WEDNESDAY: I wasn't there for the unpacking and set up so I can't say too much about how it went. We stayed in Gate A, Barn 2 which was one of the front permanent structures. We all agreed that they were convenient and probably worth the extra money. The stalls were huge and the horses were happy. It was very accessible to the large hunter ring where all the showing went on for the finals. It was easily walking distance. There was no room to set up a stall for the people but the aisles were so large it worked out. I looked around- no one really had a stall to hang around in. Don't know if it was the finals or the big barn. I drove up after work on Wed. night. Got sooooo lost looking for the mountain retreat Don had rented. To add insult to injury, Kris did not have her cell with her, mine was running out of power and there was no service on the BIG mountain on which I was lost. Really scary, steep rock to my right and cliff to my left and a treed road that winded steeply up. up, up.... I angrily gave up and told them I'd meet them at the Land & Sea restaurant. I was so disoriented after the BIG mountain that I finally pulled onto a little space between a fork in the road and hoped someone would find me on their way to dinner and they did. Dinner was nice and we all retreated to our respective house/hotel rooms. The house was rustic but appealing and very "up state New Yorkish" (to quote Karen), It was really comfortable and not having a TV was not a problem and we settled in to an inviting room with a big fire every night. Kris called Cherry and asked her to bring some DVD's for the rest of the weekend.
THURSDAY: The girls were up and riding by 6:15- needed to be out of the ring by 7:00 AM. Stalls were cleaned, horses bathe, grazed and fed.Could not jump, just walk around. Now this ring was like nothing you have ever seen before. At one point, I counted 32 jumps, hunter and jumper mixed together. Needless to say there was a lot to look at. Carol, Sue, Cherry and Karen made the trip up to watch. The weather was incredible. Our newly painted golf cart was a big hit. Breanna rode in the Bit of Straw and as usual was surrounded by family, aunts, grandparents, etc. She did not have quite enough pace to the first jump which, unfortunately affected the next few jumps. She did not make the cut off for the second round. All the adults were combined for the Adult Ami Division which had over 40 riders. Everyone rode well. Uddy was a bit playful, not a good time to return to her "baby stuff" but considering the ring it might have been expected. Splash was great but I think Amy had one bad jump. Kris was lovely and got a 3rd. Nancy bought the video. Abundance won that class and Private Ryan, who had won the whole thing the past 2 years, was second. All came back to the house and we ordered take out Chinese. It was yummy, relaxing and a bargain to boot! Did I mention Sue and Tom riding the ATV which was on the front lawn of the house? What fun!
FRIDAY: Day started the same- early ride. Happy Birthday Nancy! I think the rain came after Kris rode. I think she was 10th to go for the second trip of the Adults. Kris and Ellen were decked out in their shadbellies. Very cool! Kris had another beautiful round except Monty did a lead change and then chipped the jump in a 9-10 stride line. The rest was perfect. We bought the video so you can see her in her shadbelly. Amy scored a 78.9 and finished 8th in the $2,000 stakes class! YAY! Found a new Pizza place on 212 and had lunch before Amy and Kris rode in the Hudson Equitation Class. Nancy decided to forego the decorating of the house in favor of fixing the ring with new jumps and flowers, (When in Rome....) Played some Poker and Hearts in the tack stall to pass some time while it rained. There were about 60 horses in the first Eq class so they split the ring. Thirty went on each side. Again there was turmoil as horse after horse refused. Kris was so excited about how cool the jumps were. She thought it would be a blast and it was. She only wished she could have ridden Frankie on that course as well. Kris got a 6th even though she pulled a rail. Rest of the trip was lovely and not sure why they hit the rail. She was on a roll. Amy got 8th and they took a prize picture with the 2 of them for Nancy's birthday. It was getting dark by the time they finished. (no video due to darkness). We all went to the awards banquet where Ellen received a lovely ribbon for 10th place with a beautiful frame & certificate, for total points for the division. Tried to watch Sea Biscuit but conked out!
SATURDAY: Again all started the same. Green shirt made its debut with Crystal. Bainey, Cierra and their dogs joined us at the show. Kris was not as excited but a little nervous and it showed. Major errors, Monty stopped twice, not enough pace. Kris was so upset- all rider error! Kris scored a 15 (tied Philosophy who made almost the same errors) Back to the Pizza place for lunch. Sarah and some of her college friends came to join us. She looks great and very happy. She'll be home next weekend because she misses her Dog (sorry Nancy).The friends all toured the showgrounds, driving around on the BCF cart and had a good time. They thought the whole thing was amazing! I'm sure they're all talking about what a cool mom Sarah has! We all stayed around to watch Taylor ride Splash. She warmed him up for a long time almost 40 minutes after he had shown in two classes. Nancy and Crystal stepped in and took him back to the barn to relax him a bit before she did her class. The ring was split again and this time the kids were truly riding in the dark. Some opted to finish in the morning. Taylor placed 8th. Everyone was exhausted so we all went our own ways. Back to the house- leftover Chinese and subs. A house can save a lot of eating out costs, Watched Sea Biscuit, Ellen had never seen it!
SUNDAY: Slept in!! Taylor rode Splash in the morning. No need to rush to clean stalls. Leisurely packed and met for breakfast at the diner. Found a huge pile of some kind of poop outside the mountain house... we're thinking BEAR!!! Ellen, Don & Breanna were great housemates. Don was very handy making fires for us every night. At the show, some inquiries about Udy. All and all a great time, not too much drama, Can't wait to get back next season, neither can Tom whose constantly figuring how to set things up and make life easier for all of us. Took loads of pictures over the 4 days. Can't wait for you to see them!
Harrisburg anyone????
Debbie 9/16/2008
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