Preparing for Jumping Branch H.T.

  I wish I could say I am preparing to compete, but Irish & I are not ready for that yet. I wish I could say that I am preparing to photograph, but Sport Horse Studio is the official photog. So the next best job is being a vendor. I'll be setting up the trailer with my cards & posters and high hopes for hundreds of visitors and even more sales.  I designed 6 new cards,

2 of them:

    

and 2 new posters (here's one)

 

  Needless to say, I am keeping this post short so I can "get to it" because there's a lot of "it" to do!

Horse-wise, we had such nasty weather over the weekend that yesterday was the first time aboard Irish since Friday. We had a jumping lesson with Babette that went well despite all the rust that was pouring off me.  We rode a line of small verticals with varying number of strides in-between, trying to maintain rhythm, listen to half-halts and not take off 3 strides from the jump.  I lost count of the number of trips, but we finally had a couple good ones, according to Babette and the peanut-gallery hanging out watching. I commented that these rounds may have looked good, but they sure didn't feel good. So around we went again, this time with the video camera recording every move. Now I know how my customers feel when I point my camera at them! We had a final good round and watching the video convinced me that it felt good too.

  Other news in a nut-shell... this is Eric Horgan's last week, sadly. It will be too quiet around the farm when his gang heads home... Lucy Cheney's parental units Michele & George are scheduled to arrive Thursday for a much needed break from the snow in Maine. They will be here to watch Lucy and Bouncer compete at Jumping Branch... other B-Eventing team members competing will be the Merrill girls, Emily on Katahdin / Polly & Matty... Babette continues to bring Oliver and Joey back into fitness, work the kinks out of Dexter, and keep the operation running smoothly and efficiently.

  I will try to report on the weekend as time permits. If I get internet connection on-site, I might be able to report in real time!  or not...