The other day, Dennis, the main jockey we use, and another jockey were at the barn. We were talking about how Dennis had a rough day the day before. He had gotten dumped off of a horse in the post parade. It got away from the pony, jumped over the rail to get off of the track, and ran off wearing Dennis's saddle. Later that day, a horse tripped after the wire and he ate dirt again (they're both okay). I told him that he needed to get some good juju.
The other rider goes "What's juju? A girl down on Colfax?". Colfax is the area of town that you might refer to as the "red light district". If you were putting it politely.
After mentioning that they should get their heads out of the gutter, I told them that juju is like luck, that Dennis needed a good juju charm.
So, of course I had to order one of Beka's (The Owls Approve) Straight Shot Metal Good Juju Bridle Charms just to show them I wasn't making stuff up. Plus, a little extra luck is never a bad idea for a jockey, especially the one that rides almost all of your good horses and is your friend. Right?
Dennis on Colinda
Okay, I'll admit that I'd been wanting to order a bracelet from Beka anyway, so I might as well order two things instead of one.
I sent Beka a message about what I wanted and she was AWESOME to deal with! She always got back to me quickly and sent sample pictures to get a better idea of what I wanted. Once she had my order, it was made and shipped within a day or two. It's pretty rare to get that kind of service on custom made items these days and I really appreciated her efforts.
I told Dennis that I ordered him the charm and he was excited, even if he didn't know exactly what it was.
Not going to lie, I was eagerly awaiting my bracelet too. The package arrived on Monday, but since the office at the track is closed on Monday and Tuesday, I couldn't pick it up until Wednesday. Jerks.
Anyway, here's the goods (that I absolutely love):
She even topped it off with an extra tag for me!
Dennis's charm in his colors and with his initials! He loved it and is going to put it on his helmet. I'm assuming he will attach it to the laces in the back? I really like it too and am going to order one (or five) for myself.
In all honesty, I hope it isn't too good of luck since he opted to ride a different horse in the upcoming stakes race instead of Hirsch. *There's nothing wrong with Hirsch, Dennis just went with a Colorado-bred that has a good shot in the race too. It provides more opportunities for stake wins because it can run in the state-bred stakes as well as the open ones, so he didn't want to lose the mount. Hirsch can only run in the open ones. We are also a little more laid back about that kind of thing than most trainers and he knows he'll most likely get the ride on Hirsch back. I'm not happy about it, but I understand. *cough* TRAITOR! I wonder if I can get Beka to make a bad juju charm for him for that particular race....
My bracelet! And yes it is supposed to say HEADFIRST INTO DREAMS instead of HEAD FIRST INTO DREAMS. I had originally wanted to get one that said BEEFHEART, but didn't really want to have to explain it all of the time. So, I picked a line that I liked from a Captain Beefheart song to use as a personal remembrance of him. The line is perfect! It is my own way of remembering Beefs, but it also fits me well. My life has pretty much revolved around me jumping headfirst into things that I want to do. All of the dumb shit and all of the good things I've done have been because I'm that way #noregrets. This line of the song was just the kind of thing I had in mind and Beka's "perfectly imperfect" theme on her jewelry made it even more exactly what I wanted.
Thank you, Beka!
I know that a lot of bloggers have already done reviews on her products, but I just wanted to reiterate how great her products and customer service are. Not to mention, her prices are awesome too! If you're looking for unique, customized jewelry and/or tack accessories, check out Straight Shot Metal on Etsy!
Yeah, this was meant to be just about the things I ordered. However, I couldn't explain what I ordered without the stories to go with.
