WHAT IT IS
Basil McCormik was back on the island, leaving Frank James in Canso to deal with Dizzy and Bella the best way he could. His practice outside of Charlottetown gave him a week off but now it was back to work plying his veterinary trade. The real money was in Mrs. McCain’s french toy poodle when one of its claws broke off or in the deputy minister’s bull mastiff that was barfing all over the Cantilever Sofa and accompanying Pouf after getting into the Knipschildt Chocolate truffles. McCormik was at peace with this, it gave him the resources to do the real vet work with cows, sheep and horses, especially the horses, scattered all across the island. A few weeks into his return from Canso, McCormik got an urgent call from a horsewomen near Kensington asking for vet help for a pregnant mare. McCormik quickly packed his gear, arriving in less that an hour. The mare was in fine shape, with no real issues he could detect. McCormik left some meds and basic instructions with the owner and was making his way down the long, twisting driveway to the main road when the long lost pony he’d been looking for blocked his exit near the end of the driveway. A much larger horse in some medical distress stood close by.
WHAT IT IS NOT
The Apache County Fair in Oklahoma wasn’t just about award winning long-jump frogs, speedy slithering snakes or dipsy-doodling dragonflies; no way, it also had a remarkable equestrian component where thoroughbreds and standardbreds from across North America came to compete.
The most beloved competition was the Big and Small Horse Jumpover event. Imagine this: A baseball diamond shaped field with a large horse at second base and a small horse at home plate. When the starters pistol sounds both animals head for first base where the large horse jumps over the small horse. They then proceed in opposite directions to third base where the small horse runs underneath the big horse. They then make a determined dash to the pitcher’s mound. In this timed event, the horses in this photograph had the best time and received Apache County blue ribbons.
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WHAT IT IS/WHAT IT IS NOT 