Akiko Yamakazi's Comments on the Greatness of America

[Kathryn Ball]

I think that many of you know that in addition to being passionate about my family and my country I am also passionate about horses.

I am a Dressage rider and have been following the World Equestrian Games [held every 4 years] currently being held at the Horse Park in Lexington, Ky.

One of the riders on team USA is Steffan Peters, his mount is a glorious horse named 'Ravel'. The pair won a bronze last week while competing against horses and riders from all over the world.

Akiko Yamakazi is the owner of 'Ravel' and I would like to share a small part of her interview in the USDF [United States Dressage federation] Connection magazine I recieved today.

"America, through it's unique history, has been able to produce the best in every field because it draws from the best in the world. Ravel's team includes a Dutch bred horse, a German born rider, a Mexican born groom and vet, a French born farrier [shoer], a therapist [massage....don't laugh, these guys really WORK!] who lives in a town called 'Rough-and-Ready, a freestyle [music] person of Italian descent, and an owner who is of Japanese descent, born in Costa Rica.

Where else does something like this happen and create something greater than the sum of its parts? Only in America!"

We are all strung pretty tight these days and I think can use a bit of a breather from all of the stress.

We DO live in the greatest nation ever built because it was built on a solid foundation and it HAS drawn from the best from all over the world. THIS is the place where dreams have become reality for countless human beings from every corner of this third rock from the sun.

The 'trials' we are going through have been coming for quite awhile and are most certainly deserved because much like the Israelites' attention strayed while Moses was recieving the Ten Commandments we've all lost sight of the really important things in our lives.

9/11 was a 'wake-up call' but too many of us rolled over and went back to sleep. We cannot do that again.............EVER! Or we will fall into the same ditch we find ourselves mired in now.

We need to elect people who will do the things we hire them for or remove them from office.........drag them out by their hair if necessary [I will volunteer to get ms pelosi] but if they don't do the job they get fired.....................PERIOD! That means we have to PAY ATTENTION! They need to answer us when we contact them and the answers had better be respectful.

WE CAN DO THIS! WE ARE AMERICANS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

God Bless all of you! and God Bless America!

[PHILIP SCHNEIDER]

SHE . . . . is one of US.