Monday, August 15, 2011

Shants or jorts? Update post hartpury straight from your moms! ...or ogbourne st. Andrew!

Well week one complete and successful indeed!
Tate was a bit tired all week until Saturday.....then he was back to his old self pushing me out of the way, kicking the wall, hollering to his party people, throwing his head around in his princess dance after a cross rail...the usual.

Sinead and I spent the week with Tate, running the gallops and eating English breakfast. Everyone on the yard at maizey manor is super friendly. 
Its pretty cool to grab a book and walk out to the ring on flat days to see it full with Talented riders and horses from about five different countries. Although I did learn to stay hidden otherwise you very easily get dubbed the popper scooper and that scooper is not the ideal job in a full ring. Too much pressure.

Tate has a very large stall next to elizabeth powers horses, and he quite enjoys his automatic waterer and haylaige. While Tate is out in the afternoon Sinead and I strap on our nikes and head to the gallops....well, Sinead straps on her tesco ghetto pre-tied shoes.. The first day up that hill was a bit rough and i got a glimpse of what ot may be like to have emphysema, but it gets easier everyday. I even ran the three star on Friday at hartpury....ok so maybe it was a cic and I stopped to walk all the combinations, but I still ran. There were hills!....

We had an early start for Friday as we headed to hartpury for sineads dressage. Tate got a ride with Catherine burrell  on her lorry and Sinead and I drove behind...thinking we had time to stop for a coffee because surely it's going to take the lorry longer than it's going to take us on those windy little roads .....wrong . These brits don't play no games on the highway. Skirrrtttttt! With three little heads bobbing happily in the back munching away. 

Sinead's test was not their best, but Tate was feeling good and his lateral work gets better everyday. It is so great we have had this opportunity to come over here and work out the kinks before the big event in a couple weeks.
After dressage comes karaoke in the pub ...naturally, and a brief dance party with toddy and bettina....Coleman was on the floor dancing as white boys do, and Sinead was dancing as sineads do....I usually pick a theme for my dance parties and my theme for Friday was cruise director. So although we were listening to Justin timberlake, I had a constant replay of the love boat and copacabana playing in my head.

I digress.

Saturday was show jumping, and it was also the day that taterball came out of his jet lag. The last one down, but he is jumping very well and his confidence is high.

The next day brought cross-country. Everyone spent a lot of the weekend toying with different game plans for Sunday. The footing was not ideal, and the track wasn't the most inviting....but for us, being that we havent had an opportunity to run since rolex, it was now or never. The more the course was walked, the better Sinead felt. Tate at the end of the day is going to jump if you give him a good canter and a good line. We had also entered blenheim just in case the hartpury outing didn't go as planned, and as his caretaker I am glad we have that option for his best interest....but as megkep the consumer, I really really wanted to go to burghley because they have really good lemonade. 

Sunday came, and Coleman was the first of the Americans to head out. All a bit nervous, but at the end of the day each of these riders trust their horse or they wouldn't be sitting ontop of them in that start box heading out to a three star track. Will planned to take his experienced horse twizzel just beyond the first water and the pull up, that's all he needed and wants to make sure he stays safe and sound for the cci in a few weeks. 
Pawlow and faudree were just a few ahead of Sinead, and I had a chance to see them finish, will smiling, and nat in the coolzone. Sinead set out at 12:12. Tate looked great in the warmup, and after i saw his princess dance I knew he would be fine. UnfortunAtely from the vet box I could only see the first three fences, and the last....but he made it over them all. Tate and Sinead came through the final flags fist pumping...ok, maybe I was fist pumping and Sinead was just smiling, but the first thing out of her mouth as she jumped off was "onto Burghley!"
Thank god, I'm really thirsty! I thought to myself.

Tate recovered well, his breathing was great, his legs look great, and he is happy as a clam that we finAlly let him run cross country. 
I stuck him in ice, Sinead wandered off to watch some more, and I packed up the rest of our stuff. 
After about two hours and no sign of Sinead who normally checks in quite frequently, izibs groom Emily had already loaded their two horses and they were waiting on me and Tate. 
So, I could either be the ass who send their horse home with people kind enough to have waited around all day for it, and make them unload him and care for him while I find Sinead in the large crowd, maybe get a pimms and watch the rest of xc....or I jump in the lorry with my horse, and send out mental vibes to Sinead, hoping that her inner Sherlock holmes kicks 
In after she sees an empty stall and hears far less your mom jokes floating around from barn to barn, and realizes I've upped and lefted....whelp see ya later.

Kinda hard to communicate when no one knows anyones numbers by heart and we've both run out of minutes on our ghetto phones....so you really have to hone you skill of willing something to be.  Skill of the will.

She found us in the end. 

So overall it was a good weekend for the americans. We have made our plan for the next couple weeks and have learned from our mistakes made over the last few days. Aside from that and picking out some good studs, and a throwing back a shot of whiskey after watching that burghley course walk with CPT mark...i think all we have left to do is kick!

Bring it on burghley house 

I've got to go distract nat for five minutes so I can sneak in some of my laundry. 

PS for a good time google videos of CMPs wedding.

Pps in reference to my title.... Will Coleman is very jealous of my running attire. Shants, as he calls them, although i prefer jorts...or 'running pants' works too, are the way of the future. Move over lance armstrong...without a bike...ok so I cannot reference any famous long distance runner I just want to say usain bolt because he has a cool name, but will, or big willy c as I know refer to him, made a valid point that usain only runs for like 100 meters...so. Ya, I'm on about nothing now. Ciao ciao. 

2 comments:

  1. LOL. Damn fine blog!

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  2. From one Meg with an excellent sense of humor to another, you are hilarious. I enjoy your bog.
    -Meg

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