Plans that Percolated

This first chunk of writing was done a couple weeks ago sitting in an airport.

About eight months ago there was some talk at our place about an ideal situation.  This got started because both Morgan and our cousin Laurie have been fans of a televised competition called “Road to the Horse.”    Russ said, “I would gladly pay the expenses for those two to drive to Kentucky and take that in.”    I agreed with him but truth be told it seemed like something stirring among the men and I pretty much stayed out of it.  Talk got a little more serious and it became clear that it would not be possible for Laurie to get away.  Russ could not leave that close to calving season.  Would Morgan just have to miss out on it?   That most certainly would not be the end of the world.  We don’t have to attend everything that interests us, in fact, of course, we can’t.  However there were two details that kept us coming back to how to make this work.  The first is that Morgan loves horse training.

This event was a chance to witness seasoned trainers apply their methods to never touched two year old horses.  We felt this was not entertainment as much as an educational opportunity.   We have spent precious little money on Morgan’s extra curricular interests thru the years.   It felt like a good use of our resources to see if we could get him there.  The second detail that really pulled at Russell’s heart strings is that 28 years ago he attended a horse training clinic led by a young trainer named Ken McNabb.  That man was set to be one of the competitors at this years event.  Russell so wanted Morgan to get to meet him and learn from him.  So my little ‘ol brain started percolating. 

What would it cost for Morgan and I to drive there and how much time would it take?  We are not far from Minot, what would a flight from there cost?  Those two inquiries led to figures I was not happy with, in terms of time and dollars.  I tried one more thing.  I checked out the Westjet site and found extremely reasonable ticket prices.  I called Russ saying, “hey, can you believe this?”  He said, “book it!”   So it was that Morgan and I became official travel partners.  I figured we would rent a car, I would drive Morgan to the facility and then return to our lodging where I would have four days to keep working on this book of ours.  This screenshot of texts with Russ records the big moments.

When it came time to book tickets to the event, which I put off until January, 🫣 I checked with fear in my heart, we had plane tickets but no event tickets.  I learned there were lots of good choices left.  🥵🤠  When I asked Morgan about where he wanted to sit he informed me that he really wanted me to attend with him.  Huh.  What was I to do?  I am not that big into horses, and watching horses being trained sounded like something I could miss.  On the other hand, how often does your teen say to you, “come with me Mom.”  So, I agreed to attend and figured I would bring my laptop and try not to look too weird as I typed and others watched the events.  

The days flew as they do and all of a sudden our trip was only days away.   I was feeling pretty mixed about it.  Russ and I have been away much more than usual as we went to his Farmers for Climate Solutions meetings three different times in recent months.  I was not really excited about packing up and heading out one more time, especially to a very unfamiliar place.  As much as I have travelled in the U.S. I had never been to Kentucky or Georgia.  A Westjet schedule change after our tickets were purchased meant that we were to have an 8 hour layover in Atlanta.  Was I up for this?  I had to be.  Last Tuesday after school Morgan and I headed to Regina in order to be there when our flight departed Wednesday morning at 5:30.   We settled into seats I had spent a little extra money on to get extra leg room.  With an open seat in our row we took off, feeling pretty darn comfortable, but moreso, blessed.  Good-bye Saskatchewan!  What started eight months earlier as some percolating ideas and hopes was now our reality, as real as the cups of coffee we held in the airport waiting lounge.

That is the end of chapter one of this story.   There are several more chapters.

Today’s reality….

Calving has really started around here….

Yesterday morning the first heifer calved.  It was Alanis Morisette, this morning Russ has reported that Rod Stewart calved.  The crew found Bells and Dr. Seuss had calved on their last check last night.  Unfortunately Apples delivered a stillborn preemie too.  Morgan, Gina and Russ have just headed out to saddle up for the first check of the morning.  Morgan will be at school in two hours, on time.

Russ needed to bring our biscuit heifers and grassers home yesterday.  He somehow got me on a horse and I, Kathy Kyle, the usual cook and coffee lady, trailed cows for the first time in my whole life.  It was a beautiful evening and I have to admit it was fun.  Morgan let me ride his  faithful pal “Warhorse”and it felt pretty easy.  Russ was pretty excited and took lots of videos.  Here is one.  It has beautiful scenery.

As Russ is fond of declaring loudly, “we’re calving now!”

For the foreseeable future this ranch crew is staying home and travelers are coming to us!