Fiddler’s Pilgrim-aka Bruno

Life is never static at the farm.  New adventures, new animals, new opportunities abound for us.  Tomorrow it is off to Zone Finals for Lauren and Mickey.  Anyone that has followed this blog even minimally knows that Mickey had a very rough summer.  So sick with the pythium fungus he could barely catch his breath.  We didn’t know if he would show again.  But he did, he has and he will go into the ring Saturday at the Great Southwest Equestrian Center for Zone Finals in the Low Amateur Adult Jumpers with fences approximately 3’3″ to 3’6″ in height.  We hope for a clear round and a chance to get into the jump off.  The little man can fly.  I am thankful for all of your support and prayers.

Tomorrow after Lauren rides Mickey in a couple of practice rounds, bathes him and gets ready to head for home, it will be with a new horse. I know that sounds a little crazy but sometimes things just come along in life that are meant to be.  The new horse is another Off the Track Thoroughbred (OTTB).  His name is Fiddler’s Pilgrim (if you want to look him up you will find AP Indy, Secretariat and some other hotshots).  He was certainly bred to race and run.  But he’s a pretty laid back guy and thought a racing career was not all that much fun.  He is a big horse-17 hands and once filled out with granny’s feed probably will be over 1300 pounds.  He looks a lot my old horse Mac.  If he does half as well as Mac, we will all be pleased.  Bruno (he is from the east coast) is only five years old so we have some work to do.  He has a hoof that is healing so he will be enjoying some quality downtime while it gets better.

Mickey, after finals, will be going into semi-retirement, which he has certainly earned.  We will pull him out for a few shows next year but our focus will be on the youngsters, Bruno and Feather.  Sounds like a mob boss and his girlfriend, doesn’t it?  We will have Mimi, the pony coming home from the trainers soon and will be looking to place her in a pony home.

So very exciting times.  I was not seeking a new horse when the opportunity for Feather in Florida came up.  I bought her sight unseen and had her shipped home.  She has not disappointed us at all. Well, maybe during those weeks when we struggled with the trailer loading, I did want to kill her a couple of times but other than that, she has turned into a beautiful, talented mare.

Likewise, Bruno came to us from a top trainer in the area, Sherre Sims, one for whom I have the greatest respect.   We first met Sherre when we were admiring her Corgi, Nordic.  Nordic and Lauren’s Corgi,  Sneaky had an ill-fated love affair.  Anyway…Sherre’s parents live on the east coast  and their friends bred and trained Bruno.  He got sent to Texas to become a jumper.  Due to Sherre’s limited space and his hoof issues, he needed to go to a new home.  So, once again, I am taking a horse, sight unseen, this one I can’t even work for a while, all because I believe in what he can be.  I think this one is going to be a real special guy for us.  Gee, I can’t wait to see him!