A Nice and Needed Visit

I think there is a simple equation when it comes to blogs. Lots of posts = more viewers. Few posts = few viewers. If you stop writing no one will come back and check the blog. While I don’t want to lose everyone, I have to be honest….I’ve had at least a mild case of writers block lately. When things were going well, there was a strong wind in my writing sail. Heck, even when things went horrible, I felt compelled to write about them. Now, I feel like Tommy Callahan (big Tom Callahan’s son), sitting in my little boat in the middle of a lake somewhere near Sandusky, Ohio. Lots of time to sail, but no wind.

The problem is…well…there isn’t a lot write talk about. We were hitching our wagon (or our sulky I should say) to Showtime Shark this year. The 2 year old colt was training down very well and had actually got to the point of having two quality qualifiers. He was ripping off 56 second last half training miles at Pocono by himself. He’s fast…but his body isn’t keeping up to the rigors of training. He was kind of a late developing horse and he just needs more time to mature. We came to that realization last week and it was kind of a tough blow to the psyche (at least for me) as it more or less solidified the fact there will be no racing for Greg and my (and Danny’s) colts in 2010. Mo got three races in (and won two). Showtime won’t get any. It is a bit of a bummer no matter how you slice it.

Danny and I were discussing all of this the other night after our softball game and he had a good idea: go see In Over My Head. It had been a number of weeks since my last trip to Mineral Point to see him. Danny thought it would cheer me up. So, I snuck away for a bit of a long lunch today. I first stopped by to see Greg, then Grandma and Grandpa and it was great to catch up with everyone. When I got to the horse barn he wasn’t out side. It was kind of a hot, sunny day and he was back in the shed that opens to his paddock. After some coaxing, he came out to meet me on the fence and I gave him a few carrots. Laura couldn’t make it, but she wanted me to give Mo carrots ‘from her’ which I did. We had a nice talk (I did most of the talking) as we walked along the fence line and I tried to keep the flies off his face. After awhile he headed back to the shed so he could be in the shade. He is a very social horse. Incredibly kind and easy to deal with for a stud colt. And he still looks like a champ. He is the Champ.

I’ve been thinking a lot about In Over My Head lately. Last weekend I went to visit Brien DuRoche a good friend from back in high school who lives up in Minneapolis. He asked a lot of questions about In Over My Head and I rambled on for way too long I’m sure, but jogged my brain to recount all of the little nuances and strange happenings that have surrounded our time with Mo. The number of strange occurrences was kind of overwhelming…even I had forgotten about them over the past weeks and months (maybe I should read my own blog). It was fun to think back and was as if there was something bigger than us at work with this story, which quite frankly is what made it a good story.

As I drove away from Mineral Point and headed back to Madison I felt better. It was nice to see everyone today even if it was a short trip…and I got to feed Mo some carrots. I pulled onto the highway and turned up the radio, but the song that was on wasn’t any good. Apparently I had left the radio on a channel that I don’t listen to very often. I changed it to a more familiar station and was put back in my chair with what I heard. That familiar song that wasn’t written at all with Mo in mind. For us, however, it fits him like a glove for obvious reasons. I turned up the volume as The Frey belted out “Everyone knows I’m in over my head.” I can’t make this stuff up! I realize it is probably just a coincidence, but right when I get on the highway? On the day I went to visit after Danny said, “you should go pay Mo a visit.” Say what you will, I think it’s at least somewhat weird that of all the songs I could have come across, it is his unofficial theme song.

In the short term, I really don’t have a ton to write about, but I’ll do my best. There is a new wind back in my sails. We may be down, but we aren’t out. There is more to come with team In Over My Head (this now officially includes his sidekick Showtime Shark). When we look down the road, we can still only see a few more months of downtime. It looks pretty flat, straight and boring to be honest. However, I think something more is on the horizon…a lot more and I can’t wait to be able to write about it.

Also, the pictures that I’ve put in this were taken by Danny a couple of weeks ago of In Over My Head up at his place in Mineral Point. I thought you might enjoy a few more of the Champ.