Well the circus was on the road at 6:00 a.m. this morning. It was a long steady haul to the Carolina Horse Park, but they were unloading horses by 3:00 p.m. Both the horses and the riders who ride at this level sure do clock up a lot of miles. Our mechanics here at home are in awe of the miles we put on our truck. The horses really are amazing the way they cope with the hours and hours shut up in a little box. As a horse person I have always thought that ‘loading’ is one of the biggest things we teach a horse to do and we all take it for granted. For a huge creature whose basic instincts are ‘fright and flight,’ getting into a little metal box that bangs and rattles along the highways (have you ever travelled the back?), swings back and forward as we stop and start never mind the eighteen wheelers flying by. I have always been impressed by the trust shown by every horse that loads into a trailer.
Selena didn’t say much in her updates to me. She said “Unloading at the Carolina Horse Park, it looks big and beautiful from what we can see so far.” I can’t wait to see some photos, it is our first time competing there. The dressage starts Wednesday (tomorrow) and there is a live stream. Here is the link. I hope you get a chance to watch some of the action.
Tonight she and Anne Marie went out to dinner with our good friend, one of Canada’s two three star single drivers, Tina Sully. Tina, her navigator and partner Louise Fish and their home bred mare have worked their way up through the levels in combined driving and are now at the top of the tree. Tina is based in the Carolinas in the winters and trains with USA four in hand superstar Bill Long. This photo gives you a bit of an idea of what it has taken to get to the top.
It is still looking quite Spring like around here at OHE North. However, my phone insists that we are going to have some kind of a big storm over the next day or so. Personally, I am in denial, I hereby refuse to have a storm tomorrow, it’s NOT happening. Apart from anything else, we have eventers who need to do their gallop sets tomorrow, and as we all know, eventers are going to be out there doing their sets no matter what.
