The long anticipated return of Casper to Iowa soil was finally realized this weekend. The journey began at 6:30am Saturday morning when Katherine lept out of bed and Tyler said, "I knew this was going to happen." Evan was quickly fed and we were on our way for breakfast. By 8:00, Katherine was on her way to MN.

The plan was that Katherine would travel to MN and help load the horses. A livestock hauler, Cyphers Equine Services, had been hired to transport the horses from MN to IA. Tyler would be stationed at home to greet the horses as they arrived.

Before beginning the journey to IA, Katherine took Casper for a short bareback ride. A storm the previous night had made the ground too slippery for any sort of lengthy trail ride. Katherine's dad watched as Casper proudly arched his neck and picked his feet up high as if to show how happy he was to be ridden again. Casper carried himself as if he knew the importance of this simple, short ride - it was the first time Katherine had been astride a horse since her first accident in August of 2005.

The loading of Casper and his travel companion, Buster, went off without a hitch. Around 1:30PM, Casper and Buster both jumped into the horse trailer ready to begin their journey to IA. As the hauler closed the trailer door, Katherine's mother and father waved a tearful goodbye to 'the boys.' Casper and Buster had been the basis for many hours of family time fun in the summer as Katherine and her parents traveled to local horse shows to compete. Over the years, they had become dear members of the family. And, for this reason, Katherine's parents were sad to see them go. But, Katherine's parents were also happy to know that all three (Katherine, Casper and Buster) would be together again in IA.

The livestock hauler got a head start on Katherine who stayed to spend a few more minutes with her parents. Three hours after leaving MN, Casper and Buster arrived in IA. At 4:30PM, Tyler greeted them as planned. He and the hauler unloaded them into the paddock adjacent to Evan's. According to Tyler, there was a little nicker from Casper to Evan and that was it. Casper and Buster proceeded to check out the new digs as Evan rejoiced in his paddock at the sight of his old friends - he ran around a lot and got really sweaty.

Casper and Buster were kept separate from Evan till the next day to allow them to recuperate from their long journey. After breakfast the next day, all three were united in a single paddock. Again, when Casper saw Evan enter the paddock, there was a little nicker to say "hello". Then, all three put their noses to the ground and began to graze. They have been inseparable ever since.