What a weekend…….I felt like I ran a marathon and than tripped before I could get over the finish line.  Our weekend started with Valido having a violent colic when we arrived at the show ground.  It was the worst colic my mom and I have ever dealt with.  I have grown to really “love”  Valido.  When “Valido” came to our farm, he was really “strong to ride” and very “unhappy”  with life.  He has grown to love life at our farm and I have grown to adore him.  He isn’t the fanciest horse or the typiest horse, but I “love” riding him.  The thought of loosing him was devastating.  The vet said we got “lucky”, that it appeared that he twisted a small portion of a small colon, that fortunately untwisted.  After we got Valido to a vet clinic and stable, Chad Keenum offered us a “catch ride”  on Ollie.  Ollie was wonderful. After a whirlwind couple of days, Ollie and I made the top ten for the final ride off.  Then, perhaps out of mental fatigue as a result of everything that had happened, I got myself boxed in and was unable to pick-up a counter canter on the first try.  This is something “I should have never missed”  …..I don’t care so much about ribbons, but I like to “feel” I have ridden my best.  I was upset with myself for not being a little “sharper” about this, but more important than coming home with a good ribbon….was coming with my horse.  By far, the highlight of the weekend was that “Valido” survived the colic and on Sunday we picked him up from the vet and all came home together….I was so happy that my horse was okay.  I would not have traded this for anything!  Lizzy