They Were...OFF!

Yesterday was The Kentucky Derby! I adore watching this famous/fabulous/fantastic horse race.  My intrigue with it began in 1973, with Secretariat, and has continued ever since.  I do my utmost, every year, to watch the three hours of live coverage on television. Or, if necessary, I DVR it. (Then I make sure I have no clue what horse has won.) In the past 42 years, I haven’t missed many Derbys.

If I was truly a “fun” kind o’ gal, I suppose I'd sit on my couch with a pretty hat on top of my head and a Mint Julep in my hand. Instead, I usually get in my jammies and pop the top of my Coke Zero.

Let me please remind Y’all: I treasure horses. I admire them. I’m in complete awe of horses. Most especially race horses. I cannot explain this obsession. I’ve never owned a horse. I’ve never taken riding lessons. Frankly, I’m actually a teensy bit afraid of horses. Well, you know. Up close and personal. In fact, I don’t especially love to ride horses. I’ve probably only ridden about ten—in my over-60 years on Earth. (Most of them were old and slow...which was fine with moi.) I'm in awe of their bigness. Their power. These qualities, among others, can intimidate me. And yet…I LOVE HORSES. Truly, truly LOVE them.

My Dream? For the past fifteen years? To have two to three beautiful horses. A Palomino. A Buckskin. Perhaps a Pretty Paint. Or a Black Stallion! Wait…maybe a Clydesdale! Anyway, I’d have three to four horses…with a BEAUTIFUL Horse Barn. Two full-time Trainers/Groomers would take care of my four or five beloved horses. In fact, they’d live in two snazzy apartments in my Horse Barn.

One of my five or six horses would be a Race Horse. A stunning, talented, incredibly fast Race Horse. She’d be famous. My Sweet Hubby (MSH) and I would travel all over the Horseracing “Circuit,” watching our famous horse win. New Mexico. Oklahoma. Louisiana. Arkansas. Texas. Those would be the States we’d travel to with our famous Race Horse, Lucky Leighton. When she was invited to The Kentucky Derby?  I’d be there. You’d see me on the telly. With my pretty hat. Sippin’ a Mint Julep and singing My Old Kentucky Home. (I wouldn’t be like most of the people the camera peeps show singing: I’d actually know the words.) 

By The Way: I’d get the Junk Gypsy sisters to decorate our travelling horse trailer/motor home. They did Miranda Lambert and Blake Shelton’s wedding reception. They’ve recently been featured in Pottery Barn Kids! They’re quite well-known and sought after, don’tchaknow…Wink. Wink. They’d be thrilled to decorate my trailer and make it the envy of all other Kentucky Derby horse owners, right? Absofreakin'lutely.

And then I wake up…Sigh…

Back to Reality.

It’s yesterday. Saturday. May 2^nd. I’m sitting on my couch in my country casa in North Central Texas. Watching The 2015 Kentucky Derby. Drinking my Coke Zero and muncing on a Take Five snack bar. They’re talking about the record attendance at this year’s Derby. There are over 170,000 people who’ve shown up. I get claustrophobic just watching the crowds on my television. I also just shivered.

I’m having a strong feeling I should remove “Attending The Kentucky Derby in person” from My Bucket List and be grateful I have a big-screen TV to watch all of those incredibly gorgeous horses Run For the Roses.

Yes. My couch/den perch is the perfect place for my Kentucky Derby dedication. (If only Frosted would have won, yesterday would have been 100% perfection.)

Hope Y’all have had a Wonderful Weekend—and that some of YOUR dreams came true…