| HORSE SHOW OFF DAY |
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| To continue |
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| Sailor here. Today, Mom and I got up early (for Mom) and I was brushed for a long time. I thought we were going to Dog School, but we took off on paw toward the stables. Mom said we were going to a horse show. Now, this sounded intriguing. I have smelled horses before and even booped noses with one of them. Now we were going to show them something. I wondered what. Would we show them how beautiful I looked? Just in case, I practiced my strut, and sure enough, when we got to the polo field, everyone told Mom how gorgeous I was. I loved this part. We walked by a long fence and there on the ground, steaming in the morning sun, was what can only be described as a pile of heaven. I really wanted to wear its scent the rest of the day and gave it a good sniff, preparatory to an even better roll. Down went my nose. I lowered my shoulder. "Leave it!" Mom said very forcefully, giving my leash a tug. I am polite and recognize her authority. I stepped back and waited for Mom to roll in it first. She declined, and I didn't get to roll in it, either. Hmmph. So I took it upon myself to find an even better heap, one that would be more to Mom's liking. As we walked down another fenceline, heading toward the far ring, I checked out all the perfume mounds along the way. Sadly, Mom sniffed disdainfully at every one. It seemed that not one pile was perfect enough. Humans are so picky. We stopped by some hay bales and Mom sat down, leaning her back against the horse food. �Curious,� I thought, as I sat on the grass in the shade and looked around. �Now what?� A Jack Russell Terror was yapping next to us about his odd coat. He said that last spring he hadn't quite decided whether to be wire-haired or a smooth-coat, and when he was suddenly and precipitously born, he came out looking like a little of both. I think he looked really cool with a Mohawk hair-do and started to compliment him. For some reason, Mom shushed me. Clearly, barking was not allowed. A Corgi like my friend at Dog School was busy trying to round up her people. They kept slipping away and going off in all directions. She was very frustrated because she was on a leash and unable to do her job. She ended up grumbling to herself and saying rude things to the Jack Russell Terror. Suddenly the earth shook and thunder filled the air, coming toward us. A horse and rider bore down on our little corner of heaven. I stood up quickly, ready to defend Mom and the Corgi and the Jack Russell, but at the last moment, the rider turned the horse and HUP they cleared a four-foot fence almost under our noses. I thought that looked like a LOT of fun, but since I was on a leash, I had to stay put. The horse had a leash, too, attached to his Halti, but was able to move freely because his rider was on his back, not on the ground. I thought this was a novel way to go for a run. Zoe might like this approach since she wears a Halti, too. I wagged and wagged at the jumping, grinning and prancing and panting in happiness. Now I know why Mom calls it a Horse Show. Horses get to show off! I wanted to show off, too. "Sailor, don't tell me you want to become a jumper," said Mom. I panted, "Yes, yes, yes." I remembered that at Dog School, jumping was one of the most fun activities, once I figured out that I was to go over the jump, not through it. Jumping was almost as exciting as running through the tunnel and it was definitely way ahead of weave-weave-weave-oops-weave. Mom smiled and said we'd have to look into this. She thinks a stint in Agility may wake up my brain to the fact that I do have back feet (somewhere) and that they will follow me quite obediently wherever I decide to go, even up stairs. I don't know about stairs. Stairs are certainly not my friends and have proven this to me many times in the past. Agility sounds like a blast, though. I hope Mom doesn�t forget. We sat by the Jumping Ring for quite a while, me in the shade and Mom on the hay, watching horses with various degrees of obedience training under their girths get around the course. I loved the part when I thought they were going to jump over us, hay and all, but turned away to fly over an nearby fence at the last minute. I loved hearing their hooves go thumpity thump, thumpity thump, thumpity thump, pause, thump thump, thumpity thump. I loved the shade. Some horses rolled their eyes at me as they passed. Some ignored me and tried to see where they could safely put their feet. Some were so intent on jumping that they noticed nothing and saw only the fences in front of them. Some had eyes only for the In Gate, knowing that at some point, the In Gate becomes the Out Gate and heralds a trip back to the barn for a bath and a snack. One horse and rider fell, crashing through a jump and causing Mom to grab my ruff and catch her breath. Again, I leaped up, ready to spring into action and herd the horse to safety, but sadly, my leash brought me up short. All ended well because the rider didn't let go of her horses' Halti and so kept him safe instead of having him run unencumbered back to the barn. Mom sighed in relief that nobody was injured, a whistle blew three times, and the rider led her horse away by his leash. "How embarrassing," I thought. The Corgi agreed with me. |