Horse show travels: Oklahoma City

Although I'm a native Texan, I had never been to Oklahoma until my husband and I went camping in Ardmore a few months ago. I then got to experience it again when a coworker and I drove up to Oklahoma City for the NRHA Futurity in November. Thankfully, there was no icy or bad weather during our visit, but in spite of my taking lots of Vitamin C while I was there, I still managed to come home with the Futurity Crud. But there's no time for sick days when you're trying to get a magazine out the door!

The NRHA Futurity was so much fun to watch. I made new friends, and it was exciting to celebrate with one of them when the horse he trained as a 2-year-old ended up winning the Non-Pro. Additionally, the horse and rider that I interviewed in Las Vegas after they won the Futurity Open ended up winning the whole shebang in OKC after a run-off. I absolutely ADORE that mare, and I was so excited to see her win.

Another horse I was excited to see was Smokey, aka American Pharoah's pony horse! A former reiner, he was at the Futurity to be a reining ambassador, and he demonstrated the patterns before the finals classes. He also stood (somewhat grumpily, but who can blame him) to let people take photos with him. People such as myself!

Oklahoma City was a fun way to finish my travel for the year. It's always better traveling with a coworker, and when that coworker happens to be your BFF in DFW, all the better. After a nice break for Christmas and New Years and lots of time with family and friends, I'm getting geared up to strike out again on more travels soon.