I
was especially lucky this year to be able to go to the RolexThree Day Event in Lexington,
Kentucky for my birthday!
It was really quite an adventure
we undertook to go see this event. Firstly, our hotel wasn't all that great
(besides being surrounded by sprawling horse farms,) and we ended up
"roughin' it" for the first day or two. That meant trying not to get
lost on highway, trying not to spend too much money, and trying to figure out
why that bathroom smelled burnt.
Secondly, we truly didn't know
what to expect on our first day at the Kentucky Horse
Park. We must have walked
at least 50 miles rushing around trying to see all of the horse shows and
exploring the stables and museums.
Still, at the end of the day, we felt that we had managed pretty
well----for tenderfoots. Clara and I had been able to watch a good 3 hours of
the dressage anyways, getting badly sunburned in the process:) We absolutely
loved seeing such beautiful horses.
For
our second day at the Rolex, we were much better prepared, having examined the
map and carefully decided which events to go to.
One of the demonstrations we
attended was performed entirely on Friesians. There were 4 of them pulling a
wagon, one of them being ridden in dressage, and another in training for harness.
Remind me to get one (or two) of these magnificent creatures when I grow up.
Also,
the five of us were able to see a presentation called "Hall of
Champions" where in a large gazebo, famous retired racehorses were paraded
about for the audience. Among these horses were Be a Bono, Funny Cide, Cigar,
and Da Hoss.
Cross Country was next on our
list. We managed to find a nice shady spot to sit on the grass and eat our
lunch as the horses went by. Cabe and Dad became our professional photographers
and only got about---300 pictures, while Clara, Mom and I were the cheering
squad.
The
picture on the bottom is of William Fox-Pitt who actually ended up
winning the Rolex this year.
Our AMAZING trip concluded with
the World Championship Freestyle Reining Competition. There were only about 12
competitors but they were all absolutely wonderful! (Much to our dismay, Stacy
Westfall was unable to compete in this event due to a minor injury her horse
had.)
It was a great way to end our
adventure---but I plan on going next year if at all possible!
I would like to thank both Cabe and Dad
for providing pics for this post!
