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.
