Eye is healing nicely, lens has settled into the pouch and the faerie rings are gone, and I don't require reading glasses for type size 12 points or higher. The doctor told me that when the swelling goes down over the next couple weeks, my vision will improve even more
And I'm spending today getting ready to travel up to Olympia Washington for Go For Baroque, the NW Andalusian breed regionals. My room in town includes a fridge and microwave so I'm going to save a little money and pick up a couple microwave dinners from Kashi. Cilantro shrimp and orange chicken, friends!
But this isn't "Feed the Beast," and thus onwards...
It's my first time riding in the Regionals and I've spent the past two weeks drilling, drilling, drilling every day. Tagie and I finally worked out our language. I spent an hour in the saddle yesterday. He just kept giving, giving, giving and I had a GREAT ride. His canter take-offs are to die for and his turn on the quarter is a dream. I'm going to do my flat best out there in the ring and hopefully, it's good enough to place.
Ifinally got my English riding habit together. I have to say, it's pretty dowdy. Pale lemon yellow shirt, black coat with lapels, white gloves, and breeches that they say are "willow"-coloured but it just looks like plain beige sand.
The most exciting things about the whole outfit are my stock pin and the boots. The latter are shiny black, strong enough to deflect bullets and come all the way up to my knee tendons with "Spanish tops," meaning they have a kind of extension that rises above the top of the boot and protects the knee on the outside. I wish they let us wear tricorn hats in the English division, like the old classical equestrian schools wear...Let's just say I'm kind of jealous of the Spanish riding division, they get more and better colour choices.
Anyway, I'm riding in four classes: Opportunity Walk-Trot English Pleasure, Half Andalusian English Pleasure Junior Horse, Half Andalusian English Pleasure Amateur and Half Andalusian Dressage Suitability Amateur. He's competing head-to-head with the Barn Star, Jefe, in a couple of those, and for once I'm not taking a blue ribbon for granted. But, like I said, challenges are to be faced.
Epona bless!
<--- THEY PWN U
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Hope you get the job there Vri an congrats on the English Pleasure Reserve Championship 