THE KEESLERS: The Month of September

Monday, September 22, 2008

The Month of September

Well, the month of September came in with a blaze of glory! On the 5th Matt was coming to pick me up at the train station and then we were heading to Fargo for the horse races. As per its usual, the train was a couple hours late. I was supposed to get into Rugby, ND at 7:07 AM, but instead I got in at 9:30 AM. At 7:30 Matt calls me, wakes me up out of a dead sleep, and says, "Honey, the camry's on fire." All I could do was laugh. Now mind you, the camry was the only mode of transportation we have in North Dakota, because my car is in Minnesota. Alas, the camry did have well over 300,000 miles and was definitely beyond her mechanical capabilities. So, he called the fire department, got the fire put out and called the sheriff and had him come and pick him up and take him back to Bottineau where he borrowed a truck so we were able to gas guzzle our way to Fargo.
Once in Fargo things started looking up. My parents met us in Fargo. We got there Friday night and they came up on Saturday. Our horses raced their hearts out and even won us some money. They won us enough money to purchase a new BEATER of a car, so that my darling Matthew has transportation and has a way to come and get me from the train station. :D

My Dad, bless his heart, put some colors on and helped warm the horses up. Dad had only been on a jogger one time, but he looked like a pro. This is a picture of Matt and my dad in their colors. In order to be out on the track you have to be in colors which consists of at least having white bottoms.

Stephen was along as well and was a big help. Here he is with another set of Matt's colors, although it wasn't long before they were off and he was back in his shorts and t-shirt.

Here is a picture of Dad going out on the track for the first time to warm up one of the horses. Each horse has to be warmed up about 3 races before the race they are in. We not only had our 2 horses, but we had 10 horses of the man whose farm we keep our horses at, and he is too old, 86 to be exact, to be of much assistance once we are at the track. So having my dad there, was a lifesaver.

Here is a picture of Dad on a race bike, or sulky. Not quite as comfy as the jogger that he is on in the previous picture.

Here is a picture of Tempstar, our gelding, coming in 2nd place.

Here is Tempstar coming in 2nd place a second time. He was our money maker for the weekend.

In this picture our mare, Never Last, is horse number 5. She at one point was ahead of our gelding, but alas she couldn't hold out. She did come ahead of horse 1 at the end to come in 5th and get us a little check.

We had some friends come and join in the festivities. This is a picture of our good family friend Audrey Burkhart. She weathered it out both Saturday and Sunday.

My friend Sonia and her family came up from South Dakota and sat through the rain like troopers on Sunday.
Overall we had a great time. The horses did well, which was a bonus, but my husband is living his dream. We made it back to Westhope safe and sound and purchased a new vehicle just in time for me to get back on the train on Wednesday.