05/18/2026
Yesterday, we finally cleaned out the barn from our OYE Set. Barn clean out is always a full day of long hours, hard work and feelings of excitement, getting prepared for the next set.
This year, barn clean out was also filled with lots of big emotions for our Kovie girl.
If youโve followed us for very long, you know our youngest daughter got pretty attached to her very first show barrow this yearโฆBelt Buckle Bluey.
She and Bluey were quite the pair. They traveled lots of miles, did lots of learning and growing together, and Bluey showed Koko her first bit of success in the show ring.
While they never got their buckle together, they snagged lots of banners and formed a very special friendship.
They ate snacks together, walked miles and miles, had lots of pep talks, and Koko pushed that pig harder than we probably should have allowed at times.
Saying goodbye to him was not easy.
Kovie started Blueyโs mural, long before he was gone and has written him notes, almost daily, since OYE.
Yesterday, we finally had to clean off the mural, and assign a new pig to Pen 7, which will forever, in our barn, be coined โBlueyโs Penโ.
We are so proud of our girl. Heartbreak is never easy. Losing someone you love and experiencing real grief is incredibly tough. Sheโs handled herself with empathy, grace and maturity, well beyond her 8 years of life.
When asked, she refused to let anyone else clean off โBlueyโs Wallโ, just as she refused to let anyone else walk him to the truck at OYE. โItโs my job to be with him to the end.โ
We will always remember Belt Buckle Bluey and all he meant to Koko and our family.
We are excited to watch her fall in love with her next best friend, and see all she will accomplish as she continues to grow as a human & showman.
Pen 7, Blueyโs pen, will always hold a tender place in our hearts. ๐
