The Green Horseman

Yesterday was day 2 of the Maryland 5* event.

Day 2 concluded the dressage phase of this event.  The 5 year old young event horse championships also took place.

We watched the rest of the 3* dressage tests before we made our way over to watch some of the YEH rides.  We got to see Boyd take Schmick through their winning round for the five year olds.  Schmick won the four year old division last year.  My favorite part was watching the horses show off their gallop for the final part of their test.  Boyd and Scmick utterly dominated the field in their gallop.

We enjoyed some lunch and I returned to Elk River Brewing Company and tried the Blue Roan this time. It was a delicious drink consisting of pineapple juice, hard seltzer, and blue curacao. We ate quickly and moved back to the dressage ring to watch the rest of the five star riders. Seeing rides at this level is inspiring, and I makes me want to go home and train hard.

As soon as Boyd made his final salute concluding the dressage phase of competition, the four of us booked it over the Forestier tent. We caught up with Andrew McConnon who took us on a private coursewalk. We were able to be up close to the jumps. There were other more public walks but they were huge groups and the people stayed on the outside of the ribbon. Our friend Catherine won the coursewalk from Forestier on Thursday.

Andrew showed up wearing flip-flops, but it did not stop him from leaving me in the dust during the walk. The grass was very lush, and I’m still wearing a medical boot. I was really worried about the 4 mile very hilly course. The thought of breaking the screws in my foot when I’m so close to getting them removed makes me cringe. That said… this was an incredible opportunity, and I’d be damned if I let that stop me. I do wish there was something I could have done to be able to hear his thoughts and conversation over the course but he was too far ahead and not slowing down.

To be honest, I almost quit. The hills were torture on the foot. My toes tingled a bit, my hips hurt from compensating. I thought about crying, but realized it wasn’t going g to make anything better. Carry on and keep walking. It’ll be worth it. And it really was.

I was really amazed by this course. It’s humbling. And terrifying. The jumps were absolutely massive, and the photos on the cross country app did no justice in portraying the landscape. The jumps, big as the are, are often placed on hills, making the difficulty much harder.

Course designer Ian Stark was criticized last year for the course being “too easy.” This year, the course has turns, hills, and lots of technical questions. The options are also very costly if one is aiming to make optimal time. Many riders have mentioned this is a very difficult course and this won’t be a dressage competition. My only hope after walking this course are no major injuries or fatalities. I hope that ego doesn’t interfere with safety.

After our walk, we were given a lift by one of the many amazing people who are volunteering at the event. Because my foot was hurting, he brought us all the way back to the main gate. We thanked the folks at Forestier, enjoyed a glass of Prosecco while learning about the saddles.

We then made our way to Steak and Main. This was a fantastic restaurant offering g steak and sushi. As a table, we all split a North East Surf and Turf sushi roll. This delectable roll contained spicy crab and tuna and was topped with torched filet mignon and eel sauce. I drank an espresso stout while enjoying a duck sous vide. The bread was served with regular butter but also an interesting bananas foster butter. It wasn’t a favorite but everything was still tasty.

As this article posts, we will have my cat parked out on the field. Another surprise win our friend managed to get…we got tailgating tickets! We will have a tent and be able to tailgate watching cross country in total style.