She's Home

For those of you who do not know...My mother had a bad horse accident and was in the hospital for a few days. She is home now and there is really nothing anyone can do for her except let her heal. She had several broken ribs, collapsed lung, head and back injuries. She is 70 years old and still rides some pretty competitive trails. She and my Dad have some very close friends that enjoy riding 3 and sometimes 4 times each week. I am thinking she will be a little more cautious now and will practice what she preaches and wear a helmet. I guess they are like seat belts...and car seats. We don't even think about getting in a car now without buckling up, but years ago, we would not even think about it. I think helmets are like that in that soon everyone will be wearing them and we won't feel so out of place when we appear on the trails with them. I would like to see it become the "norm" for everyone.

Thank all of you for your phone calls, emails, thoughts, prayers, and concerns. She will be back in the saddle soon.

Long Time Coming

The summer has brought about a whirl wind of activity around our farm. Horse show season of course is always busy. We have had a good time this year with lots of new faces on the circuit we have met more wonderful friends from all across the country. We just got back from the UMH Kentucky State Championship, and even though the rain was not fun, the show itself was very nice. I have made a short video clip of the show and posted it on youtube. You have a direct link from our website www.vanbertfarms.com I hope everyone checks it out, it was fun making it, and I hope you enjoy it.

Larry's Mom is not well and she requested we take her to Cades Cove Park in Tennessee. She wanted to spend some time with Larry and see some of the sites there. I have heard of the park, since my parents went there several years ago trail riding. It was one of their most favorite places to ride. It is full of wild life and Larry's Mom wanted to see the bears she had heard so much about. I was not looking forward to the trip, because we were also going to spend some time in Gatlinburg (which to me is a tourist trap), however I got some wonderful photos. I love taking pictures of horses, but old barns and roads really catch my eye as well. I know I usually post horse pictures here, but I thought you may enjoy seeing a couple of the barn photos.

Don't forget to go to our site and check out the new video of the Kentucky State Championship.