"I've walked 10,000 miles..."

The Kentucky Horse Park, with roots dating back to 1777, was established in 1978 and is the only "living" museum dedicated to the relationship between man and horse. It is a beautiful facility with on-going renovations due to be completed in 2010, just in time for the Alltech FEI World Equestrian Games. Today, the girls from Region 3 (and many other riders from other zones and regions) got to experience one of the new arenas...a huge stadium with covered seating! And to many of the horses...Coda (Ragtime V) included, it was a scary place! My stomach leapt into my throat on several occasions as he spooked at the plant material in the center of the wide open arena (no dressage arena was set up, yet), spun as he trotted towards the stands, or just decided not to go forward and backed up instead...I'm sure these shows shave months, if not years off my life, as well as adding to my growing collection of gray hairs! And, of course, Jess handled the entire adventure like the seasoned rider she is, with grace, confidence and maturity. She has her trainer, Karen Lipp, to thank for that! Hopefully, she has gotten over my pleas to, "take him back to the barn", and is now just a little annoyed at her mom's anxiety!

Our entire Team of Juniors and Young Riders are now here in Lexington with the arrival of Ellen Wall and Kati Dagge, just after lunch. The girls got into the spirit of being on the team by handing out many of the logo-ed items they received from sponsors, and began the decorating of their shared tack stall and golf carts. They even discussed and planned what they will wear as a team tomorrow for the in-barn inspections in the morning, their first warm up in the arena and of course, they already selected their outfits for the Jog. Jess and I got adorable sterling silver "3" necklaces for each of the Juniors, and after Kati got here, gave them to everyone. The number "3" RULES this week!

Our Chef d'Equipe, Sue Bender, also was in full swing today figuring out warm up and schooling times, the location of the warm up rings, the requirements for the new health cards each rider must have on their person when he or she rides, as well as attending a continual string of meetings. Sue is the girl's advocate and our liaison with the FEI staff. Over the coming days she will work very hard for our riders.

Why did I title this blog, "I've walked 10,000 miles"? Because it sure feels like it! As I mentioned previously, the Kentucky Horse Park is a HUGE facility and until you get a golf cart (Boy, do you need a golf cart!), you walk EVERYWHERE! It is easily a 15 minute walk from the barn to the Show Arena...a longer walk to the warm up ring, and a 20+ minute walk to where the trailer is parked! And, since I am always in a hurry, I do my "Airport Walk", as Jess calls it, which further exhausts me! I'm looking forward to a great night's sleep with my feet propped up on a pillow!

One final thought before I let my head hit the pillow...

Each and every rider here has worked incredibly hard to achieve this level of performance from themselves and their horse. And, they have had a lot of folks "lifting them up" along the way...very dedicated moms and dads, trainers, fellow barn mates (who often give up days of their own training with the trainer),vets and farriers, boyfriends and girlfriends, grandparents, aunts and uncles, friends. So to all of us "behind the scenes", congratulations on helping YOUR rider achieve a dream...I've personally never been ranked at any thing in my life! But it sure feels amazing that my child is...

Kentucky Horse Park history link: http://www.kyhorsepark.com/sub.php?pageid=31&sectionid=2