The KyHorsemen gladly accepts the flame from our neighbors to the south, the CR Racers and are honored to escort it on its journey to DelPenn; all the while keeping the torch lit as a beacon so that others may acknowledge the efforts of Ladyssecret and her Vermont Team. They have truly made the Equinics a Treasured SIM Event.

To celebrate the arrival of the Equinics torch to Kentucky, the opening ceremonies were held at the Louisville Pizza Company, where it’s more noted for its high brass of SIM players than its buffalo wings…but just barely! In fact, if funkyfarm was as successful running his stables as he was at throwing back wings, there would be no question about the LPC’s reputation…lol

The KyH was represented there by Joe (bulletwork), Bruce (greenapple), Mike (billgulch) and Brian (funkyfarm). To spark the festivities, a toast of Goodwill to all the competing Residencies was given and the Equinics celebration was quickly underway.

As the night progressed, most all of the selections were given a more than average chance of winning thanks to all the Fantastic Residents that call Kentucky home. You got the feeling that while they were content with their finish in 2004, this year’s Equinics carried with it higher expectations. And even though the torch only sat, metaphorically, in the middle of the table, the spirit of the Equinics conversation burned bright with realism.

But for funkyfarm, the only burning he felt was in the disappointment knowing that his only selection would not be making the trip. He went on to say that his horse, Geodesic Quark, had a biter-sweet stakes win its last time out, leaving him to need rest.

The gang knew they had to do something to cheer him up. They quickly explained to him that the Spirit of the Equinics is not necessarily having an entry for yourself, but it’s about being apart of something bigger…A Residency!

A place where one can go to talk about their SIM experiences, the highs and lows; A place where you can enter your stables or horses in something other than a race, but in a competition amongst a larger group; A place where you can win credits, prize horses and the respect of other players; A place where you can go, where everybody knows your name…A Residency!

“Cheers…to the Horsemen!!!” Funky exclaimed and then added, “A shot and a brew Shelly and keep’em coming...for everybody!” Mike turned and loosely smiled at Funky, thinking… maybe cheering him up wasn’t such a good ideal after all! Considering Mike had paid for all the rounds before that one, I’m sure he thought he had a point… but we were all too drunk to care.

The night finished with a lot of babbling back and forth and a few times they thought they solved the meaning of life as it relates to the SIM, but Mike was there to confirm…that if you ever reach enlightenment while being drunk, it’s a safe bet beer will shoot out your nose. Shortly there after, the night came to a blurry end.

The next morning they all woke up at Hot2trot’s Farm. Apparently, someone at the bar must have called Jason (hot2trot) once again to pick them up. So Jason took them to task and gave them each a barn to stay in for the night.

They all agreed that the open ceremony was a great success but there was no time for hangovers. That Friday, all the KyH residents were scheduled to arrive for the 2006 KyH Equinics Gala.

In order for everything to be ready in time, they all had a lot of work to do. The fact was that some of the Residents had a sent over a special list of items that needed to be there before they would accept the invitation. It wasn’t long before the delivery trucks started to show.

Fabman’s truck was the first to arrive. It was a relatively simple truck, nothing too outlandish: A disco-ball, some old 45’s w/ a record player, a snap-together bowling ally and some clothes that would have made Elvis look conservative. Since the Bowling Ally was pieced by numbers, Mike offered to put it together. Soon after, the second truck arrived.

Yochem’s truck was undoubtedly the smallest. His only need was a doghouse for his dog. No doubt, we made sure there were plenty of cookie jars filled with treats for her!

The next to arrive was more scary than complicated; this one was escorted by two ATF vehicles. As the truck backed in the loading docks, a forklift driver was ordered to get down so he could be replaced by one of the agents. The truck’s back door opened and all you could see were wooden barrels from the floor bed to the roof. Joe stepped in to get a closer look at the cargo and then read aloud what was in big black letters…”Grade “A” Scotch.”

We thought we were done for! It seems someone had sent us black market goods and the FEDS were there to take us in! But one of the ATF agents quickly put our minds at ease by saying, "Ledwith’s private stock, he asked us to make sure it got here personally."

Talk about your resources! A rush of excitement came over Funky as he shouted, “Led, you’re the Man!!” Bruce labored over the paperwork but later said it was all worth it as he sent one barrel to his barn for future use. Shh! Don’t tell Led!

The remaining trucks came and went without incident and the party was ready to start by Friday.

The guest list was a who’s who of Sim players:

Foxon, Fattack, Buzz, Atthewire, TS1442, Tisjuliet, Hornedfrog, Iant, Fabman, Sjmeola, Texasace, Ledwith, Bullman, Winter, Topicount, Yochem, Natrap, Winticket, OkDavid, TwistedOaks and The Poet.

Everyone was dressed to the nines! In fact, the red carpet that Foxon demanded came in handy as it was walked on by everyone going through the main entrance.

A wonderful time was said to have had by all and the Gala ended way too soon. I would like to have shared some of the more juicy details about the party but the last thing I remember was breaking into Bruce’s barrel of Scotch. Shh! Don’t tell Bruce! (LOL)

The next morning, most everyone joined Mike on his private jet and headed to Delpenn to witness the handing off of the torch. They’ll probably get there before the torch bearers who were Led, Joe, Bruce and Brian.

They were last seen in a Dodge Ram with 2 barrels in the back of the truck and the flaming Equinics torch hanging out the passenger window. I guess there’s no fear of this flame going out!