Tuesday, September 21, 2004

Far Fetched Dream?

Life sure is funny. It throws ya some curves and sometimes it seems that it’s an uphill battle but the reasons come out in the wash so to speak. The story behind this comment is a long one that is still a work in progress going on for close to 2 years now. Its about both Duane and I in regards to out lifestyle and career. I started out in the high tech field but since 9/11 have been laid off and have yet to find a job in my former career. I work now but don’t make nearly as much, nor am I in the tech field – then again I have significantly less responsibility and my life in general is much easier with regards to having free time and being able to take time off. I no longer need blood pressure medicine nor am taking pills to control my acid belly because it’s no longer that way. Strange how fate works. Duane has been struggling in his field as well. He is a Machinist by trade and since we live in Michigan the auto industry drives this vertical market - need I say more? He has been laid off many times after short employment stints at a number of shops. Then again so have many others. We have operated a wedding carriage company as a side business for the last 5 years which thankfully has kept our horse hobby in tact. Things have been tight to say the least. Both Duane and I have enjoyed showing and working our Percheron draft horses. So with that in mind we sat down to try to figure out how to go about making these magnificent animals our career going forward. So with Duane and I closing in on our 40th birthdays we made a pact, we are going to pursue our dream and somehow make this a full time business. The plan is simple, get a sponsor. Yea right, easier said then done. So we fine tune our goals to get to the end result. 1. Show our horses at some national shows and place in the top five. 2. Be able to fit and show our horses in all regards from Shoeing, thru training and hitching. 3. Put together documentation about us and our skills/abilities for a dog and pony show. So far we have nearly accomplished all of the goals we set out to meet nearly a year ago. We have one more show to go to see if we met our goal there (it’s a big one, biggest so far) so that one is almost checked off. Duane is finishing up an apprenticeship with a master farrier to enable him to meet our horses unique shoeing needs – it has also become a new career for him which is very good news and we have a good start on our goal of being able to manage our horses better. We also have a good start on our documentation. Now we just have to get someone to give us a chance and have confidence in us. So with that said we are now beginning to endeavor on the 2nd phase of our goal which will be the toughest one. We need to research companies to pitch them our show hitch and get them on board. I’m overwhelmed at this point on how to do that but that is what I must do. I have yet to get things down in writing on how to accomplish this but am diligently working on it at this moment. More to come on this.

posted by Chris @ Real Horses @ 3:32 PM

1 Comments:

At 7:37 PM,  Unknown said...

I have no doubts that you and your family will continue to move forward towards your dreams. We are just starting some of the foundation work to attain our dreams, and there's definitely been some rough times... but the good is starting to balance it all out. I look forward to watching y'all grow and attain your dreams!

 

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