Nose to the Grindstone

Time flies when you're busy! The month of October is passing by quickly, although it's going by a little too quickly if you ask me. This is the first fall since 2008 where I've still been eventing at this point in time. In 2009, I was at the long format CCI* in Kentucky and last year Dante was recuperating from an injury. In 2008, I just about killed myself from exhaustion as I competed every two weeks for two months while moving up to Prelim at Holly Hill at the same time I began my second stint at college, taking 18 hours of Physics, Technical Writing, Calculus 3, and other time-intensive classes. It was a bit much.

So of course my final fall hearkens back to my first fall. My class load is light; twelve hours, three of which are online. Two of my classes are business, which are just that much easier than my engineering classes. However, one class is my senior design project, which can be time consuming and will only grow to be more so as the year progresses. And the thing that is taking up most of my time right now is studying for the FE (Fundamentals of Engineering) exam, which is a fun 8-hour exam that tests everything I ever learned ever. Hooray! And when do I have to take this exam? Why, the Saturday before Galway!

Apparently I have a thing for picking two stars that fall immediately after big tests. I left for Jersey on Wednesday morning immediately following finals last semester on Monday and Tuesday. Before Galway I have an exam Monday and Wednesday for my normal classes, the FE on Saturday, and then an online exam the Monday following Galway. Yippee!

Balancing work and riding will be tough, but balancing school and riding is no picnic either.

On the horse front, Dante is looking and feeling great. Fall arrived earlier this week, with highs in the 60s. I absolutely love fall weather and the brisk cold and so does Dante. We jumped on Tuesday, and both of us were dead on everything so we only jumped a couple of courses before doing trot sets. It really is lovely to not be overheating while warming up or doing trot sets.

In between studying breaks I've been avidly stalking old Galway Downs video to try and get an idea of the grounds. It looks flat like Texas! I wouldn't mind some cooler weather because Dante's coat has slowly been growing in despite me praying to the hair gods for it not to. He isn't getting clipped before we go, I have no time and he really doesn't have enough of a coat to clip anyways. Hooray for Thoroughbreds! One of my friends is moving up to Intermediate at Holly Hill, and she had to clip her Thoroughbred in preparation because he was a hairy beast. I guess I should say to hooray to my Thoroughbred and his skimpy coat! Clipping is definitely a January chore, not an October chore.

One week until the horses leave!