Happy Birthday, Candy

This is my good friend Candy, who has her birthday one day after mine. I am exactly one day older than she is! Candy was born in the city of Chicago, but grew up always wanting a horse, and her dream came true at the age of 21. She has raised horses ever since, jumping and showing them!

Candy and her husband, Ray, live in the north Lake Tahoe area, but they keep their horses on a ranch down in Reno. Last week-end we were guests in their home, and Candy and I spent a fun day down on the ranch bathing and exercising the horses. (She did all the work, I just took the pix. I have a very healthy respect for the hugeness of these animals! :D) Candy owns six, and boards several others. She is a very busy person!

This is the new girl, Annie, a six year old chestnut with a 1/2 white face. She is a registered paint American quarter horse, the white color extending over her lips and over the knees. Someone owned her before Candy and she tends to be skittish! She doesn't like having her face washed, but Candy works very gently and patiently with her, speaking quietly while she wipes her face down. I was brave enough to stand next to Annie and hold her lead, as she is not a giant like the stallion and the gelding! :D

Annie has a gorgeous tail with many different colors: blond, brown, red, black and even some purple! Her tail, mane and forelock all need to be combed and combed. What a labor of love!!

                Here is Annie all groomed. Isn't she beautiful? That's Mt. Rose in the background.

             Annie got to strut her stuff in the exercise ring as she followed Candy's commands.

                                                           Here is Annie's official portrait!

Next up to be groomed was the stallion, Yankee, born in the USA. He has a German sire and dam, and is good-sized. Believe it or not, Candy says he is docile and sweet, as well as intelligent! He is almost totally black except for his muzzle, so he must be called brown. Candy

rides Yankee most of the time.

Nevada, the big black gelding, is an awesome, French Selle Francais horse. He is 17.2 hands high!! He is 8 years old, a show horse. When he walks by, he is huge! I give him a lot of room.

                                    Nevada loves to come over and visit with the other horses.

                                    Now that Yankee is groomed he gets to work out in the ring.

There are two lovely ladies in the barn, Fleur and Tess. We had to kind of keep them out of sight of Yankee, who has spring fever big-time, and trouble can kind of spring up quickly if you know what I mean! :D

                Fleur, for Millefleur, Selle Francais and Dutch, born in the millennium year, 2000

                     Tess, for Tahoe Tessie, because she is monster huge; Selle Francais and Dutch

      This beautiful thoroughbred mare is Diane, 25 years old, Candy's first showjumper and the                     grand lady of the pasture.  She has earned the right to do what she wants!         

                
             Ray and Candy at Lake Tahoe with their Jack Russell terriers, Tennyson and Daisy 

Ray is a marine engineer, retired from the U.S. Merchant Marine. He is now a private builder of homes and offices, and works very hard on the ranch with the horses, and improving the property. My husband, David, and Ray have a lot in common: they are both engineers and can build or fix almost anything. With them, it's all about tools! They definitely speak the same language.

Candy is a realtor in the north Tahoe area. She managed to sell our condo for us, right before the real estate collapse last summer! She told us exactly what to do, and we did it. She and Ray got in there and worked right along with us to get the property ready to sell. What a team!!

                                                  The birthday buddies, Candy and Sylvia

Thank you, Ray and Candy, for a wonderful week-end at your home and at the ranch! I loved meeting all of your animals, and my hubby loved the golf game. Happy birthday, my friend!