The Green Horseman

In Friday’s adventure I wrote about our amazing time walking the course at the Mars Maryland 5* 3 day event.

We arrived on time to set up our tailgating spot.  We hadn’t gotten one but our friend won tickets to tailgate…and they also had tickets to the crab jump.  So we consolidated and parked at timber field overlooking the sunken road jump.

As the 3* horses began to leave their start box and tackle the course I was practically vibrating with energy.  We watched several horses from our tailgating spot before filling up our mugs and moving on to other jumps. 

I found a recipe for Caramel Apple Sangrias a d it did not disappoint.   It consisted of honeycrisp apples, apple cider, caramel vodka, and pinot grigio.

We slowly made our way along the field.  We moved every 2 or 3 riders so we can see all the sights.

Time seemed to fly, before we knew it the 3* rides were completed.

We met up with our frie ds back at the tailgating booth and enjoyed some cheese and crackers.  The lunch break was on so we used the opportunity to take the shuttle up to the crab jump.  We got there a whole hour before the 5* riders began and waiting on the bleachers.

The 5* began!

In about 9 minutes the first rider,  Austin O’Connor came galloping through the crab complex. The entrance to the water was a bounce in, and the riders jumped up and out to a massive 1 stride with another jump off a steep hill. 

We sat on the bleachers and cheered on Doug Payne and Monica Spencer.  We then got up and made our way to catch the back of the complex.

As Phillip Dutton came into view, I was watching through my camera lens.  He  rounded a complex in the distance, and my heart stopped as he and his horse rotated over a jump.  Luckily they walked away.

We made our way to the giant Foxcatcher ditch.  Sadly one of our favorites and Area 1 rider Booli was pulled up by the ground jury.

Andrew McConnon came through and took the long approach around the ditch. 

Mia Farley was an absolute thrill to watch.  She stormed the field in her first 5* course and was the ONLY rider in the entire 5* division to make time. 

We made our way to the iconic Fair Hill Rollercoaster and drop to watch a few more rides. 

Soon we made our way back toward the middle of the course to see the riders tackle the giant mound. 

We continued to walk back home and stopped for pictures along the way.  We ended up at the bird bath to see Oliver Townend and Zach Brandt.

We waited as we watched Boyd Martin exit the starting box.  Before he made it to the 4th jump Contessa  wobbled over a jump and the pair parted ways.  It was such a bummer to see him unseated.  Contessa pulled a Stanley and made a dash for home, eventually getting caught in the main arena.

In the morning I was still pretty worried about the safety of the horses and riders as they got underway on cross country.  As it turns out I am once again humbled.  All riders and horses remained safe throughout the day…even if they didn’t manage to finish.

Cross country day was such an adrenaline rush.  I am in complete awe of these horses and their riders. The course that we were so nervous about was, in fact, very well thought out, very challenging, but also very doable.  Only Mia finished within time, but 16 of the riders finished, and nobody was seriously injured.  There are many people with eyes all over the course who were able to spot potential problems and mitigate them as soon as possible.

For dinner the four if us went to a great place called Forge Southern Comfort.  The restaurant is farm to table and works with local farms to prepare all of their meals.  We all shared Brussel sprouts and stuffed mushrooms as an appetizer, and we all ordered Maryland Crab cakes.  These crab cakes contained no filler, just crab. The flavors were unbelievable. We finished our dinner by all sharing handmade apple pie and homemade vanilla bean ice cream.