Since the best laid plans have a way of going astray - plan B - which had originally been plan A - went into effect & went to Omaha! The twenty-five minute drive was easy! Parking was easy - we're loving the accessibility! So different from the hours in traffic that going anywhere near Seattle required!
What a nice facility, even with the gray skies, everyone was friendly & in no rush. We arrived early, I'd heard rumors about the exhibits & shopping - so we wanted plenty of time to look around.
The signage was Grand!
Once inside, the rows of vendor booths were amazing! Lots of high end products for the horses & beautiful jewelry, clothing, equine artists, accessories - you name it!
Grand Hallway~
We moved through to the S&W Public Warm Up Arena to watch as the horses came out to play :-) High spirited, beautifully fit & impeccably tacked out. There was a coffee shop open at the Tailgate Restaurant, we sat a while to watch.
Having fun!
Next, we toured the informational exhibits! The one below was amazing! In case you don't recognize it - this wall display was of a horses digestive system! Equine Guelph was responsible for some wonderful, educational displays.
Very interesting :-)
Another - very creative way to explain the differences in horses shoes!
Shoes on display~
Of course we finally wandered in to the Boutique Shopping Village. There - I had to stop several times to admire the amazing high end saddles on display!
Bling anyone?
The ladies at the Back On Track booth took one look at my swollen wrist & insisted that I try one of their wrist braces. Within minutes the swelling had gone down. I bought one & am now sold on their products. Every vendor we spoke with mentioned how much they were enjoying the venue, the friendliness of the people & the atmosphere of the event.
In the arena~
The time flew by, the crowd increased in size & soon it was time to get into the line for a security check & to find our seats. We were just above the 21st. row & ended up with a bunch of rowdy kids behind us - of course. When one of them popped a plastic bag, I had to ask for a bit of quiet. At least now we know where we'll want to sit next time we visit.
Let the jumping being!
Watching this caliber of horse & rider teams is awe inspiring & breathtaking! The first round I thought the course was difficult, there were gasps of disappointment the few times that a rail went down.
It was a thrill when McLain Ward riding HH Amur - finish the first round in first place! At intermission,
it was amazing how many people were out in the arena, moving jumps,
putting up bigger, larger jumps & re-working the course for the
second round!
Winners of both rounds!
Watching as each team cleared the amazingly huge jumps had everyone on the edge of their seats! As McLain & Amur started their second & final round - you could have heard a pin drop! I was too busy enjoying every jump to take a photo.
As they cleared the final jump - the audience went crazy! Everyone jumped to their feet & the cheers were deafening! Amur had that look that some of us know very well - the; "OK, I'm the Greatest - where's dinner!"
Final scores~
Eighteen attempts to bring this talented equestrian to a win! That's determination! To see a mare best the competition was of course very personally satisfying :-)
Shannon had spotted Butch across the arena - she texted me; "Is Butch wearing a black hat & vest?" Yes - he was :-) We went to dinner afterward & had the pleasure of meeting Shannon's grandson, who's the same age as our eldest grandson Ben. Great way to end the week!
We've had a week of cloudy, rainy weather - reminiscent of Washington! Everyone tells me the rain is needed - that it's been a very dry, mild Winter & I do believe it. I'd hoped to attend an endurance ride in Kansas this weekend, but with all the rain - the steep slope & lack of space to turn around at Farah's stable - it would have been impossible with the truck, camper & trailer. The weather was threatening in SW Kansas - Tornado Alley& did I want that worry? No...
It was one of those days... Usually they happen on Monday's but
for me - I should have known when I was trying to move out the stove,
slipped, fell backward & landed with my left wrist first. The pain
wasn't too bad, so I hoped for a sprain & went ahead, determined to spent time with Farah.
Guilty! Now to the legs~
I should have taken a before picture! If you can imagine mud from the tip of the ears, covering almost every inch! With no grass to roll in, Farah - who loves to roll - has a spot in her paddock. When it's dry - it's dust, when it's wet - well... I had put dust masks in the truck, then forgot them when I transferred things to the Bronco.
When I noticed that Farah's tail was 6" shorter than it's ever been, I asked the lady who works at the barn if Farah's crazy neighbor might be grabbing at it? No, I watched as she stood at the outside door of the stall, on a slope that puts her tail right under her rear feet if she backs up. Once the mess was scrapped off, hair everywhere, I put her in the wash stall & washed out her tail. She danced, pranced, moved from side-to-side & made it miserable on us both.
Beautiful Countryside~
I decided to take her out on a walk to let it dry before putting it into a tail bag.
The road~
I'm planning to do some riding on this road - it's not very long - but has a couple good hills where we could maybe get in a gallop or two. I'll be trailering out on my own soon too - as the weather improves. I'm also doing some research into the history of horses on the Wabash Trace - to lobby for continued Equestrian use - at least for the ten-miles that are advertised as available to horses.
Surface rock~
As you can tell from the photo above, this type of gravel is far from decent for horses, definitely requiring shoes for any moderately paced work.
Weight coming back on~
Farah was good until we lost sight of the stable. I'd wanted to walk quite a way further, but after watching as she circled me at a gallop, bucked, reared & otherwise was a kite at the end of the lead - I turned back.
By the time I'd stopped at the store & returned home, my wrist was twice it's size. I went through all my wrist braces, all for the right hand - I've broken that one several times... Only one for the left - so we picked up a new one today. No cast for me... I've ridden 50-miles carrying my stick with a broken right wrist. I hadn't wanted to miss the Golden Ears Ride, in British Columbia. With eight river crossings, it was always challenging. At the first one, Khari had refused. I lent my stick to my friend, who whacked her & in we went! No more problems the rest of the ride! :-)
My consolation prize? Tickets were still available to the FEI World Cup in Omaha tomorrow! (I'd sold ours after I found out the date conflicted with the endurance ride.) Since these new tickets are even more expensive - I'm hoping we'll have good seats!
