i cant believe it's been three months since my last post- time is FLYING by this spring/summer and i feel like i've sort of been on overdrive since aiken.
we got home from aiken after a weekend full of ups and downs at Poplar and I got to spend the weekend sleeping at my parents' house in Hamilton which was nice. even with the flurry of horse show activity it was great to see them and wake up to a view of the lake- i felt very "homeless" in aiken and I'm not great at making transitions with living quarters so it took a big bunch of stress off of my plate to be somewhere i felt so comfortable.
since we got home from Aiken, after a fairly exhausting truck breakdown on Easter sunday, there has pretty much been a show every weekend and i've been living a bit like a gypsy out of suitcases, shopping bags and my car- which is ummm interesting. i survived my 29th birthday without crying about being old and my friends and family were actually really fantastic and kept me quite entertained, full of sugar, and feeling ok about getting so close to the big 3-0! my sweet boyfriend was out of town that day, but we celebrated later with a romantic dinner and he gave me the first light blue Tiffany's box I have ever received with a really pretty infinity necklace inside- which i wear almost every day.
i decided to take my yearly vacay to Rolex at the end of April and was excited about it but THEN, i got offered a grooming job AT rolex while we were at the Fork, which was even more exciting- so i took it! it was a fabulously wonderful week grooming for Madeline Blackburn and Gordonstown (and her two other non compete horses) and it was so great to experience Rolex from the "inside looking out" this year as it's always been my absolute favorite horse event of the year. Maddie and Gtown rocked the very difficult XC course which took out almost half the field of competitors and also had only one of three double clear show jumping rounds on sunday- SO amazing!
after a quick week at home and much cuddling with the doggies- who surely think our petsitter is perhaps their real daddy since i've been away so much, we were off this past weekend to MCTA which was a beautiful event and a great weekend where Murray won the intermediate, sammy jo was 5th in the prelim and moddy was 7th in the novice. all the ponies arrive home safely and jogged sound and went out to graze and i had a date with my pajamas! we also got to spend a night out in Baltimore, which has some really cute areas and good food and nightlife. we met Steve's brother and sister-in-law (who is super pregnant and super cute) out for dinners and i was happy "as a clam" with my dinner of oysters and beer. it was too cloudy to see the supermoon, but i realized that i really like Maryland!
the next few months are sure to be action packed with lots of shows- possibly Bromont in Canada- which would be super exciting and hopefully a few weekends at home where i can spend saturday morning wandering around the Charlottesville farmers market and hanging out in the garden with the doggies.
jazz was as glad as i was to be home from Aiken- she was not a fan of the "high stress" environment of that farm and has been stellar on the flat and over fences since we got home. with as much as i am travelling it's hard for me to keep her in consistent work, which she prefers, so i'm considering sending her to a friend in Kentucky who said she would gladly take the ride on her and keep her in shape. it would be great for us both since she appreciates a routine and i need a horse that i can come home to after two weeks and bop around a novice course without quite as much "exuberance" as jazz often has to offer. she's much to sound, athletic and talented to be a pasture puff and although i have dreams of breeding her for my next horse, it's not in the budget at the moment- although i already have a long list of baby daddy's for her.
boyfriend is travelling as much as i am, if not more, so i relish those shows where he is already there doing the course and i get to see him after work. we have a trip planned to GA soon- which will be fun as he's never spent much time there or met my dad etc. or eaten at my brother's restaurant- so we have some adventures in store and hopefully some down time where i can lay around and be sedentary and cuddle with the doggies and him.
the summer nights are getting warmer and i love that the days are getting longer and longer- i feel like i get so much more accomplished when the days are longer and there's nothing that makes me happier than frolicking around the yard barefoot with the dogs and throwing an easy dinner on the grill. i had a day off today- and even though i have spent the majority of it at the DMV finally getting the VA tags for the car and am currently sitting at an auto garage getting my inspection stickers, i'm looking forward to an evening on the porch and probably and early bedtime. im so old- i know.
more later- i have a rant about 3 series BMW's and salt life stickers to share....
-ellie
5 years ago
