She went to Texas, part three

Truth be told, I would have been happy to extend my stay in Austin and go horse shopping with Lauren. Alas, that wasn't an option, so on Sunday we rolled out of bed, said our goodbyes and hit the road. The drive was pleasantly uneventful, and we checked into our Amarillo hotel room some seven and a half hours later.

We took a few minutes to relax, then I texted my friend, Andrea, to tell her we'd made it. "Come on over," she responded. "I could use some help." So we got back in the car, drove to Andrea's house and helped her take photos of her sales horse, Hope.

What a cute girl!

Once that was done, we said hi to Matt the Cowpony.

Although he's an unassuming looking fellow, Matt has a most impressive resume. In addition to being quite possibly the only horse ever to simultaneously and successfully compete in FEI level dressage, reined cowhorse and competitive trail riding, Matt is a seven time Western Dressage National Champion and an ambassador for the Quarter Horse breed. I am definitely biased, but I think he would be a perfect addition to the Breyer line-up!

We had a nice dinner with Andrea and Bobby, then headed back to the hotel for an early bedtime. The next morning, I asked Mary Jo to make one stop on our way out of town.

I have been wanting to properly visit the American Quarter Horse Hall of Fame & Museum ever since Carol and I made a fifteen minute tour of it in 2014. I wasn't able to fit it in when we drove through Amarillo in 2017, and there wasn't time this year either.

Still, I thought it would be fun to walk around the outdoor sculpture garden.

Most of it looked the same as it did in 2014...

but there was one new addition.

Hello, Rugged Lark!

I still hope to make it inside again someday, but this was better than nothing.

When I finished taking my pictures, we climbed back in the car and headed home.

That was so much driving. That was so much fun. I'm glad we did it. I'm glad to be home.