London - or 6 days of History

In a somewhat last minute manner, I took a 6 day trip to London that was worth every minute of the suspenseful will she/won't she 2 weeks leading to wheels up.

As many of you know (or maybe you don't), my sister Nicole works for GE Aviation, and travels quite a bit.  We've frequently talked about me tagging along on one of her business trips, but have never actually gotten our schedules to sync, until now.  It was definitely last minute, as she had to pull and then weave together several threads leading to a meeting in London. 

So here we are.  Landed on a (very) rainy day in London - wow - like we never left home.  Except the buildings, history and city are much older and definitely more interesting.  We took the Paddington Express from Heathrow to Paddington Station, where we transferred to the tube to Oxford Circus ("Mind the Gap"), and then to the Central line ("this is a Central Line Train to Ealing Broadway") getting off at the Marble Arch stop.  Only significant in that when Nicole booked the hotel, Marble Arch Mariott London seems like it would be the Mariott we could see from the tube station exit.  No, that is actually the Park Mariott (being across from Hyde Park and all).  Marble Arch Mariott is a couple blocks down, right on Edgeware, and then another 4 or 5 blocks.  Hmmm....right through little Lebanon where the people are sitting outside under an awning smoking on the hookah day and night.  Luckily we got to the right hotel, and got checked in, cleaned up and headed back out (yes, in the rain). 

Since we were tired, we decided to tube it to Westminster, and stretch our legs with some walking.  Our timing was great, as we got to hear Big Ben (which is actually the bell, not the tower) chime the hour.  Westminster bridge over the Thames   - look to your left and you have the London Eye - a jarring bit of modern...something...amidst the beauty of the Houses of Parliament to your right.  I suppose the juxtaposition makes you appreciate the genius of the historic architects even more. 
We walked past Westminster (closed for the day) and around a bit,  before being serenaded at a fortuitous loo stop.  I could have sworn she was singing 'Sah Dah Tay' but Nicole says not.

On to Harrods for a walk through the "Halls of Luxury".  Yes, they really are called that.  Nicole fell in love with jewelry by Wendy Yue, while I coveted the beautiful Alexander McQueen bag.  Unfortunately it would take a bit more dosh than we currently have to come home with such things.  As beautiful as those items were, there was also a tremendous Lladro figure (like 2ft long) upstairs that was sort of spectacular/garish/peculiar all at the same time.  Wandering through Harrods, the majority were tourists looking and admiring, with what appeared to be the majority of the buyers transacting in the Halls of Luxury being Arabic or Indian.  Draw your own conclusions, I merely observe.  On to Leicester Square for dinner at Bella Italia - yum! 

Next day (after waaay oversleeping!) we got up and got going. A beautiful sunny! day!  First we drew plenty of stares as 2 women sitting down for coffee in the Costa across from our hotel in little Lebanon.  Why you wold want to allow in, or live next to, people who hate you, your religion and your culture is beyond me, and I'm sure someday the piper will have to be paid, but that's a whole 'nother blog.

ANYway, Big Red bus #7 to the British Museum.  What a beautiful building, and, like the Louvre in Paris, you would need several days to see, much less absorb it all.  We focused on seeing the Elgin Marbles (at one point they will be repatriated to Greece, so now's the time).  Also saw portions of 2 of the 7 Wonders of the Ancient World: Mausoleum of Halikarnassos and a marble column drum from the Temple of Artemis at Ephesos. It truly leaves one speechless.  We could have spent quite a bit longer, but they literally kicked us out. 

So we walked, and got a pasty to eat while heading to Trafalgar Square.  Why you would have a monument to the fire that wiped out your entire city is a mystery to me, but so be it.  We actually had a destination, the Strand Hotel where we were to meet up with our Jack the Ripper tour.  Our tour guide was a handsome Scot named John, who was knowledgeable and witty, and did I mention handsome?  It is certainly one thing to read about Jack the Ripper, and the brutal murders that happened so long ago.  It is an entirely different thing to walk the streets of Whitechapel the prostitutes and murderer walked, see the Ten Bells pub they frequented, and stand on the sites where the bodies were found.  It's morbid in its fascination all these decades later, but despite the claims of experts, and the many theories, it's doubtful we'll ever know who he was, or his motives.

We finished up the evening at the Sherlock Holmes pub back in Trafalgar Square where we had (another) pint and some grand old fish and chips. 

Nicole had her first day of meetings Monday, so I had the entire day to myself.  It was another beautiful sunny day, and I opted for the Tower of London. If you know your English history, you will be endlessly fascinated by this place.  Begun by William the Conqueror in the 11th century, added to by successive rulers, and with so much intact, I spent almost 7 hours climbing ancient staircases, walking the inner curtain walls, imagining and pondering much.  The interactive armory exhibit in the White Tower was great, although I waaay overshot my arrow, and my cannon fire was a near miss. At least I knew my sword, mace, and axe work! 

One random thought that jumped out at me while I was there, is that I never want to hear the myth of the ugly American tourist again.  I watched over and over as others (Italians, Middle Eastern, Indian, French and Asian) blatantly disregarded the no-photography signs of some of the older more delicate items, reached past barriers to touch things, pushed and pummeled past others in crowds, and generally were altogether ill-behaved and appallingly rude. 

I left as the Tower was closing for the day, and met Nicole and her work colleagues for a pint at the Three Greyhounds, and then dinner.  One of her work mates, Jonathan and I apparently share a similar reading taste, having a great discussion of the 9th century Saxons and Danes, and the rise of Alfred the Great.  He also lives smack dab in Cheltenham - horse country and home to the Cheltenham Gold Cup!

Next day - also sunny!  This time I headed for Kensington Palace.  Today, home of Duke and Duchess of Cambridge (William and Kate), but more interestingly (at least to me) home to Queen Victoria, George (I II and III) William and Mary (only co-rulers) and Queen Anne.  The historic and public areas underwent a massive restoration project, and they've done a beautiful job.  The room in which Queen Victoria gave her first speech to her Ministers (at age 18), many of her childhood drawings, furniture, writings, photos, etc were fascinating.  Moving on to the Georgian rooms, you are invited to play a card game (apparently George I was quite fond of cards, could move up or down in his estimation with successful and witty play).  One can collect cards as you move through the various  restored rooms, and at the end the 3 cards you end up with each have a letter you use to spell a word.  The final room has drawers with 3-letter words on each, match your hand, open the drawer and find your place in the king's coterie.  Before you get there, you have an opportunity to play a card game (Commerce - reminds me a bit of poker) with 2 courtiers.   I won with a higher flush, thus receiving the difficult to obtain card that gave my final hand of 3 ANT- which, upon opening my drawer- named me Master Politician and member of the King's Privy Council.  Huzzah!

One can also walk through the William and Mary rooms, listen to the whisperings of court as you sit in a window seat, and see the sad and ultimately doomed efforts of Queen Anne to produce a living heir to perpetuate the Stuarts on the throne.

I exited to the Orangery (attributed to both Wren and Hawkesworth) and wandered the gardens.  Then out into the larger Hyde Park where I walked the rest of the late afternoon away. There is a Princess Diana Memorial Playground that is gated in the Park.  It is monitored, and only adults accompanying children under 12 are allowed in.  There is also an awesome disclaimer I should have photographed.  It was about how all play has a certain element of risk, and while you should supervise your child, taking risks at play better prepares them for the challenges of the outside world.  Every American parent should have to read that.

I ended up in Knightsbridge, and went into Harrods again to see the horse items up on the 5th floor.  It is mostly people clothing  - some of it actually FOR people who ride, but an awful lot for people who want to look like they do.  At least as interesting was the bullet proof clothing a few sections away.  Apparently there is quite a market for such! 

I met Nicole back at the hotel to head to SoHo for dinner.  At this point I should mention that a great many people we encountered (as clerks or other service folks) did not speak English as a first language (or possibly even second), which is not typically noteworthy.  However, not one of them could tell us where anything was, or how to get where we were asking for directions to - puzzling - and I must say - NOT Olympics ready.  That's what made our encounter with the gentleman who directed us to SoHo so unique.  English was not his first language, but he knew where we trying to get to, and how to direct us there.  We wandered for a bit, and had dinner at a delicious Moroccan/Spanish restaurant - where - from our second floor table by the window - we observed the absolutely ripped naked guy across the street.  (he may have only been naked from the waist up - hard to tell from our vantage point).

Next day (again with the sun!) Westminster Abbey.  It is believed that the original was begun over 1,000 years ago, (roughly 10th century) consecrated during the reign of Edward the Confessor and has been added and built onto over the centuries in a mix of Norman and Gothic styles.  Again - if you know your history, you will be captivated and spend about 7+ hours here (like me).  If you are a 'check the box' type, you will enjoy the sights, and be in and out in about 90 minutes and on to the next attraction for you to check off.  It was interesting doing a spot of people watching, as you can absolutely tell who wanted to really experience the Abbey and who was checking that box in their mental book.

The Abbey is much larger than you can possibly imagine from photos, and from looking up at the ribbon vaults and ornate ceiling painting(s) to looking down at the inscribed tables underfoot, there is a lot to see.  Beyond being a burial place for many (Elizabeth I, Mary Queen of Scots, Margaret Beaufort, Charles II etc, it is also the place of coronation.  It pays to brush up on your lines of descent of the English monarchy, as well as your Latin.  For reasons I can't explain, I found the tomb of Margaret Douglas, Countess of Lennox (grand-daughter of Henry VII) most beautifully rendered.

This is still a 'working' church, and there is a pause for prayer each hour, which, even though I am not Christian, I found beautiful. I'm not sure a lot of people realize that many of stones they are walking on are burial tablets, and on quite a few, the inscriptions are nearly worn away.  I asked a curate about preservation, and apparently, since they receive no monetary support from the government, and rely solely on donations and proceeds from entry, they can only afford to have the important stones re-inscribed.   One could pay to be buried at Westminster up until the 1800's, and many of the wealthy did, only to be forgotten several generations later, and so their engravings fade away.  Somewhere in there is an important allegory about wasting your money on buying remembrance in perpetuity, only to be forgotten in the end.

I exited Westminster, and opted to walk through St. James Park, the "Birdcage" walk to Buckingham Palace.  It seems a fairly cold looking heap of rock, particularly when compared to some of the other palaces.  The flag was not flying, so apparently The Queen was not at home. 

I continued my walk up Constitution Hill to Green Park and then Burlington Arcade to Picadilly Circus.  I impulsively bought a ticket at The Lyric theatre in Covent Garden to "Thriller - Live, a tribute to Michael Jackson.  It was a sold out show, and I had a great seat in the dress circle, front row.  It was a terrific, high energy show that involved the crowd; including a full on Smooth Criminal number.  There was a German group behind me, and while they didn't know all the words to the songs, they knew the chorus of many.  It was pretty cool to see MJ's global influence, and it reminded me of being on the Spanish Steps in Rome, and hearing all the nationalities sing "Help" by the Beatles..."Help" being the only only word commonly known/sung in that song in that place.

Next day - grey with off and on drizzle.  London must be trying to tell me its time to go.  Nicole and I had breakfast together, and  a bit of shopping.  We encountered the greatest saleswoman, she was honest and funny and told me I deserved a "WOW" dress, that the one I tried on wasn't it (color or cut).  Loved her!  We walked through Selfridges, they have "Rooms of Wonder" - seriously.  Then Nicole was off to work and I was off to the London zoo.  What a terrific zoo!  Their enclosures are huge and naturalistic - and you can be so close to the animals.  I loved it!  I walked out through Regent's Park, and had a bite at the Honest Sausage.  Then Paddington Expressed it out to the Renaissance Heathrow to meet up with Nicole for dinner. 

I loved London, and can't wait for a return trip.  It may not sound like I saw a lot, but I curated my choices carefully, and spent long, quality hours with each.  What I didn't see that I plan to on my next trip: Hampton Palace, the Tate, National Gallery, Museum of London, Cheltenham, Stonehenge, Brighton.

Random Notes:
Oyster cards are genius.  Bought an unlimited one for 7 days (good on tube and buses) and got 5 pounds back when we turned them in.  Brilliant!
Of COURSE on day one I found the horse racing channel!
I realize that the majority of Olympic events will be held outside of London's environs.  HOWever, there will also be a HUGE influx of tourists during the games.  Sadly, I have to say, with only 3 months or so to go, London does NOT seem Olympic ready.  What started out as a joke (zip bands holding together some of the bars outside the Queen's Gate at the Houses of Parliament) became a running observation.  Olympic Ready v Not Olympic Ready.  Pictures were duly snapped of both.  Additionally (and shockingly!) it seems the only Olympics gear shop is in Paddington station.  Boy are they missing a giant revenue opportunity. 
I never did get a photo of the random green horse head pointing nose down in Hyde Park. I gotta google that
Giggling like a 4 year old whenever the Tube announcement of destination was Cockfosters or Shephards Bush
Bacon Butties - my breakfast best friend
F-bomb dropping mayoral candidate (and winner!) Boris Johnson - affectionately known as BoJo
A saying I want on a T-Shirt, bumper sticker and permanently engraved for me: Just because I understand, doesn't mean I care"

Favorite quotes:
"Wait! You're AMERican???" "Hey you're the one that asked ME buddy!" - exchange between tube passenger and Nicole in tunnel between tracks
"something or other going up, repeat twice, SHEFFIELD!" - drunk footy fans on tube
"Holy Shit!" - Nicole and Michelle in unison upon realizing what time they slept till on Sunday
"Why do you need a napkin for a beer?  Jesus Christ!" - Nicole to Michelle at a pub in Whitechapel during Jack the Ripper tour after a wee spill
"Do you need help finding somewhere?  If you want to go and mingle, go up there a couple blocks and turn left" - quite possibly the only man in the entire area of London who recognized that we needed decent directions, and what we were looking for.  It didn't hurt that he was very good looking, and, as we deemed, quite Olympic ready.
"I'm doing this as a courtesy, not because you are travelling with her" - snotty KLM airport agent to Nicole and I at Heathrow
I will definitely miss the tube announcements in that lovely plummy accent "this is a Central Line train to Ealing Broadway."  "this is Oxford Circus, change here for Jubilee and Victoria lines"

Musings on a Friday

The Good

Lots to be thankful for! 

The Mighty Puckstar is healing up nicely, and while making it to any shows this summer is a long-shot, I am immeasurably grateful for his health.

I’m happy and healthy.  Never to be underestimated or valued! 

I see Vision Boards are very popular (I think when I was in primary school we called them collages J ).  I laughingly told a friend I was going to make my own, and she asked me why I’d bother?   “You’re only going to have 2 halves, hot Latin men and Oberon, so what’ the point?”  She may be right, but it sure made me laugh.

Going to London with the sib next Friday.   Very excited, and plan on very little sleep in order to squeeze the most out of the experience!  Life for me is all about the story.  I don’t need material things as much as I need experiences to savor.  I kind of feel sorry for folks whose worth is measured in things that never last. 

I can’t remember where I read this – but thought it was funny/true.   You can fix looks; whether through diet, exercise, plastic surgery, etc.  But you sure can’t fix stupid.  So true!

It’s Kentucky Derby season!  I’ve been watching the preps, and it’s a puzzler.   I don’t think Union Rags looks as bad as his FL Derby might suggest.  I don’t think Hanson is a mile and a quarter horse.  I think Bodemeister is vulnerable.  Arggh!  But fun to watch and debate on the run up to 5/5!

The Bad

What is it about the Pacific Northwest that seems to breed this rampant passive-aggressiveness? I’ve had lunch on 2 separate occasions last week with professional colleagues native to other parts of the country.  The passive aggressiveness of people here in the NW (specifically Seattle and Portland) was a lively topic of conversation.  My theory is that they’ve drunk so much of the PC-speak kool-aid that they don’t know how to talk to anyone anymore.  One of my friends (non NW native) came up with the best description; ice-nice.

Got a letter from Mitt Romney yesterday.  Gee Mitt, of all the issues you address in your 4 page letter (all important issues to be sure) the one glaring omission is that you are a woman-hating Morman.  How about addressing that?  If he really wants to throw a monkey-wrench into the election – he needs to pick Condoleeza Rice as his VP running mate.  I’m sure that would be personal anathema to good old Mitt – but it would shake things up come November. 

I don’t know why I bother asking this anymore, but why are there so many people who can only feel good about themselves by stabbing other folks in the back?  And women are the worst.   During my career, I’ve worked for quite a few female managers and executives.   Sad to say, I’ve had one truly outstanding female manager (thank you Yvonne Allmaras for raising the bar on integrity, personal growth, and motivation), one pretty good female manager, and a whole host of truly terrible female managers and executives.  Some act like their team is their own personal sorority, complete with rush, hazing and ostracization.   I’ve been on a team where back-biting, and stealing each other’s business was encouraged.  So sad, so un-necessary and from a progressive standpoint – depressing.  Frankly – I’d MUCH rather work for a man at this point.  (Oberon argues that I already do...him!)

Today's Playlist brought to you by 8 Pounds (the cat)

Rumor Has It - Adele
Uprising - Muse
Tighten Up - Black Keys

Lots of doings!

Thursday, Aug 18
We had a Low and an Ariat National Medal Class.  The Low (unrated of course) went perfect, landed every lead, jumped awesome.  The Ariat was fun; we got a bending line AND a rollback.  Jumped fence 1 beautifully, unfortunately did NOT land the lead and skipped the change.  BUT, jumped the scary straw that gave many others fits (a couple of unintentional dismounts in fact) and bent to the oxer and jumped out fantastic.  We had one unintentional swap in the middle of a line (oh NOW you give it to me?!) and finished up well.  We ended up 7th in a big class.  I feel like if we had landed the leads and not swapped, we would have made the ride off.  Oh well - hard to NOT be happy with how he went!

Friday, August 19
We went late late late today (read...last group of the day).  So we went for a leisurely stroll this morning, had some grass, a good nap (him not me) and finally got ready to go.  We had a good low round.  He looked pretty hard at the first jump of the judges line, and I tapped him off the ground, but landed all leads and jumped well.  Then we had a hunter round, and had a bit of drama with his gawking to the right, and me trying to get his attention on the jump, and finally at the last second when he's almost underneath it he sees it and leaps it like a deer.  I get chucked forward and lose my right stirrup but stayed on and we jumped out, and carried on (I finally got my stirrup back before the next line!) and finished up again with the judge's line - in which he decided to pay me back a little for the tap off the ground last time and jumped in and out like a freight train.  Somehow - we still ended up 6th - and had to jog..with him chuckling I'm sure.  Then we had the hack, and Teri said its the best I've shown him under saddle, so we ended up 4th.   All in all a long, but very satisfying day.  We go first thing tomorrow - so wakey wakey!

Random Notes:

• Quote of the Day:  Hunter Ring 3 Gate Person Tracy "If I don't see some action soon, I'm going to start looking for some adults"
• Seeing the Tallulah mare and her Voltaire foal going parade in the Grand Prix field for the Diane Tidball Grand Prix
• So many horses, so much seeming chaos - and yet it all somehow works.  Kudos to TBird Show Park staff!
• Oberon's Playlist today:
• Money - Jessie J
• Rumor Has It - Adele
• Bad Romance - Lady GaGa

930 Horses Oh My!

We actually arrived Sunday night, and got the horses reasonably settled, and fed before heading off to the Holiday Inn Express (free breakfast and internet!) ourselves.  Monday was set up day, as well as giving the horses (Mighty, Cruiser, Rumor and Toby) a good hack and a trail ride (beware the killer blackberries....they could clearly use the services of Totes McGoats here!).  We even got Teri on a bicycle yesterday!  She is pretty convinced I am going to hurt myself on the 2-wheeled non-beastie.  No worries about the 1200 pound beastie ...go figure hahahahaha!!
Tuesday was schooling day, and Mighty got to go first...and beep bop boop (yes I made sound effects) we went around and were done.  He got a bath, and some turnout where he made new friends and got a nice roll (thereby negating the benefit of the bath). 
Our weather is beautiful, and it's *almost* as much fun to fantasy horse shop and people watch as to ride.  Please note the use of asterisks.  We have a pretty easy day tomorrow, then the Ariat Medal Thursday, as well as the Scheduled Entertainment Event of the Evening---the Hunter Derby. 
Notes: 

• to the @#&* who tried to steal our golf cart last night and broke the key off in the ignition....karma will kick you in the ass.....trust
• we've talked about bringing bikes up here for years, and finally remembered...Rock Hopper and Magna have been a hit.  Emily and I took them 4-wheelin' today, got herded by a golf cart and truly took them rock-hoppin'
• There are 930 horses here across all the divisions.  It promised to be super busy, organized, chaos. In other words, a horse show.

Oberon's Playlist Today:

• Uprising - Muse
• You Got the Love - Florence and the Machine
• Just a Lil' Bit - 50 Cent

Miscellaneous Stuff

It has certainly been a busy few weeks since we left Thunderbird.  The Mighty has a tooth issue, essentially a cavity, due to abnormal growth of an upper molar.   It will have to be extracted - looks like October.  He colic'ed yesterday - so any vendor unfortunate enough to give me a bad time basically got their head ripped off.
We're heading back to Thunderbird next week, for a 2 show stay, after which we will officially be destitute.  Stay tuned for the September garage sale at which ponychick sells everything in the house that is not nailed down!
I decided I am *not* going to my high school reunion.  None of these people were friends back in the day, it's not like we became friends AFTER high school, so why on earth would I pay $100 to go hang out with them now? 
Just for fun:  Current Fave Five
1) Johnny Depp (pretty much locked into the emeritus spot)
2) James Marsters (ditto spot #2)
3) Kyle Chandler (obsessed with Coach Tayler and his puppy eyes)
4) Taylor Kitsch (Riggs, Riggs, Riggs)
5) open...feel free to apply...supply a photo :-)

Last Day - the crowd certainly got their entertaiment value!

We're home - and the last day of the show certainly provided its share of comedy and adventure.  We had the Hunter Stake in the morning - a chance for The Mighty to earn a little $$.  We had a beautiful round going, certainly enough to place highly.  Only 2 fences to go. Then we came to the 2-stride going towards home on the far side.  About the time I could feel him thinking about saying 'no' I said 'yes' most emphatically (and I must confess...too early) and we left out the last stride jumping in...and since I was (again...confession time...getting ahead of him..tsk tsk Michelle) already leaning out, when he jumped in I got popped out of the saddle, and lost both stirrups.  So I'm sort of clinging to his neck and he's wondering what the hell I want him to do, so I tell him to go ahead and jump out of the big oxer dammit.  He did, in 3, which was okay since I didn't make it back into the saddle all the way until after that 2nd fence, and I never did get my stirrups back.  Needless to say - class blown.

But we still have the $1.5k Dexter Hunter Classic- we can redeem ourselves!  These are the fun classes, and for this particular event, they took out the fences dividing Hunter Ring 1 and Hunter Ring 2, with the course itself sending you between the 2 rings.  We also got to bust out our formal tail coat (shadbelly) and cravat.  Off we go - easy peasy.  Right up to fence 4, which was completely non-threatening (to me) but you jump that looking across this suddenly open space across to the other ring, gallop slightly downhill, then slightly uphill and jump the large(ish) oxer in the other ring.  We won't mention names but someone (rhymes with Might He?) decided to try ducking left around the jump and just miss it entirely. So again with the circle back and big cluck and squeeze over it and by now his eyes are bugging out as I ask him to gallop over to the next ring and jump this other big(ish) oxer then around to the right, up the diagonal line, down the judge's line, up over the wagon wheel then BACK to the other ring and finish over another big(ish) oxer. 

Our score was a pitiful 30 + 3 style points, so it was all over for us.  I took him on a trail ride to get both our heads screwed on right, and meandered back to the barn.  I took his tack off and was just getting ready to change clothes and pull braids when Teri came running up and yelled 'put your tack back on you're riding the 2nd round!'  I guess a bunch of riders DNC or had off-course, so we headed back to the ring and did the 2nd round, which again criss-crossed rings, and included a dreaded trot fence.  All of which we managed.  We even got 6 style points :-)  We ended up 7th (and he earned $105!) and got to participate in the victory gallop which we both dearly love - he can gallop with the best of them!  Then we really were officially done.

So - moments of brilliance, and moments of wtf.  S'okay - it's all fun - even the hairier moments make for good stories later.  We were originally scheduled to do the first week of the August series, and have now elected to add in the second week.  It will be good for him, and me (but not my bank account).  But oh well, this is what I do and it's so totally worth it to me.  I really do have a special horse- and even when he's being a dork I love him more than anything.  Sooo.......on to August!!  Donations being accepted hahaha! Items will be sold, extra odd jobs sought!

Soundtrack for Sunday:
Uprising - Muse
Stronger - Britney Spears
Basket Case- Green Day

and of course -
With apologies to Katy Perry (Last Friday Night):

There's a stranger on the course, it's not just another horse
Mighty's looking all around, I think a single rail was downed
I smell trouble in the line, he thinks all the fault was mine
Our goose was cooked in the 2, I'm gonna have a giant bruise.
Pictures of this round ended up online - we're screwed...oh well
It's a blacked out blur, but I'm pretty sure it ruled...Damn
Last week in Canada
Yeah we jumped across the tops and we took too many shots
think he refused but I forgot
Last week in Canada
Yeah I maxed my credit cards, but won a round and was a star
then he refused a trot fence, yeah it really made no sense
backed him up and made it work, he's always seein' things that lurk
Last week in Canada
Always say I'm gonna stop - come August show my wallet'll pop, and we'll do it all again
Trying to connect the dots, don't know what to tell my boss
Think I'll be gone again, horse is much more fun than men
JLord ripped her favorite pants, horse show's no place for can't
think I need a vodka shot, and a tackroom with a cot
Pictures of the show made it up online, we're screwed - oh well
It was such a blur but I'm pretty sure it ruled - damn
Last week in Canada !

The Mighty Pulls One Out of the Hat...

Today was a low, a couple of hunter classes, an eq over fences, and a flat eq.  We're all warmed up and seen it all now right?  right?  um...well.....

Warm up went great, and we were ready for our first class.  The Low is sort of your mulligan class, but it would be nice to do well, and then just have to smooth out the edges so to speak.  There was a trot fence (again) for later on, and all the lines were easy, a 5 by the judge, 6 on the diagonal and 2 on the outside.  Easy right?  Well it *started* well.  First fence - awesome.  Up the judges line in 5 - easy, down the single oxer - buried a little under it but no problem.  Right turn up the 2-stride and uh-oh.  He is backing off and giving me the 'no, uh-uh, something scary is in the bushes'.  (I should note that that particular side of the ring has really tall bushes like trees and normally they are a non-issue).  I kicked him up and clucked and got him into the 2-stride and then had a freight train that probably could have done it in 1 going out and bolting off around the turn.  Which...I have to get him back because we still have the diagonal line going home to finish.  It wasn't a pretty round ...but unbelievably we finished (together) and got 4th. 

On to the first Hunter round.  Should be able to fix it all now right?  Well sort of.  Again with the scary whatever-it-was in the bushes, but at least less freight-trainy.  However he opted out of landing all the leads, so it was a m'eh round...which..no lie...knowing how brilliant he can be....was a bit of a let down.  We got 5th...bleck. 

Next Hunter round - gotta be better right?  It was pretty good, which is better than m'eh.  We got 3rd. 

One to go - the Eq over fences.  Nothing too hard...just another trot fence hahaha.  Open with the 5-stride by the judge- great.  Down the single oxer, good, 2-stride - finally! success, continue to the right, and trot. and WHAT THE??  That would be about the time I dug the spurs in, clucked mightily (pun intended) and he leaped over that thing like it was gonna eat him.  Then the bending line which worked out well since I had his attention, roll around the little island, okay, up and then roll back (past the trot fence oh dear god!) and down to finish.  It certainly wasn't our most brilliant eq round, the judge clearly wasn't impressed by the sheer amount of riding that had to be done :-)  I honestly don't remember what we got  hahaha.

We had to do **2** jogs today.  Jog out, walk back.  Change the order, jog out, walk back.  The horses got a good giggle out of it. 

Eq on the flat to finish - which I rode well.  Should probably have been 2nd, and the placings certainly puzzled more people than me.  The person who finished directly ahead of me couldn't sit the trot or pick up the right lead canter.  So I don't know what happened there but oh well.

They announced the Champion and Reserve Champion for the Hunter Division, and I figured we were Reserve.  Imagine my surprise when they announced this same person that I spoke of in an earlier paragrah as Reserve.  Hmmmm........upon re-calculation of points - surprise!  Oberon was Reserve Champion!  Yay Mighty!

The boys again enjoyed a leisurely turnout today.  We went and watched the Ride and Rally which was the most fun.  Horses did a jumper round on the Grand Prix field, the rider bailed off and ran over to the next ring, jumped in a Kubota golf cart/ATV thingy and did a round (you had to go between the cones and not knock the tennis ball off the cones).  It was hilarious and very cool.

Tomorrow is the last day till August.  Boo!  I wish Walgreen's would give me 6 month's severence so I could just ride and show the rest of the summer :-)

Today's soundtrack:
Don't Play A Game That I Can't Win - Beastie Boys featuring Sanigold sp?)
Paparazzi - Lady Gaga