Newsletter

December 2007

Early this month we had a pre-Christmas family get together back in England at Kevin’s mum and dad’s house, with all of his family including aunts and uncles. Daphne prepared a lovely dinner and it was good to see everyone again. Some we’d seen only a few months before here at home with us at Park Oaks but regrettably some it had been several years since we last saw them. Jo’s brother Duncan and Wendy came to Creaton on Sunday so the only family we didn’t get to see were Jo’s mum and stepdad who we will be going out to visit in France in the spring. Of course, it’s never easy going away and leaving all the chores for other people to pick up so huge thanks to Karen, Zach, Carrie and Gabby for pitching in to take care of the house, barn, dog, horses and cats while we were gone.

We flew home on December 11^th, Kevin’s birthday, which wasn’t much fun for him and he seemed to sleep through most of it. However, his present was waiting for him when got back – a set of corn holes for playing outside with in the summer when we are once again able to invite everyone over.

With party season upon us once we got back, there was lots going on. Molex has Santa come to visit every year so that employees can have their children’s pictures taken and each year new ideas come up for how to entertain the kids. Dressed as an elf, Jo took the karaoke machine along so that any budding American Idol could sing along to Christmas songs. It turned out to be quite a hit.

It was then time for a quick change from the elf Costume to get to the Fox Valley Flying Club Christmas lunch, where we spent the rest of the afternoon until it was time to bring the horses in, clean up and get over to Pam’s for the Fieldstone Farm Christmas party.

Unfortunately the Big Rock Fire Department Christmas party coincided with a Molex event and although we tried to fit both in, by the time we got to the fire house everyone had packed up and gone home.

Christmas Eve evening was spent with the Ruh family and friends eating, drinking and of course, singing!

A very nice Christmas Day was had at Marcy’s mums with Marcy and Dave from Oakview Farm, Marcy’s brother and his daughter, her mum and Aunt Loretta. We really appreciate being invited to join in their family holiday festivities.

We decided that New Year’s Eve we would return the favor and invited as many as we could reasonably sit round the table for a turkey dinner. There were many others we would have liked to have had come over, but 11 was about as many as we could fit. Dick hit Jo’s red wine stash (hard!) and became the evening entertainment until he crashed on the floor. With everybody starting to leave by that time, we threw a duvet over him and went to bed.

In amongst all this, we did get some work done this month and Kevin made great progress on the run outs, finishing all the dividing fences.

Crikey hurt herself and gave us quite a scare, we think from slipping on the ice. She had trouble standing up or holding her weight on her back legs, making it impossible to walk. Kevin scooped her up to take her to the vets, gingerly placed her down on the vet’s table, on which she promptly stood up, jumped nimbly down off the table and ran around his office sniffing the floor as she went. Noting Kevin’s humiliation, the vet suggested adrenalin as the reason for her miraculous recovery and she was brought home in disgrace.

As we close out December and 2007 and reflect over the year we are grateful for so many things – our visitors from England who took the time and spent the money to come out to visit us, all of our friends in Big Rock with whom we’ve had so much fun, Pam who continues to provide invaluable training and support and all of our boarders who make taking care of their horses a rewarding and enjoyable experience.

We wish everyone a very happy, health and prosperous 2008.

November 2007

Kevin was pleased to see Janet this month, when she returned from Galena for a quick visit.   It was good to hear that Snazzy and Brando are settling well in to their new homes and Janet is very happy with her decision to move away. We continue to wish her much happiness in her new home but look forward to seeing her any chance she gets to come back to the Big Rock area.

The Walnut tree in the outdoor arena was finally declared dead and cut down. Unfortunately, it seems that although Kevin had left an area limestone free around the base of the tree, it couldn’t survive in that environment. The stump will stay in the arena for the foreseeable future until Kevin can get in there to remove it.

We are pleased to report that despite 3 new arrivals in the last couple of months, the horses have all settled down nicely. While Red, being the youngest, got in to the most trouble (especially from Joe) even he comes in from the pastures unscathed now (knock on wood!) Adding Fazon, another mare, in to the herd has not been an issue even when she is in season. However, her sensitivity to allergens has resulted in limited riding time for Kristina who has had to nurse her through hives and an eye reaction as well as a hoof abscess and a skin infection.   None of this affects the other horses but has been extremely frustrating for Kristina who has barely been able to ride since buying her.

Carries’ birthday was this month and Gabby asked to host a small surprise party for her in the club house.   So we decorated, set up the karaoke machine and had a blast! Gabby did a great job making all the arrangements, keeping it a secret and finding excuses to get Carrie back out to Park Oaks on a cold November evening.

Work continued on the run outs and finalizing preparations for the colder weather ahead, including sorting out blankets for the horses that have them as temperatures dipped below freezing.

A big thank you to the Ruhs for allowing us to join their Thanksgiving festivities where we ate, drank and karaoked through the evening with their assorted friends and family members.

We hope you all had a safe and happy Thanksgiving.

October 2007

Gabby and Carrie were planning on showing in the Fox Valley Saddle Association Mini-Event in Hampshire on the 7^th, but unfortunately due to Q developing a hoof abscess Carrie had to withdraw. However, Gabby went along with Izzy and after a disappointing dressage test, Izzy redeemed herself over the jumps and placed 2^nd so congratulations to Gabby and Izzy!

Kevin’s brother Stacey paid us a visit this month, the last of our visitors for 2007. It was a very short visit though, just a long weekend but he joined in with all the activity helping with the horses and other jobs that Kevin had on his list. It wasn’t all work though and he and Kevin borrowed another 4-wheeler so that he and Stacey could go off roading together. Although being keen to go horseback riding, unfortunately Flyer had come up lame again due to his arthritis, so Stacey didn’t get the opportunity.   We look forward to seeing Stacey and his family, Pat and Daphne when we go back to the UK for a short visit in December.

Despite our preference towards geldings here at Park Oaks (no offence to the mares, but since Flyer was a gelding we just thought it easier to stay with one gender) we were pleased to welcome Fazon to Park Oaks this month. Fazon is a recent addition to the Parlatore family – Kristina and Joe and their children McKenzie, Miya and Mason.

She is a black Trakehner/Warmblood mare, 16hh and 11 years old and while she is very nice to handle, we don’t expect that she’ll take any nonsense out in the pasture.

As work on the mud lots started coming to a close, the round bale feeders and round hay bales were put out in the mud lots. Kevin started to put the fence posts in for the run outs before the ground became too hard. While at this stage, only the new barn will have run outs this will give another turn out option to at least some of the horses. It should also alleviate some of the churn in the mud lots and keep them less muddy for those that don’t have a run out option.

Kevin continues to try and maximize his contribution to the Big Rock Fire Department and this month passed his Class B Non-CDL driving test, enabling him to drive the Fire Department vehicles without having to be accompanied by a qualified driver, so congratulations to him on that latest achievement.

September 2007

Kevin’s mum and dad, Pat and Daphne, arrived this month for a visit and we tried to give them a couple of outings in between all the jobs they did, including a visit down to Arthur, Illinois to an Amish community. Daphne braved the pool for a daily swim in temperatures that we had long decided were too cold for us to swim in.

During their visit, Jo and Flyer went to Lamplight for Flyer’s last show before he started semi-retirement. With all of his recent arthritis issues, we decided it was time for him to start taking life a bit easier. However, at the show he was his same old self and as strong as ever. Daphne came along as groom and did a splendid job cleaning tack, boots and various other tasks to help get Jo and Flyer ready. Her hard work paid off with Flyer winning Champion in one of his divisions and getting ribbons in most of his classes, including 3^rd in his and Jo’s second ever mini-medal.

Unfortunately, half way through their visit, Pat slipped in the shower and broke 2 ribs. Although in terrible pain, he did his best to enjoy the rest of their vacation, which was easier after a trip to the hospital and a prescription for some heavy duty painkillers.

After more thought, Pam and Jo went back to Galway Farm to take another look at Roy. While they still had some reservations about him as a potential horse for Jo, they both thought he was at least worth taking another look at before making a final decision. After surprising everyone by saving Jo twice down a line which she totally messed up and finishing the third one perfectly with no sign of attitude, he got Pam’s vote and we quickly asked to take him on a trial for a few days. The next day, Jo and Kevin went to get him to bring him to Park Oaks and he never went back.

So, here’s more on Roy….he is a 6 year old (not 7, as originally thought), 16.3hh, dark bay Thoroughbred/Oldenburg cross and is registered with the American Warmblood Society. His registered name of Testa Rossa will be officially changed to Park Royal in due course. He is a great-grandson of the famous Triple Crown winner, Secretariat and his father, Tantris is a proven Grand Prix dressage competitor (see www.turningpointfarm.net/Tantris.htm) The great event horse Volturno, who won the silver medal in the 1976 Olympics, is Tantris’ grandsire (Roy’s great-grandsire) and Roy’s mother Erin’s Heiress, is entered in to the Main Mare book of the International Sporthorse Registry.

In addition to Roy joining Park Oaks this month, we were also pleased to welcome Red (Red’s Temptation) owned by Brenda Biscardi. Red is a chestnut American Paint, registered with the American Paint/Pinto Association. He is just turned 4 and 15hh. He is very sweet natured but at his young age is learning what it means to be part of a herd and as a result, has sustained a number of body blows. Brenda is bravely holding up during this introductory phase!

Shortly after Pat and Daphne returned to the UK, Jo’s brother Duncan and his girlfriend Wendy also came out from the UK for a visit. They split their time between doing some local sightseeing in Illinois, a trip to Las Vegas and the Grand Canyon while also spending some time with us. While staying with us, Duncan preferred the 4-wheeler but Wendy took a ride on Flyer which she was feeling for several days afterwards. Anyway, it was a fun visit and hopefully it won’t be too long before they come out again.

Meanwhile, Kevin was busy continuing work on fencing the mud lots, getting an automatic water supply in the new lot and repairing round bale holders in preparation for the winter.

And just to confirm yet again that volunteering for the Big Rock Fire Department is not all work and no play, Kevin participated in Big Rock’s water fighting team in competition against the neighboring fire departments.

August 2007

Lots and lots and lots of rain this month, so the horses were restricted to the mud lots for the majority of it. Due to the wet ground, work on reconfiguring the mud lots slowed, but with Snazzy and Brando gone, we were down to only 6 horses so there was still plenty of room for everyone even while the mud lots continue to be a work in progress.

August was the start of the visitors to Park Oaks season and first to arrive were very good friends of ours from England – Fiona, Kenny and their 2 children, Elena and Peter. They had traveled up in to Canada for sight seeing and visiting Fiona’s brother, down to visit us and then left us after just a few days to head down to Florida for the week before returning home. It was great to see them all and the visit was way too short! As expected, Fiona wowed everybody with her renditions of rock hits on the karaoke machine.

Two weeks after Fiona and Kenny’s visit, Claire joined us for 2 weeks. Another good friend of Jo’s from home through their interest in horses, Claire worked hard around Park Oaks, cleaning stalls, turning out, etc. A very experienced horsewoman, her help and input during her visit was very much appreciated.

After several months of concern this year about Flyer’s lameness issues, it was decided that we would start thinking of easing him in to retirement and finding another horse for Jo to show. Pam placed a call to Galway Farm in Long Grove, giving them the details of the sort of horse we were looking for and the price range and (quite surprisingly really given what she told them) they had something that matched fairly well with her description. Pam, Claire and Jo took a drive up there but having tried him, had reservations about his lack of experience. Although we were looking for something young, Roy was very green and would take a lot of work over the winter to be ready for showing next spring. It was hard to tell at this point too what potential he had to be a show hunter but he had a nice disposition, was used to being out in a herd and Jo just got the impression that he would try to do a good job at whatever was asked of him.

In the meantime, Jo tried one of Warren and Susan’s horses at Fieldstone Farm. She was a much more suitable horse, with a lovely hunter style and stride but being an alpha mare, unfortunately she was not going to work well at Park Oaks!

There was certainly no rush to find a horse, but it was agreed that we would go up and see Roy one more time before we totally ruled him out, but it wasn’t going to happen until next month based on everyone’s schedules.

In the meantime, the Big Rock Fire Department hosted the annual draw down at Plowman’s Park which is always a good night out. Carrie, Gabby and Sally, along with some of their friends, joined in the fun and (from what Jo can remember) she thinks a good time was had by all and apologizes to everyone for any offence caused by her boisterous behavior!

July 2007

We were very sad to say goodbye to Janet, Snazzy and Brando this month, who left Park Oaks after 4 years. Janet had for a long time wanted to move to Galena and finally this month her dream came true and she packed up and headed out for a new life in the north west corner of Illinois. Janet was our second boarder and we will miss her.

Pat very kindly invited some of Janet’s friends round to her house for the evening so that we could all say goodbye. This was very brave of her, since that weekend, she was hosting a wedding reception for her son Mike and his wife Rhonda. The day of the reception was a beautiful day and gave us the opportunity to admire Pat’s garden that she works so hard on. We enjoyed meeting more of Pat’s family and catching up with those we had met before. That was a busy day, as we rushed back that evening to see The Premiers play in Plowman’s Park, a tribute to Deb Ruh’s dad who died last year and had been the lead singer in this local band that had been extremely popular in their day.

We took our main delivery of hay, which included both the regular square bales as well as some round bales for the winter. We have decided this year to leave out the large round bales in the mud lots. This should keep the horses from getting bored and alleviate the lunchtime feed.

In addition, Kevin has created an additional mud lot and is reconfiguring them to allow easy access by tractor to the pasture and keep the horses away from the side of the barn. The regular rainfall is making this slow work, as Kevin is trying to lay new water pipes and electricity out to the mud lots and has to keep pumping out the hole he has dug. However, the pastures are doing great for this time of year and although we have to keep the horses off when the ground gets too wet, at this rate we should have a good stand of grass throughout the summer and well in to Fall.

Unfortunately both Izzy and Flyer have been lame for several weeks. Since rest wasn’t helping, Kevin and Carrie took Izzy up to Merritts Equine Hospital and with a revised hoof trimming plan she is doing much better. Flyer was lame in front and based on his prior x-rays, it was decided that he should have his knee injected. On further inspection by the vet, he wasn’t tracking up well behind either, so his hocks were injected yet again. This seems to have done the trick, at least for now, and he is back on form.

Carrie and Q (along with Gabby, the trusty groom!) headed off for the ICDTA mini event at the Fox Valley Saddle Association show grounds. She and Q came in at second place and were just short of winning the blue ribbon by a very small margin. Congratulations Carrie and Q!

The Park Oaks karaoke machine acquired this month has been a major attraction and several late night karaoke sessions have been taking place. It’s a good job we don’t have neighbors close by….!

June 2007

The Ultralight shelter was finished off this month. The cover was put on and the gates were finished to allow easy access on to the “runway”. Kevin took the opportunity to re-fence the small mud lot so that the two trees are now outside of it rather than inside. This saves having to fence around them to stop the horses from chewing in to the bark. Unfortunately, in the process we tried to remove a weed tree that was growing close to one of the others and may have killed it by accident. There are still some small signs of life, so we’ll wait until Spring before we do anything with it, in the hope that it may rebound.

Kevin went down to the Illinois Fire Services Institute in Champagne for a weekend of training in pumper operations, which now allows him to engineer the fire engine. At the same time, Jo had to be in work for meetings that weekend, so thank you to everyone for helping out with the chores and to Dawn for stopping in and playing with Crikey!

The pastures are holding up well so far this summer, so with a lot of help from Mat and his equipment, we took a cutting of hay from the long pasture, adding 110 bales to the winter supplies.

Carrie and Q headed of to Frontenac for an event and placed 6^th overall so congratulations to them.

Park Oaks had a new arrival....a 1948 Ford 8N tractor.

Last but definitely not least, we had a surprise visit from Jayme, Maria and Austin who were passing through on their way home to California. It was great to see them again and this was our first time meeting Austin, a happy little blighter who enjoyed splashing around in the pool on this very hot day and lying around on Crikey’s bed.

May 2007

We were sorry to see Ben leave this month. Unfortunately, he had just not settled to life out here at Park Oaks and with surgery on his splint bone pending, Kate and Emily wanted him to be closer to home. He returned to Judgment Farm, where hopefully he will quiet down a little and give himself chance to repair.

Echo’s swollen hock got better….got worse….got better….and got worse again. Now hopefully he is on the mend for good this time after a trip to Merritt & Associates Equine Hospital and stronger antibiotics.

With Jim’s help (thank you Jim!) Kevin was able to erect the frame for a shelter for the ultralight. Once the cover is placed over the top, Kevin will have a much more convenient storage place for it and will be able to more easily get it ready for flight. He has already rollered out the long pasture to remove any large bumps on his “runway” and double gates have been put on the entrance. He needs to put in another gate in the mud lot at the top of the pasture so that he has a clear shot through.

Fellow firefighters Dick and Timmy stopped over one evening on their quad bike and ended up taking a ride on Q and Flyer. (No Jez – not 2 of Enid Blyton’s Famous Five!) Q and Flyer cooperated nicely by taking them for a stroll around the outdoor arena and then Kevin got on Q to show them how to take on a course of jumps.

Kevin spent a day at O’Hare this month to participate in the practical of his airport rescue training which had taken up a week back in February. Along with Kevin were Dale, the Training Officer and Kevin, the Assistant Chief from Big Rock as well as participants from other local fire departments. The groups took it in turns to board a burning airplane and get the flames under control. As you can see from the photo it was pretty serious training!

Our trainer Pam came over with several of her students from Fieldstone Farm to use the outdoor so they could practice away from home before the show season really gets under way. Warren and Susan, the owners of Fieldstone, came along with a couple of their more inexperienced horses. While the weather was sunny and warm, it was very windy but even so, all of the horses were well behaved. There was only one incident, which you couldn’t really classify as a fall – it was more of a dismount! Anyway, everyone seemed to have a good time and we certainly enjoyed having them over. Hopefully we’ll be seeing many of them at upcoming shows.

April 2007

Much of the work this month was general spring cleaning around the property including cutting down dead wood from the trees. Kevin did also fix a leaking water trough, which meant digging down to find where the pipe was leaking underground. Unfortunately, in the process some minor damage was done to the electricity cable so the supply to the barn had to be turned off. Since we by now have moved in to warmer weather and lighter evenings, this wasn’t too much of a problem and was soon repaired.

Some of the lameness issues continued throughout the month. Echo had some swelling in his hock which required treatment with antibiotics and Ben, still recovering from his fractured splint bone, was turned out in the indoor. Not particularly happy about his solitary confinement, he is hindering his recuperation with his high jinx.

Jo and Flyer headed off to Lamplight with Cathe and Apollo for their first show of the year. Flyer, feeling like a 4 year old from all the arthritis treatment was quite a handful and despite numerous lunging sessions he was still way too enthusiastic about his job. Even in the flat classes, which is where he normally slows down, it seemed like he was making 2 laps around the arena to everyone else’s 1. Having said that, there were some highpoints – particularly the mini medal, where he just did an exceptional round.

Cathe and Apollo as usual were on good form, bringing home the ribbons including Champion.

Roll on June for the next show!

March 2007

With the weather turning from freezing cold to very wet, the mud lots turned in to deep soupy sludge this month and resulted in a number of issues, predominantly lameness. Flyer has been on again off again lame for several weeks and since rest and bute didn’t seem to do the trick, the vet was called. A full set of x-rays showed that he has arthritis in both hocks as well as some in his knee. His hocks were injected, he is on a course of Adequan, an MSM supplement and Conquer and so far he has responded really well. Hopefully he will be ready for his first show at the end of April at Lamplight.

Kevin finished work on the feedroom except for the window and a small piece of floor tiling, both of which will be finished off later as part of other projects that need to be done. The cats have a cat flap through which they can get in to the room and their bed has been put on a shelf on the wall so that they can stay well clear of any predators and Crikey. In fact, so that they can vent their frustration from being chased, sniffed, barked at and poked, Kevin hung an effigy of Crikey in striking reach of their basket.

Snazzy and Brando celebrated their 4^th anniversary at Park Oaks this month and Janet was presented with a small token of our appreciation for sticking with us so long. We deeply regret that this will actually be Janet’s last anniversary with us as she will be leaving for Galena in a few months.

Over the St. Patrick’s Day weekend, Kevin went to the Illinois Fire Service Institute at the University of Illinois at Champaign for practical fire training. This is where Fire Departments from all over the state come to practice running in to pitch black, red hot, burning buildings with full gear and breathing apparatus and unbelievably most come out unscathed (note we said most, not all, but thankfully Kevin got home safe and sound).

With another exam completed this month, he has now completed, and passed, all of his written Fire Fighter exams and just has a remaining practical to finish up before he is fully certified.

We headed over to Judgment Farm on a sunny Sunday afternoon this month to celebrate Kate’s 21^st birthday and had a great time catching up with the gang there. With Ben now with us at Park Oaks, Kate and Emily are having to split their time between the two barns and while Ben seems pretty unphased by his fractured splint bone, we should know next month how well it has healed and whether he will need to have surgery to remove it.

February 2007

The extreme cold weather continued this month leading to more cancelled lessons and a strong desire to stay indoors most of the time.

Kevin has a welcome distraction for a week while he attended a course on airport rescue at Aurora Airport just a few miles east of us on Route 30. Having finished his flying training and received his pilot’s license from there, he was already very familiar with the airport and his knowledge of the runway layout, flight patterns and communication with the tower gave him a distinct advantage. Delegates from the Big Rock Fire Department joined in with other local departments in the training and although not strictly speaking in the Big Rock response area, it’s of course very likely that additional help will be needed from nearby locations in the event of an incident.

While the training kept him out of the weather for longer than usual, Kevin still had to attend to the horses. Stalls had to be cleaned prior to the start of the training day and what couldn’t be done in the morning had to be quickly finished off at the end of training in the afternoon. Carrie pitched in and covered for Kevin on her day off that week, for which we are very grateful but it was a pretty grueling week for him. Unfortunately, the final exam coincided with an exam for the Fire Fighters course Kevin is currently taking so that is yet to be done before he can be certified in the training he received.

We were happy to welcome Ben to Park Oaks on the 17^thof the month. Ben belongs to the Currie family who retired Quentin with us in 2004. Very sadly Quentin passed away, but having been friends of ours since Flyer was boarded at Judgment Farms, we have stayed in touch and welcomed the opportunity to take Ben. Ben is a very large (17.1HH) chestnut thoroughbred, who appears even taller due to his long neck. He is very sweet natured but playful and although bought as a hunter for Kate and Emily he has suffered a number of ailments that have resulted in semi-retirement. Regrettably, his luck didn’t get much better on arriving at Park Oaks, having fractured his splint bone in the first few days. He is currently restricted to half days in the indoor arena, which will hopefully give the bone the opportunity it needs to heal. If not, he’ll need surgery to have the bone removed.

The same day Ben arrived, a group of Park Oaks boarders, past and present, headed off to the Sears Center to watch the Lipizzaner stallions perform. This was our Christmas gift to each of the boarders and was well worth the wait.

In order to accommodate 11 horses now with the addition of Ben, Kevin sectioned off another small piece of the pasture to create an extra mud lot until they can be turned out on to the grass again. This is temporarily fenced with electric tape until Kevin can get posts in the ground for post and rail.

Unfortunately, Kevin had neglected to empty the roller out of water before the freezing weather set in and as a result some parts of it have either buckled or broken. Another job to add to the list, but not until the weather warms up.

On the 25^th Kevin joined a small group from the Big Rock Fire Department in the annual Hustle up the Hancock (for our UK readers that haven’t come to visit yet, the Hancock building is the second tallest building in Chicago). Approximately 4,000 people took part to raise money for the Lung Association, climbing up the 94 floors totaling 1632 steps. Kevin completed the climb in a very respectable 17 minutes, ahead of the rest of the Big Rock Fire Department contingent by over 15 minutes and just 8 minutes slower than the fastest time.

Last, but definitely NOT least, we celebrated Izzy and Steven’s first anniversary with us at Park Oaks, presenting Gabby and the Kripke family with a small token of our appreciation.

January 2007

We started the New Year having dinner with Marcy and Dave from Oakview Farm and midnight slipped by without anyone noticing. Not that it really mattered, we were having a good time and it was a lovely way to bring in the New Year.

Throughout the month, Kevin continued his classes and studying for his Fire Fighters 1 & 2 exams. He has now passed 3 out of the 4 modules and the final exam is scheduled for next month.

The main project currently is the feed room and Kevin has been busy varnishing units and cutting and fitting worktop. The temperature had dropped drastically by the end of the month, slowing down progress.

As a result of the extreme cold weather, lessons were temporarily cancelled so Flyer and Izzy enjoyed some down time this month. Q, having developed a rather large splint on his leg, has been off work for a little while, while Carrie tried to bring down the size of the lump.

And in this weather, even Crikey has been happy to miss out on her long week end walks to toast herself in front of the fire.

So having spent most of the month just trying to keep warm and melting frozen water troughs and buckets, it doesn’t give us to much to report!

We hope all of our boarders, friends and family had a good new year and look forward to a happy and successful 2007.

December 2006

December of course, is all about the Holidays, except for 2 special birthdays (not including Jesus’). Happy birthday to Jo’s mum and Kevin, whose birthdays were the 12^th and 11^th respectively. Kevin managed to find himself a rather nice used quad bike/ATV/4 wheeler (whatever you want to call it) which was nominated as the birthday (and Christmas) present this year. Although he wanted it primarily for fun, it’s also a good work horse, towing bales of shavings and hay from barn to barn.

In between the usual chores and sitting his first fire fighter exam, Kevin also started building more jump stands. We didn’t quite have enough for the regulation hunter class eight, so Kevin set about making more. We have loads of poles now and in the Spring, we’ll start making gates, walls, flower boxes, etc to make the jumps more interesting.

Early December surprised us with a huge dump of snow. Although it’s not unusual to get several feet of snow and the snow ploughs do a good job of keeping the roads open, Jo took a “snow day” and stayed at home. Having ventured out in the drifting snow and very poor visibility she decided to play it safe, turn around and head for home. In the meantime, the Big Rock Fire Department were called out to assist with a medical emergency and Kevin headed off behind the wheel of the ambulance, trying to avoid adding to the patient’s problems by sliding off the road.

We of course, went off on our annual Christmas Eve trail ride, only this year it was the day before Christmas Eve to fit in with everyone’s schedules. The horses were decked out in tinsel, ribbon and other Christmas decorations to get everyone in the spirit and off we went to sing carols around the neigh-borhood (sorry, bad joke!) Inevitably, we left behind a few unwelcome “packages” on people’s driveways but no one seemed to mind too much.

As usual, we looked to Janet for guidance since she seems to be the only talented singer amongst us. Although we did all think she was asking a little too much when she asked us if we could all try singing in the same key(?!)

Regardless of whether not many people are at home the day before Christmas Eve or they’re too scared to open their front doors, we had fun.

While we were gone, Kevin got the clubhouse ready with lunchtime snacks, mulled wine, eggnog, etc, etc. While he really did a nice job, we have to mention the forgotten meatballs that were burned to a crisp and the plastic cat food container that he’d placed on the ceramic hob (with the heat on!) which means we now need to go and buy a new hob. Still at least had things got out of hand, the fire department know where we live….

Anyway, while the cat food container was merrily bubbling away on the hob, we in our blissful ignorance were enjoying the gift exchange. We decided this year to buy tickets for everyone to see the Lipizzaner stallions at the Sears Center in February. While unfortunately not everyone will be able to make it, we’re looking forward to a good night out with as many of our boarders as possible. We’d like to thank everyone for their lovely gifts to us – we really appreciate everyone’s generosity and most of all, their friendship.

We were fortunate to be invited to fellow fire fighters, Bob and Dawn for Christmas Day. Dawn was the paramedic on duty for the day, so she had her hand full cooking for the four of us plus her dad, in between responding to calls. She juggled everything beautifully and thankfully there just two calls. With Kevin as her trusty EMTB right there with her, the response time was pretty darn good that day!

We hope that like us, everyone had a wonderful Christmas and wish you all a very happy New Year.

November 2006

November is Carrie’s birthday month and this year was her 30^th. To celebrate, Carrie, Sally, Gabby, Kevin and Jo headed off to the Ringling Bros and Barnum and Bailey’s circus at the United Center in downtown Chicago. This was followed by a Mexican dinner in Old Town, accompanied by a pitcher of some of the strongest margaritas ever!

Kevin finally brought the ultralight home and it is now firmly tied down in the lean to behind the old barn. Since then, much to the horses’ astonishment, he has given it a quick flight around the area, but as winter approaches it isn’t expected to get too much use until next spring.

Having said that, the Thanksgiving weekend weather was beautiful, with temperatures up in the 60’s which would have been perfect for flying. Unfortunately, with an indoor arena letting in rain water and creating huge puddles inside, all of Kevin’s efforts had to be directed at finishing raising the level of the limestone and sand surface inside and regrading the slope away from the arena on the outside. Now complete, this work has resulted in huge improvements in the indoor and as well as staying dry, the additional limestone base and new sand have created a much better surface for riding on. In addition, the old sand was dumped in to the mud lot, improving the drainage considerably.

Our Thanksgiving weekend was pretty quiet, but it provided a nice opportunity to get caught up on a few things around the house and garden. It wasn’t all work though and after a tasty Thanksgiving lunch (OK, we admit it, we bought it ready cooked from Boston Market) we did make it out to the movies to see the latest James Bond in action in Casino Royale – good movie for anyone who hasn’t seen it yet.

In addition to Carrie’s birthday, we had another reason to celebrate this month…this time at the NIHJA (Northern Illinois Hunter Jumper Assocation) Awards banquet. Jo and Flyer had accumulated enough points over the year to get placed 4^th and 5^th in their divisions. Kevin and Jo got all dressed up to join Cathe and Emily in receiving their awards. Since Kate is away at school, Pam’s son Evan represented her and collected Kate’s awards on her behalf. Jo’s goal is now on to improve on these placings in 2007.

October 2006

After last month’s sad tribute to Barnsey, this month’s newsletter combines other events from September, as well as October.

On a happy note, our neighbor Scott married his high school sweetheart, Emily and it seemed like the whole town turned out for the wedding. It was a lovely hot and sunny September day, ending with a huge reception in Dekalb.

Kevin’s mum and dad, Pat and Daphne, came over from England for a visit. As usual they kept themselves busy helping out around the house and barn. Despite the rapidly cooling temperatures, Daphne braved the cold pool several times during their visit, swimming many lengths on each occasion. They also decided to take to the road this time too, which gave them a little more freedom and independence, instead of being tied to the barn hours that Kevin has to keep.

During Pat and Daphne’s visit, Jo and Flyer were scheduled to be at Ledges for the last NIHJA show of the season. Jo and Flyer headed up on the Thursday and Kevin, Pat and Daphne drove up the next day to watch Friday’s classes. Although Kevin returned home later that day, Pat and Daphne stayed up in Wisconsin and combined watching more of the horse show (including boot and bridle cleaning duties) with a visit to a doll’s house museum conveniently located close by. Being an avid miniaturist, this gave Daphne and Pat as well, a no doubt welcome distraction from the horse show and an opportunity to get out of the wet weather. With all of Jo’s classes being done by early afternoon, they headed for home leaving Kate and Hershel, Emily and Johnny to continue through to the Medals Finals on Sunday.

Pat and Daphne left for home just a few days before Pat’s birthday so on their last evening we toasted him and had a small celebration of our own.

On a visit out to the barn to take Joe on a trail ride, Pat managed to lock her keys in her car. As she and Kevin peered through the window to try and figure out what to do, PB stared back at them. Having found a warm, comfortable spot for a nap, he was not at all perturbed by his situation, unlike Pat, who had to do some pretty fast talking to get someone to cut a replacement key for her.

Patrick and Montana joined us this month. Patrick had been previously boarded with us but his owners, Joann and Rich, had taken him home for the summer. Now back for another winter, Patrick was joined by his new buddy, Montana, newly acquired by Joann and Rich. Patrick immediately settled back in to life at Park Oaks and Montana, who is just as sweet and mild mannered, accepted his new surroundings very easily.

Later this month, Carrie and Q headed off for a one day event at Indian Hills. It was a particularly cold day and the show grounds are very exposed, motivating everyone to find shelter to get out of the cold wind. Undeterred Carrie and Emily persevered through the event in fine form, wrapping up the show season for the year.

September 2006

The Labor Day Holiday weekend that we were all looking forward to, turned to tragedy with the loss of Barnsey.

Barnsey came to Park Oaks on the 6th June 2004 to retire after having been a successful show horse and much loved teacher to many new to the sport of riding. As handsome and kind as he was, Laurie just loved him the minute she met him at Fairlane in Naperville. It was a match literally made in heaven and the bond between them strengthened through the years.

This is Laurie’s story, written when she first bought Barnsey…

A Special Gift

Barnsey is a 12-year-old appendix quarter horse named after someone very special. I began riding to fulfill a lifelong dream and for therapeutic reasons. My world had just been turned upside down and I was alone again. My fiancé Phil passed away July 6, 1995.

Knowing I would have to keep busy, I decided to take riding lessons...something I've always wanted to do. Throughout the first several months of lessons, I would ride school horses Rosie and Oreo. It was a little unsettling changing horses, but my instructor Lori Hollands assured me I would be a better rider for it. I wasn't up for much challenge at that point in my life but I am grateful she pushed me for several reasons.

I arrived at the barn for my usual Wednesday lesson wondering what was in store for me. 'You're riding Buster tonight.' Lori announced. Here we go again, I thought. Another challenge! I wonder if this one is going to throw me. I gathered the school grooming box, located Buster's tack, hooked up his lead rope and lead him out of his stall. From the moment I started grooming him I could feel it. He was calm and quiet, but big, strong and beautiful. His eyes were full of kindness and I felt such comfort just being near him. I knew he was a special horse. "I wish he were for sale," I said out loud.

About a week later Lori told me the owner was willing to sell. I asked her a million questions and went home to look over my finances.

While recuperating from surgery, Phil expressed to a friend that he wished he could do something special for me. He left me some money to help take care of me and do something special for myself. It didn't take me long to decide what that something special would be. Little did I know HOW special! I didn't know much about horses or the first thing about buying one, but fortunately I was blessed with finding a wonderful barn with some fantastic, caring people so everything went smoothly.

During the vet check Barnsey rested his sweet, heavy head on my shoulder and I was totally hooked. He passed with flying colors and after writing a check he was mine. The first thing I did was change his name.

Phil was a firefighter and his last name was Barnes...the guys at the firehouse called him Barnsey [and so Buster became “A Tribute to Barnsey” or just Barnsey for short].

Oddly enough, the last name of Barnsey's former owner was also Barnes.

Barnsey and I quickly formed a bond and each time I walk down the aisle that magnificent head appears, he nickers and all is well again.

Phil said I was his angel and Barnsey is mine. I was blessed once more with a special gift of love.

We first noticed Barnsey was not himself the Wednesday before the Labor Day weekend. When we did our usual last check of the day, Barnsey was lying down – very out of character for him. The natural response was to suspect perhaps a mild colic, so we took him for a walk outside, took his temperature but all seemed normal.

The next day, he didn’t eat his grain but happily munched his way through his regular hay ration.

On Friday, as he was brought in from the pasture, he seemed a little wobbly and as he entered his stall, he banged himself against the partition. Kevin contacted Laurie right away, but even while he was talking to her, he knew the vet needed to be called.

Barnsey continued to be very unsteady on his feet and it was hard to make a prognosis – an inner ear infection, EPM, a brain tumor – they were all possibilities. Since EPM was the only life threatening condition of the 3 that could be treated, that became the focus of the treatment program.

Over the next 72 hours Laurie stayed by Barnsey’s side. Despite several visits from the vet and numerous phone calls, constant medical and emotional support from our wonderfully knowledgeable and capable boarders Carrie and Gabby, Barney’s condition deteriorated. The speed of the deterioration was astounding and by Monday, Barnsey having fallen down, was unable to get back up. Carrie made him as comfortable as she could until the vet arrived and by that time the decision was unanimous – Barnsey had to be put out of his suffering.

The outpouring of love and support for Barnsey and Laurie over the weekend had been overwhelming. As lucky as Laurie had been to have Barnsey in her life, the love and care he had shown her had been returned in spades. She is a very special person and much loved by her friends. Scott and Lori were ready to do whatever it took to get Barnsey the care he needed, Lori Hollands stayed in close contact offering advice and support and so many of Laurie’s friends from Judgment came out to provide comfort.

We most certainly appreciated the advice, help and support those people, as well as Carrie and Gabby, gave us.

Barnsey’s body was taken to the University of Illinois so that a necropsy could be done. As Laurie said, Barnsey taught so many in life, it was fitting that he should continue to teach others in death.

The weather the entire weekend had matched our mood – grey and somber, but as Barnsey left Park Oaks for the last time, the sun came out from the behind the clouds and a huge rainbow arched across the sky. The hauler’s trailer drove Barnsey away down the drive towards the rainbow as Kevin, Jo, Carrie and Gabby watched in awe and fresh tears sprang to our eyes as Gabby whispered “I so believe in signs”.

The necropsy showed that at some point in his life, a parasite had lodged itself in Barnsey’s muscle. This same parasite had now dislodged itself and traveled through Barnsey’s spinal cord to his brain. The symptoms were the result of the brain’s response to the foreign body. There was nothing anybody could have done to have saved him.

So from Laurie’s Tribute to Barnsey when she first got him, this is her tribute today…

Barnsey gave so much to Danny and I...and to so many others. He was a willing school horse (and school horses are true angels!), a magnificent show horse, and a loving companion. He was wise, strong, beautiful, kind and a great teacher. We often ask a lot of our horses...and Barnsey was almost always willing to deliver.

The bond between horse and owner is like no other and we are grateful for the blessing of such a special relationship. My son Dan and I enjoyed so many wonderful times with Barnsey whether lessoning or just being in his presence.

Dan was fortunate enough to enjoy one last day with Barnsey when he was home on leave from the Air Force. We had a wonderful day at Park Oaks celebrating friendship and Joanne's birthday...and the opening of Park Oak's new outdoor arena!

I spent Barnsey's last weekend with him surrounded by supportive friends who comforted both Barnsey and I, stayed late into the night to watch over him (and me!) and more. When I arrived Friday evening as a response

to Kevin's call, I entered his stall, put my arms around him and cried. I knew something was terribly wrong, but there was still hope. Of course, he rested his sweet, heavy head on my shoulder just as he did during his pre-purchase exam.

Our stay at Fairlane provided us the opportunity to meet many wonderful friends including Kevin and Joanne Clark who are such a blessing. Barnsey enjoyed his last two years on earth (probably has favorite two years!) in retirement at Park Oaks in a loving, caring environment.

God sends lots of angels in many different forms...both two and four-legged. Some pass through our lives quickly and other relationships grow. We are grateful for the wonderful, lasting relationships with our barn friends and are especially grateful to Lori Hollands for her friendship and guidance through so many of the wonderful and difficult aspects of horse ownership, riding and more. Special thanks to Lori Kelly and Scott Currie for your

Growing friendship, and to Carrie and Gabby, our angels in Barnsey's final days...and to all our angels from Fairlane Farms/Judgement Farms and Park Oaks.

Thanks Barnsey for being your magnificent self...and for all you've

given us. We love you and miss you!!!!

“It is the rainbow — hope shining upon the tears of

grief.”

August 2006

August brought the big 4-0 round for Jo. It also coincided with the completion of the outdoor arena so Kevin organized a surprise