Chapter Forty-Seven
Business Evolution, Lectures, Surprises
A/N – As I wrote this last chapter my main focus was to deliver a message that no matter what family and friends will always be there for you when you need them. I hope the drama of the last chapter doesn't draw you away from the real message. When someone needs you as a friend or family member you have to be there for them. I think this theme is a true depiction of the story of Amy and Ty and now is seen in their children. The spirit of the Borden children is a direct reflection of their mom and dad. The year continues and the children are actively engaged in school. Some surprises are on the way, it's lecture time again and the company continues to evolve. A little playful Mature Content. Enjoy
With the help of many friends, especially the Borden's, Will was coming home today. Betany and little Billy were so happy and looking forward to having him home. Ty and Amy went to pick him up with them and brought JT along with Bethany and Billy. When they walked in Will was already dressed on the edge of the bed with his bag packed. Billly ran over to him as Bethany said, "I guess you are ready?" She hugged him as Ty grabbed his bag and said, "Trust me I am with you on this one, I can't stand hospitals." They brought a wheelchair for him as Billy and JT jumped on his lap for the ride. Everyone loaded up and headed to their home. When they arrived they were greeted by the smiling faces of the Borden girls. While their mom and dad picked them up, they had cleaned and loaded groceries that Lou had picked up with them before dropping them off. Dinner was prepared already and just had to be warmed up and served. As Will and Bethany entered the house they were overwhelmed at how cleaned everything looked and couldn't miss the Welcome Home sign.
Bethany looked at Ty and Amy and smiled mouthing "thank you." JT and Billy ran into his room to play and the girls made sure the adults had drinks. Maddie proudly announced, "Dinner will be served in 30 minutes." Amy and Bethany smiled, as the girls hovered over them. Ty joked, "They are never like this around me, you are lucky Will." Addie jumped in, "Oh Daddy, we will always be there for you and we love you so much," as the four girls jumped on their dad's lap covering him with kisses. Amy looked at Bethany, "Welcome to my world." Dinner was served and enjoyed by the whole group as the laughed and joked. After everything was cleaned up the Borden's said goodbye. The kids loaded in the car as Will and Bethnay stood with Amy and Ty. Will looked at Ty with a tear in his eye. "Ty I know I kind of thought you were my dad and that kind of was a mess, but we are so happy to be here and to call you and Amy our friends. And your kids, they are amazing. Thank you both for everything." He hugged Ty as Amy and Bethany did the same. The girls looked on with smiles on their faces.
Jack as well was recovering nicely from his setback. As expected being home was his best medicine. The attention he received from his grand kids and great grandkids was amazing. The Broden girls arranged a schedule where they along with Georgie and Katie would spend time with him when they were available. Maddie deemed herself as the overseer of the schedule making sure everyone knew when they were expected to be with him. Lisa joked with him one night getting ready for bed. "So what is it like having all these women hovering over you. They all seem committed for sure." Lisa I am always overwhelmed at the love these girls have for me, actually for everyone. When I see them and how they are it warms my heart. And not to be biased but that Lyndy, she is something special. We have the best time together and she is so mature and so like her mom." He smiled as he held her. Lisa added as she held on to him tightly, "I know she is like your Lyndy as well and that means a lot to me." Jack pulled back overwhelmed with her comment. "I am a very fortunate man. I have been married to two amazing women and Lisa there is a lot of you in the girls as well. I also love my time with JT. It's nice to have another male in the picture. The other day we were looking through a book about horses and he kept talking about his mom and dad and how they help horses. He is so bright. I never knew Ty when he was little but I expect he was bright as well. They are very alike." Lisa smiled happily that her husband was getting better. They both fell into a blissful sleep.
School was going well for the kids. Activities were happening for each of them and there was a balancing act ongoing to make sure each of the Borden kids were having fun doing what they wanted to do. Amy and Ty relied on family help but the kids always came first. Dinners were filled with joy and laughter as they each talked about their day and any larger activities they had coming up. Lyndy, Addie and Annie were starting to practice for the upcoming show jumping season, Annie had a science fair coming up and Addie updated everyone on her barrel racing progress and that she had helped Ty work on the Norton. He had promised her that she could learn to ride on the property much to Amy's chagrin. Several schools had contacted Amy and Ty interested about Lyndy and her dance skills. Lyndy was torn because she really didn't want to leave instead wanting to stay at Hudson with Wyatt. Ty said they would discuss later putting her at ease. Ty and Amy were looking forward to the next lecture and had planned to include some show jumping using their daughters. The girls were excited but their parents reminded them they were just thinking about it. JT sat every night and listened. He was so happy listening to everyone talk about their day and everything they had going on. After dinner one night he went to his room and was quietly playing by himself. Amy and Ty walked in to sit with him. Amy asked, "Hey buddy are you Ok, you seemed a little quiet tonight." He came over and sat in her lap as Ty put his arm around him. "I am happy mommy and daddy when my sisters are happy. I just wish I had more to talk about." Completely understanding where he was coming from Ty looked at him, "JT you are amazing and will have a life full of fun and exciting things. The girls, your mom and I love you more than you can ever imagine. You are a special young man and mean everything to all of us. And a lesson, you have to let those women talk a lot, trust me it is for the better." As Amy smacked him JT smiled fist bumping his dad, smiling in agreement.
The physical changes to several facilities were underway, most significant the new bunk house being built at Heartland. Originally they were looking to house 12 ranch hands but decided to move it to 20 thinking about the future. The increase in expense was minimal and fell within the budget they set. Since the land purchase was already complete Heartland was able to expand their pastureland for cows and plans were underway to increase the herd. Tim became more involved with Clay and several ranch hands since Jacks days of cattle work had been reduced. The indoor arena expansion at the Miracle Ranch was completed. The most impressive work inside the Miracle Ranch facility was well underway. The increase in the exam and surgical areas would be a big boost for their business. There was even a discussion about adding another vet at the end of the year. Ty and Scott oversaw that project along with some work being done at the vet clinic to handle the increase in cattle medical care. Their continued plan was to make the Miracle Ranch equine only and everything else went through the Hudson Clinic. Ty and Scott believed this specialization was necessary as they grew.
There was a marked increase in the behavioral side of the Equine center that also included a vet check step. Amy, Georgie and Katie sat down to evaluate the level of skill of everyone who worked on this part of the business. Lyndy and Wyatt were evaluated and were continuing to be challenged to grow their capabilities. Several members of the staff as well as one from Clint's Juvenile group were interested. They each had shown some skill and promise so they planned to add them into the mix. A new horse would be evaluated by Amy or Georgie and the appropriate person would be assigned. The hope was to have at least 8 people able to care for the horses at different levels. In addition the Juvenile and Clinical programs were going well. Currently thy had 4 kids form Clint's group and the university students were nearing the end of path #1. The overall results continued to be positive and showing great results. The university students couldn't get enough of what the experienced offered and as expected the interest in their program was growing. It was just in time and aligned with Ty and Amy's spring lecture coming up soon.
It was the day before the university lecture. Due to the clinical program they decided to have a complete session on horse behavior. Dr. Molder agreed as he was hearing the same feedback from the rest of the staff. With that in mind, Ty, Amy, Katie and Georgie set up the lecture agenda that included case studies, vet exams, behavioral practice and herbal remedies. They decided to use actual horses who were being treated with the permission of the owners. They were going to use the arena to show join up and even had a few jumping and trick riding exhibitions. Amy and Georgie thought it would be fun to see the results of horses who overcame obstacles. And the chance to see an Olympic champion jump, well that was a bonus. The morning of the event they packed up everything they needed. The presentations were already with the university team. They were bringing Blaze, Phoenix, Checkers(Georgie's Trick riding horse) and 3 client horses. Phoenix and Checkers were getting older but for this they would be Ok. Clay came with them and pulled the 6-horse trailer with Katie as he would help tend to the horses. Georgie, Amy and Ty packed up the big SUV and they had a lot of stuff to set up. They planned to arrive several hours before the 2:00pm start time to get everything ready and have a quick lunch.
The students, staff and invited guest started arriving early and by the start of the lecture/clinic the place was packed. Dr. Molder took the podium welcoming everyone and again thanking Ty and Amy for providing what he expected to be a valuable event. He passed the mic over to Amy and Ty. Ty started the clinic off, "Good afternoon and thanks Dr Molder for the great introduction. On behalf of the ladies behind me I want to welcome you to our spring lecture which is actually going to be just like a clinic that my amazing wife Amy has been giving for a while. Along with Georgie Fleming Weber and Katie Morris you all are in for a treat. Here is what we will be covering today. After my boring vet stuff you will get to see these three in action. Working with three horses that we brought along and then at the end you will see them show jump, trick ride and watch Amy reign her horse. A little bit different but in the end I am sure you will walk away knowing a little more than when you arrived. So let's get started with the vet stuff." He began the presentation making sure that they had the handouts and went through the exam results for each client horse. Amy joined him and they described the transfer of information that Ty processes when he met with the person who would be working with the horse.
Amy interjected, "Ty and the other vets on staff provide valuable physical information that helps us determine the right approach with each horse. "With Kabuki, the 2nd case study we had a horse that had become difficult to saddle. After Ty looked him over he found that he had small lesions on his spine just under the skin. It seemed these were causing discomfort when someone rode him." A question came from the audience. "Dr. Borden did you determine that that it was Collagen Granulomas. I have heard that that could cause discomfort for a horse." Ty smiled, "That is correct, who knows the treatment if the owner wants to ride him again." Several hands raised but Ty decided to select the young women who offered the cause. "Well if the horse wants to be ridden again there should be stall rest and anti-inflammatory meds." Amy stepped in, "Well young lady you are exactly right. After Ty and I talked we set up a treatment plan and after we felt he was ready began getting him comfortable with a saddle again. Here is a video of the join up process I did and as you can see I was able to saddle and ride him. And here he is." Georgie walked him out and jumped on riding him around the arena to resounding applause. Amy put his arm around his wife and kissed her cheek. The young lady spoke up. "Pardon me for asking but you called me young lady and you don't' look much older than us." Before she could respond Ty jumped in, "I know she is pretty hot and you know what we have 5 children." He smiled broadly and an embarrassed Amy smacked his arm.
After Ty finished his presentation the group applauded as he passed the mic to Amy, Georgie and Katie. They each began going over the 3 case studies from their perspective. They talked about their approach which was customized for each horse. When Georgie talked about the bay gelding she worked with who was noise shy, she mentioned the need to understand his environment before she could help him. Immediately several hands went up. A student from the middle of the audience asked, "I have heard from one of the students doing clinicals at Heartland that this had been talked about. What does knowing a horse's environment have to do with helping him." Georgie smiled looking over to her sister, "I will let my sister Katie handle this one." Katie blushed a little and took the mic while a proud Clay looked on. "We have found that a lot of times a horse's issue is a result of something in his environment. With this horse I visited the ranch were the horse was from with my cousin Lyndy, who is Amy and Ty's daughter and a talented horse woman. As we were walking around she walked around with me but stepped away. She came back and showed me something. Right next to the horses stall was the ranch's machine shop and the noise was so bad it rattled the barn wall. We determined that the constant noise was effecting the horse. We talked to the owners and they decided to move it. We were able to help Thunder and her he is now. Clay walked him out and kissed Katies's cheek. She mounted him and told everyone to put their hands over their ears. She began cantering around the ring as Clay discharged a starters pistol. Thunder didn't even flinch and Katie smiled, "See all fixed."
The rest of the presentation went very well with a lot of questions and interactions. Amy and Georgie even invited some preselected students to join them mixing herbs and working with the horses. Even though they were running a little late the treat of watching the three girls ride was starting. Ty took the microphone and introduced Georgie as she made her jumping run. Even though Phoenix was older the thrill of competition ran through his bones and he was flying over the jumps effortlessly. After a resounding applause, Amy took a turn with Blaze equally astounding the crowd. Blaze was an exceptional jumper and Amy was a proven champion. After she finished Georgie did some trick riding runs with Checkers. Like Phoenix he was fired up and the runs were perfect. After she finished Ty spoke to the group. "Our last performance will be my amazing wife Amy with Blaze. She will show you Liberty work, which is the ultimate bond with a horse. Amy's ability was developed with her first true horse, Spartan. With Spartan as her partner she evolved into the Miracle Girl and one of the most renowned horse women in Canada." As he spoke the picture of Amy, Spartan and him from years ago came onto the screen which was a surprise to her. As her eyes misted she began the liberty work. As she danced with Blaze the crowd was awestruck. Never had they seen something like this. They realized that a bond like that is rare and as future vets they needed to achieve and understand. As a finale, Amy had Blaze rear on command several times and then they both bowed to the audience. At this point Amy was in tears as Ty walked over to hug her. Georgie took the mic from Ty, "Well as you can see Amy and Ty are kind of busy so on behalf of everyone here thanks for joining us today."
After the clinic the team answered questions as Clay settled and loaded up the horses. Dean Wortham and Dr Molder came over to thank them for their time. The Dean said, "You guys never cease to amaze us, great job today. I hope this continues as long as you can do it. To be honest what you show the students is a valuable as any textbook or class. Thank you again." They said their goodbyes loaded up and headed home. It was an exhausting day, so they were happy that a family dinner at the Miracle Ranch was planned. As they arrived the girls ran out for hugs and then helped Clay unload the horses and other stuff. Amy and Ty went to their room to freshen up and change their clothes. Ty couldn't help as Amy was in the middle of putting on fresh clothes to sneak up behind her mostly naked body and hugged her tightly. Amy leaned back into her husband sighing heavily, "I love you Dr. Borden. That picture of us with Spartan was perfect. You are perfect." He turned her around and kissed her passionately. "Thank you Miracle Girl, watching you reminded me of how much I love you and love our life." She jumped into his arms wrapping her legs around his waist. Their passion increased until they heard several loud wraps on the door. "Hello, party downstairs and it's for you two" Maddie announced. With a huff she walked away as Amy and Ty cooled down and got dressed. They walked down the steps to many inquisitive looks. Addie blurted out. "Good lord you guys it not even the morning so sleeping in is not an excuse." Everyone laughed and enjoyed a fun filled family dinner.
The next few weeks moved along with a lot of talk about the physical changes to several of the facilities and the buzz from the clinic that Amy and Ty held at the University. Accolades were being sent from everywhere when the word spread of the event. The leadership of the University sent a formal thanks, the governor and mayor of Calgary sent messages there was even a note from the PM's office. Several other universities requested asking if they could hold clinics at their schools along with some other horse training facilities. Amy and Ty considered what path to take but the demands of the business and a busy set of kids they decided to hold off. They knew it would be a great opportunity but they had to focus on the needs at home first. The rest of the board supported their decision. At dinner one night the Borden family was having lively conversation about school, work, horses and the kids activities. Spring break was a few weeks away and the girls were excited to have a little time off. As they sat someone knocked at the door and Lyndy, who was the closest got up to answer it. Ty and Amy heard a muffled conversation and the door closing. Lyndy walking with a certified letter addressed to Maddie. She handed to her as Maddie's face lit up. "Is this for me? Mom can I open it, I don't know what it could be." Amy nodded her approval and Maddie opened it with vigor. She pulled out a packed of papers and looked at it confused. "It's from the Prime Minister's office. Normally when we write each other is just in an envelope. Daddy can you look at it?" She handed it to her father and as he looked his eyes widened. "Everybody you are not going to believe this."
After he completely looked over the information, Ty began to detail what is said. "Well this unbelievable. Maddie has been invited to the capital as guest of the Prime Minister. He is bringing young people from all around the country for a conference call "Kids Rock! Stories and friendships like you and Gwen will be highlighted and the kids will go through a week of projects, learning and fun. His goal is to take what they learn and apply it to government programs for all of Canada's youth. It will be one of the weeks of spring break and you, Gwen and one chaperone for each of you are invited." Everyone was giddy with excitement as Maddie was speechless. Annie joked, "Look everybody for once Maddie has nothing to say." Amy's phone ringing interrupted the conversation as Amy smiled and handed it to Maddie, it was Gwen. Maddie ran out of the room talking to her a mile a minute, laughing and giggling. Amy spoke up, "Ty I guess one of us needs to go but that is a bad week for both of us. I have a clinic I have committed to in Banff and you have a surgical meeting at the University that week. What are we going to do." Maddie came back handing the phone back to her mom, "Mommy Gwen's mom wants to talk to you and dad." They stepped away as the kids huddled excited about Maddie's opportunity.
Amy and Ty walked into the office and closed the door. Amy spoke, "Can you guys believe this, it is amazing." Gwen's mom was in tears, "You should have seen Gwen's face when we told her. She was so excited and couldn't wait to talk to Maddie, She loves her so much. I just can't believe they are going to the capital and meet the Prime Minister and have an amazing week. Amy and Ty, we always hoped that she would have opportunities in spite of her diagnosis but this is way beyond our hopes and dreams for her. And Maddie, she has changed our daughter for the better." After a pause, Ty muted the phone. "Let them both go with the girls." She smiled and kissed his cheek, "On the same page Dr. Borden." Ty unmuted the phone and spoke up. "Well Amy and I have an idea. We both have commitments that week so could you both go with them. I know Maddie will be good with it." The phone went silent as they both heard sobbing on the other end. Finally after a few seconds, Gwen's dad spoke up. "Sorry my wife is not upset just happy. We would be honored to take the girls. You can't understand how proud we are of both of them and to be there with them will be amazing, Thank you for allowing us to do it." Amy got Maddie and Gwen and they came to the phone with her parents. They told the girls of the plan and they were both giddy. At bed check, Maddie ask her parents if it was Ok that they couldn't go. Amy answered her with a loving look. "Well honey we have commitments that week so we thought it would be good it they both went. I know they were pretty happy about it." Maddie smiled, "Can I tell you something. I am glad you asked them both to come. They deserve it because they had had a lot of challenges in their life. I want you to be there but it is best for their family that they are there. Thanks." Amy and Ty just looked at her with a pride only parents could show. They smiled at her with love that would last forever.