Countdown

We have arrived in sunny Altoona! The nineteen hour drive was uneventful for me and Raphael, my trusty red Jeep. I arrived yesterday afternoon and proceeded to set up my hotel room the way I like it. I may not be a princess type, but I definitely don't sleep well with crappy bedding! So a comforter, a sheet, and two pillows made the trip with me, along with plenty of other necessities.

This morning, I woke up and went for a jog around a neighborhood bordering a lake right next to my motel. It was a lovely view while running, and made the mile (yes, only a mile!) go by very quickly. I'm hoping to make the morning run a habit before heading down to Rocking Horse.

Rocking Horse is only a five minute drive, which is lovely because I spend twenty minutes at least commuting at home. Twenty minutes isn't a long commute, but five minutes is really going to spoil me!

One thing I do not love is the weather. Ironically, I am one of the few people who love the cold and winter. Obviously, we come to Florida to escape the cold! So the fact that it is hitting eighty every day doesn't really thrill me. However, this is where the shows are, and so this is where we are.  (And yes, one day I would love to go to Aiken instead of Ocala, but it's not been in the cards yet.)

The four of us already there then proceeded to attempt to jury rig a ladder to hang up a tack hook in our tack stall. I truly wish someone had video taped it, as it quickly devolved into the old gem "how many eventers does it take to hang a tack hook?.." Unfortunately, we never did get it hung, so we are still unsure how many it actually takes! (My guess is two and an actual ladder....)

Mike's rig pulled into RH around eleven, and we quickly got to work pulling off trunks, tack, and of course twelve horses! Dante gets immediately put in his stall with his door shut after he gets off the trailer. He tends to be very on a mission, and its much better for him to unwind in his stall for ten minutes than to barge around the grounds. He also immediately sucked down his entire water bucket, then made slurping sounds until I obligingly refilled it.

(Dante surveys his new surroundings during his turnout time.)

By five o'clock, the horses had all had turnout, the stalls were all setup, the tack was hung, the turnout and lesson schedules were made, and the trainers were fed. Tomorrow, the real work starts! Show season begins Friday...