Summertime & Debbie Rodriguez Clinic

We are all enjoying the intense heat of summer and the adjustments in
riding that it brings. Taking time to walk the horses, work them a
little and then walk them again -- waiting for that sweat to break
out so we can work them again a little. It is a delicate balance to
make sure that neither rider nor horse are overheated! We really
enjoy the indoor with the cover and sometimes breeze that we get --
makes it nice to be out of the sun. Debbie Rodriguez arrives this
next weekend and we have a schedule of riders and welcome visitors.
Anyone in the classes and anyone who is shopping to join a class, you
are welcome. We are due some cooler weather this next week and we
hope it holds through the weekend. Come visit!

Happy Birthday, America

Old Glory flies over Steel Prize Stables on the Fourth of July.

Summer is here....

Steel Prize is pleased to welcome

Bellagio. He is an Andalusian who comes to us from California. He and his owner, Jess, are welcome members of the Steel Prize community.

Debbie Rodriguez Clinic

SPS had a great clinic the weekend of 8 - 9 May -- the weather was
great, who would have guessed it would be so cool! The horses were
ready to work and the riders not far behind. As always, Debbie
brings out training points to help fill out our regular riding
efforts. In the case of this grand prix rider, she reviewed the DVD
from the Memphis show and showed where points were being given away.
She also looked at other DVD rides and commented as "the judge" where
horse and rider could improve their performances. It was a great
weekend for us and also for her since all the flights were on time
and smooth. She will be back 31 July - 1 August: y'all come and
audit or ride with us.

Memphis in Spring in the Middle of a Tornado

Memphis Chicken and Fried Women

Neptune is worn out !!

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Honor Flight

Bill and I did something Saturday night which we should have done long ago. After dinner with some friends, we went to the Huntsville Airport to welcome the return of the Honor Flight. Don't know what that is? It is a nation wide program which flies World War II veterans to Washington, DC on a one day trip to visit the WW II Memorial. They also stop at Arlington National Cemetery to see the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier and the Iwo Jima Memorial. Huntsville is one of the hubs in 30 states which offer the program. There is no charge to the veterans for the trip; it is funded entirely by donations.

This flight was the tenth flight from Huntsville with at least one more scheduled. It had 106 veterans on board, three of whom were ladies. The youngest was 82 years old. Oldest age? Unknown. The vets wear a black tee shirt and they are accompanied by a Guardian in a yellow shirt. Honor Flight charters the plane which flies into Reagan Airport in DC. They are met by additional Guardians and tour busses which move them around the City. The plane had a medical crew of an ER doctor and nurse plus 6 EMT's. They also carry about 50 wheel chairs. Since they meet at the airport at 4 AM and got back at 11 PM many of the vets were ready for the chairs. But many were not.

We are losing WW II vets at a rate of about 1,000 a day. Many pass while waiting for a chance to get on a flight. If their families wish it, a "burial flag" is flown to DC. It is photographed in front of the Memorial and then returned to the family with a certificate.

There were about 500 people there to welcome them home; including the current and a past Mayor of Huntsville. The Symphony provided a band and almost all of the greeters had a flag to wave. All this a few hours after a series of killer tornados raged through the area. American Idol's Bo Bice's grandfather was on the flight. Bo went to DC and sang the National Anthem at the Memorial.

Bill kept reminding me that if it were not for these heros, we would now be speaking either German or Japanese.

You can use the link below to see a slide show of the trip.

Judith

http://photos.al.com/4462/gallery/honor_flight_apr_24/slideshow/index.html

First Show at SPS

We have just held the first show of the season at SPS and the weather
was gorgeous. We had a good turnout and the judge was Leslie O'Neal
Olsen. SPS is set up so that we have two nice warm-up rings, the
indoor and the large outdoor ring so the competitors had plenty of
room to ride before going into the competition ring. The show
started on time and ran well throughout the day. We offered coffee
and fresh donuts in the morning to get the early people jump started
and carrots were on hard to give the horses their treats. A good
time was had by all.

Happiness is...

the first sign of Spring.