it's over! *sniff*

fair is once again over. i can't believe how fast it went, how fast the whole summer went. i can think back right now and say "whoa, just a week ago i was doing that stupid groom and clean class at this exact time." and it feels like it was only yesterday. then i think back on days like thursday where i was running around like a mad person with claustrophobia and it seems like it happened a million years ago. the whole summer just disappeared and i can hardly believe it.

this fair was absolutely amazing. i'm not going to go into great detail because i would have to write a whole book to fit it all in. i do think this has been my best fair and i feel like i have accomplished the most this year. i look back at last year where Avalon completely refused a jump which he would now bounce over like it was nothing or how last year he would have gone galloping around like an idiot when you asked him to canter around other horses and this year he would willingly pick up the most georgious canter ever. i have to say that even though we did not come home with a billion ribbons i have never been so pleased with the way i did at fair.

i love Avalon more than ever!! he was sooooo good and put up with sooo much this week, yet he still seems to like me! he is truly amazing! and jumps georgiously!! (good enough to beat John and Celina T. she also has a story all her own)

now i shall give you an example of one of my days at fair, of course i will randomly on purpose choose the busiest day just to impress you....

Thursday, July 28, 2005 FAIR

first i must tell you that i went to bed at approximately 11:30pm on wednesday night.

5:15am: alarm jolts me awake, i shoot five feet in the air and slam my hand over the off button. i lie back down and say to myself "you must get up, remember, you were going to be perky today" stumble into the bathroom, attempting to be quiet but knocking things over in the process

5:30am: slightly more awake, walk/fall down stairs and cook some eggs for breakfast. some signs of movement from upstairs.

5:45am: driving to the fair, why is my mom ALWAYS so talkative??? even at 6 in the morning??

6am: arrive at fair, of course i'm the first one here, no big surprise. open all the doors switch on the lights and feed the horses. clean out Avalon's stall and brush him, thank goodness i don't have to braid.

7am: frantically tacking up. why did it have to rain on tuesday???? run into changing stall and put on breeches tall purple socks, tall boots, lilac ice (color) long sleeved shirt with nice high colar, pin colar with silver stock pin, pull hair back and put a billion and one clips in it (i hate hair nets), grab my jacket making sure my number (111) is pinned to the back, grab my helmet and Avalon's bridle.

7:30am: finally tacked up and on, shoot, only half an hour to warm up before jumping classes start. why did it have to rain on wednesday???

8:10am: listen to John complain about having to get up soooooo early so that jumping could start at 8am (thanks to the rain on tuesday and wednesday) and now it's ten after and Celina T. just got here on her amazing, crazy Arab to warm up.

8:30am: jumping finally begins, still several classes till mine, frantically running over the insanely complicated patterns in my head. Avalon hates the arena now, i think i've worked him in there too much, "Val, can i borrow your crop?"

9am: John finishes his first round, no refusals or knock downs. our turn, i miraculously remember the pattern and Avalon floats over the jumps like a cloud. Celina T's horse goes a little wild, the jumps are only 2 feet, not 4 feet high. we win the class! Todd says to me, "good job, John looked like he was driving a ferrari."

10am: our second class went about the same: John drove his ferrari and thoroughly enjoyed it, Avalon floated over the jumps and Celina T looked like she was going to jump the Elephant Ear stand. another blue ribbon for Avalon.

10:30am: after getting second (beaten by Val on Mr Bill) in Handy Hunter (more jumping) we headed over to the 4-h barn for Trail. Avalon was extremely good, not blue ribbon good but better than he usually is at home. amazingly we get 6th out of 24!! that was a big surprise!

11:30am: gobble down a grilled cheese and chocolate milkshake, the people at the milkshake place know me by now, i'm a regular.

12pm: showing at pony barn starts, more jumping!!! and more blue ribbons!! Peggy decides i should drive Cyclone, i was planning on resting... but ok. turns out Cyclone is absolutely amazing to drive!! she is responsive, impulsive, fast and she can trot in place to turn very tight corners. i'm loving it!!!

5pm: what do you mean versatility is tonight???? at 6pm???? grr.... stupid rain on tuesday and wednesday. gobble down some taco soup, curtesy of the family with all those hott boys.... gather my versatility gear (in other words, run around like a madwoman)

6pm: versatility starts, thanks to the fact that our club starts with and A and M comes before W i have to go first for everything. jumping is beautiful, western horsemanship is barely acceptable, reining was awful, english equitation was good until we went galloping around the ring on the wrong lead (Avalon was a little slap happy), and he didn't seem to understand that we were supposed to go FAST for speed and control, oh well, at least he went in the box.

8:30pm: finally i can take these miserable show clothes off which i have been wearing ALL DAY!!! clean Avalon's stall, feed him, give him water, attempt to clean up our changing stall.... fail

10pm: home... take a shower, you smell....

10:30pm: scrawl a little in my journal about my day and perhapse something about Vern and AJ (if it weren't for them, where would the drama be?)

11:30pm: asleep, thank goodness my mom told me i wouldn't be showing until 11 tomorrow, i can sleep in till 6:15!!!!

that WAS the busiest day, but most of the days were at least half that bad, and i was almost always there at 6am, meaning i got about 6 hours of sleep... in other words.... i had a blast!!!