Flying Fox Horse Show Day 1

Here is the news you have been waiting for! The old ladies did not disgrace themselves today. Jane and I are both very lucky in having two fabulous Irish horses. Bart and Derry acquitted themselves well, despite our rusty riding.

We arrived to discover that our class (Open Hunter) was already underway! Yikes! There ensued a rush, some cursing, and we were soon enough in our saddles . Alas, we spent about an hour waiting around before our section (2’9″) began. There were 16 horses in the class, and in the first class Bart and I placed 5th! He was delightful and after “doing my cardio” (heart pounding in the in gate), it was actually fun. Jane and Derry had an unfortunate rail down, but were otherwise impeccable.

In the second class, Jane and Derry laid down an almost perfect trip, and earned a primary color – third place in a tough class. Bart and I blew a lead change (well, I blew it by letting Bart fall in on the turn) but we were otherwise quite outstanding. Many thanks to Hillary for video, from which we lifted these pictures, and gained some education.

We elected to ride indoors, since we are going to be showing indoors at the big shows, but the jumpers went outside in a third ring, because the show is so well attended. We made a visit out there, and were very glad we were showing indoors! The wind was wild, and jumps were blowing down with horses on course! As I write this, the wind is still howling, and now there is a severe thunderstorm warning. I hope conditions will settle for tomorrow. We are planning to try our hands at riding in the Hunter Derby at 3′. The thinking is that we will benefit from being forced to ride under stress. Ha!

Harry and Weedy came to watch us, and drove to the show at top speed, only to spend almost two hours waiting. But Weedy spreads sweetness and light wherever he goes, so their time was not wasted. Unfortunately, I did not get a picture of the dashing duo, and they did not hang around after our rides. Here are a few pictures I did take at the show after we rode…

Before leaving for the show, the horses enjoyed the warm weather, and Bart was happy to return to sunshine after working at the show..

A couple of bird pictures presented themselves. Cardinal and black capped chickadee…

A few cat pictures before we left…

And at the show, Phoebe, who helps Kate work the in gate, is a young version of Mistletoe!

Jane and I had a wonderful time, despite our anxiety over the horror of Ukraine. It seems wrong to be fortunate while people are suffering so terribly. But time is short, and we will make the most of it while we can, I guess. The animals teach us to live in the moment.

Be safe, be well, be strong, be kind, be brave. Peace.