A Tale of Two Horse Shows

I went to two different horse shows last weekend. Neither of which I competed in.  Saturday night was spent at the Del Mar National and Sunday was the Hipico Real del Mar show in Rosarito, Mexico.

Why yes, I did buy a limited edition Flexible sweatshirt

I was originally going to come down for the show in Mexico, which we were invited to in February.   But once I saw that the National was going to be the same weekend I knew I wanted to go to that as well.  Especially once they announced Flexible's retirement ceremony.  I absolutely love Flexi and Rich.  While it's sad that they don't ever compete in Oregon, I'm glad I was able to see them one last time.

So many tears

 I had texted early in the week with L to see if she was going to be at the Grand Prix and maybe meet up.  I was super busy Saturday before the GP and didn't follow up.  To my surprise, about half way through the GP I heard someone call her name and looked over and she was sitting in the same row as I was.  I texted her then and she kindly took me over during the break before the jump off to meet the other bloggers there. I got to meet Carey, Alex, Karen, and Susan.  We didn't have very long to chat and I wish we had had more time.  I also ran over at one point to see a big group from my old barn and talk to my old trainer for a bit. I had to leave right after it was over because we still had over an hour drive back to my parent's house and I had been up for close to 20hrs at that point. The GP course was super hard; I don't know if I've ever seen so many retire on course or be eliminated.

Seriously, best arena view ever

Sunday was wet and cold, not your typical SoCal/Northern Mexico May day. We got to Hipico Real del Mar as they were walking the .80m course and I really wanted to be out there jumping it. The rain started during the second rider's round and it was super nasty.  We didn't stay very long but from what we did see, the show looked a lot like a US show.  There were kids not knowing where they were going, trainers at the ringside looking frustrated, and parents in the stands trying to jump every jump with their kids. There was one dad who was talking during his daughter's round, counting down the strides and telling her to wait or kissing when appropriate. But it was all in Spanish. It was very cute. I'd say the biggest difference, besides the language, was that none of the girls had their hair up in their helmets.  Everyone just had a pony tail and one or two didn't eve have their hair tied back.  What would George Morris say?!

Going Back to Cali

I made a quick trip down to San Diego last weekend and was able to meet the wonderful L from Viva Carlos. She emailed me after I posted that I was going down and luckily we were able to coordinate schedules.  We talked ponies, her move, and the SD horse scene.

We did stop to in to watch the county show going on at Showpark, just not the same day as L

I grew up in a suburb of SD and while I haven't lived there for 12 years I do keep in contact with my former trainer and barn friends from down there. I gave her the names of a couple people to watch out for, as well as a bit of the run down on the local county circuit. Which is probably more competitive and with just as nice of horses as the rated circuit as up here in Oregon. I usually go down to SD couple times a year so hopefully we can meet up again!!

We also hit up the Cat Cafe in SD. 

Scenes from SoCal

I had a wonderful and relaxing vacation last week at my parent's outside San Diego.  It was bittersweet; my parents are selling my childhood home and moving to the beach in Mexico.  I haven't lived down there in over 10 years, but it will be weird visiting and not staying there.  So this was my last hurrah at home.

The things you find while cleaning out the house. Me and a TB gelding I leased for a while, Ferrari.  Circa 2002

I did manage to sneak in a ride at my old barn.  My old trainer and I went for a "trail" ride.  The barn in out in the suburbs, but suburbia's been growing.  They have bridle paths along some of the roads and around a big park.  I was riding Royal, a TB gelding my trainer has only had a month, and only taken on the trails once.  I was prepared to die, but he was a very good boy.  The only thing he didn't like was a stroller coming towards him but all he did was stare and snort at it.

Meet Royal, trail horse extraordinaire.

We took a day and went down to see the house my parents are renting in Mexico. They'll be just a half hour or so south of the border and the area is super nice.  Very relaxing and laid back.  I can't wait to spend Christmas on the beach instead of freezing my butt off in Oregon!

Future view

And last but not least, while going shopping with my mom we passed the following, and I of course made her stop the car so I could get the pic:

Adopt Me?

I wish Bill Gates was my dad.  Not that I don't love my parents to death, they are absolutely wonderful and have been beyond supportive of my horse habit.  But this article really makes me wish I could be adopted.

He bought an $18 million, 230 acre, 120+ stall barn that used to be owned by diet guru Jenny Craig.  She and her late husband had racehorses, and this farm was their "layup" facility. It has multiple 30 acre pastures, a 3/4mile training track, rehab facilities, multiple living quarters for staff and who know what else. Gates' daughter shows in the jumpers, and they plan to turn this into a h/j facility. It's not clear from the article, or others I've read, if it will just be for their horses/trainer or if it will be a show facility.  The Del Mar Showpark and the Del Mar Fairground are about a mile and five miles away respectively, so I can't see another show facility being a viable option.

The real kicker is that I went to elementary school about a half mile away, if I were to jump a few fences and run through some backyards.  I don't know how many times we've driven by this place.  I've always been amazed by it, and I thought it was the coolest thing as a kid.  I can only imagine what Gates will turn it into.

Whirlwind Week

First off, Happy Thanksgiving!! It's been a busy week for me.

Last Friday my plan after work was to ride Zoe, lunge Bud then clean and pack for our show on Saturday. However one flat and one very low tire on my trailer derailed that. Luckily Rick was able to change my flat and put air in the low tire. With an hour till closing time, I hauled the trailer over to Les Schwab and the wonderful guys fixed both tires for free!!

Saturday was very cold and wet and I was glad I spent the money to get Bud a day stall at the show. We got there early enough to eat breakfast and watch some rounds go. I had a 2' schooling round first, and Bud was pretty backed off in warm up. The footing was pretty hard and packed in the warm up ring and he didn't like it. Our round went ok, the lines were a little long and we had to scramble a bit to make them.

My 2'6" rounds weren't much better. Buddy woke up for the bigger fences but it was still hard to make the distances. I did have a couple "oh shit" moments but Bud held it together. Surprisingly our last round, the mini medal, was our best round. I only placed 6th, and both Jen and I thought I should have been higher. The girl who was 5th had a couple funky lines and her horse swapped leads a couple times. Oh well.

Sunday I flew down to San Diego to my parents for the week. It's been shopping and cooking, my favorite things after riding!