Wow, this has been such a busy month that I have not had a chance til now to sit down and post to our blog. So, here is a recap of what has been going on in our crazy world ...
August 1st - Terry and I had the great pleasure of traveling with our new friends, Mary and Mario Saenz to Amsterdam where we delivered two adorable shetland pony mares for Sharron Thomas of the UK, a Tennessee Walker gelding and a Spotted Saddle Horse gelding for Melina and Bettina Kuehne of Germany, a pretty little miniature mare for Eliane Jongbloed of Belgium and a precious miniature donkey jennet for Cate Weatherall of the UK.
We had a layover of a couple of days in Amsterdam and we took advantage of the amazing weather to visit with our dear friends, Els and Hans van Dyke. We had a delightful afternoon enjoying a meal and the view at Vollendam as we caught up with the latest news from our friends.
Then it was back on the airways for Terry and me, as we loaded six Arabian horses to take to Dammam, Saudi Arabia for our dear friend and client, Dhafer Al Qhatani and our new friend and client, Abdullah Al Mutairi. The horses traveled well and we enjoyed being treated to a delicious Bedoin style meal at Dhafer's farm. A highlight of our visit to the farm was going out to see the camels. There was a full moon shining over the desert and it was a simply lovely experience! To add to the treat, Abdullah Al Mutairi insisted on paying for our hotel where we spent the night in Dammam and Dhafer made us a wonderful gift of Saudi coffee - clearly the best tasting coffee in the world.
We spent another day in Dubai and then it was back to Amsterdam for the flight home. Planes were packed and, as flight crew, we always fly standby. We didn't get aboard the first day that we tried - so we made the best of it and took Mary and Mario to some of our favorite spots in Amsterdam that night. The next day the pilot took pity on us and, even though the plane was full again, we were allowed to ride in the crew rest and jump seats so we could get back home.
Thank you to all for sharing your lovely horses (and donkey) with us - and thank you to Mary and Mario for being such good sports!
August 6th - We started a new quarantine group for horses going to Riyadh and Dammam, Saudi Arabia and to Kuwait
August 8th - We were back in the USA for two days and then it was time to ship Hackney Ponies to Adam Majett of South Africa. Our friend and groom, Henry Quintanilla, accompanied the ponies on that flight. Many thanks to Henry and Adam.
August 15th - Seems that we barely had time to blink and it was time to say goodbye to six more Arabian horses. Three went to Dammam, Saudi Arabia for Khalid Ali Alhemaid of Taiba Arabians and three went to Sharjah for Suliman Al Saqran. There were some challenges with the import permits, as it is Ramadan and many offices are closed these days - but with diligence and help from some very special people, we managed to get everything done. The horses are traveling now and will arrive in their new homes this weekend. Thank you to David and Jennifer Notman for flying with them to Amsterdam and to our new friend of Krooshof International for providing grooms from Amsterdam on to their final destinations.
August 20th - We will be starting a new quarantine group for horses going to Dammam, Saudi Arabia and to Luxembourg.
August 21st and 22nd - Its time to break out the birthday cake and candles. Terry and I will be celebrating our birthdays with our daughter, Kris, at our second home in Rockport, TX. I will be 62 on the 21st and Terry will be 64 on the 22nd. So if we don't answer the phone right away or respond to an email immediately, please bear with us. We'll be back hard at work on the 23rd.
August 28th - We are looking forward to Quinten Weirsma's arrival. Quinten is a young man from Holland who is coming to work with us for three months. We are very excited about his visit and look forward to sharing our Texas culture with him.
August 29th - It's flight day for horses going to Amsterdam and on to Kuwait. Our dear friends of the Wurschy Groom Squad - Lori and Tom Cochran and Peter Wurschy will fly with the horses to Amsterdam and Krooshof grooms will take the Kuwait horses on to their final destination.
So ... that's the news from EZ 2 Spot Ranch. We would love to hear from you, so drop us a comment or send us an email. We also invite you to like us on Facebook!
Regards to you all,
Dianne
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