Friday morning I went up to the barn to pack up the trailer and get us ready for the weekend in Camp Lake, WI. I drove Tyler and Finn, a boarder's horse going to his first event, to Silverwood after lunch. Anne stayed home for the weekend to help with the barn and Charles drove down to Silverwood each day since he was competing Finn.
I stayed at a local hotel for the weekend. How odd that I felt uncomfortable in a hotel! The Doubletree Milwaukee really has become like home.
Our ride times on Saturday were 11am and 3pm for dressage and XC. Charles and I were in the same division. We did our morning chores, washed Tyler again, finished braiding both horses, and got ready for our rides. Tyler had become VERY attached to Finn. Our dressage was kind of accurate. Tyler was distracted by his wanting to find Finn. A 43.8 was a gift score and put us in last place, but within a rail or two of many riders.
The XC course was great! I really liked it when I walked it. There was a coop, bank, wishing well, log and hill complex, hedge, rail and ditch, barrels, and roll tops. It was a fun course with more max fences than not.
The first 4 fences road great. The fifth fence was the rock pile under a log. It took it for granted at Tyler ran out to the left. I can't leave my guard down for a minute! He circled around and jumped it without a thought. We were running to make time. I've never run that fast around a XC course before and I loved it! I wish we could go that fast each time. Optimum time was 5:09 and we went in 5:22. The refusal didn't help us move up the standings like I had hoped.
A nice addition to the day was that my friends Diane and Donna from work came to see us! Donna has heard about Tyler and what we do for years now and it was cool to show her in person what we do. Diane is an avid rider and it was nice to have her support and a helping hand around.
Saturday night I fell asleep early at the hotel after taking care of the boys and tucking them in for the night.
Sunday morning brought rain. It started about half way through the Training division's stadium round. There were a few moments of lightning and the jumping stopped. Tyler and I jumped near the end of the rain. He was great! The rain didn't bother either of us. Get this, Tyler rubbed a back rail of an oxer on a long spot! The rail stayed up. We had a solid round and I was very, very proud of him.
Because of the rain, we had to cancel XC schooling. Charles was going to let us go around the Novice course so I was really bummed. We packed up to head home just so we could unpack everything.
It was a great experience and I'm glad we went even if we didn't place well. It's always good to get Tyler and I out to new places and jump new things.
Photos of the weekend:
My Facebook photos
The Professional Photos
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