Enter at A sitting trot.

Warning:  This post has nothing whatsoever to do with archery. If this isn't what you had a taste for today, the regularly scheduled programming will be back in the next post.

Every mid-July, our fair section of New York state is host to riders and horses from up and down the East coast. If you have been a long time follower of this blog (and thank you, btw) you already know that I pretty much came out of the womb pony-mad. If you are new to the sport of eventing, it's left over from the military days where horse and rider were tested for endurance, obedience and skill over a dressage test, (day one) a cross-country test (day two) and a show jumping test (day three). It's not for the faint of heart.

My own Cody-monster was my dressage partner for a long time and while watching I realized that right before his body decided it was time to trail ride instead, we were doing all but one of the elements of the Preliminary Level tests. And it wouldn't have been a hack job.Which did me proud for my pony and made me miss riding horribly at the same time.

The first time you spectate at one of these events you will notice a few things....
Uber-fit, braided horses with banged tails snorting rhythmically with their canter strides. Women with 60 years of horse show sun damage saying "tsk" under their breath at a bumpy canter depart. The endless parade of golf carts shuttling owners to watch their investments take their 6 minutes in the ring. The pat on the neck and the nose to tail stretch after the final crisp salute.


It was good for my heart and soul to be surrounded by this for a bit, and who knows, I might have to rejoin it at some point. There's more to life than archery.