History

The inferno

I have decided that each day I will start the post with a little bit of history. Readers can get a bit of the back story, and it will help as I continue to organize my thoughts while writing the book. Midnight, July 9, 2009: I am awakened by the ringing of my cell phone. As we all know, rarely does a midnight call bring good news. This time was no exception. "Hi Bobbi", I answered from caller ID. "Is everything okay?" Now we all know what a stupid question that is. Your fellow boarder is calling you in the middle of the night, so obviously something is very wrong. That never stops us from asking this question though, does it? "No", she replied. "The barn is on fire and they can't find our horses!" Bobbi did not know any other details, but she and her husband were going to the barn to search for the horses. With my then 3 year-old son Isaiah asleep in the next room, and my husband away on business, my only option was to stay home and wait. Volunteers from around the area went out in the dark of night to search. I would hear many stories later....a horse was seen coming out of the barn on fire, with its eyes melted shut. Unfortunately this was not much of an exaggeration of Suki's condition. And it breaks my heart to think about it. In fact I am teary just writing it... Suki, Whisby (Bobbi's big chestnut dressage horse) and two other horses were the only horses in the barn on that summer night. The rest of the horses were on night turnout to escape the heat and bugs of the day. Suki did not like to be out for extended periods, so her turnout was early morning for a couple of hours. Ironically, she now goes out over night during the summer. More than 120 firefighters from five fire companies answered the call as the inferno lit the sky. At home I paced the house, waiting for a telephone call telling me that my horse was safe and unharmed. Deep in my heart I knew that this was not likely the case, but held on to that hope anyway. I tried repeatedly to reach my husband, who is notorious for turning off his phone....lesson learned.... the next day he asked "Did you really call me 59 times?". "Probably", I replied. I called my sister Debi a few times and she of course tried to assure me that Suki would be OK. I also sent a text to my trainer, Heather Mason, so that she would see it in the morning. Heather answered the text immediately. She was another lifeline throughout the night. Heather told me later that she always has her phone near. "The horses.", she said. "I always need to know what's going on." More tomorrow.... So Suki is a little grumpy because she has been stuck inside due to weather and now VERY muddy fields and paddocks. But she cracks me up! Her personality is hilarious. She is such a diva, and LOVES attention. Hopefully she will go out today. I go to the barn every morning to check her protective garment and now of course a sheet or blanket that is on top. Every morning I am greeted with a soft nicker, which is delightful! Baby Nikki is also developing quite the personality. My third mare and my third diva. Hmmmmm.....