But Wait: There’s More for Hillbillie Willie!

 

March 11 2023

I got an unexpected package in the mail from AERC…. opened it up and inside a plastic bag was a heavy, nice yellow halter.

???

I figured they must have had extras or something??? Or sent it to the wrong person??? There was no note in the envelope. Well, it would look very nice on Hillbillie Willie unless I needed to return it to AERC or whoever it was meant for.

I’d been so busy the last couple of days I never got around to opening the plastic bag and figuring it out. 

Finally last night I had time to pull out and have a look at the halter and - what?! - it has a brass plate on it:

2022 AERC Regional LD BC

Northwest - 1st Place

Hillbillie Willie

Ohmigosh! I’ve never gotten first place in anything in AERC’s year-end standings ever!

Best Condition awards go to one of the horse in the Top Ten finishers of a ride, and it factors in time, vet scores (soundness, hydration, heart rate recovery), and weight carried. Obviously the more weight a horse carries, the harder he works so he rightly gets more points for that in the figuring.

Best Condition awards are so rare for me than I can count all the BCs I’ve gotten in over 20 years of Endurance riding: four. (And Willie got three of them last year!) 

I almost always finish mid-pack, and I just don’t weigh enough to get a high enough score if I ever do end up in the Top Ten and get to show for BC.

So - ohmigosh! Thank you Hillbillie Willie for your hard work and being such a fun horse to ride and being The Best Standardbred Ever, and thank you AERC for making my day/week/year!