and the preparation (madness really) begins

    Greetings from Utah!! In four days my Mom, my mentor Chris Knox, and I will set out for Lexington, Kentucky for the WEG. This trip has been in the works for over a year, and now I realize how completely unprepared I am! I will be leaving my training business for more than two weeks in the middle of a recession, leaving three sale horses, and leaving one lame prelim horse, an accident prone two year old, and a semi-questionable retiree who is refusing to gain weight because he keeps chasing (lusting after...) his mustang pasture mate girlfriend... But really, I can't pass up this chance to see over 600 of the best horses and riders in the world all assembled in the same place, for two glorious weeks of competition... Luckily, my horses at home will be in the very capable hands of my friend (and dressage trainer extraordinaire), Stephanie Beamer.
     On Saturday, Mom and I will drive from Utah to Chesterfield, Idaho to meet up with Chris at her farm. Oh, and to put the Subaru in the back of her 6 horse semi with living quarters trailer for the drive to Kentucky ... I did mention it was madness, didn't I? Just to give you a little background, the last time Chris and I were in Kentucky at the Horse Park  together we got kicked out of the barns. By a Pony Club horse management judge. For sweeping too much. It wasn't even our kids barn aisle... That trip also included sleeping in a cattle barn in the most wicked rainstorm I have EVER experienced, being attacked by peacocks in Missouri and spending a full day at a cement statue factory that produced, among other things, 8 foot tall concrete Jesuses. And so, the camping gear is unearthed from the garage (no fancy $700/night hotel rooms here- take that, corporate America), the car had been cleaned and the oil changed, and I am torn between excitement and terror at what "adventures" we will have!