Cheers!  Below, is the story of the most recent horse shopping day as told by Ines Kausche.

One word:  Advil.
Welcome back, muscles.  Time to wake up. 
They turned up the gravity in my house... too tired to write.  Yeah!  Looking forward to tomorrow.

...but I want to give you a quick peek into the blogs of the future:
I plan to write one about the results of a life altering injury and what it means for goals of the future and overall perspectives.  Also, I want to explore the results of one of people's biggest concerns in the horse industry in another story.
Ines is planning to contribute a piece on her horse shopping adventures (with a twist of course).
And Angie has an important insight to share for people beginning to venture into the world of performance riding (showing) from an unexpected source, that will also be shared in a contribution piece. 
So, in addition to the impromptu events I regularly share, those will be added in.

Full permission granted.  The bone looks great:  not done, but very great.  I can ride.  I can do pilates, yoga, push-ups, clean stalls, sweep, sleep on my right side, and oh did I mention...ride!!!?  Doc said so!
Feb 6 - wipe out
Oct 20 - Back in the game.
Woop woop.  Celebration time!

Cheers!  One thing I forgot to mention about the trip to Dressage at Devon:  My dear sweet Welle did actually make it to Devon with me...sorta.  There I was shopping the vendors and I came across one of the most fun booths of all time:  Browbands with Bling.  Katherine, the owner, made the jeweled browband on Welle's double bridle.  I bought it as a "gift" for Welle as she earned her first successes in the FEI arena.  At Devon, up on the wall of Katherine's booth, enlarged and framed in a glorious picture of beauty, was Welle's head shot with the detailed browband sitting sweetly across her elegant forehead .  It was really fun to see Welle's beautiful face there with me miles from home in a place I had thought we may be showing together.  It felt like, eventhough Welle's  broken rider couldn't get her there, she managed to get there on her own!  And I was proud to hear Katherine say that picture won  "best of the year" and she will be sending me an enlarged poster as my award.

I have not "cheated" and gotten back on Welle since the last blog entry.  The pouring rain helps keep me honest, but we did have many beautiful, perfect days and I refrained.  I am trying to be good!  I feel better than I have all year and honestly feel like I should be allowed to go back to work.  Tomorrow I have THE doctor's appointment that I hope (and really believe) will grant me permission from the doc to RIDE.  That means I expect to see real, solid bone in the fracture area.  I will be crushed if somehow, the doc doesn't believe I am ready for workouts.  I will let you know. 
"Tomorrow, tomorrow, I love ya, tomorrow!  You're only a day away!"

Susan, Dana and Linda have signed up for the NCDCTA Championships.  Susan with Paxton and Dana on Watson will be going head to head in second level.  Susan with Bella and Linda on Gifted Legacy, the one-eyed wonder, will be going head to head in Training level.  Should be fun!  Nothing like close friends playing for championships inside the same sandbox!  Its like Hoosiers watching IU and Purdue.  Or NC residents watching NC State and UNC.  In the end, someone has to win.  Last time Paxton and Watson centerlined against each other the final score landed less than one percent away from each other.  But this game can't go into "overtime."   Eventhough I cannot go to the show, I hope to get Daryl to take some great shots I will share here.

Ines is still in search of a great dressage partner.  I am hoping to see the magic soon!  Susan has been very busy with her horses and Sanibelle hasn't been getting enough attention at home.  I have a tentative goal for getting back on her toward the end of November.  ... hope, hope, hope!  I have been asked a lot if I have fears and concerns with riding again.  Although I will never get the nerve or desire to ride Ria again, I don't feel problems with the other horses that I had a pre-existing good relationship.  I am sure I will be wiser and more careful with client's horses and strange horses in the future.  I feel like the bravery that I had previously will return to being my regular state of mind.

The tinted trees and gentle autumn breeze hint at the frisky weather that lingers around the corner,  just in time for me to swing my leg over the backs of horses.  Wild and windswept youngsters!  Wonder has been ridden a little bit by Ines while she searches for her dream dressage partner.  Because of her excellent relationship with Wonder, I looked for Wonder's sister who had been for sale.  I found her.  Last weekend Ines tried her out.  But alas, it wasn't love at first sight.  Finding a great dressage partner is almost as difficult as finding a great husband I think.  But somewhere out there, a great horse waits for Ines to find.  We will know the magic when we find it. 
And speaking of magic....
I brought in the month of October with a fun whirlwind trip to Dressage at Devon (Sept 30, 31, Oct 1 and 2).  Since I have seen pictures and stories of Devon since childhood and have never been there, I felt it was a good oportunity to check it out  while I am still layed up, before I bring my girls to show there.  We got tickets for Friday, but tickets for Saturday were sold out.  The staff said there would be general admission seating available (standing or maybe a place on a bench).  We contemplated cancelling the trip.  I'm happy to say we decided to go at the last minute.  Susan, Dana and I arrived Thursday evening.   Immediately charmed by the Pennslyvania countryside, the compact, fashionable show grounds and the delightfully helpful staff, we settled into an empty box-seat to enjoy the chaos in the Dixon Oval in front of us.  It was open for schooling till 9pm and the arena was thick with riders having silent conversations with their massive animals while creating a picture of a complex, impromptu dance in awsome calmness.  The evening air was cool and very dark.  The huge lights above the Dixon oval illuminated it clearly for the riders below and cast a glamorous glow on polished fur and tack.  Late into the evening the swarm of fancy moving, high level dressage horses pranced and danced to their riders commands.  We picked our favorites.  It was slightly organized chaos:  graceful and messy at the same time, much like a good jazz concert.  We met some fabulous people and shared stories.  Through a series of events that I am not granted permission to tell about, on that beautiful evening, we secured nice tickets for Saturday.  Since it ended up pouring rain during the majority of the Grand Prix  freestyles, the covered seats we secured were very, very appreciated and enjoyed. 
Although the stables were built with the same charm and spectator appeal as the rest of the show grounds, the horses' boxes were small and there was no grass for grazing.  On the showgrounds, the shopping and dining was fit for a dutchess.  We used every break in the schedule to audit an educational talk, demo, or scavenge the shops filled with fabulous equine fashion and fare.  Most of my drool, however, was reserved for the expressive, powerful horses I saw.  The Grand Prix musical freestyles were the final performances of Saturday night and were worth the wait.  Although they didn't have the polish of the Olympic best, many showed talent of international quality.  My friend and mentor, Sarah Giekie was there for the weekend "shadow" judging while earning her FEI "I" rating.  We enjoyed a couple fine meals with her and some more new introductions.  The stuffed portabella mushrooms were a big hit.  As much as I love Pinehurst, I think I would love it more if they sold stuffed 'shrooms on the grounds there!  On Sunday morning we finally shuffled ourselves into the car for the long drive home.  Susan and Dana were inspired I am sure.  My own inspiration was supposed only to fester.  I was supposed to wait till the next x-ray showed solid bone in the fracture area before I got to hop onto the back of a horse.  But I will write out one little confession here:  I got on Welle's back that Monday.  She packed me around at the walk and trot for about 15 minutes while I tried to re-coordinate my sloppy body (with visions of grandeur dancing in my head).  She was an angel and seemed to enjoy the task.  Tuesday I got on her again.  This time, my stiff and sore body let me know how bad off I am.  I rode her around for 10 minutes.  She was perfect again.  I haven't pushed my luck again.  I got a little horse-fix. Now, I am waiting untill confirmation from the Doc.  I have been feeling great.  I really feel like I am coming back.  Dressage at Devon was just the beginning of an excellent autumn!