The leaderboard changed as frequently as the weather!

We started the day (rainy and gloomy, alas) by stopping by a friend's amazing SuSay farm. As a result, we were a tad bit late for dressage, just seeing the end of Dom's ride, and missing Piggy French's ride. Drat!

April took this fab photo on her phone!

During a break, I ran into April Raine (a fabulous photographer) who was heading to the emergency farrier's area to meet Danvers Child, a buddy from graduate school day (Danvers was a PhD student at Purdue when I was a PhD student at Ball State, and we knew each other then...many, many years ago). Danvers decided that, before he finished his dissertation, he'd rather be a farrier. And now he's the best damn farrier in the world. It was SO FABULOUS to see these folks again!

After seeing Danvers (who, by the way, I got to sign my hat) I walked by a tent where Jimmy Wofford was sitting ALL BY HIMSELF.  I mean, GOD WAS ALONE.  So of course I had to go fangirl. And you know what? He remembered me!  I was on cloud nine.

Somehow, after all the rain, the weather did a U turn, and we had sunshine all afternoon.

Back to Dressage: Paddy the Caddy is seriously a TB who is secretly a warmblood. That horse can MOVE.

Leslie before 

Leslie after (he went up even more)

Leamore Master Plan  and Ariel Grald came RUNNING down the walk way into dressage right after Leslie Law, creating havoc. Hmmmm--I wonder if that's actually kosher? Leslie already had a good but someone fractious ride previously.

Boyd making it happen

Tim Price and Xavier Faer had such a lovely test! As did Boyd Martin (who had perhaps the only good canter/trot transition on that final center line). Doug Payne had a really well-ridden test.

Cooley Master Class being Classy

But it was Oliver Townend, last year's winner (and Jimmy Wofford's pick to win it again) on Cooley Master Class who stole the show and ended up on the top of the leaderboard.




I'm going to be at Fence 13 A, B, and C tomorrow--"Pete's Hollow". Here's to good weather and fantastic rides!

Day 1: A Mixed Bag

While it rained this morning, the entire day of dressage was clear/cloudy, very comfortable. Thank you, dressage gods!

We woke up early (why did I decide to have that last Bourbon nightcap??) so that we could make the 9:30 test ride--Erin Pullen on Tag, who Laura knew from FL (and who also used to be a local). She was on a lovely TB who was a tad bit tense--so what could have been a great test was a little...well, testy. Still, it amazes me that these TBs who've done almost 50 starts can come back to do this!

I asked Laura, who has a LOT more experience than I do, about how to get a horse to be supple (since we both noted that it was something that many of the horses aspired to, but....). She quoted John Lyon, saying they need a "calm down cue" like stretching their head down. If they do that consistently at home--stretch down in front of your leg, listening to you while they do it, then they can use that as a cue in a more stressful environment, like the warm up ring (which I think we ALL know is probably the most terrifying places on Earth).

Notes on some of the riders:

Elizabeth Haliday-Sharp had a lovely ride, though her trot work was more impressive than her canter work. And her horse was NOT impressed by flying changes....

Joe Meyer's horse seemed confused and offered flying changes on the center line as they entered, then reared in frustration. They made a good come back, though, putting in a good test.

Felix Vogg and Colero had the best test of the day (and their scores reflected it). THIS horse was consistent and supple....and I learned later that he only had a 10 minute warm up!




Will Faudree and Pfun had a good, solid test. This pair is starting to really gel.



Daniela Moguel and Cecelia from Mexico didn't have the best test, but I was impressed with their partnership--they really were in synch.

I honest-to-God teared up when Chris Talley let the little Pony Club girls pet his horse as he exited the ring. Of course, I almost had a heart attack when he spooked at a piece of plastic and almost knocked the girls over....but all was well, and they got in one last pat before he left the ring.

Some things I learned today:

• Many horses have practiced the canter-halt or canter-walk transition, but in this test, they have to canter to trot, then halt. I saw a lot of almost stop/walks, then go back to trot, so once again, PRACTICE TRANSITIONS.
• Lots of abrupt halts. There has to be a way to halt in balance without it looking like a reining competition.
• Horses are easier to sit if they are through. I saw some bouncy riders, and I fear the horses were tense/not connected.
• Suppleness is SO IMPORTANT. And it's not tense.

During the lunch break, Laura and I finished our course walk (we only got as far as the Head of the Lake), so we started there and finished the course. So. Many. Skinnies! And so much tricky topography. It's going to be a great course.

First Horse Inspection!

We had to decide whether to go to Keeneland or the first horse inspection. After about 30 seconds, we both decided that we are here for NOT-ROLEX, dammit....so after a leisurely morning, we stopped by Quillins (which is a not-Rolex necessity), but because their halters are so freaking amazing, I didn't need another one...so I bought a little purse I'd looked at last year.

Once at the Horse Park, we realized we forgot Laura's super-cool parking hanger, so I whipped out my Worker hanger and we parked by Alltech Arena. We were there two hours before the jog was scheduled, so we decided to walk the course (actually, I told Laura, who's been JOGGING every morning, that I was old and crippled, so we would have to saunter/limp slowly, and she was ok with that). FWIW, she does a marvelous course walk, talking about how each fence should be ridden. I decided I might be able to jump fence 1....everything else was a no-go for me.

Ralph Hill looking chipper!

Almost immediately we ran into Ralph Hill, who also does a hell of a course walk (we met him at fence 3, and he said EXACTLY what Laura said about fences 1 and 2--Bad Eventer FTW!). I said howdy from my old trainer Kathleen Zins, and from Grit High who helped me shop for a horse once, and he lit up. It's good to think about old friends.

We made it to the main water complex (the Head of the Lake) before it was time for us to limp over to the Horse Inspection area.

Will Faudree and PFun:  Accepted!

There were surprisingly few people to watch the jog. I mean, there were people, but not packed like sardines, which it has been in the past. All of the horses looked fabulous, and only three were held...and of that, only one (Tactical Maneuver, ridden by Ashley Johnson). My thoughts go out to her; that has to be a tough call to hear.


After we left, we headed to Oscar Diggs, owned by Ralph Quillin, and had a lovely dinner and local brews. At home, there was more Bourbon to try.

The Changing of the Guards

Larry and Rox area heading off for two weeks in the Baltic sea, which means that [PARTY AT LARRY'S HOUSE] I'm in the house alone this not-Rolex.

After more morning grading (I really don't know how to party), Laura and I offered to take Larry and Rox to their plane, then we grabbed a bite at Windy Corner on the way home.

I left her alone with her photographs and I spent the rest of the night with my brilliant graduate students and the amazing Dr. Malea Powell, who was our honored guest. It was, once again, a fabulous class, because these guys are just amazing.

And then there was Bourbon to be tasted. First Horse Inspection tomorrow!

Taking it Easy

Today was truly a day of leisure. I tried to get some grading done (very little), and read for my class Tuesday night (which I did), as well as make plans to ensure our visitor was going to be ok (it was magical that I was able to get the most amazing human in our field to come be a guest speaker in my class during NOT-ROLEX week!!)

I got a message on my phone the the ONE and ONLY Bad Eventer was on her way, and would be at Chez Rickly that evening for not-Rolex, laden with family photos. Another KY friend, Stacy, suggested we meet up for dinner near her place in Versailles (we went from Paris to Versailles!) at Ricardo's, we all met there--what a lovely place! 

I rode with Bad Eventer (aka Laura) on the way home, and we proceeded to taste the many, many Bourbons. We are in KY, after all (even if it is PARIS, KY!).

Happy Easter!

Today is all about Family--from the giant amount of FOOD and CANDY to the little ones hyped up on it.

But we had a GREAT Easter egg hunt!!

And now I'm basically in a food coma.







We got the rest of the Bourbons out and had a proper tasting, too.



Sadly, though, we had to say farewell to Joyce, who felt much better after her day abed. ALL the kiddos wanted to come see her off and learn about the plane. I think we might have some future pilots in our midst!

Bourbon and Bedtime

Joyce, being the amazing human she is, flew me to my brother's place in KY, DESPITE the weather being less-than-ideal (e.g., it was the most consistent bumpy flight ever for me), and DESPITE the fact that she was getting a nasty cold.

Did I mention I'm married to a saint?

We dropped of Cobbie (thanks, Noot and 2Chairs!), then high-tailed it to the land of bluegrass, where spring is blooming (and raining) everywhere.

The first day, we opted to head out to a Bourbon tour (side note--did you know that Bourbon is always supposed to be capitalized?  The more you know....).

One of our first stops on Friday was to get yummy Indian food, and then to the Liquor Barn to get some new Bourbons to taste.

Joyce was feeling too puny to go with us on Saturday, so she stayed home in bed. Larry, Rox, and I headed out to Willett Distillery and had a lovely tour. They are a small, family-owned distillery, and one of the unique things about this tour was that, right before the traditional Bourbon tasting, they made us all an old fashioned, with local syrup and bitters, and it was quite tasty (and quite alcoholic!). By the time we got the the actual Bourbon tasting, everyone was feeling grand....and all the Bourbons taste FABULOUS. I cam home with some of the Willett Pot Still Bourbon.