In The Words of Barbaro~December 24, 2007

In The Words Of Barbaro

"The walls echoed with the sounds of holiday music and off in the distance there were voices, many voices, people passing by and a few stopping in to visit with me. They were all so excited, every one of them, their enthusiasm was contagious as it quickly filled the room, surrounding me like a warm, relaxing breeze. I remember the Christmas cards from the children, those were the ones that brought the most joy to my heart. Simplistic views and pure innocence, with a similar, heartfelt message in each one, 'stay strong Barbaro, we love you'. It was at that moment that I began to ask myself, what are the true hidden powers behind this type of 'love'? So many people supported me throughout my journey and loved me, yet most of them never 'met' me, never fed me a treat, never glided a hand along my neck, never brushed me, never physically looked me in the eyes.........yet they loved me. What a wonderful gift I was given.....to be unconditionally loved, from the inner most depths of one's heart......from people all around the world. It made me realize what my purpose on this Earth was, and all the good that would continue because of one word, 'love'. It made it easier for me to accept my 'calling' and it was truly one of the best Christmas presents I could ask for really. I realize that it will soon become difficult in the coming weeks, but please know that I will always be there with you, during your struggles, during your hardships and during your accomplishments.  I learned many things about 'love' along my journey, but one of the most important things that I learned, is that 'love' is endless, timeless. You have all made me proud with your continued determination, togetherness and strength with regards to your 'United Causes' and as you lay your head upon your pillow this evening, give thanks for all those in your life that you love unconditionally and to those who love you back without conditions, for there is no better gift under the tree on Christmas morn' than this.......~Love Barbaro."


Happy Holidays Everyone!!!

Another Entry From The Equine Heaven Archives!!

This report was posted on Friday, December 7, 2007!!  Let me give you a little background info first.  Felix the Heavenly feline is one of our avid exercise riders up here at Heaven's Gate Farm.  One of his main duties is to get out on the Heavenly dirt track and get those Heavenly equines moving along!!  On this day, however, he decided to try riding western (something he has never done)!  He was riding the great American quarter horse, Poco Bueno!!  Let's see how he does...

"Tails From The Rails"~
Felix's Training Report!!

Update 0090: Ohhhhhh nooooooo!! A nervous morning this morning at Heaven's Gate, I'm shakin' in my little Heavenly western riding boots!!  I did a little research on pole bending before hitting my cloud last night and needless to say, I didn't sleep a wink!!! Apparently it's the equine equivalent of SLALOM SKIING...WHAT?????!!!  I've never even seen a ski, let alone know how to "slalom" one!! GEESH!! These are the basics.... It requires a horse with speed...CHECK!  It requires a horse that knows what his task is...CHECK! It requires a horse with agility...CHECK!  It requires a rider that can hang on.....NO CHECK!! NO CHECK!! MAYDAY, MAYDAY!!! YIKES!!!  Considering I've adopted many nicknames due to falling off the Heavenly thoroughbreds so much.....names like "The Sand-Man", "Ground Hog", (no, not Sirrus the Heavenly gopher, ME!!) and "Mud Puppy"......(I know, I know, I'm a Heavenly feline, which makes it all the more difficult to comprehend!!)  Ok, I'm ready.....I said I would try it and therefore, I will try it! Didn't say I'd be good at it, but I will at least give it a go!! Of course the great Poco Bueno is ready, he's looking at those poles like he's gonna eat them up!!! OOOOHHHHH!!! Here's the "gist" of the challenge....Six Heavenly poles are set up in a straight line at the far end of the sand ring, approximately 21 feet apart and 20 feet from the end of the Heavenly ring. (Do you think the distance of the Heavenly poles REALLY matter at this point???) We are to gallop FULL THROTTLE parallel to the poles to the end, turning around the last pole and begin weaving in and out of them! GOSH, I already feel sick and I'm only explaining to you all what I will be doing! Not only do I have to WEAVE down...I have to turn around the last pole and WEAVE BACK UP THEM...then "haul hiney" parallel to the poles back to the finish line (which is the starting line...??!!) Are you all confused yet?? I AM!!!!! Thank goodness POCO knows what to do...I'm just along for the ride due to my "beginner" status. OK, downed some Heavenly Gravol and here we gooooooooo........He's doing that "shot put" thingy to start again, you know, the "going in circles"in order to "slingshot" his start. WAIT POCO!! STOP!!! Poco stopped and asked me if everything was alright and I immediately skimmed the Heavenly fence of the sand ring!! Where is Northern Dancer and that two-sided tape that I asked for?? Oh, there he is, way at the other end, waving the tape at me, laughing hysterically!! GREAT!! THANKS FOR THE TAPE WHEN I NEEDED IT THE MOST!!! Nevermind..let's go POCO!!!! I grasped the horn of the Heavenly saddle and this time I kept my eyes OPEN...figured it was necessary!!! One, two, three.....FULL GALLOP, parallel to the poles, heading towards the end of the ring!!! YIKES!!!! All that I could hear were Poco's hooves digging and pounding into the ground while my face showed all the signs of major G-FORCE!!! We get to the end of the Heavenly ring and Poco turns a sharp left to begin his "weaving", while I slid sideways in the saddle, half on and half off!! WHAT???? IN AND OUT AND IN AND OUT AND IN AND OUT....I felt like a pair of pants in a washing machine that was set on TURBO SPEED!!...BACK, FORTH, BACK, FORTH....The Gravol is NOT working, I repeat, NOT WORKING!! OUCH, left leg "nails" a pole, right leg "nails" a pole, left leg "nails" a pole, shoulder "grazed" that one...!! I quickly think to myself, "Is there any gymkhana event that DOESN'T REMOVE HAIR???" Poco weaved better than any "basket maker" out there...he didn't hit ONE POLE!!! We made it to the end and he turned around the last pole and I thought "PHEW all done!" NOPE!! We had to go back through them AGAIN....OH NO!!!! BLACKOUT TIME!!!! My Heavenly eyes were zig-zagging and the feeling of vertigo was apparent....the minor loss of Heavenly leg fur didn't even faze me anymore....just finish ALREADY!! Finally the last pole and it was at this point that POCO "PUT THE PEDAL TO THE METAL" AND HAULED IT TO THE FINISH LINE...running parallel to the poles!!! My Heavenly paws were out of the stirrups, I had no idea where my reins went and I could see the fence rail getting closer and closer while POCO GAINED SPEED??? Why is he gaining speed as we get closer to the wire, WHY, WHY, WHY....can someone please tell me???!!!! One would want to slow down this close to the wire, would they not???......OK, EYES ARE CLOSING....CAN'T WATCH......Why do I hear tonnes of laughter from the Heavenly rail????? SCRREEECCHHHH!!!! Poco SLID on his haunches to a grinding halt and due to the fact that my Heavenly paws were OUT of the stirrups.....I FLEW "Tail over Tea Kettle"!!!! WEEEEEEEE!!!!! Landing ever-so-NOT-gracefully into the Heavenly mud!!! YUCKKKKK!! *spit* *choke* *cough* Hey, I'm still in one piece!! That's a GOOD sign right?? There was an immediate round of applause along the Heavenly rail and Poco came up to me and gave me a pat on the back, saying, "Well done Felix!!" Yayyyyy!!! What was my time you ask? Let's just say that I could compete if I wanted to........but do I want to right now??? NO WAY!! I need to re-grow some of my Heavenly fur back first!! Now I have a new nickname......"POLE CAT".......isn't that another name for a skunk???? Oh well!!!!


A Cherub's Welcome To:

La Pan Dow
Jackman
Truth and Justice
And all animals who have currently joined us.

Comedy Central

The Pottery Barn is full this evening as "Slew The Entertainer", is once again practicing some of his stand-up comedy routines......He seems to think that he has a Heavenly future making all the residents at Heaven's Gate Farm laugh, but what he doesn't realize is that usually his normal day to Heavenly day activities is enough to keep the gang rolling around on the floor in stitches!!  Just keep in mind that when Slew was on your Earth, there were many things that confused him regarding humans and we think that he may have a few questions about them......Let's listen in shall we??  [Slew is on the Heavenly stage wearing a gold and black tie...and we think that this will be his "trademark" when doing stand-up, since these were his Earthly stable colors]

Slew:    "I cannot figure this one out...If airline seat cushions are such great flotation devices, why don't you ever see anyone take one to the beach?  I mean, instead of water wings for the kids, why not just sit them on an airline seat cushion in the family pool and pull them around?  The kids would LOVE that!  Kids love new and exciting things!  Speaking of kids, does anyone remember Bozo the Clown when they were growing up?  I remember hearing of him, but I'm perplexed......Do we really need 'the Clown' part?  Honestly, are we going to confuse him with Bozo the Tax Attorney?  Bozo the Mechanic?  And what's the deal with this.....Why is it when you turn on the TV you see ads for telephone companies, and when you turn on the radio you hear ads for TV shows, and when you get put on hold on the phone you hear a radio station?  How confusing is that???"  [The Heaven's Gate residents are in an uproar at this point!!  Slew pauses to take a drink of water]  "I remember traveling to many a racetrack in my days on Earth and there was always one thing I could NOT figure out....Did you ever notice that when you are sitting at a red light, and the person in front of you pulls up a couple of inches, you are compelled to move up too?  Do we really think we are making progress toward our destination?   'Whew, I thought we would be late, but now that I am nine inches closer, I can stop for coffee and a danish!'  [The Pottery Barn is filled with laughter!  Slew is laughing too!]  "And another thing I don't get...I would be so tired of having to come up with another little outfit for myself everyday if I were a human.  In fact, I will say this—and I think many Earthly people would agree with me—I think eventually fashion won’t even exist.  I think someday you’ll all wear the same thing.  Because anytime I see an Earthly movie or an Earthly TV show where there are people from the future or another planet, they’re all wearing the same outfit.  Somehow they all decided, 'All right, that’s enough.  From now on, this is going to be our outfit. One-piece silver jump suit, with a V-stripe on the chest, and boots. That’s it.  We’re going to start visiting other planets and we want to look like a team.!!'  [Northern Dancer and John Henry are rolling on the floor laughing hysterically!!] 

Well, we're heading off to cloud, but we think Slew will keep them laughing all night long.......We hope so, he's pretty good at this!!!


A Cherub's Welcome To:

Destiny
And all animals who have currently joined us.

Graded "States" Earnings???!!!

Well, in order to keep their Heavenly nights exciting, the gang came up with a new game....."Name all 50 Earthly States in Twenty Minutes and Win a Prize".  Um, needless to say, Slew still, to this day, thinks that there are absolutely, 100%, at least 56 states.  No "ifs", "ands" or "buts"....and the first state on his list was the state of Cinncinnati!  Huh???  Too many episodes of WKRP in Cinncinnati maybe???  Second on his list, was the state of "Louisville".....even though, he ran his Kentucky Derby in Louisville, KENTUCKY!!!  Hmm, when was the last time the state's name went before the city's name??!!  So, it's "game on" between Barbaro and Slew!!  Barbaro made up Heavenly cue cards and laid them all out in front of him and he still only ended up with 43 states!!  Northern Dancer told Barbaro that he had an Earthly globe he could look at if he really needed too, and Slew had no problems with that because he said that the globe didn't have the U.S. on it anyways!!  Whhhaaatttttt????  Ten minutes left and Slew's list now has 62 states on it....let's take a peek...."Eyellinois" and "Eyedaho".....Oh, wait a minute, we think he means "Illinois" and "Idaho"...he mispronounced the words.....GEESH!!  Ok, again, he's got North Dakota, South Dakota, as well as East Dakota and West Dakota......ZOINKS!!!  New Mexico and Old Mexico, Virginia, West Virginia, East Virginia, South Virginia, and North Virginia, and of course, the state of Las Vegas and it is at this point that we will promptly use their phrase...."What happens at Heaven's Gate, stays at Heaven's Gate"!  Well, with a slight grammatical modification of course!!  Boy, Slew's list is certainly larger than 50 states.....we're thinking his list could top 150 states, er ah, cities/states!!  Barbaro is now up to 49 states and after peeking at his list....we know he's only missing the state of Maine!!  Shhhh, we won't say anything, but we think Barbaro is going to win!!  At this juncture, Northern Dancer looked over Slew's list and couldn't believe his Heavenly eyes.....Slew is up to 163 states, with two minutes to go!!  Northern Dancer spoke up, "Um Slew, the game is called 'Name all 50 Earthly States in Twenty Minutes and Win a Prize'....I think you're missing the main idea here!!"  It was at this point that Barbaro jumped up and yelled, "MAINE"....."That's it....that's the 50th state.....I WIN!!!"   Needless to say, a "happy dance" ensued and Northern Dancer handed Barbaro his prize.......A GLOBE.....and yes, this one DOES have the United States on it........We still don't know where Slew seen a globe that DIDN'T include the U.S.......


A Cherub's Welcome To:

Southern Halo
Bonnie Brown Eyes
Skye
Dixie Bourbon
Tobruk
Sundance
And all animals that have currently joined us.

And Awwaaaayyy We Go...!!!

Another fantastic night last night in Heaven for Barbaro and all his equine friends.

Well, we are now in transition mode from the original Equine Heaven webpage, to the new and improved Equine Heaven blog!!  Sirrus the Heavenly gopher has pointed out that this new blog allows us to "archive" each post, so that all you down below can view the "happenings" from the previous day!!  You can also comment on this blog and become part of the Heaven's Gate Farm family!!  AWESOME SIRRUS!!!  THANKS!!  However, we all know that things never go as planned and that goes for our dear Sirrus too.  He forgot to mention that he nearly "blew up" the old Equine Heaven website whilst trying to reconfigure things...ahem, seems that his "doings" involved a screw driver (no, not the drink....but there were "computer parts" strewn all over the Heavenly floor!), a couple of Heavenly blue and red wires (Huh?  Why were there wires involved??), and a hammer...(really??  A hammer??  What the heck does one need a hammer for when working with a C.P.U..??)....well, thanks for telling us Sirrus!!  Not too much damage done though, as the Equine Heaven web page is still in tact and still functioning!!  PHEW!!  So, on to bigger and better things, and what could be bigger and better than our beloved Seattle Slew organizing a Heavenly scavenger hunt...and let me tell you, after looking over Slew's list of things to find....well, this could be one of the fastest scavenger hunts on record!!  The Heavenly Scavengers (the actual birds), are extremely excited about this...how ironic huh?  Ok, so let's look at his list:

1)  One light brown stick
2)  A pine cone
3)  A stone (doesn't matter what size, color, or shape)
4)  A blade of grass
5)  An acorn
6)  A crayon  (doesn't matter what color)
7)  A cup of flour
8)  Marshmallows  (He would like at least 5 or 6 from each participant)
9)  A graham cracker crust
10)  Cherry cheese cake filling
11)  Whipped Cream

Um, hmmm, let's evaluate this "list" shall we??  This "hunt" just reeks of suspicion.  First off, what are the odds of finding a stick, a pine cone, a stone, a blade of grass and an acorn, in record time?????  I myself could probably find these items in less time than it took Slew to win the Earthly Kentucky Derby!!!  (Which was impressive by the way!)  So, what is the real purpose of this so-called scavenger hunt??  As we read further down the list, it seems that Slew's mind begins to wander.......Wander wayyyy out into left field....and we all know what "left field" is in Slew's mind......FOOD!!!  It looks like Slew would like his scavenger hunt participants to basically go grocery shopping for him!!  Honestly, who puts marshmallows, a graham cracker crust, cherry cheese cake filling and whipped cream on their scavenger hunt list???  Regret and Ruffian are standing beside me and are laughing their Heavenly tails off while reading this.....they know what's going on....and Slew, all the while, is looking up at the ceiling whistling while the Heavenly participants are wide-eyed looking the list over!!  Ok, just for fun, let's interview a couple of the participants shall we?  Hey, Northern Dancer, what do you make of this scavenger hunt list?  [Northern Dancer is Laughing]  "Is he serious, really?  I mean, I'm completely confused, I'm still trying to figure out how a crayon fits into all this?"  Ya, us too!  We next asked the great John Henry the same question.  [He's laughing as well]  "Um, gee, I've never seen something so odd....and to not include a chocolate dip doughnut on the list makes it even more odd!  Like, I can see where's he's coming from asking for the 'food' stuff, but how do the first six connect with the rest of the list?  Will he be baking a 'stone-stick-acorn-pinecone-grass-crayon cheese cake'??"  Barbaro and Gallant Secret are rolling on the floor laughing, but they know the way Slew works and they are excited to get finding the things on the list!!  But, in all fairness, we asked Barbaro his thoughts......[He's laughing so hard that he's practically hyperventilating]  "It's Slew [laughing]...what did you think was going to be on the list??  But I'll tell ya, we might think Slew is a little 'off' in his thinking sometimes, personally, I don't, but you put this guy on the Heavenly racetrack and he'll blow your socks off!  I can see why he was the Earthly undefeated Triple Crown Winner!!"  Well, there are many participants gearing up to do Slew's scavenger hunt, and if we're correct in thinking that Slew will be baking later on this evening, you can bet your bottom dollar that there WILL be a Heavenly party tomorrow night in the Pottery Barn!!  Fun for the whole family I guess!!  Just fast, quick fun for the whole family.....like 2:02 1/5 type of fast fun!


A Cherub's Welcome To:

Lady
And all animals that have currently joined us.

Learning The Ropes!!

Another fantastic night last night in Heaven for Barbaro and all his equine friends.


Welcome Everyone!!  We are currently in the Heavenly process of trying to work our way around this wonderful new blog that Sirrus the Heavenly gopher (and computer nerd/geek) has set up for us!  We will try and get back to daily reports, for the residents up here are super excited about the Earthly holiday season that is FAST approaching!!  Keep in mind that you can create an Earthly Google account "name" in order to comment on the page....we welcome your thoughts!!  Ok, back to trying to figure this out!

A Day In The Life of Seattle Slew at Heaven's Gate Farm

Another fantastic night last night in Heaven for Barbaro and all his equine friends.


Seattle Slew, chef extraordinaire, is finetuning his new Heavenly cookbook, called, "For Goodness Bake!"  He's covered in Heavenly flour and since Northern Dancer and John Henry are whipping water balloons at him, he's looking more and more like a dalmation!!  YIKES!!!  You can visit our website for the latest shenanigans at Heaven's Gate Farm, by clicking on the link provided; Equine Heaven

The next update on the website will be, Friday, November 20, 2009!!  Stay tuned!!