Welcome to the family...

           

After three weeks of keeping tight lips so as not to ruin the surprise, we actually pulled it off tonight!  We welcomed Wendy Loo Hoo to the family. 

A few weeks ago our friend Anne, who is also the girls riding instructor, sent me a picture and asked what I thought. It was a beautiful paint mare. She said that her owner had posted an ad that basically said either she sells asap or she was taking her to the sale barn...a place no horse belongs. Come to find out, this was a family horse. A horse her youngest daughter had grown up with. She'd had this sweet one since she was a filly...yet now she just wanted her gone and some cash to "try something new". How on earth do you just turn away a horse that's been with you for most of her life????  Anne and Sierra went out to take a look at her and see if she might be a good prospect for the girls. When they saw her she was exactly what they'd hoped...a sweet mare, already broken, trained in western, had been a 4H project; pretty much what we were looking for. All the hard work, so to speak, was done long ago; and Anne could take on working with Gracie and Hannah to re-train her for English riding and jumping. What a wonderful opportunity for the girls to learn how to train a horse alongside their own instructor!  They have instantly chucked any other summer plans they may have been toying with do they can spend all their time and energy at Anne's barn😍. 

Like I said, this was a surprise. I used the money the girls had been saving up (they were saving to buy a horse actually) to get Wendy. While waiting for her to be delivered, I ordered the halters and lead ropes the girls had put on their Amazon wish list. All the while I was working at not spilling the beans so they wouldn't be on to us. I got THE TEXT..."she's here!!!! You guys coming???"  YES!!!  I got home, told the girls to grab their gear cuz we were heading to the barn. They hustled like they always do if they're going to the barn (any other time I try getting them out the door, they're like sloths. 😂). I told them their dad was coming too but he was driving himself so he could come home sooner, hoping all the while they wouldn't wonder what was up. Sarah calls me and says she's coming too and to keep them in the truck till she got there. Yeah, nothing odd there...seriously that wasn't gonna happen. We did hang outside the barn chatting, waiting for her to get there tho. I kid you not!  We are outside the barn, Hannah hears a whinny and she says "there's a new horse". WOW!  Sarah finally gets there and we nonchalantly move inside. I tell the girls to go on and suddenly they see something...a paint horse in a barn full of thoroughbreds. Stop a second and understand this...in the two years they've been riding, other than the ponies and Marian, they've never seen anything but thoroughbreds at Anne's farm so a paint really sticks out like a sore thumb😂. It's at that moment we tell them her name is Wendy and she is their new horse. Hannah bursts into and ear to ear smile. Gracie has a strange look on her face and she doesn't move. We finally ask her what's wrong. She stares at Wendy, looks at us, back at Wendy, then says "I'm still processing this" as a smile starts to creep across her face. Anne opens the stall door and invites them on as she shares Wendy's story with them. It was instant love ❤️

By 10:15 I finally got them into the truck to head home, but only after promising they can go back tomorrow to love on Wendy, and give her a good brushing. All in all, I'm happy to say that we pulled off one of the best surprises ever😍. Stayed tuned for the adventures of Wendy Loo Hoo and her girls!