The story of Louisa and Jeff Hagedorn gives us an insight into just how far the Australian EI crisis has impacted - but thankfully this story seems like it will have a wonderful and happy ending - sooner rather than later! Thanks for sharing your story with us Lou and may the trip home be on time, safe and happy for humans and horses.......

Louisa tells her story:

limbo (lim'bo)
noun
1. in some Christian theologies, the eternal abode or state, neither heaven nor hell, of the souls of infants or others dying in original sin but free of grievous personal sin, or, before the coming of Christ, the temporary abode or state of all holy souls after death
2. any intermediate, indeterminate state
3. a place or condition of confinement, neglect, or oblivion

In the grand scheme of things, 45 days isn't really that much time - but when you are waiting with baited breath on news for the next step in your life, it feels like a life lived in limbo.

This was the constant state that both myself and my husband, Jeff, have been living in since we heard of the outbreak of EI in Australia, late August.

Let's rewind a little here and give you some background as to why this affected us so…

Having moved to Los Angeles 3 ½ years ago for the Music Industry, my life took a twist for the better, not long after relocating. Jeff & I were married in Las Vegas in September 2004 and not long after, an opportunity arose for me to manage a lovely dressage ranch in the Santa Monica Mountains, just outside Malibu.

Another turn for the better came along when friends of ours offered me the lovely Ramazotti (aka "Zotti) to take on while I was at the ranch. Zotti is a 16.3hh, 1998 Rubenstein x Inschallah grandson with a talent for dressage and an attitude and personality that suits me just fine (read as: he's a brat!) We're currently training at about Elementary Level and the photo is of his first ever show at the LAEC in Dec 2005 (we had 4 classes at Training level for a 1st, 2nd & 2 3rd!)

Of course I fell for this talented brat a little too hard - long story short, we've bought him and he's moving home to West Gippsland with us. That's just the beginning…while I was at the ranch in LA, I took on a 17hh Grundstein stallion, Gold Rush I - he is an FEI level dressage horse with impeccable manners and a dignified and loyal soul. His owner recognized the bond between this wonderful horse and myself, and is paying for him to move to West Gippsland with Jeff, Zotti and myself to eventually retire and live out his life away from the confines of the lovely, but cramped box stalls in California.

That gives a brief background on the whos, whats, whys and whens - here's the rest of the story…

On April 2nd this year, I gave my boss six months notice that Jeff, Zotti, Goldie and I would be moving to Australia on October 1st. Jeff then also gave notice at his job two months prior to our planned departure date. All systems were go - flights were booked, for humans and horses, money was carefully budgeted to the penny and very excited friends and family in Australia began to count the days.

Then came the news of the EI outbreak.

By this point my boss had arranged for my replacement to move over from Brisbane with her husband, and Jeff's work had replaced him. The news of the Australian wide lockdown dropped my heart through the floor - this could mean massive delays, but not only that, we had a whole new ball game to contend with.

The original plan had been to start the horses' 21 day US PEQ in the first week of September, so that we'd be on target for either a flight at the end of September or the first few days of October. Unfortunately this fell flat on its face.

We now had to figure out where we were going to move the horses to if they weren't in the quarantine facility by the end of September. Of course, moving the horses to another boarding facility wasn't the end of the world - the fact that this wasn't in the budget and now we'd have to pay for at least another month or full care for the horses, plus find a place for us to stay nearby while we waited it out, was more pressing. The whole 'not having work while paying for the horses and ourselves' plus the waiting game added a much bigger headache.

Everyone knows that money, or lack thereof, is a great cause of stress for everyone. We saved efficiently and effectively over the 2 ½ years that we lived rent free at the ranch; we'd saved enough to pay for Zotti, pay for his flight and have some start up funds to play with when we arrived back home in Australia. Now we'd have to dig in to some savings and make this plan stay true to it's course, give or take a few months!

After several (hundred) hours of Jeff & I talking our situation through, with me offering to sell the horse if we had to (with tears freely flowing), untold amounts of anxiety to do with money and just the limbo we were now living in, we finally had to stop and realize that this was the situation we were living and that there was nothing we could possibly do to change it and just move forward the best we could.

The horses were moved over the hill to a lovely big ranch in Malibu - they're currently in 12' x 24' covered stalls with 360 views of the mountains and beach. Funnily enough, I've never seen either of them more relaxed - perhaps this was a transition that was "meant" to happen? Who knows - but you have to find something good out of all this frustration!

Jeff and I moved into an, umm, 'interesting' room at a shared household - much like a college dorm. It's not our idea of good living, but it's close to the horses and it's affordable.

Every night we'd go down the road to the local general store for a beer to commiserate with the locals and wait for that phone call that said we're headed home - it never seemed to come. We finally sat down and made our 'Plan B' - it was coming to a point that we wouldn't be able to afford to get Jeff home during peak travel season if the horses & I were able to get home before Christmas, and it was starting to make sense that we move to San Diego with Jeff's sister until we had definite dates to work with. We made the plans and informed my family back home that, unless we heard otherwise in the next 48 hours, that we'd be packing up and moving to San Diego to work and live until potentially February 2008.

The very next day I asked Jeff to check my email for me - he read an email sent by Crispin Bennett (my Aussie agents) saying that we were booked in for a November date! I wouldn't believe it and had to call him to make sure it wasn't some kind of error or misprint! He assured me that it wasn't and now the boys and I will be home on the 17th November, with Jeff landing one day later!

Of course, I won't believe it until it actually happens, but having a date to aim for makes life feel a little more free and easy again! Jimmy Duggan of Triton International has been absolutely invaluable throughout this whole process - he is a god send who has worked with the other wonderful agents throughout the US and Australia to help us move home.

Though I may sound like all I'm thinking about is my situation, I'm well aware of the heartache and financial devastation that this EI outbreak has caused throughout Australia - I understand the feelings everyone is having and I sympathize with those who have lost their beloved horses due to this mess.

The AQIS are being hyper vigilant on the protocols to be followed with bringing in our horses to Australia. There are several amendments that have been made and we are 'crossing our t's and dotting our i's', as they say.

Zotti and Goldie have just had their Pre -PEQ booster vaccine for the Flu, even though they just had their six monthly shots in August, and will be tested 3 times once in PEQ and then several times in the PAQ at Spotswood, before they are allowed in to the general population. There is an extra 7 days to be added on to their 14 day stay at PAQ, but this cost is minimal when it comes down to it, as healthy, happy horses are far more important to me.

I just have to throw in here that without the love and support of my amazing husband, I don't know how this would have played out. He's not a horse rider, but loves the big Goofballs that we're taking home with us and knows how much it means that we can do this. He'll be well spoiled when we get to the Great Land of Oz!

As I finish writing this, I have my email screen up in case I receive an email to the contrary, but I'm hoping for the best and look forward to seeing a whole nation of healthy horses out and about in Australia SOON! All the best to those with horses affected by the outbreak - there are people all over the world sending positive vibes and energy your way to make this tough time even the slightest bit easier.

Louisa Hagedorn