First Event of the Year

Not that I was eventing. If you want the thoughts of someone who was, read http://comediceventing.yolasite.com/blog.php

I was there for a USEF officials' continuing education clinic. Our panelists were Brian Ross, Cindy DePorter and Tremaine Cooper and it was super informative and a lot of fun. The USEA has created a new syllabus, intended to be more interactive and including lots of case studies, fun with "judging" unusual events on SJ videos and a 4 hour walk of the preliminary course with Tremaine Cooper discussing the wide array of things that influence the quality, safety and rideability of a course. I had done the full weekend course design seminar with Tremaine 2 years ago, and it was good to hear from him again and actually hear even more depth about some of his thoughts than I remember from the course design weekend.

I also got to hang out with friends from Michigan, Maryland and Florida, drink some excellent wine and have Birthday Party #2 at www.ashmoreequestriancenter.com. With all that, it is possible that the highlight of the weekend was temperatures reaching 70 and my week's long run in shorts and a t-shirt on the West Orange Trail.