Happy Holidays from Cat

It has been a whirlwind year for all of us here at Cat Enright Stables. A murder, a kidnapping, lots of horse shows, several new national and world championships, and a book called The Opium Equation was even written about us!

This is the only time of year I take for down time, but it’s not really all that down. My barn manager, Jon, always takes off the last two weeks of December and the first week of January. I have no idea where he goes or who (if anyone) he sees during this time. I asked him once but he just gave me that look that means “don’t go there” so I never pushed it. Someday, maybe, he’ll tell, not that it’s any of my business, but still, we work together the other 49 weeks of the year. His vacation plans shouldn’t be a a huge secret.

Long story short, without Jon I am the only one feeding, turning horses out, cleaning stalls, doctoring scrapes, ordering supplies, and everything else involved with horse care. But you know what? I love it. I love the solitude of not talking to anyone else. I love the closeness I feel with the horses being the only human in the barn, and I especially love my post-lunch naps.

My boyfriend and I aren’t to the “sharing family time during the holidays” stage yet, but I am sure we will see each other at some point.

Farm news: I can’t wait for our yearling filly, Gigi, to turn two. Maybe then she’ll grow up some! Our young juvenile delinquent neighbor, Bubba, has taken up the trumpet and my other neighbor, Carole (wife of that very hunky country music star) tells me they can hear his “practices” all the way over to their house. My wonderful beagle mix, Hank, has found he loves running in figure eights. Not sure what that is all about. And despite what my lovely and brainy student Darcy might tell you, I typed and posted this all by myself!

Happy Holidays to all.

Cat

From Agnes

Oh my, a blog! Who knew such a thing ever existed! Cat told me about it. And Darcy helped me get these words to you. So much fun!

Guess what? Sally won another championship - I am so excited! She is just the best horse ever. I gave her a special treat, a bottle of Diet Coke. Plastic bottle, of course. Sally loves Diet Coke! But don't tell Cat. She has this no treat policy that no one else in the barn enforces. Well, Jon does most of the time, but he has been encouraged to look the other way from time to time.

And, thanks to all of you, Sally is famous now. Thank you, thank you, thank you! We are getting incredible reviews on the book that was written about us, The Opium Equation. Even the Library Journal wrote good things about us. And Horse South magazine! It is all so exciting!

Did you know that Sally's official color is Pantone Blue? Pierre, my hair stylist, had the worst time turning my hair into that exact shade. The dear boy finally achieved perfection, though. Getting the tint right in my glasses was much easier. I stop short, however of actually wearing that shade of blue in my clothing. Wouldn't want to go too far and have my admiration for Sally not taken seriously.

But I have to go now. I'm taking my dear husband Ira's ashes to his family's annual reunion. The reunion is being held in a hotel conference room, otherwise I'd have Cat load up the trailer and bring Sally. The hotel has a "no horses" policy. Poo. Someday I'll ignore all the silly rules we have in this world we live in. Now that will be fun!

From Cat

We've been so busy I haven't had time to post anything here. . . . Okay, Darcy pointed out that it had been a long time since I'd made an attempt to post. I am not the most computer literate person around. Anyway, we here at Cat Enright Stables are thrilled that our book, The Opium Equation, is doing so well. Odd to think so many people are interested in us!

It is a rainy morning here in our little corner of the world. Listening to Horses in the Morning while I type. Love Glenn and Jen and the rest of the crew on that show! But back to busy. Right now we're home for a few rare days between shows. I am going out to dinner and a movie with my boyfriend tonight. A real date night! Usually our dates consist of him bringing take-out Chinese food to the barn while we clean stalls or drag the arena.

News: Bubba has found an interest in leather working. We have to keep the tack room locked now to be sure he doesn't "tool" markings onto one of our show saddles. I appreciate the interest, just not the  enthusiasm. Gigi has hit a growth spurt; she's at that awkward "teenage" stage, all out of proportion with her butt up higher than her withers. And Sally? Sally has started repeatedly swinging her head and neck left and right. I have no idea what it means, but Agnes is sure it is important.

Until next time!

From Sally

Gigi is an idiot. I'm just saying. But that's beside the point. All of us horses here at Cat Enright Stables are so excited that the book that has been written about us will be available in a few days. Zowie! This is (almost) as exciting as my winning the world championship last fall.

Some humans think I "know" things, that I can sense the future. Maybe that's true, or, maybe it is just that we horses are smarter than humans. In any case, I predict that if you read The Opium Equation, that you will LOVE it. After all, I am a big part of the story.

In the meantime, I need my beauty sleep. No matter what anyone says, it is very tiring for a horse to type more than a few sentences. Later, y'all.

Sally Blue (the true heroine of the story)

From Gigi

Today was exciting. I got to see Doc Tucker! I love Doc Tucker! He looked in my mouth. He said I have pretty teeth! I love my teeth. I hope every horse gets to see Doc Tucker. But other horse’s teeth aren’t as pretty as mine. My teeth are the best, best, best! Doc said he’d be back in the fall to check on Sally and Bob. And me!

Now I get to go out and play. I love my paddock! Hank the beagle sometimes visits me. I love Hank! He brings me sticks. Then I run around and try to pick them up in my mouth as I whiz past. Jon doesn’t want me to play with sticks. He takes them away. He says sticks might hurt me. Sometimes I don’t love Jon.

Gigi (the yearling with the beautiful teeth!)

From Jon

It's been a hot summer. Really hot. Hard to keep the horses cool. Especially when we are on the road or at a show. Going through lots of electrolytes. Cherry flavored. Mix it into the horse's water and its like Gatorade. Keeps them hydrated.

Cat has been after me for weeks to get this blog post up. The heat, though. It affects everything. Our yearling filly Gigi has been most affected. She's definitely a diva, that one. Doesn't want to eat when it is hot. Found if we refrigerate her grain so it is cool, then she'll eat. What I'll do to keep a horse happy. :-) Getting lots of wins at the shows though, Gigi is. The other horses, too. And the riders. It's been a good summer. Just hot.

Only downer is that Cat and I are still a little distant. She got involved in a murder investigation last Spring. Didn't communicate with me as well as she could have. I care, you know. She's my boss, but we need to talk. Geez. Can't believe I actually wrote that. But we do. Need to talk. Cat, if you read this, call me. I know you have my number so let's lay this on the table and move on.

Oh, and you HAVE to tell Agnes to stop bugging me about being president of the Sally Blue fan club. Not interested. Don't have time. Besides, why does a horse need her own fan club? Some people (Agnes) have too much time on their hands.

Jon Gardner, barn manager
Cat Enright Stables

Welcome!

I hear that a recent adventure of mine, The Opium Equation, will be published in September. I am really pumped about this! So are a few of my clients, including Agnes Temple, whom you will meet in the book. Other people who feature strongly in the story, such as Hill Henley and Opal Dupree, are not so excited about having their dirty laundry aired out in the open for the entire world to read about. But you know what? I don’t care. My recent encounters with them changed my life so profoundly that I will never be the same person I was before. Some people really should be hung out to dry with their own laundry.

September 13 is the official launch date, however, you will have a chance to meet me a little earlier. My friend (and author) Lisa Wysocky will be at the Killer Nashville mystery conference August 26-28, and the big book launch will take place Saturday, September 10 at 2:00 p.m. at Mysteries & More in Nashville.

Until then my friends and I here at Cat Enright Stables will keep you updated on any new developments.

I can’t wait to meet each and every one of you!

Cat Enright

From Darcy

I have to say that Cat is like the most backwards person there is in the entire world when it comes to computer stuff. The previous blog was signed by her, but the fact is she dictated it to me and I posted it. No matter. Payback will happen in due time and when it does, I guarantee it will be a lot of fun! Cat is like way too serious sometimes and Jon, well, he’s all down to business, too. Someone has to stir things up around here. It might as well be me.

Cat doesn’t know that I am leaking a little bit of The Opium Equation to you in advance, so don’t tell her it was me. It will be our little secret. She’ll never know because she will never get on to check this blog. Besides, it’s just the cast of characters and that will help you learn a little about those of us who DO blog here. Think of it as a public service. Here you go.

Darcy Whitcomb (extraordinary youth kid)


Cast of Main Characters

Cat Enright:  A horse trainer near Nashville, Tennessee. She is twenty-nine, single, impulsive, vulnerable, a tiny bit rude, and the owner of a small stable.

Bubba Henley:  Budding juvenile delinquent and ten-year-old son of a neighboring trainer. Cat worries when no one can find him.

Hill Henley:  Bubba’s no-account father and fourth generation Tennessee Walking Horse trainer.

Glenda Dupree:  Retired movie star and neighbor of both Cat and the Henley’s. She’s the kind of person everyone loves to hate.

Adam Dupree:  Glenda’s nephew. He is a failed actor, a songwriter wanna-be, and likes Cat very much.

Opal Dupree:  Glenda’s aged mother. Opal knows a terrible and ancient secret that may help Cat, but her mind wanders.

Fairbanks:  The ancestral antebellum home of the Henley family, now owned by Glenda Dupree.

Col. Sam Henley:  Long dead Civil War era builder of Fairbanks, and Hill’s great, great grandfather.

Agnes Temple: Ditsy woman of a certain age with electric blue hair. She owns two horses in Cat’s barn.

Hank:  Cat’s incorrigible Beagle-mix puppy.

Martin Giles: Local cop. Young, but smart.

Jon Gardner:  Cat’s stable manager and right hand. No one, Cat included, knows exactly where he’s from, which is the way he likes it.

Darcy Whitcomb:  Seventeen-year-old daughter of a prominent dot com entrepreneur. She’s a little spoiled, but Cat loves her like family.

Carole Carson:  Riding student neighbor of Cat’s, and the wife of country music super star, Keith Carson.

Keith Carson:  A neighbor and country music super star. Keith is out touring and has only a very small part in this story, which is too bad as he’s really quite a hunk.

Robert Griggs:  Quiet hospital nurse and a riding student.

Frog:  A trouble-making punk friend of Bubba’s.

Brent Giles: Martin’s older brother. A small animal veterinarian from Clarksville.

Buffy Thorndyke:  Young reporter with blue blood in her veins and air in her head.

Sheriff “Big Jim” Burns: An election is looming and the sheriff wants an arrest. Any arrest.

Sally Blue: Young, possibly psychic, red roan Appaloosa mare owned by Agnes Temple. Sally is very loyal to Cat.

Peter’s Pride: Tall, older black gelding owned by Darcy Whitmore. Petey is a calming influence on Darcy, but he also likes to play.

Hillbilly Bob: Bay, aged gelding owned by a local orthopedic surgeon. Cat swaps training fees for treatment of broken bones and has won several championships on Bob.

Glamour Girl: Dingbat yearling filly. Gorgeous, but brainless.