Brandon - Day 4
I don't even want to guess how many kilometers I've walked this week! The good news - my knee hasn't been bothering me very much at all. The apparent reason? Mineral Ice. The cooling blue gel that you put on horses really does work, and it's great for humans too! My knee feels great, and there is a noticeable difference within minutes of putting it on, far more dramatic results than A535!
In other news, it turns out that Smartie is a carnivore. She's always been known for eating anything, but I was sure she had her limits. Turns out not. I bought some elk jerky at one of the stands (all I would eat is elk if I had a choice - mmmmmm...) and while I was eating some Smartie was very interested. Horses learn pretty quick that a crackling bag usually means treats, so this one was no exception. I held up a little piece for her to smell, figuring that the sharp bbq smell would turn her off. Nope! She took a good long smell, and you could almost see her say "meh, I'll give it a shot" and she grabbed it out of my hand. She smacked it around a bit and tossed her head, gave a flehmen face, then promptly looked at me for more. I couldn't believe that she actually wanted more, so I held up another piece for her to smell. She gave it a good sniff again, then tried to take it. I wouldn't let her have the other piece, and gave her some krunch instead, but she wanted to eat it! Sick, sick horse.
Smartie was in the ring Thursday. The public is free to roam through the stables, and by the time she was ready for the ring Smartie had quite the fan base! There was even a little girl who remembered her from last year among some of the people who stopped by to ask questions. I have to say, one of my favourite things about the Brandon fair is answering questions from the public. It reminds me so much of when I was a little girl, astounded and awed by these amazing horses. So many of the grooms and riders are too stuck up or annoyed by people nosing around to give them the time of day, but I prefer to think of it as promoting the sport. English riders get such a bad rap in the attitude department that I would rather contribute to a good experience. These are people that never really get to see horses, so it's very special for them to be able to see and pet a top athlete. I answer their questions and encourage them to pet the horses when possible, and people really appreciate it. Then they go and watch the class and cheer for that very special horse that they actually got to meet and touch.
Unfortunately, Lindsay's bad luck from Wednesday carried over to Thursday. Smartie jumped the best that I've ever seen her jump, but the turns were so tight in that narrow ring that she was caught by surprised on a sharp turn around a jump and just didn't get enough power on takeoff to clear the fence. It was hard, because some of the riders who did better in the ribbons rode far worse than Lindsay did - they just got lucky. But sometimes that's the name of the game. Smartie took 9th place, one better from Quipa's 10th.
The best part - Atco - the company who sponsored the night's class - put out a spread in the stables when we got back. There was fruit & veggie platters, cheese and snackies, and free beer! Again, free dinner, because I ate so much that I didn't need to have dinner.
Smartie gets so worked up in the ring with that huge crowd screaming that when the jump off began and Lindsay was for sure in the ribbons she asked if there was time to grab Quipa. I wish I had have thought of it earlier! I threw her Smartie's reins and ran back to the barns. As I ran down the aisle I yelled "wake up Quipa!" and flung open her door and dragged the startled mare out of the stall. Ripped off her blanket, brushed the straw out of her mane and tail, threw a bridle on and we were off. We switched all the tack onto her and I brought Smartie back to the barn. When Lindsay came back she said it was hilarious. Every other horse in the ring was spinning and carrying on whenever the crowd cheered, while Quipa stood, half asleep!
Today Quipa's up again, and tomorrow is the Kubota Cup, which unfortunately - due to the fact that both horses are in the ring - I won't get to watch either horse go.
In other news, it turns out that Smartie is a carnivore. She's always been known for eating anything, but I was sure she had her limits. Turns out not. I bought some elk jerky at one of the stands (all I would eat is elk if I had a choice - mmmmmm...) and while I was eating some Smartie was very interested. Horses learn pretty quick that a crackling bag usually means treats, so this one was no exception. I held up a little piece for her to smell, figuring that the sharp bbq smell would turn her off. Nope! She took a good long smell, and you could almost see her say "meh, I'll give it a shot" and she grabbed it out of my hand. She smacked it around a bit and tossed her head, gave a flehmen face, then promptly looked at me for more. I couldn't believe that she actually wanted more, so I held up another piece for her to smell. She gave it a good sniff again, then tried to take it. I wouldn't let her have the other piece, and gave her some krunch instead, but she wanted to eat it! Sick, sick horse.
Smartie was in the ring Thursday. The public is free to roam through the stables, and by the time she was ready for the ring Smartie had quite the fan base! There was even a little girl who remembered her from last year among some of the people who stopped by to ask questions. I have to say, one of my favourite things about the Brandon fair is answering questions from the public. It reminds me so much of when I was a little girl, astounded and awed by these amazing horses. So many of the grooms and riders are too stuck up or annoyed by people nosing around to give them the time of day, but I prefer to think of it as promoting the sport. English riders get such a bad rap in the attitude department that I would rather contribute to a good experience. These are people that never really get to see horses, so it's very special for them to be able to see and pet a top athlete. I answer their questions and encourage them to pet the horses when possible, and people really appreciate it. Then they go and watch the class and cheer for that very special horse that they actually got to meet and touch.
Unfortunately, Lindsay's bad luck from Wednesday carried over to Thursday. Smartie jumped the best that I've ever seen her jump, but the turns were so tight in that narrow ring that she was caught by surprised on a sharp turn around a jump and just didn't get enough power on takeoff to clear the fence. It was hard, because some of the riders who did better in the ribbons rode far worse than Lindsay did - they just got lucky. But sometimes that's the name of the game. Smartie took 9th place, one better from Quipa's 10th.
The best part - Atco - the company who sponsored the night's class - put out a spread in the stables when we got back. There was fruit & veggie platters, cheese and snackies, and free beer! Again, free dinner, because I ate so much that I didn't need to have dinner.
Smartie gets so worked up in the ring with that huge crowd screaming that when the jump off began and Lindsay was for sure in the ribbons she asked if there was time to grab Quipa. I wish I had have thought of it earlier! I threw her Smartie's reins and ran back to the barns. As I ran down the aisle I yelled "wake up Quipa!" and flung open her door and dragged the startled mare out of the stall. Ripped off her blanket, brushed the straw out of her mane and tail, threw a bridle on and we were off. We switched all the tack onto her and I brought Smartie back to the barn. When Lindsay came back she said it was hilarious. Every other horse in the ring was spinning and carrying on whenever the crowd cheered, while Quipa stood, half asleep!
Today Quipa's up again, and tomorrow is the Kubota Cup, which unfortunately - due to the fact that both horses are in the ring - I won't get to watch either horse go.