Dianne Attends the Mid-South Eventing & Dressage Association Gala & Auction
~January 31, 2009~

After being invited to the Mid-South Eventing & Dressage Association annual gala celebration in late January, I looked forward to a night out with my sport horse pals and particularly looked forward to participating in their silent auction…always a good source of unique equine themed excursions and paraphernalia for a racing fan such as myself…and MSEDA did not disappoint!  I considered my options: a box at Churchill (always useful!), club house tickets at Keeneland (ditto!), luxury equestrian vacation in Florida (would be nice!), luncheon and tour of private gardens at Gainesway (unique…and wow…Popular!), new pair of tall Dublin barn boots (OK…how about practical!), or a sentimental favorite, a framed set of shoes worn by Teddy O’Connor. (really, who is not a fan of the late mighty mini-stud?).  On my second pass over the items to make sure nothing had been overlooked, I noticed Purina was donating a ton of horse feed.  Good idea…that is something any horse owner would appreciate, especially in the middle of winter…but did not give it much more thought since my horses aren’t fed Purina feeds.  Too bad…it was largely underbid!  Then an idea struck me…how much fun would it be to donate a ton of feed to one of the local equine rescues?  I jumped on my phone and after a quick conference with John and Heidi, started my bidding with determination and resolve.  Only one adversary stood between my latest bid and the feed…and she was watching me from across the room as closely as I was watching her.  With only a few minutes left in the bidding, I decided to make an appeal to her charitable side and go up to her and explain my goal.  She hesitated, I’m sure thinking of her own horses needs, and then resigned.  Wahoo…I won!   While we have many worthy rescue programs in our backyard, Old Friends immediately came to mind.  I knew little about their program, and looked forward to the opportunity to learn more about them.

Read about Markel's visit to Old Friends.