I have to be honest, the others are not very talkative at this time, the thing is, some of our members are not very computer savvy, its not there fault they just don't spend time at the computer, they are really busy in the barn. Others I think are just waiting for someone else to jump start it. I am trying and with your help we will make this fun.

I have a lot of plans such as contests, interviews and educational information. The group will change and grow with the needs and wishes of the members. All one needs to do is voice there opinions and we will all consider it. Just ask

If you are an artist I have built a section that you can add your web site links to and talk a little about your art. This is for individual artist not galleries please!!

If you are a trainer, vet, farrier, etc come on and talk about what you do, this site is for you.

Have some tack you want to sell or trade list it here.

Just want to talk to other women who share your interest, we are that place

You can even start a group within the forum, if you have a horse subject that you are passionate about go ahead and start a group. Something non horsey, that's ok we all have other interests, start a group about that. The sky is the limit..

We don't care if you ride English, western, bareback. We don't even care if you ride, maybe you just love horses, join in anyway.

I think we were supposed to be working



Barn girl initiation



staying dry!!

This is my old guy cody



This is Joe laughing at me!!



This is my Quincy



Dylan and hubby

Well I know some people think we barn girls do nothing but ride our horses, but, if you are a true barn girl or you know one, you know there is a lot more to it than just ride play ride play ride play.

We work hard, horses are hard work, don't get me wrong I am not complaining in fact I love the work because its for the horses. Honestly work is not the right word to be using but I don't know how else to explain it. Hmm seem to be getting off the subject.

One day at work (there is that nasty word again) well one day at work it was time to bring in the horses. They are about 11 dry lots, only its winter, in Oregon, so dry is not what they are, wet muddy messes is what we are dealing with. We just brought most of the horses in and have only the last three. They are together in one dry lot and there just happens to be three of us getting them. Beth goes in to get them and will hand one out at a time. The horses know the routine there is nothing about what we are doing that is different. We know our job the horses know there's.

But today, for some reason, the horses are not coming all the way to the gate so Beth takes a few steps forward, big mistake !!!! You see what happens is the first few steps are ok then there is a deep zone then the rest of the paddock is ok. The deep zone is just inside the gate, all horses pass through it in order to move on out. Because of the constant tramping through the mud gets deeper and deeper and deeper. We do not enter the deep zone because it can and will suck us down to the depths of the earth.

Yup you guessed it, Beth takes that unmistakable step into the deep zone and gets stuck! We are looking watching waiting will she get sucked in deeper or will she walk out? We all take a deep breath then the next thing I hear is the unforgettable sound of laughter, I think its coming from me but I am not sure it could be coming from her. Beth is no longer standing but now she is kneeling. This to me is not just funny its hilarious and I am screaming with laughter Beth is almost bowing and her whole body is shaking, I am not the only one laughing. As this is happening I do realize that even though she is on her knees in the mud laughing there are three horses who are also looking at her, the adult in me came through if only for a brief moment, I know I had to get to her just incase there was a stampede.

As I go forward So dose Sara and we get to her one on either side. We grab her arms in an attempt to get her on her feet. Just as we are doing this I look down and even though she is kneeling in the mud her boots are standing upright, she came out of the boots. Well this just sends me further into a fit of laughter making me weaker and weaker. We are pulling with all our might and then it happens, Karma!!! I go down flat on my back. All I can think to say is "I am going home" That just made things worse and the laughter took hold of us again. At some point I peed my pants, its what happens as you get older and laugh uncontrollably!

I rolled over, it was the only way I could get myself up, I have know idea how Beth got unstuck, did she do it on her own did we help, not likely, I just don't know. We did get out, we did get the horses, we did make it to the barn. It was just another day at work, another day in the barn another day with wonderful friends another unforgettable horse memory.

What have the girls gotton me into this time? You are not going to believe this but they signed me up for a show. So, you might be saying, SO, I say, I have never been in a show before !!!!

I spent all of last week trying to talk my way out of it and they wont let me. I will say one of the other barn girls is talking just like me, I set her straight, if she bails so do I.

I was told that this was a low key show, a great first show, it will be fun. We are signed up as a team, yep "The Barn Girls", they will throw out the lowest score, that will be me, and the rest will be added together.

I had also been under the assumption that this was a schooling show, NO its not !!! Its real!!! This is what is going to happen, either I am going to freeze and forget to breath, that's my bet, or I am going to go off in a fit of laughter, either way I am about to make a total fool of myself. But hay its all in good fun, team spirit and horsemanship!

On a good note, in an email from the promoter she assured me that even though this is not a schooling show its not exactly a "real show" I have forgot how she termed it, but its for people who what to show but don't want the stress of a real one, that be me. So maybe it wont be so bad.

If I survive the show and if I don't go to jail for killing my friends I will let you know the outcome.

Well tomorrow is the big day, my first horse show!!! When I got my first horse at the age of 40 my dream was to do two things, one was some gaming I wanted to do barrel racing and such. As I got more into riding and got a little older I realized that it was best left to the kids. I really do value my knees. The other thing I wanted to do was to ride free style musical dressage, to me there is nothing more beautiful.

But for me showing has never been a dream, I was never good at tests and even though I want to become a better rider I am really not very competitive, at least in the horse world. A couple of months ago I brought my husbands horse to the barn I work at and brought my guy home. The idea was to get him in shape and possibly find him a new home, he was a jumping horse but can no longer jump. We decided that maybe it was best to find him a home so we could get my husband a new horse. Ok I am getting side tracked. Anyway another friend at the barn wanted to take lessons and we thought it would be fun to take them together. Remember this was about two months ago if that, the lessons started.

A few weeks ago the girls were talking about this show. Its just for adults and there is a team competition. There was mention about us entering it and we all just laughed about it.. I just went along with it because I knew it would never materialize. Wrong !!! the next thing I knew I was signed up!!! Still thinking it would not happen but willing to go along with the charade , I learned the text intro A . Then found out I have to ride both A and B text. I do not know B very well but can have a reader, this is a low key show. Not a schooling show I find that out just two days ago!!! but a real one, but like I said low key so we can have readers.

About our team- We have had about 8 official lessons and a few unofficial ones.

For me, I had only ridden this horse a few times before bringing him to the barn, the most memorable time was when he took off with me in a wide open field, that's another story. One of my team members has now ridden in her dressage saddle about 8 times, she always rode western. We have a bet as to who will get the lowest score, they throw that one out! Another member will be riding another of my horses, she is a really great rider, the thing is, this horse dose not like change. The first time we took him on a trail ride it lasted 20 minutes and my husband was just glad he did not get killed , the horse is a great trail horse now. He had been show but many years ago so we just don't know what will happen, the 4th member of the team has done many shows but this horse is happiest on the trail . That's our team for this competition!!!

I woke up yesterday with a sick headache and then this morning with a wonderful cold complete with a huge cold sore. Now this could be a real life honest cold everyone around me has one or this could be the result of stress, who knows. It is pouring out this morning so maybe just maybe we will get rained out tomorrow, hmm its under cover so I don't think they do that but here's hoping.

Ok think positive remember to have fun, its not about winning its about doing it.

I may or may not let you know how this turns out, well, I will, I guess to be more accurate I will or will not embellish how this turns out. See you tomorrow!!

Wow its been a ride, I needed to start yet another forum and unfortunately I lost most of the members so we are now even smaller But please go ahead and join in, start talking and invite your friends. This will grow and it will be fun with your suport!