The Show Must Go On

Neither Wind, Nor Rain, Nor Tornado Warnings Could Stop Diamond W Contracting

Yes, m’am.

I love my parents and they raised me right. Raised me to show respect

for others and today, that’s how I treat the people I work for and who

work for me. So when I got the call from Ms. Karen Ensminger in

Nebraska about how plans for her indoor and outdoor jumper arenas at

Hampton Ridge Equestrian Center weren’t going according to plan, and

could I please consider taking on the job, I said, “Yes, m’am.”

drove out for a tour. The private property still needed development,

including addressing a seven-foot slope differential and an unexpected

network of waterlines to re-bury. It had been about a two days’ drive

from the office to the Nebraska farm and, with the coronavirus starting

to shut things down, I wanted to get started as soon as possible.

Karen went over all the important details she hoped to see done in time

to host a jumper horse show there on June 3. She didn’t mention the

weather and I didn’t ask. So Mother Nature decided to remind us!

On the first day of work (Monday), there was a torrential downpour. The

only way equipment was going to be moving was if it was floating, so we

waited until Tuesday, when we were socked by such high winds that it

was blowing away the finer particles of footing we had planned to use.

The wind should have been a hint. Nebraska was along ‘Tornado Alley’

and sure enough, on Wednesday there was a tornado warning.

“Calm down,” Karen assured me. “That just means the conditions are

there for a tornado! It doesn’t mean we’ve seen one yet.”

Yes, ma’m.

We worked through the Memorial Day holiday. One of the biggest

projects was first removing the old footing (the sand originally sourced

for the project wasn’t the right type) and trucking in our own, preferred

sand, from a source we trusted in Tennessee. The clock was ticking and

we knew that Karen needed those arenas ready to roll by the time the

horse trailers started driving in for that June 3 show. Plus, there were

multiple pastures and paddocks that had to remain accessible at all

times, and ideally, noise had to be kept to a minimum to respect other

riders and boarders.

“If this show makes me look bad you’ll be hearing from me,” she joked.

Yes m’am.

Well, we did hear from Karen, to tell us that she and her trainer, Amy

Bender of Bender Horse Sports, LLC, “couldn’t have done it without us!”

and they’re extra thrilled that our workers were able to preserve their

favorite cottonwood tree in the process, too.

Their clients and horses, including Karen’s own beloved retiree, Quincy,

are happy with the results of the indoor and outdoor arenas. Nicknamed

“High Me” (for being ‘high’ maintenance), Karen says the 22 year-old

former hunter and dressage campaigner with “one good leg left” loved

our footing so much he lifted from a trot to a canter without being asked!

That’s why we do what we do here at Diamond W Contracting.

We say yes to the people who want a farm and home that their family,

and horses, can love, too.