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Joe Chris
and I were worried. Some of our best show horses were starting to show
some age. With our decision not to breed any more mares, who would
replace them? We decided the time was right to start look for some new
blood. We were looking for potential show horses. Chris and I knew that
what we were looking for might not be found at a local horse auction,
and that we may have to go to local owners. By November, I had
contacted several sellers on their young horses for sale. We were
looking for a 1-4 year old. Something to bring along over time. Not
something that was going right now. Not only had I contacted several
buyers, I had gone to look at two of them. Nothing had panned out. By
November I was still looking, but things were so busy in the stable, my
search has slowed significantly down. I have to admit that once the
snow flies and the barn doors start to stay closed, the idea of buying
young horses becomes further down our list. That’s when we received a
call from Connie Pass.“ I have a couple young horses for you to look at.”  Connie
was a local thoroughbred race horse breeder that also dealt with some
saddle horses as well. Connie and Chris and I had been friends for
years. For so long, that I don’t think I could tell you how many years
our friendship has spanned. Over the years, Chris and I have bought
several Cedar Lodge horses from Connie and her than husband, Ed. To
name a few that still reside at Cedar Lodge, Brenda Starr, Dilbert and
Sam I Am. Abby, though not from Connie was out of Connie’s stallion, as
is Emma Donner’s horse, Jack. With Connie’s past batting record, we
always take a call from her seriously. Our fall schedule had been very, very busy, but Chris and I managed to slide away after one of her evening lessons. That got us to Connie’s well after dark, but with a couple of trots down the aisle we were sold. The 4 year old, seal brown thoroughbred in front of us was quiet, big and had a kind eye. To top it off, he had a cute trot. We brought him home for a 2 week trial.  New horse soon was named “Joe” by Chris and I have
to admit that from day one, Chris was sold. “Joe” is very green. He has
raced on the track, and it’s a bet that whoever raced him never taught
him how to go off legs or turn, but he is learning quickly. Joe was
quiet enough that by Thanksgiving I felt confident to let Kali and
Kendra take a spin on him as well (I can be a bit protective). By the
end of two weeks, Joe was meeting with everyone’s approval, so the
money was sent and Joe became a permanent part of Cedar Lodge. It will
be a while before Joe is ready for camp life. Next summer will probably
be spent letting him finish growing (he is only 4), and figuring out
what chaotic horse life at a summer camp is all about (there was a bit
of a reaction at the riding weekend to short people in purple winter
coats running). The year following will be all about learning how to be
a good CL show horse, but you can sure Joe will be around and if he
continues to be quiet, he may even be used in advanced classes (just
one less horse for me to ride!). All this extra time will give us plenty of time to finish up with the important things: A SHOW NAME! In CL tradition, most show names have something to do with their barn names, and most are funny or humorous. So far, top two choices are: “Cotton Eyed Joe” and “Hey Joe”. The second, for those of you that haven’t figured it out, is from Allison’s famous “Hey Joe” camp song (“are you busy? I said “no”. So, push the lever with your right foot…….”) What do you think? |