The Green Horseman

The United States is home to only two FEI five star events in the entire world.  Last year was Marylands first running, so before that was only Kentucky.

If you’re not into eventing, these are the top in the sport.  Top heights, top riders, top horses.  The first two days, Thursday and friday, of competition are dressage.  Saturday is cross country, and on Sunday the competition wraps up with stadium jumping.

Last year, Suzie and I talked about going to a 5* event to spectate.  I couldnt make Kentucky happen so uin August we booked a hotel and made plans for Maryland.  Maryland is hosting Young event horse championships as well as 3* and 5* 3 day events October 19-22.

While we were in Connecticut at the Elisa Wallace Clinic (see Recovery) we met 2 new friends who were also planning to go to Maryland.

It is October and we are NOW HERE in Maryland.  It is so nice to escape NY for a few days after having so many unfortunate events lately.

Day 1 was a success.

We woke up long before the sun and started driving by 4am.  We were anxious to get past the city safely but managed to do it and get to Fair Hill on Elkton. MD at 9am.  For the first time I was happy to have the walking boot as we parked as close to the main entry as possible with my temporary handicap placard.

We picked up some super earpieces that allowed us to listen to the commentary during dressage. It was WELL worth the purchase! As we sat and listened to the announcers, it bridged the gap of in real life and TV.  I honestly didn’t expect to like this earpiece, but I’m blown away by how useful it is.

We began our day with an adult beverage from Elk River Brewing Company.  My drink was called a Red Roan, and contained seltzer, orange juice, and grenadine.

Theres a very cute kids/family section where you can meet and pet some cute ponies. One of them had a mustache!

We moved on to see part of the young event horse competition and made our way to the Stadium to watch Dressage.

Suzie and I only purchased general admission tickets but the girls had 2 extra tickets for seats next to the stadium, so we enjoyed front row seats.

As we watched the competition, we were in awe of these competitors, but also relieved to see mistakes and slips.  It drove home that these equestrians are still human, and mistakes are made at all levels.  As a recovering perfectionist, that’s good for me to see… and I can remind myself of that when I feel like giving up for not being good enough.

We watched some spicy horses holding together for their tests.  The riders as a whole did fabulously.  Some horses were practically vibrating with energy (and many with tension, too) but the riders stayed quiet and silently contained their mounts.  If you didn’t know any better, you’d never see the conversations had between horse and rider.

During the lunch break, we got to meet one of the 5* horse’s owner.  She was incredibly sweet.  Suzanne and I were repeatedly blown away by our new friends.  They know so many of the people at these events. Malaina is a fantastic photographer and has a media pass to shoot for the show (and has for Kentucky and Bromont too).  Catherine has the gift of gab and can talk to anyone….and have INCREDIBLE conversation.  I just try to pick my jaw off the floor and not look foolish.

After the 5* dressage tests of Day 1 were finished, we received news that one of the girls won an XC coursewalk with Andrew McConnon!  We walked to the Forestier tent so she could work out the details, and they told us even though it was for 2 they would let all 4 of us go.  They then invited us to a party after the days events were wrapped up.

We drank wine and talked amongst some amazing professionals and riders at the top of this sport.  I had to pinch myself to make sure this is real.

After the cocktail party we met up with one of Malaina’s friends for dinner at a local popular seafood restaurant called The Wellwood.  Our server was a good sport. At this point we all were very delirious from having had 3 hours sleep and a day full of excitement.

We enjoyed some delicious food while laughing and teeming funny stories. My eye spotted a heaping tray of crabs. Ashley asked the server to bring out 6 small crabs and we received a tutorial on how to deshell them. It was fun, entertaining, and we all enjoyed the experience.