The old ladies hit the road this morning, a late start, as usual, thanks to Bart’s desire for a little more beauty sleep… here he is at 8:59 AM – our planned departure was 9 AM.
I reminded him of our plans! Here he is at 9:05 AM…
Finally, with the help of an apple bribe, Bart got up, and we wandered over to Jane’s, said goodbye to Sandy, the donkey, who gave Bart some free advice, and off we went, westward ho!
We had an uneventful trip west across Missouri to Kansas City, where they have had a LOT of precipitation. Somehow, we made it without a single drop of rain, though the heavens opened after we were safely inside Kemper Arena, or whatever the place is now called. We saw a sign saying Hy-Vee Arena! It doesn’t have quite the same ring to it, but the place is unchanged.
As luck would have it, Kris was able to get our stalls at the end of his Kirin Farm aisle. As soon as we arrived, the team of Allie and Allie helped us unload and settle in. Allie Youngren had even given us little welcome bags! How sweet is that!?
Bart and Derry traveled well and were quite happy in their rather noisy new digs…
We had a good school with Kris, and feel ready and excited for tomorrow, when we will ease back into showing with a 1.0 meter class. Alas, the jumpers follow the hunters. We hate waiting around all day, but there is plenty of activity here, friends to catch up with, and horses to watch, so the time will fly, we hope, and there is a Grand Prix to watch tomorrow evening. That should inspire us to better riding.
Bart is not happy with the cold water baths here!
The American Royal used to be a very big deal, and it was in November, with Jumpers and Saddlebreds showing in front of crowds of spectators. Now they have split the Saddlebreds to their own show, and moved the hunter / jumper show to October. It still doesn’t seem quite right to me, and it conflicts with Harrisburg, so that affects the entries. Nonetheless, there are still around 300 horses here and there is a lot of prize money to be won (by the big jumpers, not old ladies!). It’s a lot of fun to be here.
I ran into Karen Nielsen, from whom we have bought horses in the past. She was happy to see me, but even she said “I can’t believe you are still showing!” (she’s my age). I don’t feel old, but I am somewhat taken aback by these kind of remarks. When I talk about the #oldladieshorseshowing, I am sort of kidding! We are still young at heart. That said, we went to early dinner, and are having an early night so as to be fired up tomorrow and ride like youngsters…
Great going ahead. We are all rooting.
You are definitely not an old lady. Among other things, you are my hero!
Love the updates as always!! The welcome bag is such a nice idea. Good luck this week and have fun!! looking forward to following along!