i’ve found my calling, and it’s not ditch digger

spent saturday and sunday volunteering at the last horse trial of the season. it was an epic weekend, let me tell you. meadow creek park seems to carry a bit of a curse for its fall “social” (as the organizers call it). last year the weather changed almost in an instant from terrific to FREEZING and raining. i thought for sure that it the curse was gone, but i was wrong. about midway through saturday, the skies opened up and it poured steadily through the afternoon.

lucky for me, i was the judge’s bitch scribe all day, so i was able to stay under cover. i scribed for dressage in the morning, and kept score for SJ all afternoon. i loved every minute of it. my judge was a hilarious witch of a woman who pulled no punches and knew what the hell she was talking about. i learned so much, and feel pretty chuffed to know that i have a damn good eye for horse flesh, movement, and riding. you can be sure i’ll be doing more scribing in the future. i might even like it more than showing. no, wait, i DEFINITELY like it more than showing.

after nine hours of taking dictation, i was looking forward to snacks and beer with my teammates. instead we spent at least an hour, if not more, standing under the pouring rain in 6 inches of water literally baling out stalls, digging run-off trenches,  building dams of sand, manure, shavings, and dirt, and generally getting soaked to the bone. the rain had not let up and, in fact, had become heavier, and the ground was too dry to accept it, so it  coursed downhill into our barn. after completing our rescue mission we were all too wiped out for socializing, so the party disbursed.

it was a gorgeous day for XC.

my pal kathy and doesn’t give a tucker killing it over the table.

my post for the morning.

spent a glorious sunday XC jump judging and trying to dry out. pretty sure i have webbed feet from being soaked all weekend. i’m a bit sore, too, from the baling, but it was a great weekend.