A Hard Week for Horse People

This last week has been rough, as many of you know.

First, Joe Fargis got in a terrible accident at the Lexington Spring Encore. He was riding in a 1.30m class--big for mortals, not big for the guy who got the Olympic gold on Touch of Class.

Joe suffered broken ribs, a punctured lung, and internal bleeding. I haven't heard anything since then, so I hope he's recovering well. Joe is a master rider and a world-class horseman. He always puts the horses first, and he developed a relationship with Touch of Class after many other people had given up on her as too tough to ride.

Next, I was heartbroken to learn that Marilyn Little lost the astonishing RF Smoke on the Water. He was euthanized after suffering spinal injuries when getting cast in his stall. The horse blew me away at Rolex last weekend, and Marilyn's round on him was the first round that really looked good, instead of backwards handsy riding and confused horses. The pair got thunderous applause upon completion of their round because everyone in the stands that day knew they'd seen something special. I can't even imagine how devastated Marilyn must be feeling. My heart goes out to her and Smoke's owners.

Then on Friday, I learned that the local big-time trainer, Pam Graham, was killed in a car accident. Chris has known Pam for something like 30 years (she dated his best friend and the horse world is small). It's hard to believe that someone so important to the local horse scene is gone, just like that. Lots of heartbroken people around here. Tracy boards at Pam's barn so I'll let her take it from here.

And in my own personal barn, my very old guy, Ink, was diagnosed with uveitis. He hadn't been responding to treatment well, so my mom sent him to the horse hospital for like a week. Yes, he's 33. Yes, she could have just had the eye removed or put him down. We all thought about those things for a day, but then Mom decided that because this is the horse who has given us everything and never, ever said no, that it was worth trying some more. So... I'm happy to report that Inkers came home today, and his best friend Grayson was delighted to see him. I'll leave you these pictures of Ink's funny headgear and their loving reunion.

I CANNOT EVEN TELL YOU how jealous I am
of all of this gorgeous grass.

Heyheyhey! Don't go anywhere without me!

Stop rolling and get up and play with me!

I'm going to go give Lex some extra carrots and Tracy a great big hug.