Allentown, NJ
May 6, 2010
After a few days of blissfully unscheduled, uncommitted, free time, including a showing in the Andrew’s Bridge Hunt “Puppy Show” (not at all what one would think and, the horror, we have pictures image 1, image 2 ) and a little jump lesson with Phillip Dutton on Tuesday, I packed up my things and moved over to the New Jersey Horse Park yesterday. My Parents arrived last night and it is such a treat to have them with me at an event, and I’m not just saying that because I found myself two grooms. Every time I looked into the barn today they were scuddering around like little worker bees, cleaning, organizing, or polishing something. While I’m sure they were mighty board most of the day, they did a fine job of pretending they were enjoying it, and I certainly enjoyed the help. This morning we Jogged-out and then I didn’t do dressage until 4:00 which left me plenty of time for my prerequisite stress-out. When 4:00 did finally roll around, Finian had a very steady, accurate, good test. It was a touch short of the brilliance that he’s capable of, but it was still plenty good enough for a 36.8, well ahead of second place with a 53.6. When we’d finished giving Finn his well earned hugs and kisses, I had a quick jog around the cross country course. It looks very open and gallopy, with a few difficult combinations and a lot of bold single fences. Tomorrow I’ll take Finn out for an easy jump school and walk around the cross country many more times. With nothing else to do, I’ll try to keep my mind from wandering too far from home, and make sure that things are all set and ready for Saturday.