Fishes are Delishes

Having great friends is pretty dang great, and I am pretty dang lucky for a few top quality individuals in my life. But! That is how Chesterfield rolls.
My friend Skyler has been taking me randomly fly fishing at the reservoir throughout the summer, and I thought that was pretty fun. Little did I know he would take it to a whole new level.
We departed chesterfield Friday evening and took the pass and traveled north to the great Swan Valley(not to be mistaken for Swan Lake as I kept calling it). We met up with his incredibly chill younger brother who has been working at a very posh lodge there on the river since he was 15 or so. The season was over, so we had a very fancy, very expensive cigar smelling, very wooded and cozy lodge to ourselves! It was like being on like the bachelor or something for how deluxe it was.
The next day was filled with world class fishery and of course I am now an official trout slayer. We floated the river all day and Shade was an EXCELLENT guide because he somehow got me to catch like ten fish. I can totally see how old rich dudes can really get into this sport. It is zen like relaxation combined with the thrill of stalking and hunting game. Pretty amazing.
Grateful for good friends, grateful for meeting new amazing people, grateful for rivers and fish, and especially grateful for the prime rib and cheesecake we partook of at the "staff" party. Good stuff.

Trek West

Trucking once again across the country with ponies and crew. It seriously seems like we barely arrived in Kentucky and it was already time to go home. Time flies when you are living at a horse park I suppose. This trip combined two of my greatest loves: traveling, and horses. Not necessarily together but that's how it seemed to work out this time. I loved meeting all the interesting people such as my new Spartan friend, Cambell's soup heirs, old very German men, the "Paso Fino people," families that live on thoroughbred farms, making friends with the espresso shop girl, and even seeing my old couch surfing/climbing buddy who works in the Red River Gorge who took me to dinner one night. I loved seeing how other world class drivers worked with and managed their horses. Driving is pretty dang cool I must say. I learned a whole lot and had some really memorable experiences thanks to my amazing boss/mentor/friend Chris. And of course Phil!
During the drive I am reading some of the books we got! Chris let Emily and I pick something out of the gift shop and we both got some quality books. I chose "Thinking Riding Vol. 1," which is a classic and is geared toward teaching how to teach. I also found a paperback copy of Reiner Klimke's book,"Training the Young Horse" I believe. And then Chris got a book by George Morris also about how to teach. She liked it because they both say all the same things and she likes to be validated :) So basically I am taking lessons from George Morris, ha!
Tonight we bunk in Kansas City. Wooooo... Hoo.
Definitely the very worst and depressing low point of the trip was not being able to see my beautiful sister Amelia and her lovely baby Lydia. And her awesome husband Matt of course. Really bummed! We would have had our annual Harry Potter feast but alas, that will have to wait. Sad.

Kentucky Wonderland

Spent the last few days living life Kentucky style. Chris has a friend who LIVES on and runs a thoroughbred farm. It all really gives a whole new meaning to the horse Industry. These aren't just people who say, "Oh, I'd like to have a few baby horses!" This is like a machine, a system, and a business. Everywhere I look it's green fields and gorgeous thoroughbreds. Heavenly! They have to actually MOW the fields like 3 times a week, even with six horses on it. Mind boggling to us desert rats.
They were kind enough to invite us to dinner where we had some amazing lime and honey marinated pork, fried apples, homemade pumping AND pecan pie (yes, this is why the south and subsequently I am rollie pollie) and a little bit of "really nice" moonshine straight from a mason jar. Great horse stories shared all around. It was lovely.
The next day since our new friends run thoroughbreds all over, they had box seats at the grand Keeneland
racetrack. The horses were fabulous, the people looked rich, and the jockeys were sinewy little fellas. Everything I expected.
We also toured Three Chimneys farm where they have about 15 classy stallions they keep there. Seattle Slew being one of them once upon a time. Quite majestic.
But, I would say the highlight of the past few days was, the animal psychic!!!! So insane! I have always of course thought horses can sort of read your thoughts just because of how easily they can respond just by what you think. And obviously horses have such personality you can almost hear what they say to you just by their actions. But, as you know, we drive a four in hand and by doing so, we can really see their personality not just by how they respond to us, but we can see how they interact with their teammates while being driven. So, I feel like I know these horses pretty dang well. I like to imagine what theyr would be like if they were humans.
This psychic though was right on!! She says that by touching them, she is able to see pictures of what they have seen, and then tell about how they feel. She said so many things that she could have never made up, that I know she had something special going on. Overall, we now know that we have one incredibly vain horse, one that chatters too much in the trailer, two that think they are the fastest, they all think cows are dumb and slow, and they all love their new leather harness because it makes them pretty. All of their communication with her made me really love those little ponies even more. They really do have their own personalities, likes and dislikes, self image, interests, and attitude! I would definitely have somebody "read" my horses like that some time. Cooky, maybe, but totally awesome.
Tomorrow is our last full day living at the KHP. Sad day!

Hanging With the 1%

Currently, I am literally texting someone who is complaining about being so bored at a mansion in Florida that all he has to do is drive his friend's porsche around. Disgusting/hilarious.
Yup, the Kentucky Classic driving evet has come and gone. A flurry and whirl that was a fairly large amount of work, and also a huge amount of fun. A couple of 16 hour days strung together means that bathroom breaks really are the only breaks. Yay for sitting down !
Activities include riding bikes from the campsite to the horse park, feeding ponies, grooming ponies, walking ponies, cleaning ponies stalls, more walking, more cleaning, clean harness, polish harness, clean other set of harness, clean clothes, clean aisle... Yup, lots of cleaning. Chris says if it isn't perfect, it isn't clean. Another zen piece of advice is, "It's not the application of sponge to the tack, it is the absence of dirt." Basically, just because you did the action, doesn't mean it's really finished or accomplished. Sacrament talk anyone ? ;)
I did alright as a groom, I just need to polish up my act some more, as usual, and not be so forgetful but.... I will get it eventually. It's a pretty fun job really. As long as lots of coffee is involved.
Phil and the ponies did incredible!! Marathon was definitely the most exciting. We cruised around a huge portion of the park. At one point, it was letting the whole team really gallop to pull up a grassy hill set between two whitewashed four board fences toward a tobacco barn that really took my breath away! Driving is intense. Phil really did his best yet, and the team is coming together.
Then, there was the costume party after. Sheesh these people can have a good time! Its the adage that those who know how to work hard definitely know how to play hard. Seeing "old" people dressed up in great costumes, singing, dancing, and general merriment is seriously awesome. It's like, "Why doesn't everyone know how to get down and boogie like this eh?" it's not just young climber folks. Met some really interesting people, and hopefully made some lasting friendships. Especially with people who have amazing accents, yahoo!
Overall, the show was a huge success and we all learned a lot and had a fantastic time. This week (thankfully) is much more laid back. It's the National Drive at the Kentucky Horse Park. Everyone and their miniature miles can show up and drive. Updates coming soon!