PC Quiz Rally

E competed in a Pony Club Quiz Rally this past weekend up in the Spokane area. This was her first quiz rally...well, actually, it was her first rally of any type.

We drove up to Spokane on Friday afternoon. I let the GPS on my iPhone pick the route - perhaps not the best move. It took us through all kinds of country roads (rather than the more usual highway/freeway route) and I wondered more than once if we would actually make it to our destination. We were able to take one side trip because of this, however. Palouse Falls is a beautiful site of an ancient flood area that now has just the one falls. Very grand scenery, indeed.

Palouse Falls - I'm guessing that it's about a 150' drop.

We tried to eat dinner at The Milk Bottle in Spokane but discovered that it closes at 4:00 - we arrived at 4:45. Maybe next time....

The Milk Bottle - supposedly some of the best diner food in Spokane....

PC Quiz Rallies are a fun team event in which the members test their horse knowledge against each other. E's team was made up of 2 other girls from her local club and a "pick-up" team member from the Cle Ellum area. The theme of the day was the "wearing o'the green" and their team name was the Limerick Lasses. They had lots of fun - and looked sufficiently ridiculous - and were declared the best-dressed team for the day. They also happened to take second place in their division. Not bad for a first time out.

The Limerick Lasses, with their chaperone-extraordinaire!

Heading out to the Barn Phase....

This next pic is totally unrelated to horses, but I just love the free-spirit that is my youngest daughter. She is such an individual in so many ways....including her choice of clothing!


And finally, here's the last pic I took of Curly - just a couple of days before we had him put down. I'm still sad. In fact, I am surprised by the depth of the grief I have been experiencing. I was really unprepared for these feelings.....

A hole in my heart....

I'm still a little weepy - and am dreading going out to the barn today. I didn't realize how hard this would be for me.

So, briefly, here's a recount of Curly's last couple of days.

After the vet opened up the abscess on his hoof, Curly was walking fairly well, putting weight on all four hooves. She was optimistic that all would go well. On Friday morning, however, he had developed a problem with the other hind hoof and was back to being 3-legged. Another abscess was suspected.

After talking about Curly's history of recurring abscesses, his general health issues and then taking a hard look at his poor hoof conformation, she recommended that we not go any further with treatment. The vet's exact words were, "If this were my horse, I would put him down today." So hard to hear, but I am thankful for her truthfulness and willingness to offer her advice even if it's not what the owner might want do.

Curly was in extreme pain - even while on meds - and was very agitated. So I decided to follow her advice. (I learned this afternoon that after I left him on Friday morning he laid down and spent most of the day this way. This helps me know that I did indeed make the right choice.)

Our barn owners graciously offered to take care of the details for me. Curly was euthanized in their trailer and then taken up to the mountains to be buried. I am very grateful to have wonderful people like this in my life.

And I am very grateful to have had Curly in my life as my first horse.

He is missed.

E hugging Curly....