Cowgirls Don't Cry....Ride, Baby, Ride

Paul and I recently traveled to Forsyth County in North Georgia to visit his niece, Sherri and to attend the 2nd Annual James Soares Memorial Barrel Race. The race is held in honor of her father, Paul's brother Jim, who was killed last year and raises money for the transport division of Children's Healthcare of Atlanta.

Sherri's sister Dawn, her husband Jesse, and daughter Raychel were also there for the week. We visited with Dawn & Sherri's mom, Donna, Sherri's son Austin and her fiance Kevin. It was a great week of family fun and getting to know lots of good people who have been Sherri's support group over the last year.

Sherri is the owner of S & S Equestrian Stables in Cumming. A horse farm on 31 acres of beautiful Georgia countryside where she provides English & western riding instruction, specializing in barrel racing. Sherri & Dawn have been riding horses since before they could walk. Both have been champion barrel racers although Dawn hasn't ridden in several years. But you couldn't tell by the way she rode that week. Dawn competed in the adult and open classes of the race and took third place in one of the divisions.

The race was on a Saturday and the Friday night before we had a horseshoe tournament and barbecue. Here are some photos from the week.....there's a lot of them. I hope you enjoy.

NOTE: For those of you who are unfamiliar with barrel racing, and that included me, the average time the riders take to enter the arena, clear the three barrels and exit is about 15-17 seconds. The winning time for this race was 15.095 seconds. Not a sport for a new rider!

Here are Jim's daughters, Dawn and Sherri. Here's Sherri and Kevin. What a great team they make. Both hard workers and devoted to each other.

Getting the arena ready the morning of the race. We'd had a day of rain and it was a mess.

Paul grew up on a farm. He said being at Sherri's that week brought back memories of his childhood. He totally enjoyed it all.

Here are some of the guys throwing 'shoes as my grandfather used to say.

Spectators the day of the race.

Here's Donna and Austin.

Cupcake the Pony all dressed up for the prom.

Sherri and Dawn along with some of the other riders waiting for their exhibition rides.

There were many trailers there for the race with dozens of horses. This beauty caught my eye.




Paul and I were amazed at the work and organization that went into planning the show. Paul said Sherri put the Energizer Bunny to shame. Here she is on her cell no doubt coordinating something.
More riders waiting to race.

Looks like somebody's getting a new pair of shoes.

Dawn and Raychel.

Here's Sherri on Buddy. Her friends told me she and this horse are One.

Raychel kept busy shuttling people around with the Gator. Here she is with her dad, Jesse.

Dawn and Raychel.

Donna worked the food concession stand that raised lots of money.

I had to get involved with the money! Here I am with Sherri in the booth counting out the prize money. Nearly $4000 in prize money was awarded.

The arena has to be dragged after every fifth rider. Kevin must have had saddle sores from sitting on that tractor all day.

Here's Dawn on Heifer the horse not a cow. Doesn't look like she hasn't been on a horse in 5 years.

Another of Dawn's runs. I guess you don't forget.



Here's Sherri on Buddy.

Winner of the James Soares Memorial Barrel Race for the 2nd year in a row, Terri Alexander. More than 125 riders raced that day and $1500 was raised for the hospital.

Paul and I look forward to being there next year.

Home, Sweet, Home

Buying a house is a very emotional experience. And no matter whether I represent the buyer or seller, as a realtor I often become involved with my clients and those emotions. Of course, as the professional on the team, I'm the one who is supposed to stay unemotional and level-headed during the transaction. And I do, to a point. Last Friday I represented some buyers in their purchase of a horse farm, and I got more emotionally involved than usual, and it was wonderful.

Chet & Nellie are friends as well as clients. They were acquaintances first and fellow members of a local grassroots organization we have all been involved with for a few years. I have known Chet's sister and his parents for years but he's a few years younger and I had never met him until recently.

A year or so after I first met them, Nellie lost her mother. Because Nellie and I are both only children, this especially touched my heart and endeared Nellie to me even more. She and Chet live in the house she was born and raised in. After they married they stayed there to be close to her elderly mother. After the loss of Nellie's mother, they started seriously talking about buying a horse farm.

Well, another horse farm. They already had one, sort of, in her property. They have a nice little ranch house on nearly an acre of land with a 5-stall barn and small paddock for her two horses and one pony. By horse standards, a small property, but with good maintenance and attention to all, they manage to keep three happy horses there.

But Nellie wanted more for Skip, Pumpkin & Blondie, and she wanted what she calls a 'husband horse' for Chet. She is the original horse person in the family but in their years together Chet has gotten very involved with the horses, too. It's not like he had a choice. Owning a horse is a huge responsibility and involves a lot of work. I have learned a lot about horses, too, since getting to know Nellie and during our search for a horse property.

So within a year of the loss of her mother, we started looking. With the number of horses they hope to eventually have and the garden Chet wants, Nellie thought they needed at least 9 acres. We looked and looked and looked.

Finally last week, after a search of nearly three years, we closed on their horse farm. A totally horse-ready property that had two horses living on it right up to their purchase. It has a very nice 7-room house, 7.5 acres with several fenced pastures and a 7-stall barn! Plus gardens, fruit trees & outbuildings; this property was just about perfect.

This was such a long road for them with so many ups and downs, as Nellie and I hugged after the closing we were both in tears. I am so happy for them! And I asked Nellie if I could be there when she brought the horses home. I knew that would be a very special moment, and I wanted to see it. So last Sunday she called me and asked "Can you be here about 4 p.m.?" Paul and I were there about 30 minutes early. I wouldn't take a chance of missing it.

So here are some photos of their arrival and introduction to their new home and pastures. It was a great success and a beautiful thing to watch.

Here's Skip getting his first view of his new home.

Pumpkin on his way in to check out his new stall.

In one door and right out the other!

They couldn't get enough of that sweet grass

Here's Blondie.

Skip going to check out his new 'digs.'

Not bad!

Blondie dug right into her fresh hay.

What a beautiful sight! They kicked up their heels and ran from pasture to pasture.

They kept checking back in with each other.



Finally! Everybody is home.