west texas weekend

Was on the road last weekend with 'my best old-lady horse in the world', Rodney.  This is where we were.  Any guesses?

No, not Seattle...not Santa Cruz....not Miami.....but Midland! That's right. There are lots of pump jacks in Midland. It's not exactly the most verdant city in the USA. Can you guess the name of this arena?

No....not the saddle arena.....no, not the lopin' arena.....not the easter egg arena. That's it-the Horseshoe Arena. It was a nice facility. Since my class didn't show until later in the day, I went looking for trouble. This is where I found myself.

I know, I know. I'm a nerd, but I love history. This little 1950's house was such a blast from my past. It is a modest house in a very modest neighborhood.

Remember the phone nook in the hall of your house? The Bush's had a phone nook, too.

The house and the memorabilia were interesting and they are a treasure for the city. I had two extremely knowledgeable guides take me through the house. The inside of that house sure did take me back to the 1950's and my childhood. Midland may not be a verdant town, but the people are verdant in spirit. Wonderful, polite, salt-of-the-earth.....just nice folks. A very pleasant and helpful lady took some pictures of me with Rod and emailed them to me.

Look at all the fans!!  Could hardly think with all the yelling and cheering.  What a privilege to ride this talented horse. Because he has so much heart, we did really well at this show. Here I am leaving the arena trying to look cool.  I was really screaming !YAY! inside.

Here is my cowboy/friend/trainer/ Roger with me after the show. He's really short isn't he?

Don't you dare make fun of him having just 4 fingers on his right hand. He likes to tell small children a horse bit one off! It makes for a fun story, but it was nothing that dramatic.  He's every bit as capable as any 10-digited man I know.
A fun weekend in a friendly town. Thanks Nancy, for the photos!