This was supposed to be back in 2020, but what can one say? You’d think I would have been super prepared for it then, and in some ways, I was: I had bought all sorts of fancy travelling gear to make being organized much easier, I had gotten stall valances, stall guards and various other fancy things. BUT. I left most of them at home. Oh well, we got the important things there, the horses.
My husband Larry and I took the glamper down, and student/boarders Eleana W and Marlee Y, drove down separately, as they both needed to work on Monday morning. I will say, Albany, OR is a pleasant drive, our GPS said it would take 4 1/2 hours and it only took us about 5. Rest stops take up time.
We arrived at the Event Center around 5 pm, and my friend Wendy F, who brought her Teke-Nez Perce youngster Sycan (Mouse), was already there and had found our stalls. I drive too slowly for her, lol.
We got Gala (Galadrielle – Miril x JBK Gulkusi, bred by Jacque Munn) and Z, (Dr. Zhivago, Galliant x wb mare) owned and ridden by Marlee Y, settled into their stalls and then set up camp.
We were able to get the horses into several of the rings that we’d be performing in and Wendy, Marlee and Eleana did great jobs. I’m nursing a bad knee, so right now I’m ground crew.
Friday, we had our first demo at 3:15 pm and Laura S. came to ride Gala over jumps for me. Our demo went well, with the horses and riders doing a great job and the audience was very appreciative.
We had a lovely evening in between Wendy and my glamper, with a fire ring, good food, good company and lots of libations.
Saturday was the ‘Big Day’, with the most traffic through the grounds. Our demo was at 12:15, and foot traffic by the stalls was steady, with people that came to the Expo to see us specifically, and lots more than ended up hanging with Gala and Z. The demo went very well, with Gala showing her jumping skills. I took over the narration for the demo and could have kept talking for quite some time after our allotted 15 minutes.
