My Horse Profile
About Me
Active within 1 Day
I am from Janesville, WI and I've been a Club Horse member for 3 months and 12 days
Nicknames: The Mark of Freedom
Age: Less than a year old
Gender: Mare
Breed: Tennessee Walking Horse
Height:
Color: Black
Type of Riding: Open Shows, Trail Riding
My Horse's Achievements:
My Horse's Favorite Treat:
My Horse's Favorite Things To Do: Trail Riding
Pet Peeves: Being alone, being the last one in
My Horse's motto:
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My Horse Stats
I've had 256 friends visit me.
I'm the 40,765th member on HorseChannel.com.
27 friends have voted for me since I joined Club Horse!
My Family Photos
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My Horse Blog
Votes for both your horses
Here is an early morning vote for you, STERL MAY and I appreciate all the wonderful support, thank you.
Dr. Cook went to the University Hospital to go over Sterl's case with her Drs, he then came to us to explain the diagnosis in detail. This type of condition is sometimes seem in very high end dressage horses, because they are held in such tight collection for long periods, enormous stress is placed on the spine, it is sometimes caused from something like a fall eg. a horse flips over in cross ties, or an accident in a trailer, that type of thing, also studies have shown that pacing Standardbreds are more susceptible because of the diagonal motion of the legs during pacing, BINGO, STERL IS PACER BRED. Regardless of how it happened the outcome is the same. Sometimes with rest and time the bones will actually fuse, therefore no more rubbing of bone on bone and so no pain.
The bottom line was Sterl's riding days were over. Dr. Cook suggested that I give her a year off and try her again, in the meantime, she will learn to accommodate herself, she won't do anything that hurts, I now had a pet....see you tomorrow, Love DONNA LEE & STERLY GIRLYCome visit me, Sterl May````June HOTM PLEASE````, Angel Sassy Mac```VOTE STERL MAY HOTM``` & Royal Mes``VOTE STERL MAY HOTM```.
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05/22/2013 03:40.07 AM
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Votes for both your horses
GOOD MORNING ALL, LEFT YOU A VOTE, Thanks for being patient with the story, I don't want to bore you if they are too long. Have you heard the expression "egg on my face"? well, that is exactly how all these Dr's felt as they went over Sterl's xrays, here is the diagnosis "xrays revealed sclerosis,periosteal proliferation,decreased interspinous space and lytic cysts along the 14-18 thoracic vertebrae" to break that down it means that the bones of her spine are rubbing bone on bone and causing her great pain, add a saddle and weight and it it even greater...One of her Dr's said after reading the xrays he could not believe that she let me on her back at all, he said "all I can say is your horse has ONE HELL OF A HEART" I already knew that. In such cases sometimes cortisone is injected into the spaces, so they brought in a Dr. to assess that option, it was determined that there was not enough room to get the needle in, surgery was discussed but not recommended, we were offered an acupuncture treatment and we took it, they said improvement could take up to 2 weeks, if nothing happened it wasn't going to help. It didn't. So after a very long exhausting day, we bundled up my beauty girl and returned to the barn, TO BE CONTINUED, Love DONNA LEE & STERLY GIRLYCome visit me, Sterl May````June HOTM PLEASE````, Angel Sassy Mac```VOTE STERL MAY HOTM``` & Royal Mes``VOTE STERL MAY HOTM```.
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05/21/2013 03:32.00 AM
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THANKS FOR YOUR SUPPORT....
GOOD MORNING, please drop by Charlie's page, I posted a picture of his foot, 2 weeks shy of 10 months, lookin' good...We left votes for everyone too, thank you
You guys are really good, a couple of you asked about her saddle fit, before we even got Dr. Cook involved, we had a saddle fitter take a look, he was satisfied that we had a good fit, on palpation of her spine she showed no tenderness. So here we are at the Hospital, the referral was made and Dr. Cook had sent a history and asked for xrays. I have to say the day was very long, but incredibly interesting, I was warned ahead of time that this is a teaching Hospital,so this would not be a quick in and out visit. Sterl was assigned Dr's in charge of her case and then there were what seemed like a million students at varying levels all hovering around my girl. Every square inch of her was gone over, and a million questions were asked. How nice to spend a whole day talking about your horse and everyone HAS to listen. They told me they would gather all their info and a report would be sent to Dr. Cook. They did absolutely everything except watch me ride her. When they lounged her, she actually moved pretty good, I think it was adrenaline 'cause this was exciting for her too, in the end her assigned Dr's said they saw NO need to xray her spine. Those of you that know me,even a little know that I am non assertive, but, be proud of me, I became like a Mamma bear with her cubs, I said "do you know Dr. Cook? he sent us here for xrays, do you have any idea how hard it was to get here today? we are not leaving without xrays" So, they took our xrays, she needed some sedation because these needed to be very accurate, we waited until the films were ready, they were brought to a large viewing screen and all the Dr's and students that had been with us all day were gathered for the reading. TO BE CONTINUED, LOVE DONNA LEE & STERLY GIRLYCome visit me, Sterl May````June HOTM PLEASE````, Angel Sassy Mac```VOTE STERL MAY HOTM``` & Royal Mes``VOTE STERL MAY HOTM```.
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05/20/2013 03:47.11 AM
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THANKS FOR YOUR SUPPORT....
GOOD MORNING, LEFT A THANK YOU VOTE, So, let's get right to it. On routine exam all her vitals where good, she, of course appeared healthy, she had regular vacs, wormings and her teeth were good. We drew blood for a complete work up, all neg, with nothing obvious we started the slow process of ruling out, one by one the possibilities. I mean slow because in order to not get confused we needed to give each treatment time to test effects, does that make sense?? Being a Mare, almost 15 and never bred, we wanted to rule out ovary issues first, I was happy and relived when the physical exam and the internal ultrasound was negative, we then went at the simple stuff like corrective shoeing, we tried a course of Regumate and a series of Prostoglandn injection, we tested for neurological issues, we looked at eye issues, double checked teeth and throat, there was no obvious tenderness in her back muscles, however she lounged better than under saddle. Thru all the testing, which took weeks, I still rode her and acted like everything was fine. When Dr. Cook was satisfied that we had ruled out EVERYTHING, he said he needed some very accurate xrays of her spine, he needed us to go to the Equine Hospital in Guelph. He called to make her appointment and I asked Val(our coach) to trailer us up there, and on Jan 15/98 in one of the worst snow storms ever off we went. TO BE CONTINUED. Have a great day, Love Donna Lee & STERLY GIRLYCome visit me, Sterl May````June HOTM PLEASE````, Angel Sassy Mac```VOTE STERL MAY HOTM``` & Royal Mes``VOTE STERL MAY HOTM```.
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05/19/2013 04:12.12 AM
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Left a vote for you
GOOD MORNING, LEFT VOTES FOR ALL, TO THANK YOU FOR YOURS. This is where Sterly's story takes a bit of a twist. FF almost 4 years, we are still at the boarding barn, Sonya is now in University, I still ride 4x a week. I started to notice a slight hesitation from Sterl that was new, she did not want to go forward, at first it was mild, and I could push her thru it, but it got worse. She would actually do a small buck and a very tiny rear when I asked for forward. This was so out of character for her, but ever her resistance was polite, like she was trying to get my attention, she did. Believe me when I say there were lots of suggestion from folks that observed us, most thought that it was behavior and that I was not strong enough and I was letting her get away with it, one woman told me I had to beat her hard enough to make a welt on her skin, that would smarten her up!!!. I chose to call Dr. Cook, I explained the situation and we made arrangements for him to come and see her, I asked if it could be "just" behavior, he said "whenever a horse that was happy with its work begins to resist, they are trying to tell you something is wrong", in the meantime carry on as normal, act like everything is fine TO BE CONTINUED, Talk soon, love Donna Lee & STERLY GIRLYCome visit me, Sterl May````June HOTM PLEASE````, Angel Sassy Mac```VOTE STERL MAY HOTM``` & Royal Mes``VOTE STERL MAY HOTM```.
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05/18/2013 03:55.36 AM
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Left a vote for you
GOOD MORNING MY FRIENDS,I would like to continue with Sterl May's story, thanks for reading them and commenting on them, because she is 30 and retired, it is also fun for me to remember the early years. THANKS FOR THE VOTES AND SUPPORT. All was well at the barn, Sterly's retraining was in full swing, I still leased Fool Kat, so I was a pretty busy girl, 2 horses to ride 4x a week and the barn was 40 minutes from home, a full time job, a house and husband to take care of plus 4 cats and a dog(Nicky) that I did agility with. The young couple that owned Fool Kat were pregnant and building a new house, they had no time for her but, did not want to let her go. So I was a perfect solution for them. Unfortunately, the baby arrived and the house was ready and they were ready to take her home. I had leased her for almost 2 years, I had Sterly but still it was a sad good by. Fool Kat was 23 when I started her lease, I kept in touch after they moved her home, she was basically a pet, she died quietly at 32. TALK SOON, LOVE DONNA LEE AND STERLY GIRLYCome visit me, Sterl May````June HOTM PLEASE````, Angel Sassy Mac```VOTE STERL MAY HOTM``` & Royal Mes``VOTE STERL MAY HOTM```.
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05/17/2013 03:54.52 AM
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GOOD MORNING, LEFT A VOTE
GOOD MORNING, here it is day 16 already. WE LEFT A VOTE FOR YOU, and a big thanks for the wonderful support. Being a pretty new horse owner, I had sort of thought once I get the first year under my belt, I'd be good to go....Silly me, aren't we ALWAYS learning from them. One thing is for sure, if all horses were like STERL MAY, everyone would have a horse. By now she is pretty much the "sweetheart" of the barn. The owners loved her 'cause she was easy to handle, never caused a fuss and I was there regularly(every chance I had). One morning, Sterl was in the aisle cross ties, I was grooming her and Margaret was touring a new prospective boarder, they got to us and Margaret says "this is Sterl May, she is Standardbred, this horse jumps" as they walked past, I heard the guy say "nice butt!!!" HEY,he was talking about the horse. LOVE DONNA LEE & STERLY GIRLYCome visit me, Sterl May````June HOTM PLEASE````, Angel Sassy Mac```VOTE STERL MAY HOTM``` & Royal Mes``VOTE STERL MAY HOTM```.
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05/16/2013 02:32.44 AM
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Left a vote for you
Thanks for listening to my stories of Sterl May, I guess by now you can see just how special she is to us. The trail ride was bad, but there were tons of great stuff that happened at "the barn" One morning I had just finished my ride and we jumped a few little jumps. I had turned Sterl loose in the arena to roll. As I waited for her, one of the other boarders came in with a friend. She introduced me and said her friend just came for the visit to watch her ride. I told them I was almost done, I'd be out of the way in a few minutes. I couldn't help notice that the friend was REALLY looking at Sterly, of course I thought because she is sooooo beautiful. As I got ready to leave the arena, I called "come on Sterl May, let's go" the friend says, "what did you call her? Is she a Standardbred?" "she said, I'm K. V. this horse was born on my Dad's farm, OMG, wait till I tell Dad that I saw her, she looks great, do you jump her? he will be so happy to hear that she is alive and well", we both cried a few happy tears, what a small world, what a great horse. After that day, I made sure that I let Mr. V know every year or so that Sterly was indeed alive and well. WE LEFT YOU A VOTE TODAY, THANKS FOR YOURS, talk soon, Love Donna Lee & Sterly GirlyCome visit me, Sterl May````June HOTM PLEASE````, Angel Sassy Mac```VOTE STERL MAY HOTM``` & Royal Mes``VOTE STERL MAY HOTM```.
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05/15/2013 03:04.25 AM
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A vote here too
Thanking you all with a vote today. We were really enjoying life together at the barn. I love having the guys home but I have always missed the camaraderie of other riders support. Sterly was now jumping small courses, mostly xrails but also some verticals. We had advanced to the outdoor ring. One evening, late spring I was at the barn and had just started my warm up when a couple of the other riders came in and said "we are going on a trail ride, want to join us" We had not done that yet, so I thought OK, sounds fun.....WRONG...Sterl May thought there was something spooky behind every tree, bush, rock, everything was a monster. She just could not settle, so I could not settle. The other riders are like, she'll be fine come on. So I hang in, we struggle along, Sterl on high alert, snorting all the way. Just then we see ahead of us in the field a dozen or so cows and everyone is like HEE HAW, LETS GET 'EM. I'm like, NO. STERL JUST FREAKED...they all took off, left us there, me scared to death, Sterl just dancing and prancing. So I did what any chicken would do, I got off and we walked back to the barn. I was just fuming, nice friends, don't ever ask me to go on your stupid trail ride again, everyone had a big laugh on us, it was all soon forgotten, but we never went on another trail ride again. Talk soon, Love Donna Lee & STERLY GIRLYCome visit me, Sterl May````June HOTM PLEASE````, Angel Sassy Mac```VOTE STERL MAY HOTM``` & Royal Mes``VOTE STERL MAY HOTM```.
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05/14/2013 03:04.01 AM
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HI Freedom
GOOD MORNING ALL, LEFT YOU A VOTE. Today's story is my personal favorite, here it is. Lessons were going well, we were becoming quite comfortable with one another, she loved her trot poles and her friend Doolie. She was learning to flex and bend but our canter was pretty rough. Sterl would anticipate my asking and she would throw herself into it off her front, not pretty. Our instructor said if we start her on some small jumps it will help her learn to use her hind end. Sterl was already a bit of a "wonder horse" around the barn. Lots of the other riders would chuckle "you can't ride a Standardbred" We practiced our two point, our release on the flat then, when we were ready we planned to jump next lesson. Word spread thru the barn like wildfire "she is going to jump that horse, Standardbred's can't jump" So, here we are next lesson, Val has a couple of TINY xrails set up, Sonya and Doolie were there, I was as nervous as can be. We do our warm up, get sort of relaxed, just then I notice that quite a crowd has gathered at the rail. They are all there to see a Standardbred jump. I trot around the arena, line up, get in two point, get ready for my release,PANIC..I turn my head to the right and CLOSE MY EYES... when I opened them we were on the other side of the jump, STERLY DID IT, Standardbred's can jump. LOVE THAT GIRL, talk tomorrow, thanks for the votes, LOVE DONNA LEE & STERLY GIRLYCome visit me, Sterl May````June HOTM PLEASE````, Angel Sassy Mac```VOTE STERL MAY HOTM``` & Royal Mes``VOTE STERL MAY HOTM```.
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05/13/2013 03:46.47 AM
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we would love your support, please
GOOD MORNING, we left you a vote, thanks so much for yours. Happy Mothers Day.
Things were settling into a routine, my work schedule allowed me to be at the barn T,F,S,S, because I worked a 12 hour shift on M,T,W. Our lessons were going well, Sterl was an excellent student, she took easily to things like trot poles (Charlie still HATES trot poles) every time I was with her I was so proud, every one thinks their horse is the best looking. Sterly had only been at the barn a couple of weeks, she was turned out in a small paddock along side the road. When I got to the barn that morning, Max told me someone had come by and wondered if that Mare was for sale. We have a large number of AMISH farmers in our area, at first I was taken back. But then I was so proud, because, I realized they thought, "WOW, look at that Mare, she would be a great buggy horse" See, it wasn't just me that thought she was good looking...Talk soon, Love Donna Lee & STERLY GIRLYCome visit me, Sterl May````June HOTM PLEASE````, Angel Sassy Mac```VOTE STERL MAY HOTM``` & Royal Mes``VOTE STERL MAY HOTM```.
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05/12/2013 04:49.19 AM
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GOOD MORNING, LEFT A VOTE
So, now Sterl May is safely at the boarding barn, life is good. I HAVE MY OWN HORSE, I had to tell you all about Sonya because I never would have made it thru the training and frustration without her. It did not take long to see that Sterly knew NOTHING about being ridden, she had had someone on her back a handful of times, but trained she wasn't. She had no bend, no flexibility, she had no idea what aids were, her head was straight up and out, when she was confused which was often, she paced. That was her comfort zone. But, none of that mattered to me, she was mine, we would learn together. As lucky as I was to have Sonya, Sterly was lucky to have Doolie(Sonya's horse) his stall was across the aisle from her. And of course, when I rode, especially at first Sonya was always there. Sterly had this huge crush on Doolie and once in the arena, she would follow him anywhere. I kept Fool Kat for those times when nothing went right and I just wanted to ride and noT really work SO HARD at it. We started lessons with Sonya's coach, in the beginning it wasn't pretty, but like I said, we were both learning together. TO BE CONTINUED, Left a vote, thanks for yours, talk soon, Love Donna Lee & STERLY GIRLYCome visit me, Sterl May````June HOTM PLEASE````, Angel Sassy Mac```VOTE STERL MAY HOTM``` & Royal Mes``VOTE STERL MAY HOTM```.
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05/11/2013 04:05.47 AM
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VOTE HERE TOO
Before I tell you more about STERLY and our adventures, I need to tell you a bit about the young rider that suggested her to me. I met her at the boarding barn which was primarily WESTERN, Sonya was the only English rider there. Sometimes after one of my lessons I would just hang around and watch her ride. I wanted to ride like that, SONYA often came to the barn when no one else was around. So, I started planning my trips when I knew she would be there. I would tack up my leased horse, Fool Kat in my borrowed tack, I didn't have any of my own stuff yet. I would ride up beside her, her horse Doolie was a huge TB, and I'd say "Hi" she would look down at us and say "Hi" I'd say "are we posting on the correct diagonal?" and she would say "NO" and I'd say "can you help me?" she would, and off I'd go, then I'd ride back up to her and say "are we cantering on the correct lead?" and she would say "NO" she would help me get the lead and off we'd go....I believe that we became friends because I drove the poor girl crazy, I think she finally said "I might as well be friends because she apparently isn't going anywhere". I'm telling you this because this amazing friendship that started all those years ago in that little boarding barn continues today. SONYA was only 16 when we met, I have watched that young lady grow up, finish her education, become a fabulous teacher, get married, and she now has 3 beautiful children, her daughter Kaitlyn is just 4 and has started riding lessons. SONYA was and still is there for me every step of the way with STERLY and every horse that came after. TO BE CONTINUED. Left you a vote, thanks for supporting us, I can't tell you how much this means to us. Love Donna Lee & STERLY GIRLYCome visit me, Sterl May````June HOTM PLEASE````, Angel Sassy Mac```VOTE STERL MAY HOTM``` & Royal Mes``VOTE STERL MAY HOTM```.
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05/10/2013 03:34.57 AM
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we would love your support, please
Sterl May was born and raised on a small but successful STANDARDBRED farm not far from my home. Standardbred racing is very big in this part of Ontario. She was quite good at the track, but at 4 years old she got a respiratory virus that ended her racing career. Roxanne, the lady that I eventually bought Sterl's from worked on that farm. Because racing is a business and not a hobby, Sterly had to go. Roxanne remembers the morning she was told to get Sterl May ready for the market truck. Roxanne had known and cared for her for 4 years and could not bear the thought of her going to market, so she bought her on a whim. That night after work she trailered her to a friends house and said "I bought a horse can I keep her here for now" Sterly spent the next 6 years there playing with her two new pasture pals. TO BE CONTINUED, thanks for the votes, we appreciate the support, left you one too, Love Donna Lee & Sterly GirlyCome visit me, Sterl May````June HOTM PLEASE````, Angel Sassy Mac```VOTE STERL MAY HOTM``` & Royal Mes``VOTE STERL MAY HOTM```.
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05/08/2013 03:48.08 AM
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we would love your support, please
Your horse is gorgeous, Before I bought Sterl May(read her how we met story please),I used to lease a solid bred paint mare, at a local boarding stable not far from home. Her name was Fool Kat, I leased because as an adult getting back into riding, I wanted to be sure before I bought my own horse. The barn owners thought that I should buy a foal and raise it up. One of the other riders at the barn heard this and she said she knew of someone that had a horse for sale for not too much $$$ she mostly wanted a good home for this horse. The only thing was, she was a STANDARDBRED, that didn't mean anything to me. I went to meet her, and I will never forget the feeling I had when I walked into her paddock, she tuRned to look at me, THOSE EYES, THOSE BEAUTIFUL EYES, she still has those beautiful eyes, thanks for your support, we left a vote too. Love DONNA lEECome visit me, Sterl May````June HOTM PLEASE````, Angel Sassy Mac```VOTE STERL MAY HOTM``` & Royal Mes``VOTE STERL MAY HOTM```.
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05/07/2013 04:24.17 AM
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Your Horse is Lovely!
And I love her name! She looks real good in yellow. I left you a vote. Have a horsey day!
---Cindy and LunaCome visit me, Wizard & ~Luna~.
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02/24/2013 10:01.14 AM
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Thank you! Left a vote for you! Come visit me, Buddy.
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02/21/2013 06:14.47 PM
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Welcome to HorseChannel ☆
HAPPY VALENTINES BIRTHDAY KING SMOOCH (91397)!!!
Here is your Fancy Valentine vote ♥
FANCY'S PERCEPTIONS, HAPPY VALENTINES DAY: “LOVE IS PATIENT, LOVE IS KIND, IT DOES NOT ENVY; LOVE DOES NOT BOAST, IT IS NOT ARROGANT, IT DOES NOT BEHAVE RUDELY; IT DOES NOT SEEK ITS OWN, IT IS NOT PROVOKED, IT KEEPS NO RECORD OF WRONGS; IT DOES NOT REJOICE IN UNRIGHTEOUSNESS BUT REJOICES WITH THE TRUTH; IT BEARS ALL THINGS, BELIEVES ALL THINGS, HOPES ALL THINGS, ENDURES ALL THINGS. LOVE NEVER FAILS.” (1 CORINTHIANS 13:4-8)
LITTLE COWBOY CLASS/ Word of the day: Lameness - The condition of most riders after the first few rides each year; can be a chronic condition in weekend riders.
Congratulations Captain Icicles 210485 our HOTD!!
Please vote HOTD: Bart 248095
***HOTM: Doobie 211407, Jada & Twilight 242851
***COTM: Josie May 193862
***BOTM: Snowball 150862
***DOTM: Secret candidate Blossom 43157
Have a lovely Valentines Day ✞Come visit me, FANCY Walk N That Way Pray 4 O.K. City Families, COWBOY & TRIGGER vote HOTM: Rose & Sterl May, BUTTERCUP & GOLDIE vote HOTM Casey & Gizmo & Fancy's 2012 HC Members Veterans Day Trail Ride!.
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02/14/2013 07:44.45 AM
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te ves GUAPA en esa foto
te mando saludos
oswaldoCome visit me, ZOVEK, LA INDIA, EL CHANATE & LA JENNYFER.
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02/12/2013 11:41.45 AM
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Left my vote for your pretty horse! Connie, Shady Spring, WV.
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02/10/2013 10:34.40 AM
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hi!
You two look so good together! Voted!Come visit me, Zips Copper Shado.
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02/10/2013 08:09.43 AM
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