Cob Jockey

I left one of my most fun 2021 adventures out of my year-end recap, because I hadn't written about it yet!

I gotta be honest, when I write posts about the Castleberry Cob babies, especially in-depth posts, one small secret part of me wants to see them end up with a blogger. Partially so that I can follow their journeys with a microscope, and partially because I want to see as many people as possible end up with one of Lisa's amazing ponies.

So I was thrilled when my post in May about Olivia's baby got the wheels turning in Kate's head. 

You remember this guy?

At the time I wrote it, he was already spoken for by someone else, but fate intervened, and a couple of months later Kate asked me if I would be willing to help move her new Castleberry Cob to her dad's farm in Michigan, now named Castleberrys Opportunity, or Oxley for short.

Um, five straight hours in the truck with Kate, who pre-pandemic I would sit with on uncomfortable restaurant chairs for hours talking until they kicked us out, anytime work sent me to California? That I hadn't seen in years? Yes! Blogger road trip!

Two of my favorite horsewomen on the planet meeting each other for the first time!

Indiana weather was not kind to us that weekend, although it could certainly have been worse for December in the Midwest. Tornadic thunderstorms the night Kate flew in followed by highs in the upper 30s and 45-60mph wind gusts on shipping day did not make for a pleasant trip for the little guy, although my rig performed great.

I'm not overtrucked, I'm adequately trucked for 100% of situations, including the corner cases like this one when I need to haul in 50mph crosswinds. Although I definitely had a couple of white knuckle moments, to be sure.

People I love that I never would have met if I hadn't started blogging

I was already excited for what the future holds for these two - a half Olympic SJ-bred Warmblood half-Castleberry Cob in Kate's hands, of all people? That's dynamite. 

But watching Kate interact with him got me even more excited. He wasn't sure he wanted to leave the known quantity of the trailer and step out into the cold darkness in a strange place. She gave him as long as he needed to think about it and never forced him. When he did finally step off, it was with confidence, after a couple of tentative steps.

Gotta keep looking at his perfectly balanced baby pictures because he's in a hide-em-behind-the-barn stage right now! Still cute as can be, though.

I'm so excited for both of them, and so glad Kate and I got to have this adventure together. Be good, baby Oxley!