Rolex

I spent last weekend at Rolex, a usually annual trek (there have been years off here and there, but I even dragged Henry there in 2002 - epic rains and mud that year and he still talks about seeing Karen O'Connor hanging upside down in the water). It was a great weekend. The threatened rain held off and both the weather and footing were about as good as you could want.

Obviously, the results have been talked about at great length. My personal shout outs to Sally Cousins and Tsunami (looking like a million all weekend), Erin Sylvester who was one of 6 double clears xc at her first Rolex, Boyd Martin and Otis who is looking like a much more experienced horse than he is, Doug Payne and Running Order, looking very snazzy in those shades SJ, Sharon White who pulled up most of the way around realizing her horse was tired, Jordan Linstedt the last finishing competitor, overcoming her nerves to get it done, Peter Barry getting it done as an ammy, Marilyn Little-Meredith putting the eventing world on notice, Karen O'Connor for giving all the credit to her horse after SJ and looking as happy as you would imagine someone after their first completion as opposed to their ?? (anyone know how many times Karen has made it around Rolex?), Becky Holder for staying classy through a tough weekend, and William Fox-Pitt, not so much for winning as for carrying all of his own gear (saddle, bridle, horse boots, cooler) down from cross-country himself, on foot.

I had a great weekend. Friday was a bit of dressage, meetings, shopping, chatting and dinner with the Michigan gang. Saturday was the very busy cross-country, stewarding the area that included the Normandy bank and wondering both in the morning and in the afternoon, how many starters until someone got around. The best part - despite many falls and a low completion and even lower clear percentage, there was not a single serious horse or human injury - bumps, bruises, tiredness, maybe dehydration, but no transports of horses or humans makes it a good weekend. I also got to see a very excited Snuffles out on the course in the morning and had a great view of the horses running and jumping all day. Finished off the evening with mexican food with the Michigan gang. Then Sunday, SJ viewing from the KHP foundation tent. I even took pictures (probably need a camera, the phone pictures are not that good - of course, it would also help if I was not the world's worst photographer).

I stayed for all of the SJ jumping, enjoyed a couple of mimosas over the course of the mid-day and then after the awards ceremony headed out for a last bit of shopping and schmoozing. I must say, the one disappointment was the 3-day shop. Most of the clothing was not nice, colors were mostly ugly, there was not much and there were no Sunday sales. The only thing I bought there was a hat for Caitlin Silliman (her birthday was Saturday). I did a bunch of shopping at http://www.animalstowear.com/, including some gifts and a black cadet for myself. I also picked up my (third) FiveStarTack bridle. These bridles (and I have the breastplate) are fabulous, and I highly recommend them.

Monday morning, I flew home very early and then Henry and I headed out to Chadds Ford, where we bought our new house (yes, that would be a 'u' not an 'r'). We are not the happy owners of a "country home". We will be figuring out our schedules and how much time we can spend there, but it is lovely and I am quite excited. Henry is busily shopping for furniture. I am focusing on finding a great desk and a really comfy reading chair.