There are two water complexes here at the Fork, and the slightly smaller one is filled with turtles, who have names…

Leo and I were lucky enough to bump into Travers while we walked the course yesterday. Mick Costello, (Rolex Course builder of course, and so much more!)  had told me to look out for him, and had also told me about the hog roast Travers is hosting tonight, the first annual Fork Course builder’s party and it’s infamous before it’s even happened! After speaking to Travers, I retract my earlier statements, I no longer think it’s a dog’s life or a horse’s life if stabled here at the Fork, it’s most definitely a course builder’s life. When I grow up, In my next life I want to come back as Travers Schick! He spent two months last summer hiking and climbing up mountains ( the seriously big ones, with heavy backpacks, and ice and things! ) with his buddy, and he’s heading to Alaska again this June for more of the same. He joked that his fitness regime for the climbing will start “after this weekend”! Thank you so much for your time, Travers. For photos of his beautiful jumps please check out the earlier post, Cross country preview. 

Here’s how Doug Payne is going to approach the first water. I have to explain on Doug’s behalf that I ambushed him on wednesday afternoon before he’d even had a good look at the jump, and he was very gracious to agree to come on camera and talk about it. After he’d had a beer or two, he was even more enthusiastic, and gave the shooters a great lecture about cross country and eventing in general, which they loved!  Doug is such a good ambassador for the sport, and we wish him a safe and successful weekend.

I’ve said it before, but it bears repeating. In typical Aussie style, P Dutty knows how to get it done, or am I thinking of Larry, the Cable guy from around these parts – N Carolina is rubbing off on me! Nonetheless, Phillip is always on a horse, or so it seems, and if he’s not he’s walking courses, or walking/biking between the two!  He was working in the warm up this morning,  swapped horses with his groom, coached Peter Barry for his three star dressage from Young Man, and yet he never, ever looks ruffled. 

The organisation here at the Fork are so friendly and helpful, I’m currently sitting in the Secretary’s trailer, trying not to be in the way, and get this done as quickly as possible so I can go and watch the dressage, so without further ado….

The Fernhill prefix is now ubiquitous at events all over the world and at all levels, from the WEG, Badminton and Rolex, to the popular young event horse classes and everything in between. However some ten years ago, Irish Team member Carol Gee was torn between continuing her competitive career, or carving out a business on her own. Ultimately, she said, the decision was made for her,

she sells her horses all over the world without any prejudice and says she has no favourites if they’re competing against each other at events,">

Despite Carol’s fervent national pride, she sells her horses all over the world without any prejudice and says she has no favourites if they’re competing against each other at events,

The Fernhill prefix is now ubiquitous at events all over the world and at all levels, from the WEG, Badminton and Rolex, to the popular young event horse classes and everything in between. However some ten years ago, Irish Team member Carol Gee was torn between continuing her competitive career, or carving out a business on her own. Ultimately, she said, the decision was made for her,

she sells her horses all over the world without any prejudice and says she has no favourites if they’re competing against each other at events,">

Despite Carol’s fervent national pride, she sells her horses all over the world without any prejudice and says she has no favourites if they’re competing against each other at events,

I knew there would come a day that I would be rewarded for my dedication to my iphone, and yes, that day has come! Badminton Horse Trials, arguably the world’s premier three day event, has broken new ground again by becoming the first event in the world to have it’s own mobile phone app.  

I don’t remember when I was able to sneak into the Kentucky Horse Park without being spotted by Course Builder Mick Costello; nothing goes down without him knowing about it. 

Until this weekend I had laboured under the mistaken impression that mounted games were for pony club kids, but thanks to a man called Norman Patrick, that is absolutely not the truth, as I saw for myself at the Kentucky Horse Park, in the Sheila Johnson (that’s the new Rolex outdoor Stadium!) arena. 

Of course I knew that John Kyle, commentator supreme at the PRO Derby Cross, and Red Hills Horse Trials this year, as well as of course the Deputy Governor of HM Palace and Fortress, The Tower of London, has impeccable taste because he’s a friend of EventingNation and admits to reading EN every day.  However, I had no idea quite how high his standards were until he sent me information and pictures of these stunning top hats from a show he was commentating at in the Netherlands for FEI TV. 

When I wrote my Red Hills wrap up I truly thought that was the end of my Tallahassee tales for the year, even though I did title it, “It aint over…” so maybe subconsciously I wasn’t ready to put it to bed, and, Lo and Behold, there is a sequel.

“I am a serious technology nerd, and a die-hard, no compromises, Apple person…  I have in front of me at the office right now: a new 13″ MacBook with a 22” screen attached to it, an iPad 2 sitting on a stand next to an iPhone 4 on a charger, and an iMac from 1999 (that a neighbor tried to throw out) on a shelf here in my office that I’ve torn the insides out of and turned into a TV… At home, there’s a 2008 iMac, another MacBook, 4 iPods, an iPhone 3G, three wireless routers, and I’m sure there’s more that I’m forgetting.  I have a technology problem. 🙂  All of that to say that I was quite eager to get the new iPad a few weekends back, and it’s pretty fantastic!! 

As far as professionally, I work for The Nature Conservancy here in Tallahassee, mainly as a lobbyist at the state and federal levels, and in my spare time I do contract graphic design work.  The iPad 2 was actually a result of one of the graphic design jobs, which happened to time out nicely with when the invoice was processed and when the iPad was released. 

Dressage day at RH was the same as the release of the new iPad, as you know.  Lisa was riding Kenzo at 2:40, and so I left work at lunch so that I could see her ride and spend some time in the stables with her and my mom.  On the way out to the grounds, I swung into Target to see what their plans were for the launch at 5, and when the mgr that I happened to run into said that they only had 5 units in the store, I told him that I had to have one, waiting a month for shipping wasn’t an option, and that I’d gladly hang out in the outdoor furniture section for the next three and a half hours if that was necessary, BUT (this is where RH comes in) I was supposed to go watch my sister ride at Red Hills, and I was really concerned that I wouldn’t be able to be back until around 3:30 at the earliest, so what should I do?  Would it be necessary to wait, and miss her ride, or is there something he could do that would ensure that as long as I came back early, I would still be the first in line?  Keep in mind, there had been a line forming outside of Best Buy across town at 11:30 that morning, so I was pretty concerned that not staying at Target all afternoon would cost me.  

It appeared that because I told him I had to leave, but was willing, if I had to, to miss her ride caused him to start a list of people that showed up for the iPad.  They only had 5, and an hour after I left to go to the Trials, the list was at 7 people–I just happened to be first on that list.  So, when I rolled back in there at 4, there were 4 other people waiting, and we sat around the store for an hour until the clocks changed to 5:00 on the registers.  They scanned the box instantly, and I would assume that I was one of the first people in the world to own one. The whole thing took less than 60 seconds, my receipt actually says 5:00.  

I decided to tape stadium to see how the quality was, since the video camera capabilities were such a big part of the remodel from the original iPad.  I’ve actually got the same kind of tape of whomever it was that finished 2nd in the 3-star, that was my first test of the camera.  I do have the blue Smart Cover from the commercials, it’s quite a feat of engineering, actually.  My wife was in Philly that weekend, and she actually had to go to the Apple Store there to get the cover and the stand, because no one in town had extra covers, they only had enough for the devices in stock, if they had them at all.  So it was Sunday before I had the cover, but that was ok. People have been coming up to me in the Capitol for the last two weeks asking how the whole device is…

Functionally, it’s already changed what I take with me to the Capitol.  I can do virtually everything that I’d need to do over there on it, from pulling down bill language to Committee Hearing packets, schedules, etc. I can edit documents, handle all my email accounts, and frankly the built-in calendar app is one of the best electronic calendars I’ve seen.  I carry a lot less paper now, so it’s lightened up what I need to have on me, which is nice as it gets hotter up here, less bulk is a good thing.  It’s also a nice thing to be able to show legislators maps and things on the screen, where I can zoom in to see specific parcels of land, or their individual district, which isn’t possible on one sheet of paper, obviously.”

“I actually rode quite a bit as a kid (don’t remember what I got to in Pony Club, mom maintains that I was talented), but as horses are to Lisa, hockey was to me, so pretty much everything else went away.  Its great to get to see Lisa ride though, which is something that I rarely get to do.  She really had a great weekend, and I know she was pumped about having the best XC time & finishing 3rd, plus she really liked the new water jump…

Red Hills in Tallahassee is actually quite popular, I’m very impressed with the way that the event is put on, and how the community supports it. The whole place was quite sad when they cancelled the event a couple years ago.  I’m really impressed by the transport methods from the parking for spectators.

The public address announcers at RH at least do a great job of putting little factoids and tidbits in their color commentary, which I think for those who don’t know what they’re really looking at, makes things make more sense.  I like the colored jackets for the international riders, that’s a nice touch and I also loved Jessica Phoenix’s Team Canada helmet for stadium, that was pretty awesome. 

I do think there’s a need, though, at least at RH, for some more bleacher-type (for XC) seating, it’s rather tough to see more than a few jumps from any one place, which may be just a reality of the RH grounds more than anything else. The sound system could be a bit more imposing, it was a bit tough to hear depending on where you were around the XC course. People genuinely do look forward to the event here, though, it’s a big deal to this town.  We don’t get a lot of exciting visitors, it’s mostly just government and college kids in Tallahassee, so when RH comes to town, there’s a lot of buzz. I wonder if that’s the case at other events, or if this is unique because of the location? 

Overall, though, it does seem like there’s a lot of goodwill & friendship between the competitors, but with the scheduling the way it is, it seemed to me like most people were all business in the stables.  However, it does appear that outside the barns, and at night, it’s a different story.  From what I’ve heard, there’s a Lewis Black joke that applies, I think… “You are NOT alcoholics… you’re professionals.” 

 And you apparently all wear the same boots–those Dubarry ones with the stripes–it’s a bit like Birkenstocks at a Phish concert. 🙂 ”