Lexington, sorta

Day 2 of my Journey of the Spirit to the Rolex Kentucky Three-Day Event.

Although technically a trip to Lexington, Kentucky, a trip to Rolex means spending every waking hour at the Kentucky Horse Park.

Map of KHP by Spence Mallard

Despite years of visits, I can only offer three places in Lexington that I have done more than drive past:

Hunt-Morgan House
A slice-of-life, restored mansion that was home to both a Confederate General and the first Kentuckian to win a Nobel Prize (Physiology, 1933). Ably staffed by volunteers, including the generous souls who tolerated a Yankee in their midst at all those mint julep testing sessions over the years.

DeSha’s
A vortex in the center of town. You will eat there. Resistance is futile. To accommodate you and everyone you know, the restaurant has warrens of rooms extending into most of the buildings on the block. It’s not just an institution, it’s an octopus.

Dudley’s
The crowd is tres See & Be Seen, but the chefs are brilliant and the waiters supportive of a scruffy, solo diner who’s just there for the food.

[Addendum April 25
Joseph-Beth Booksellers
One of the great bookstores in this country. How could I forget? Babysitting a lame mare must be disordering my mind more than I realize.]

LINKS
Entries & handicapping thereof, as only Jimmy Wofford can.
[4/26 Apologies. The Wofford link is to 2011, as it says in big black numbers. Blame the mare.]

Rolex K3DE Featured Rider blogs
Doug Payne
James Alliston
Jan Byyny

Coverage
Rolex K3DE
Eventing Nation
The Chronicle of the Horse, Eventing

Photography
Clix

Where did you have your best meal ever?

Peregrinatio in Stabilitate

“Pilgrimages of the heart, not of the feet.”
Maphead: Charting the Wide, Weird World of Geography Wonks
Ken Jennings [Scribner 2011]

Both horses are in high investment/low return mode at the moment. Instead of perseverating on their lack of progress, I will spend this week in a journey of the spirit to Central Kentucky. In the eventing world, the last weekend in April means the Rolex Kentucky Three-Day Event.

Outside of a few purists in Lexington, no one calls it the Kentucky Three-Day. The horse world calls it Rolex. As in, have you ever been to Rolex? A U.S. rider dreams of riding at Rolex. I think this could be a Rolex horse. It may be the most perfect union of sponsor and event in advertising history.

For over a decade, today would have been given over to frenzied packing. Squashing work files, cameras, computer, 3 different sets of volunteer uniforms, sturdy boots, rainwear, sun hat, kitchen sink into the back of a rental car. From the first four-star (1998) through WEG (2012 2010), I went to Kentucky for the week. I’d either volunteer or cover it for a magazine, or – in fortunate and hectic years – do both. I got good at zipping up and down Nina Bonnie Boulevard, the main road bisecting the Kentucky Horse Park. I’ve told my husband, if I ever go missing look for me in Kentucky. How can I not love a state whose major exports are Thoroughbred horses & bourbon? Then my life reorganized and Rolex – amazingly – staggers on without me.

I could paint pictures of galloping horses, green grass, and stone fences but my vacation slides don’t rivet as do those of travel writer Tim Cahill. I’ll skip to the take-home message. Go. If you’ve ever wanted to attend Rolex, or Devon, or the Quarter Horse Congress, do so. Every discipline has a high-end horse show as festival: world-class competition, oodles of like-minded folks, old friends from every part of your life, and shopping. I am not a shopasaurus [Retail Therapy] but even my wallet takes a beating at the Rolex Trade Fair. I keep threatening that next year, I’m going to run down the aisle throwing twenties at random intervals. It would be cheaper.

A conversation with Five Reflections reminded me of a time last year when I was attempting a haiku a day. In honor of that project & this week, I give you an eventing haiku, if not artistically valid at least a string of 17 syllables:

Rolex
Dressage: be precise.
Cross Country: gallop boldly.
Show Jumping: go clean.

LINKS
Entries & handicapping thereof, as only Jimmy Wofford can.
[4/26 Apologies. The Wofford link is to 2011, as it says in big black numbers. Blame the mare.]

Rolex K3DE Featured Rider blogs
Doug Payne
James Alliston
Jan Byyny

Coverage
Rolex K3DE
Eventing Nation
The Chronicle of the Horse, Eventing

Photography
Clix

What would be your dream horse vacation?

Impatient? Moi?

The injured party. Note the lack of symmetry to the right button.

Waiting for the vet on Friday. I’m not worried. Mathilda is getting steadily if slowly better. This appointment is more in the way of a systems check to insure we are on the right track. No big deal. I am working at my computer. Cat on the desk. Dog at my feet. The gentle hum of the server is the only sound. Then, my mouse – once again – declines to move the cursor to the left. I smack it remedially against the desk. Cat is taken aback. She – once again – knocks a pile of paper off my desk. I become verbally perturbed. Cat and dog leave the house at Mach II. The 80-pound Shepherd leading the 8-pound cat by a nose.

Okay, so maybe I was a little worried.

I knew a woman who threw silverware into the sink for maximum noise with minimum damage. How do you express yourself?

The Point of Worry

For those of us who are more ant than grasshopper, fussing over possibly futures has always come easily. We worry about what might happen and what we can do to prevent/mitigate it. I should have a working fire extinguisher in case of a kitchen fire. I should phrase the paragraph this way to avoid those possible objections.

From a rational POV, Mathilda is doing much better [HOW]. She’s walking a much straighter line. She’s figured out how to prop her hip to take some of the weight. She’s eating most of her meals & devouring carrots at an alarming rate – 5 lbs divided among 2 horses in 3 days. Overall, her eyes are bright & her ears are up.

But who can be rational? So out comes the worry. Will she eat enough? Serve lunch. Is she drinking enough? Extra buckets within reach. Is there too much stress on the weight-bearing leg? Take her for short, frequent walks. Check the hoof for heat. Horse folks &/or those who followed Barbaro know that with horses the acute injury is just the first hurdle. Will they develop complications from enforced rest? From overuse of the non-injured body parts? So, horse owners imagine every possible worst-case scenario and do what they can to avoid them.

Alfred E. Neuman is wrong. Worry is productive. As for restful, soothing, leaving you space in your head to do anything else? Not so much.

Contest update: Routine maintenance has been delayed until the acute issues are resolved. Unless I am struck coup de foudre, the lists will be open until the day of Rodney’s Coggin’s test. Leave your suggestions. Tell your friends. Not just horse friends. Dog folks & cat folks have experience pondering the perfect pet name. Thanks.

Ant or grasshopper?

Courses For Horses

Have you ever wondered how your horse knows how to get along with people? Simple, he learned it in school. Through diligent research, we have obtained a peek at an equine course catalog:

The Top 12 Most Popular Courses in Horse School

Hydrodynamics – Calculating just the right angle to hold your head so the water runs down the arm of the person holding the hose.
Geography – How to locate a hose in one easy step. Companion class to hydrodynamics.

Nutrition – Identifying the most expensive hay and grain by taste.

First Aid – Lost shoes, bug bites on the saddle area, how to maximize time off with minimum inconvenience to yourself.
Time Management – Read a calendar or show prize list and know when to go lame. Companion class to First Aid.
Advanced Time Management – The meaning of the words Championship and Year-End Final.

Public Relations – Identifying and sucking up to the one who writes the checks.

English – Picking out key words such as “carrot” and “Alpo” in human chatter.
English Seminar – Does ‘Whoa Dammit’ ever really apply?

Zoology – How to detect the sign of lions hiding behind common stable objects.

Psychology – Using well-timed whinnies and soulful looks to rebuild your credit balance.

Art – Mud as performance art.

[List originally appeared in Hunter & Sport Horse, January/February 2002, as a guest “Top 12”. Reprinted with permission of the author b/c the author is going to spend the major part of her day driving back & forth for a mid-day patient check.]

BTW, yesterday’s title was a mistake. I now have a Mellencamp earworm. (Today’s public service message. Googling “brain worm” is NOT a good idea.)

What was your horse’s major?