Monday, October 19, 2015

2 year anniversary of the craziest horse thing I've ever done

Two years ago today, I met Paddy for the first time. I rode him for literally 20 minutes before I signed the paperwork, wrote a check, and stuffed his fuzzy butt in the trailer for the 1400 mile drive home.

Buying Paddy is by far the craziest thing I've ever done in my adult life. I wasn't even looking for a horse - I had just lost Echo, and earlier that year we'd lost Saga and Oberon. I was questioning why we even HAD horses, since I seemed to be doing a great job killing them off. And then Lauren asked me - hypothetically - if I were to get a horse, what would I want. I told her  gelding, NOT bay (Echo, Oberon, and Saga were all bays). Kind. Lots of miles. Fun to ride.

She told me I should get a Haflinger.

I immediately scoffed at the idea. I'm 5'8, and at the time I wanted to event. Haffies are short fat ponies, without an athletic bone in their bodies, right? (Let's ignore, for the moment, their impressive ability to escape.) But, because I'm a moron, I looked at Dreamhorse that day while I was eating lunch. Here are the pics from Paddy's ad:

Oooooh.

OOOOOOOH.

OhEmGee.

How could I even think about resisting? He was athletic, adorable, and had good conformation. I called the owner and the trainer, and the more I talked to them, the better he sounded.  He vetted fine. And none of my (more or less) responsible adult friends dissuaded me from trying him out. Including my husband.

There was one slight problem though. Paddy lived in Michigan. I live in Texas. I pointed this out to Lauren, who said two words in response: ROAD TRIP.

This is where the crazy comes in. I cashed in some frequent flyer miles and got a one-way ticket to Detroit for after work that Friday. BFF FuzzyPony, because she loves me (I have no idea why), agreed to DRIVE THE RIG SOLO from Austin to Detroit. Then she picked me up at the airport Friday night when my flight got in at midnight. We drove to the hotel, got a couple of hours of sleep, and were at the barn at 6:30 the next morning to try Paddy out.

By 7:20 a.m. we were on our way back to Austin, one adorable Haflinger in tow.

I have never once regretted my crazy choice, and have to thank all my enabling friends and husband for somehow making all of this happen. The last two years have been so special, and Paddy has been such an amazing partner. His face makes me smile every single time, even if I do give in and feed him another cookie just because he's so damn cute.

How can you even resist? You can't. Obviously.

And I will luff him and hug him and squeeze him and call him Paddy! 

PS. Thanks MC for reminding me of the Haffie-versary!


51 comments:

  1. I love this story. He is SO adorable. You two were meant to be.

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  2. Sometimes the craziest ideas are the best ideas! Happy Haffie-versary!

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  3. Replies
    1. I think he practices cute looks in the mirror.

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  4. He's the cutest haffie ever. Love the story! Also weirded out that you had a Saga and an Oberon. I consider those uncommon horse names and one of my besties had a Saga and an Oberon. So bizarre.

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    1. That is kinda strange... sorry to hear that she lost hers as well. :(

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  5. That last pic :) Makes me smile!

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  6. Sniff! So wonderful! I love hearing about your Paddy adventures, congrats on your 2 year!!

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  7. That first picture- what a hunk!!!!

    Happy anniversary to you and Paddy!

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    1. If by "hunk" you really mean "wow he's kinda fat"... hahaha! He's definitely much less "hunky" now.

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  8. :-) Best decision ever. Good thing Lauren was there to point it out. :-)

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  9. He's so cute. Good thing you have such enabling friends.

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    1. Yes, enabling friends are the best sometimes!

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  10. Awww happy horseversary! You both look great in green :D

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    1. Thanks! That's actually a pic from St. Patrick's day (only Paddy thought it was St. Paddy's day, for him). It's my favorite though :)

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  11. Awwwww happy Haffie-day, you guys are a math made in pony-heaven. It was deff meant to be, look how awesomely you have tackled everything together & he even joists with hubby. Such an epic adventure ♡

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    1. Yes and as I had to remind hubby, he can't have him. MY PONY.

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  12. Best crazy decision ever! The blogosphere thanks you on the daily for your purchase! ;)

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    1. Yes, definitely the best crazy decision ever!

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  13. What a great decision! And despite his love for jousting with the hubby, he really is YOUR pony. :) <3

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    1. Only because I give him all the cookies. I'm pretty sure he'd switch allegiances quickly for cookies... consider his undying devotion to Holly after just a few days of cookies!

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    2. HAHA! Truth. :-)
      But he always comes back to you ;-)

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  14. In some ways, it seems crazy that it's already been two years. (Wasn't it just yesterday you were picking up Echo?) But when you think about all the fun adventures you two have had, it seems crazy that it's only been two years!

    Wishing you a happy paddy-versary, and many more to come :)

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  15. Awww this post makes me so happy! Happy anniversary with Paddy!!! I never realized your anniversary with Paddy is on the same day as mine and Chrome's. :D So cool! I'm so glad you found him.

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  16. He's obviously meant to be yours! He's so good for both you and your husband. I mean... what are the odds of a dressage Haffie who also LOVES jousting?! Gotta be 1 in a million.... at least.

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    1. Are there even a million Haffies in the worlds? Hmmmm...

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  17. It was love at first sight for you and Paddy. Good thing you liked him. I would have been very disappointed to drive an empty trailer back to Austin. lol He's been so good for your self confidence. And, Damn, you look good on him. :)

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    1. He'd make anyone look good! Besides, nobody's looking at the rider lol!

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  18. So great to read about your journey with Paddy! :)

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  19. I love Paddy! So glad you got him and that is a crazy story!

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    1. Looking back, it's totally nuts, but I'd do it again no questions asked!

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  20. Has it really been two years?! Wow, time flies when you're having fun! Happy Paddy-versary! :)

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