A "Sport" All It's Own, by Permenant Marken

This week proved to be a long one, so on Friday after Layne & I got off work, we drove to Midland to spend the weekend at her parent's house. We slept late Saturday, then Shoaf & I went to Lowe's while Layne got her hair cut. After a lunch at a sandwich shop, the girls went shopping and Shoaf and I did manly things - we went to the western store, moved manure with the tractor and rode through the wetlands of Midland.

Scooping poop is great! It blows up your nose and in your face and you feel like "this must be how heaven is!" The smell and warmth that rises from a steaming pile of horse poo cannot be compared to anything else..."I, I'm hooked on a feeling!" So after moving several buckets from the pile to the road o' poop that they are building at Starry Meadows, we played with the dogs and then went for a ride with Jeff Dudley. I rode Sport. He is 17, but has lots of spirit to him. I'll admit, this ride has been the most fun and exciting in a long time (since the 3 hour ride in CO that we took up the old railroad grade in the mountains.) Sport led most of the way, since he walked out good and the others had to jog to keep up :)

Shoaf's horse Rocky decided he was hot and wanted to roll, but Shoaf got him back up without getting off - good thing since we were in 2 feet of water. I hear "GET UP ROCKY! GET UP!" And as we turned an about face we see shoaf still on, pulling on Rock's reins as the gelding reluctantly rose to his feet. We intended t oluagh for a long while about that one. But then it was my turn.

Sport had an accident with a wire fence wrapping around his leg several years ago. He was pretty shook up and since has not liked anything touching his back legs. So we are riding through a clear-cut area that has been freshly done. Fresh stumps, branches and various shrubs abound - and Sport begins to feel the scratches of things on his back legs. He dances back and forth, and begins to breath heavily - snorting is what you would see in movies at this point. The fence we got caught in before is behind us - and he backs up! The wire in the fence hits his hind and he lets it push him forward. We hop along, with only one rear up as he thought about going over a stump, and made it to the road.

After a while on the road we went back into the clearcut where it had been done long before. It was grassy, but standing in 3 or 4 feet of water due to the snow melt and rain. While riding through the 100 yard soggy bottom, he catches his back leg ona stick under the surface and loses his mind, spinnning this way and that - darting up, jumping through the water. Onyx the black lab didn't help, by thinking this must be a game and knipping at his front hooves. He stopped, and I had time enough to get my right foot back in the stirrup before the "reggae" commenced again! I stayed int he middle, and Big Dave would be proud. A lazy ride back to the barn boasted 3 men, staying on top the whole time and living to laugh about it over dinner.

BIG NEWS! Greg Marken and Erin Diane Dudley decided to make plans to tie the knot this weekend. Duds gets made cause I never mention her, so here is her camio!!!!!!! Thier first child (some years down the raod I should think) has been pre-named: Permenant Marken, or, if he has mystical powers, Magic Marken. We'll see.....CONGRATS FRIENDS!!!!

Seacrest, out.
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