The Webster Reality Show

This past Friday evening, Clay and I hosted an Open House in our brand new home and arena. We had live musicians, a horse demonstration, hot dogs, hot chocolate…

…And we had cake.

It was a great opportunity to and meet our new neighbors and host an event to commemorate our return to the Alberta horse industry. Hopefully everyone enjoyed the night as much as we did!

After Friday evening, Clay also conducted a clinic in our new place. So now that the busy weekend is over, let me tell about the behind-the-scenes drama of last week:

Monday – Clay and I had plans of changing over the indoor arena ground of our new facility, so it could better accommodate reiners and working cow horses. We hired an excavator who we had previously used in past reining arenas. This excavator is very good at creating just the right clay base, leveling off the ground properly and bringing in the perfect sand for a sliding surface.

He was supposed to come today.

But almost as a double-edged sword, our excavator is so good at what he does that he stays very busy.

He didn\’t come on this day.

Therefore, in addition to the regular chores and riding of training horses, Clay and I used Monday to change out fencelines and build wind-fences for outside boarding horses. I also did an inventory of food and supplies we might need for Friday night. Plus, a check in with our insurance company was required, to ensure we were legally covered for the events we had planned on the weekend.

Tuesday – Still no excavator.

Okay, no problem. After all, it was only Tuesday. 84 hours before the party would start.

Again after chores and all the riding was done, Clay used the second day of the week to start building his outdoor cow arena. Plus, the time for our out-of-province appointments for our vehicles had finally arrived and we needed to get them into the shops. As important as this is – even though our vehicles were originally purchased in Alberta, and they were required to get out-of-province inspections done in Saskatchewan too <insert sarcasm here> – it left us without a truck, since that shop wanted to do some more work.

Again, no problem. We\’ll ask a friend if we can borrow his truck to pick up the much-needed fencing supplies and panels we require from town.

Did I mention that said friend was also expecting a baby this same week…?

Oh and on this day, I decided that it would be nice to have some live music on Friday night. An iPod through a speaker system just wasn\’t going to cut it.

Wednesday, 9:00 am – Still no excavator.

Clay and I were now starting to sweat. With an event planned for Friday evening, an invitation that had already gone out to several people, and a clinic planned for the subsequent Saturday and Sunday – there was no turning back.

I felt like I was living in a bad reality show. The clock was ticking. And there was no celebrity star power (The Apprentice), or fairy godmother (Wedding SOS), or 7-day design team (Extreme Home Makeover) to help me out. Besides, at this point we really only had 3 days left anyways. By Wednesday we did, however, have a friend, my mother and two twin babies to motivate us. Thank goodness….!

And by 10:00 am, a big truck rolled in carrying some heavy equipment. Clay and I breathed a huge sigh of relief. It was our excavator!!!

Later that night, one of our new neighbors stopped by as well. Leanne Roy came over at about 4:00 on Wednesday to help watch babies and tackle the stalls in the barn.

Thursday Morning –Our excavator and his team were in full force, overhauling our arena. It was a great sight to see!

But it still made Clay and I a little nervous, as the party was now only about 32 hours away. Our arena was torn apart – could it be put back together in time for the party? Would there also be time to set up the tables, seat and fences our Open House would require? And most importantly, would we be able to slide in our new ground, once the excavation was done?

Only time would tell.

Clay used the rest of this day to pick up some Hi-hog panels that we needed to finish off some paddocks from the city and some temporary stalls to use for overflow indoor board.

By 8:00 pm that night, the full arena project was done. And as luck would have it, my live entertainment called to confirm that they would be happy to play at our Open House. Yay! And at almost the same time, some good friends who we hadn\’t seen in over 4 years, turned up on our doorstep. There was still so much to do before tomorrow – but it was time to shut it down for the evening.

Tomorrow – Friday – would be a big day and there was lots to do before the party. Thank goodness we invited everyone for 7 pm…

When I return on My Stable Life, I\’ll tell you how Friday and the weekend turned out. See ya then!