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Wentworth Hunter Pace - June 6, 2021

After Margaret and I had such a fun time at the fall hunter pace, we opted to go again this spring! This time, while I rode Rejoice again, Margaret rode her horse Jester and had a friend ride Ladyhawke. All Kennebec Morgans!! Jester and Rejoice have the same dam and Jester and Lady share the same sire. Unfortunately instead of a lovely late spring day, we had one of the first intensely hot and humid days of the year. It was definitely a bummer, but the ride was mostly in the shade of the woods and we had a great time!  most of the fences were 3' coops but we found a small log and this hay to jump haha Until we didn't. 😑 We brought along a third friend who rode Margaret's older mare, Ladyhawke. She's a good rider but hasn't known Ladyhawke for very long and didn't realize how much of a cranky boss mare she could be at times. She kicked Jester right in the front leg just about halfway through the ride, and while the cut itself ended up not being a big deal in the...

Day 11 - Find a horse for sale online that you would want to buy

Normally, I would have to scour the internet for an ad of an old style, sport horse type Morgan to complete this entry.  Yet, in some sort of crazy turn of events that I still cannot quite believe occurred, I already have this exact horse in my barn.  ;-)


She's a lifer with me now!  ;-)
The horse I would always choose is a young Morgan mare of government old style breeding. I wanted a Kennebec Morgan "someday", but I figured by the time I was ready, the farm would have gone out of business.  For years, I have casually kept tabs on what is out there for sale, and let me tell you, there are not many Morgans around that I like!  Or if I liked the looks of a filly, she was two years old and they were asking $8000+.  Yeah, no.  Don't get me wrong, I'd love to have a huge budget for purchasing a horse, but after having fun and being successful in my own little adult-amateur-low-level way on free/cheap horses, there is no way I am spending a shit ton of money on a horse that hasn't even been started.

I contacted the barn manager at KMF in December 2016, just to see if they still had any young stock for sale.  She told me they had a four year old (that was Ellie) and a mare in foal.  I don't know what really made me contact her, since I wasn't in a place to buy a horse, but I knew I was fretting over the idea of Ms. Gardiner (owner of KMF) getting older (she's 96 years old!!) and the very real possibility that I would miss out on owning a Kennebec.  Ms. Gardiner has never really advertised her horses for sale, as it has always just been word of mouth, so Ellie didn't even have an ad or anything.

Facing Snappy's retirement from riding in August (not realizing she would end up being put down, not just retired), I contacted the BM again.  She said they still had the young mare and the broodmare had birthed a filly, but they were not sure they were going to sell her.  And they had a two year old as well I could look at.

She sent me a few pics of Ellie and I remember thinking, "That's my horse" which is totally silly.  I went to meet them all a few days later, and as we all know, brought Ellie home a few weeks later at the beginning of September! 


These are the pics the BM sent me.

Courtesy of the BM at KMF

Sometimes I still can't believe she's mine. I know that sounds silly, but it's true.  I had honestly thought for my next horse I would find an older, upper level event horse that needed to move down so I could mess around with him/her at the lower levels or maybe lease something, but honestly, after putting Snappy down and with Dreamy about to turn 27 this upcoming year, the thought of owning an older horse with maintenance no longer seemed appealing for many reasons.  Youth doesn't equal immortality or lack of issues, of course, but buying a young horse felt emotionally safer.  I considered the two year old filly they had for sale as well, but seeing as Ellie had a "late" start and the filly was a clean slate, they were asking way more (like double the price) for the filly.  As much as I thought I wanted something totally unstarted, Ellie was so green broke it was still worth it.  And being a five year old, she doesn't have a few more brain cells than a baby haha!  

So I am not even going to bother looking, because there is nothing else out there I want than what is already in my barn!  

Comments

  1. yep yep yep :) you got a perfect fit for you :) Love her!

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    1. I think I really did! Totally lucked out on this one!

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  2. Aww, thats th best feeling! Congrats on getting what you wanted. Can't wait to hear about your adventures together as I follow along

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    1. Thank you! I hope she lives up to my high hopes LOL! I think she will be a lot of fun!!

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  3. I'm not really one of those ppl who believe everything happens for a reason, but it is definitely an amazing set of circumstances that led to Ellie coming home to your barn!

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    1. RIGHT?! I am way too pragmatic as well, but it is just crazy how life works out sometimes!

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  4. It is weird how things work out. I would love to have a 12-15 year old QH to ride out on the trails and have fun with.

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  5. All I have to say about the feels in this post is <3

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