Read the Success Stories for these former Bits & Bytes Farm horses.
* Former Prospect Horses bought directly from the track or trainer.

* Prospect Horses are horses that were bought from our Web site photos and a vet check. Read "How to Buy a Prospect Horse" for more information.

All photos on this Web site are copyright protected and may not be used without written permission of the owners.

Mary Jo's girls. Meg and Lylle - September 2005

Please contact Mary Jo Grubbs ( ) or Jennifer Buie ( ) for more information.

Lylle and Meg at Pony Club. - March 2005

Lylle playing in the snow.

Lylle and her mom Meg.

Lylle allowed Meg to dress her up as a cheerleader for Halloween's costume class.

Meg's mother Mary Jo purchased Lylle in March 2004.

Meg greets Lylle as she arrives at her new home. March 2004

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Bits & Bytes Farm success stories

Our Horses > success stories > Lylle

Event horse for sale.

Lylle - Sadly Offered For Sale

June 2008

Lylle is doing great. She placed 2nd in Open Beginner Novice at Lumber River Horse Trials in NC this weekend. Her dressage is getting better and she proved it with a score of 28.5. Dispite the hot weather, she was fantastic on cross country and although a little tired at the end of the weekend, she jumped well in stadium. She has one of the best attitudes I have ever experienced with a Thoroughbred. She is always happy to see her rider and willing to do a good job. Lylle would be perfect for Pony Club or anyone who wants to event through the lower levels. She is a beautiful girl to watch and loves attention. We now have her for sale to a good home. Let me know what you think.

OTTB - Event horse for sale. Lylle.

I am experienced with TBs and eventing but I am new at selling horses. Do you require compensation if Lylle is posted for sale on your site? And I was also wondering if you ever take horses back to your farm for resale in your program and what your fees are? I am doing my best for Mary Jo but I will be moving at the end of the summer so I am looking at other options if she does not sell within the the next month or two.

Thank you and God bless
Lylle's trainer - Jennifer Buie

Elizabeth's Note: We will always help sell a horse that has been purchased from Bits & Bytes Farm's Web site or farm. We do not ever charge a fee for this service. We ask that our buyers keep up the horse's Success Stories page so that there is a history of what the horse has done since leaving the race track. I work full time at our Web design business and we have horses that we are training for resale here at the farm. We do not have the manpower to bring in outside horses to resell. We are not a sales barn. Our Web site has almost 1000 visitors each day so we do have an audience for any Thoroughbred that becomes available for resale. We will also tell buyers about any horses that are being resold and we will pass on the contact information if we feel the buyer is a good match for the horse.

Lylle is an extremely nice horse and value priced for her experience and calmness. I can recommend this horse to young riders. Please contact Mary Jo Grubbs ( ) or Jennifer Buie ( ) for more information.

See many more photos of Lylle through the years on our sister Web site: www.ottbs-online.com.

September 2007

Hi Elizabeth,
It was so good to see your name in my inbox! Lylle is still ours and we have her at a barn right near us in training. The barn manager had high hopes that we could sell her to some summer folks coming up from Florida and points south. But nothing happened. But to be honest with you.. this poor manager has had her hands full with running a barn that can have up to 100+ horses come in for weekend boarding plus a huge two week long horse-show. She is so busy doing her job, that she really doesn't have the time to devote to selling Lylle.

Meanwhile.. Lylle is having a ball. She has a great time with the other horses, eats endless hay and grass, gets new shoes every month, gets ridden a few times a week by the trainer and is spoiled rotten by all the barn help because they all love her.

Our main concern is we are heading into fall and winter and soon no riding. The barn is not properly winterized so we will need to move her by Thanksgiving. She is looking great and riding well... and I know with all your contacts, you could sell her to a good family. We just don't have the trainers and weather to make this work here. It really is a six month sport. I can send you pictures in the next few days .. cause she really is a sweetie who deserves a loving family all year long.

Take care and thank you for staying in touch.. Megg is in her sophomore year and all of her friends have given up their horses and have moved on to high school life! my best to you and Barry and all those lucky four legged animals!

Mary Jo

April 2007

Dear Elizabeth,
It has been a long time since we have been in touch.. however I am one of your regular monthly hits on your website.. just to see what you guys have been up to.. and lets say..ALOT! Wow, you are making a huge difference! How exciting for both horse and man ( well, mostly woman !). It is so neat to see it grow.

It has been three years since we met you and oh, if we only lived elsewhere. We have lost our barn manager again and now we are back to square one. This will be the 5th transition in less than three years for Meg and Lylle and emotionally Meg is done. We are stuck at a barn where they cannot use jumps, there is no trainer or trailer to go elsewhere. So the time has come to move on. The new barn managers ( Bill and Corrine) are in their sixties and know horses so Lylle is getting good care.. but she hasn't been ridden since winter... so it is time to move on.

Lylle is for sale.

Corrine loves Lylle and has spoiled her.. we noticed she is even buying the girl her own bag of peppermints. By contract we needed to alert you and Robyn so that is what we are regretfully doing at this time. Our initial game plan is to work with the daughter of our new barn managers.. her name is Colette and she is originally from the northeast so she has been in the horse world a long time in all types of training, showing, for over 20 years. She has just taken over another barn and has a following of Floridans who come up each summer. She is actually looking for a Thoroughbred for one of her client's teenage daughters. She too is very picky about who she works with and also wants Lylle in a very good home... both she and her mother are amazed at how smart Lylle is.. they both love her... and they haven't even see her move in the ring! This is our present plan.. we may move Lylle this weekend to a barn cross town to be with Colette to start getting her back in shape. We are expecting January type weather ,however, so I may delay it another week until the weather stabilizes.

You are welcome to give us any input.. we may try this locally but contact you after a month or two is we are not in the right market. Good horses need to be down the mountain where they can be ridden more regularly, winters are not as severe, and access to shows, training, etc is more available. But we have loved that girl so much.. she is the sweetest mare on the earth!

Thank you for your time.. let us know if we have your blessings to continue.
Mary Jo Grubbs

Elizabeth's Note: It is very difficult to find a good place to board. It is tough on horse and rider alike to move from barn to barn. Each barn has it's own personality and prejeduces. Meg was with all of her friends when she got Lylle but now they have all split and some have gone away from riding. Meg is moving on with her life as a teenager and Lylle should have a chance to go to another young rider who has the time and desire to love and care for her. Lylle is a calm and safe horse who has great potential. If you are looking for a well trained horse for under $15,000 please contact Mary Jo Grubbs ( ) and see if Lylle might be a match for your young rider.

September 2005

Meg and Lylle - September 2005

Dear Elizabeth,
We truly marvel at all you do ... you certainly fill a 24 hour day four times over. You have truly made your presence felt in this world.

Thank you for updating Lylle's page. I remember asking you in your kitchen over a year ago "How will we know when we have found the right horse?" You responded with such sincerity, "You will just know!" I have shot over 1000 pictures this summer, but these three truly depict how happy my girls are.

While you continue to work to improve the world in terms of trainers, owners, and the safe retiring of each racehorse... here in North Carolina, we want you to know you have truly changed our world and we will be forever thankful.

We miss you guys and hope that whenever your life settles down, you will come sit on our rocking chairs and put your feet up!

Love,
Mary Jo and Meg

Lylle - September 2005

May 2005

Lylle and Meg - May 2005

I have been playing with my new Mother's day gift... a Cannon SLR. Be careful, I may inundate you with photos. I love it!!!

On a sad note, we will be moving Lylle and her girlfriend Socks to a new barn on Saturday. The stables we have been at for 6 months just couldn't make a go of it. So we are heading to a real nice (pricey.. yikes!) barn this weekend. The trainer was a pony clubber as a kid and she grew up in Ocala. She will be a perfect person to work with Meg and Lylle. But Meg will miss the barn full of girls.

Hope you like these pictures of my girls.
Miss you both,
MJ

Lylle and Meg - May 2005

March 2005

Hello Elizabeth,

We have been celebrating Meg's one year anniversary with her wonderful pal, Lylle. Thank you so much for all the guidance you gave us during the process.

As I have said before, it all started a year ago with me staring at a blank computer screen saying a prayer that I would find a web site or advertisement that would lead to a knowledgeable, kind person. Twenty minutes later, I came across a link to your web site, and within thirty days, we were blessed with not only Lylle but a life long friendship with you and Barry! Just wish we all lived closer so we could join in all the fun at Bits and Bytes Farm.

One year anniversary for Lylle and Meg.

Here are some photos from a month ago ... doesn't Lylle look fancy? She is such a quick learner and the people at Pony Club thinks she and Meg make a great pair. How true!

We will send pictures from next month's eventing rally ... Lylle's first with the Pony Club. Just wanted you to know how things are going... hope you, Barry, the dogs and all the horses are well and enjoying this wonderful spring weather. We'll be in touch.

Love,
Mary Jo and Meg

HI Elizabeth,

We are surviving our first winter in the mountains, but boy, it has been a challenge. We have had quite a bit of ice, some snow, winds that just shake the house, and lots of snow days from school. The progress on the new barn is real slow... so the girls have had to endure barn life with no bathroom, heat, limited electricity, and crowded conditions in the indoor ring. We believe the end is in sight ... but it has been a bit trying the last two months.

On a brighter note.. Lylle thinks she is at camp. She is having the time of her life.. rolling in mud, playing with the other mares, and fashionably wearing one of her many blankets.

The first day we had snow, we took Lylle out to see it . She was apprehensive at first.. but then, had a ball racing from one end of the paddock to the next.

Here are some cute pictures of how our Florida girl enjoyed her first exposure to snow. I think she looks like a rodeo queen.

Lylle playing in the snow.

But it hasn't been all play lately, since we have been working with a trainer on her flat work. Will send you some of those pictures when we all thaw out. I have a new digital camera so hopefully the next pictures will be clearer.

Meg and I continue to watch your web site and just last Saturday when we were at Pony Club, another Mom said... Oh, she's a Bits and Bytes horse. Her family went to see your farm a year ago while they were at Big Canoe.

We sure do miss you and Barry and really hope when this summer's heat hits Georgia.. you will com escape to the mountains with us.

Love,

December 2004

I must thank you for all your guidance with Lylle .. she is Meg's dependable friend when she needs love, her brave companion when she is trying something new.. and her thrilling partner on the initial excursion on the cross country course this past weekend.

Lylle and Meg off the bank and into the water.

It was a first for the both of them.. but the thrill will be remembered for a long time. Here are some of the photos ... many are blurry because this Mom's hand's were shaking as she watched her girls go flying over the jumps. Truly the water jumps were the favorite.. both going in and out of the cold muddy water.

Lylle and Meg on course!

Hope you are staying healthy during this very busy season ...
I will be in touch..
Love,
MJ

Lylle was a former Bits & Bytes Farm horse for sale.

Lylle was a Horse For Sale at Bits & Bytes Farm in 2003

Lylle learning to jump. June 2003