It simply amazes me how the same month can feel like an eternity and an instant at the same time. I cannot believe I am already sitting at home (dreading the onslaught of school in roughly 1 week) after spending 31 days living, breathing, eating, and sleeping everything eventing in West Grove, PA. (The breathing part is unfortunate at night when the smell of local mushroom farms is overpowering…)
I found it very easy to lose track of the date during my stay as a working student. Every new day at TPF felt like my first day, yet at the same time I felt as if I had also been there forever. I would say it takes the full first two weeks to settle in and get the hang of things. Also – the weeks are a bit ‘backwards’ in the sense that they are not your typical week having Monday through Friday with a laid back weekend. Rather, Friday takes Monday’s place as the long, drawn out first day of the week with show preparations taking place (clipping, bathing, braiding, packing etc.) and Monday steps in for Friday without the stress of competition, horses having the day off, etc. TGIM, anyone?
While mucking stalls, grooming horses, and dragging hoses to water troughs are just some of the daily chores… mane pulling, clipping, and packing the trailer fall under the category of ‘frequent but not daily’ chores. Only one chore stands out in my mind that merely had to be completed once in my time at TPF… bagging and storing all the horse blankets that returned from being washed! A fairly quiet afternoon while most of the action was taking place at a show, someone arrived with an entire SUV filled with clean bundles of winter wear. The blankets are separated by owner, secured in oversize trash bags, and carried up to the loft for storage. Nothing too difficult – I was just impressed by the sheer number of horse blankets stacked up along the aisle-way!
Another memory that quickly comes to mind is the time when someone arrived at the barn to conduct the 2010 US census. You are so immersed in the world that is TPF, you forget about the ‘outsiders’ who have no clue. (What is the owner’s name? Phillip who? How do you spell that?) It was a bit of a tricky situation as there are many people who live in apartments scattered around the property (attached to the indoor, above the barns, etc..)but there is no proper house, as it is after all a business. It boggled her mind when she learned that people from all over the world, not just the country, come to this farm for the experience. Needless to say, True Prospect Farm can cross ‘outsmarting the US census’ off its to-do list.
On another note, I am thrilled with the progress my horse and I made in our brief summer with Boyd. I could not have hoped for a more productive 31 days. A year ago, when I mailed in an entry fee for a clinic with Boyd Martin, I would never have imagined myself as a working student this summer. I suppose two lessons and a cross country school can be life changing after all! It was very hard for me to leave the farm after spending my month there, and I am already working to arrange a working student position somewhere for 2011. Now it is up to me to keep up the hard work with my riding throughout my school year, and keep building on the progress I made this summer. I am looking forward to how this work will translate into scores at my next show, and I can not thank everyone involved enough for making my fabulous summer happen!!
