From Yvette:
Tips for Eventers Living in Itty-Bitty Apartments in the City: The Weather Forecasting Edition
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Hey there, Eventing Nation! Just over two weeks ago, it seemed that everyone was rejoicing the fact that Punxsutawney Phil did not see his shadow, forecasting an early spring. Since then, New England was pummeled by a blizzard named Nemo, and this past weekend, I about froze my face off getting rides in on my guys. I don’t know about you, but I’ve pretty much lost faith in rodents who proclaim to be weather prognosticators. I mean, after all, these are the same rodents who seem to take a lot of pride in gutting up pastures and galloping lanes…shady sons of…but I digress.
As a scientist, I know better than to trust the ability of a groundhog to “see” its shadow in early February as a weather indicator. Throughout my doctoral training, I was encouraged to question assumptions, develop hypotheses, conduct experiments, and come to my own conclusions. Therefore, when it comes to something as important to an eventer as knowing when spring will REALLY arrive, I turn to the only one I can trust…
My 24-year-old Thoroughbred.
While the town of Punxsutawney, PA was celebrating Phil’s prediction of an early spring, Roger Rabbit nuzzled my right coat pocket (you know, the one where I stash the cookies), and basically said, “Fuhgeddaboutit, lady. It’s gonna be cold for a while longer.” No, no…I’m not so silly as to think Roger actually TALKS (without me doing the voiceover). All it took was one pass over his shaggy coat with the curry comb to realize that Phil was wrong; not a single hair of Roger’s rather woolly coat (it’s seriously hard to believe he was full-body clipped in October) budged. See, Roger doesn’t like to be cold, so if the old man has even an inkling that there are still a few cold snaps in the forecast, he ain’t giving up that coat any time soon. Based on the past two weeks, I’d say the score is: Roger – 1, Phil – 0.
However, I am happy to say that yesterday Roger proclaimed that spring is finally on its way, a message sent via clumps of dingy fleabitten coat in my curry comb, which leads me to this week’s tip.
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Tip for Eventers Living in Itty-Bitty Apartments in the City #29:
One can never have too many lint rollers, particularly during shedding season, and especially if you have a grey horse combined with a non-barn wardrobe consisting of black business suits. Put a lint roller in your car, your purse, your desk drawer, and pretty much any flat surface in your itty-bitty apartment because YOU KNOW that wayward horse hair will find its way onto your black Prada jacket at the most inopportune time (e.g., before an important client meeting, presentation in front of 400 people, or a job interview). Don’t have access to a lint roller? Get all MacGyver with some sort of tape (scotch, masking, duct…knock yourself out), a towel, SOMETHING…because non-horse people just don’t deal well with horse hair (not even the Office Crazy Cat Lady).
