getting hot and no one to help. We send out a special thank you to all these great folks who helped us out today. We owe you one (several actually). It's pretty special that we can compete at the shows but still be friends at the end of the day. Thanks again everyone!

White Pine Show

We had a great show in White Pine, TN this weekend! It was actually two shows put on by the Southeast Mountain Horse Club. Friday's show was called the Great Smoky Mountain Championship and Saturday's Show was the Tennessee State Championship. By having two shows, it allowed exhibitors to earn two sets of points toward high point awards if your class was included on both days. Our congratulations goes out to RRF Gold Nugget (owned by Steve Heuslein)for his great shows over the entire weekend. He not only won the Adult Versatility Award but he also won the the Classic Championship on Saturday! Woo Hoo! Squirrel's Blackfoot also had a great show winning both the Open Four Gait and the 2 & 3 YO trail pleasure class. SRF's Silver Sundown won the Open Western and Stallions trail on Friday. We were glad to have Little Anne (owned by Don and Nancy Copland)with us for the first time this season. Mike did a nice job with her on her debut. She placed 3rd in the Mares Trail Pleasure Class. Here is a list of the horses who went to TN and where they placed. Congratulatoins to everyone!

SRF’s Silver Sundown
Great Smoky Mtn. Championship - Open Western - 1st
Great Smoky Mtn. Championship - Stallions Trail - 1st
Great Smoky Mtn. Championship - Trail Pleasure Championship - 4th
TN State Championship - Adult Trail Obstacle - 3rd
TN State Championship - Stallions Trail - 2nd
TN State Championship - Trail Pleasure Championship - 2nd
TN State Championship - Adult Versatility - 5th

Pepper’s Capital Venture
Great Smoky Mtn. Championship - 3 YO Stallions & Geldings - 2nd
TN State Championship - 3 YO Stallions & Geldings - 5th

Gaitway’s Jasmine Joy
Great Smoky Mtn. Championship - Country Trail Mares - 4th
TN State Championship - Country Trail Mares - 2nd
TN State Championship - Trail Obstacle - 5th
TN State Championship - Country Trail Championship - 5th

RPM’s Squirrel’s Blackfoot
TN State Championship - 2 & 3 YO Conformation - 2nd
TN State Championship - Open 4 Gait - 1st
TN State Championship - 2 & 3 YO Trail - 1st
TN State Championship - Pro Am Trail - 3rd - Robert/Tim Spencer
TN State Championship - Adult Versatility - 4th
Great Smoky Mtn. Championship - 2 & 3 YO Conformation - 3rd

RRF Gold Nugget
TN State Championship - 4 + Conformation - 2nd - Robert
TN State Championship - Non Pro Classic - 1st - Lyngle
TN State Championship - Adult Trail Obstacle - 4th
TN State Championship - Classic Pleasure Championship - 1st
TN State Championship - Pro Am Classic - 1st - Charlie/Lyngle
TN State Championship - Geldings Classic - 1st
TN State Championship - Adult Versatility - 1st
Great Smoky Mtn. Championship - Non Pro Classic - 2nd - Lyngle

Barb’s Stormy Knight
Great Smoky Mtn. Championship - Open Novice Rider - 2nd - Marcia Spencer
TN State Championship - Amateur Trail - 2nd - Tim Spencer
TN State Championship - Open Novice - 1st - Marcia Spencer

C.D.’s Girl’s Got Rhythm
TN State Championship - 3 YO Fillies Classic - 3rd
Great Smoky Mtn. Championship - 3 YO Fillies Classic - 4th

Sandman’s Taking Chances
TN State Championship - Open 4 Gait - 2nd
TN State Championship - 2 & 3 YO Trail - 5th

Little Anne

TN State Championship - Mares Trail - 3rd
TN State Championship - Open $ Gait - 3rd
TN State Championship - Trail Obstacle - 6th

Health Updates

Good News! Both Wilda Derickson and John Haddix are out of the hospital. Praise the Lord. John is doing well. He had surgery on Monday to put in a plate to strengthen his broken pelvis. He has a couple of high school boys who are helping him at the farm. We'll continue to keep him in our thoughts and prayers that healing will come swiftly and he'll be back in the saddle soon. We saw several of Wilda's family memebers at the show this weekend. She has good days and some days that are not so good. She continues to experience quite a bit of pain. The medication upsets her stomach. So it becomes a vicious cycle just trying to get well. H.T. is staying with her to help out when he can. We'll also be praying for Wilds that the healing will be swift and she'll be as good as new soon.

Another Accident

There has been another unfortunate riding accident in the Mountain Horse community. John Haddix was hurt last Wednesday evening while working a 3 year old in the round pen. She bucked and he came down on the saddle breaking his pelvis. He is currently at the University of Kentucky Medical Center in Lexington, KY. He was scheduled for surgery last week but was bumped. He is expecting to have surgery in the morning where his doctor will insert a plate to help stabilize his pelvis. He will probably stay in the hospital a week or so and then move on to a rehab center for awhile. Please be in prayer for a successful surgery. John has a full time job in addition to training a few horses in the evening. While he has health insurance there is on policy for accidents. His family and friends are rallying around to help. He also has a couple of high school boys who work for him. Robert and I went to see him today. He has a positive attitude and is not currently in pain (meds help ). We are hoping for a full recovery within a few months.

KMSHA Kentucky State Championship

First of all, we want to congratulate Marcia Spencer on her very first blue ribbon! She rode Barb's Stormy Knight in the Novice Trail class at the KMSHA Kentucky State Championship held in Lawrenceburg this weekend. She made an awesome ride with her confidence shining through. Way to go Marcia! We really enjoyed having Marcia and her husband, Tim, with us during the show. Tim even brought their grill! We had corn-on-the-cob roasted on the grill along with tin foil dinners. It was great. We also congratulate their champagne spotted colt on his win in the Open Four Gait class. We also enjoyed the company of Marty Morris and two of her sisters all the way from PA. We missed her husband, Bob, but understand that he had to stay home to take care of their horses (their son had an injury which prevented him from being able to care for their horses as he usually does). They own Mountain Vista Thunder - a handsome chocolate stallion who has been with us since November. Dale and Edwina Honn also came over from Lexington to watch their filly, The Cross Filly, show in her classes. She placed fourth in tough competition in the 2 & 3 yo Trail Pleasure class and in the Mares & Geldings Trail class as well.

While our horses made some great performances, judging is pretty subjective. In large classes we often see horses that miss being seen by the judges because they turn around in the middle of the class and they miss seeing someone. Continual training is an important element to help judges know and see the postitive aspects of horses performing in the ring. One of the most fair systems we have seen is the Majority Opinion System where three judges judge at the same time. It is an expensive system because it requires three judges in the ring at the same time. There is a computer program (or a tabulation system) that allows the horse with the best 2 out of 3 highest ties to rise to the top of the class. At the show this weekend, there were two judges. They drew before each class to see which one would be judging. This system results in less consistent results because each judge judges independently. There were times that we agreed but many times that we didn't. Judging committees are constantly working to increase the opportunities for educational experiences. I know I'm glad that the responsibility for judging is not mine. Anyway, the horses looked great and we really enjoyed everyone's fellowship.

Wilda's Home

We learned that Wilda got to go home on Friday evening. Robert and I talked with Jamie and he said she was doing well. We got the email below from Diana Wright yesterday. Please keep Wilda and her family in your prayers during this time of recovery. If you need an address to send a card, just email me and I'll get it right out to you.

From Diana:
Just a note to let you know your prayers are working. Wilda got to go home from the hospital yesterday evening about 5 pm. I talked with her just a few minutes ago and she is hurting, bruised all over and recovering...but she said, "Praise The Lord!" She will follow up with doctors and therapy. Keep praying! She said HT was busily working and taking good care of her and things around her. They again expressed their appreciation of all the prayers and concerns.

Update on Wilda

Robert and I went to the UK Hospital last night to check on Wilda. We talked with H.T. but didn't go back to see her. There was some good news. Doctors were able to remove the chest tube which is a good sign. However, Wilda continues to be sick at her stomach. They did another CT scan last night about 8:00 PM to make make sure there isn't more bleeding. We didn't get the results though. The upset stomach could be coming from meds she's taking as well. You know how it is when you're trying to take medicine without having eaten anything. She was still in the ER. The 8th floor head trauma unit didn't have a bed available. H.T. said they thought she would actually be monitored more closely leaving her in the ER rather than her being in a regular room. While we were there, they did move her to room 209 which seemed to actually be a 'room' within the ER - not just a curtained area. Our thoughts and prayers continue to be with Wilda and the family.

Wilda

Vera emailed several us early this (Wed.) afternoon. I'll just pass that on to everyone. Robert and I are planning to go to the hospital this evening. I'll post anything new we learn. Keep praying for Wilda and the family. It's tough when you have an injured loved one in the hospital as you all know.

From Vera:
Just a quick note to let everyone know that Mom is still in the emergency room being closely monitored, but she seems to be doing pretty good at this point. She has several broken ribs with a collapsed lung. They have inserted a tube and she will have that for a least a couple of days. They are running more tests, on her spine, they think her head is alright. She has a lot of pain at the base of her neck on her spine so that is why they are checking that out with a neurosurgeon. Lyngle got the info pretty straight about the accident. She and Dad were with about 18 others, but they have a tendency to ride very ruff trails. I have been on this hill and it is a very steep hill, the horse was wanting to go down it too fast and mom was trying to hold her back and then the battle was on. The horse took a leap on the hill and mom went forward. Some said they thought the horse stepped on her, and some say no, I don't think it did, since we don't see any hoof prints. It looks like she just hit the ground very hard on her head, since it did knock her out and she does have some knots on her head.

We appreciate your prayers and concerns, and I will try to keep everyone posted.
Vera

Serious Riding Accident

Wilda Derickson was seriously injured in a riding accident late yesterday afternoon. Bob learned about the accident around 6:00 last night. His brother-in-law from Campton called and said he heard that Wilda had been air lifted from Campton but didn’t have any details. The accident happened about 4:30. We finally got in touch with Vera (Wilda's daughter) and she told us that Wilda, H.T. and some others had been trail riding up at Big Andy in Campton. They were going down a hill and Wilda’s horse started going sideways. You know how that pitches you forward anyway. She was straightening him/her (can’t remember) up and somehow went over his head. There may be more to it than this but it is what I understood Vera to say. It knocked Wilda out but she was eventually able to get back on her horse to try to ride out. After about a half mile, she started having trouble breathing and was in pain so she just couldn’t continue. Someone rode out to where they could get cell service. A helicopter came and they carried her out to meet it. She is at the University of Kentucky Medical Center. Vanessa was waiting when the helicopter arrived. Vera waited for H.T. to get back home and they left from Stanton to go to the hospital in Lexington. I talked to Vera again last night about 7:30 or 8:00. At that time they were still assessing her condition but she had several broken ribs, a collapsed lung, and some bleeding on her brain. Vera also said they could not yet ‘rule out any spinal injuries.’ I know everyone will be praying for her. I always wish there was something I could do to help in tough times like this. If I know of anything we can do, I’ll get the word out. Please let us know if any of you hear any news.

Lexington Jr. League Horse Show

Stoner Ridge Farm had the privilege of presenting the colors tonight at the Lexington Jr. League Horse Show at the Red Mile. It is the second time we've been invited to be part of this prestigious show. The show has a 73 year history in Lexington and is one of the largest Saddlebred shows in the world. Charlie rode RRF Gold Nugget and carried the American flag. Mike rode SRF's Silver Sundown and carried the Kentucky State flag. There was a great crowd and they were very appreciative of our breed of horse even though it is different from the breed that is showcased at the Jr. League show. We had several friends who came to watch. Steve (owner of the horses) was even able to watch all the way from MN on live streaming video. The boys got a lot of coverage . . . there was some sort of technical problem and the ring master kept motioning them on around again. They were even featured on our local news at 11:00. It was a great experience and we really appreciate the opportunity!

Kentucky State Championship

The UMH Kentucky State Championship was held at the Kentucky Equestrian Center this past weekend. Even though we had to dodge the raindrops on Saturday, we sure enjoyed everyone's company. We want to congratulate Gaitway's Jasmine Joy owned by Steve Heuslein of LaCrescent, MN for winning the Versatility Award. She did a great job! Not only was she a winner with Robert, Baby Ruby had the privilege of riding Jazzy for her first lead line experience. Talk about cute . . . of course that may be the grandma in me speaking . She was a real ham and had a great time. Don and Nancy's granddaughter, Ella, was also in the lead line riding World Grand Champion Barb's Stormy Knight. After their class, the girls got together and rode double. It was so much fun to watch them together! We also want to congratulate Randy and Regina's colt, RPM's Squirrel's Blackfoot, on another unanamous first place tie in the Open Four Gait class. He was awesome! Congratulations also to Sandman's Taking Chances, owned by Don and Nancy, on his reserve placement. Lauren and J.T. were able to come and show this weekend. They worked very hard over the last couple of months and placed well. Congratulaions to J.T. for doing so well in trail obstacle (his gate opening/closing was spot on!) Lauren placed reserve in Western and Equitation . . .Way to Go! Read more about the show in the Aug. newsletter.

UMH Kentucky State Championship