Category: volunteering

volunteering

King Oak, Day 2

AmandaLeave a comment

The second day of fence judging started out overcast and cold as we drove into Northampton for breakfast. Because we’d done the briefing the day before – and innumerable times before that – we cleared it with the coordinators to join them in time to pick up our assignment and head out.

Breakfast was excellent and we arrived back on the farm to find that we had an excellent Prelin fence: two offset, slightly narrow houses, not huge, but a good rhythm and straightness question.

One rider on a greener horse glanced off the B element, and a few others scrambled over the first, but overall it rode well.
We then relocated for SIX Novice divisions. Whew. We were at the second fence, a fairly straightforward roll top. Several horses veered off or refused: inexperienced horses who weren’t locked in on course yet. Most jumped it just fine.

Everything finished up on time and with no major incidents – almost boring! In te best possible way.
I was home by 8pm for long desired shower and Game of Thrones. Good end to a good birthday weekend!

volunteering

Ahhh, King Oak

Amanda1 Comment
Where else would I spend my 30th birthday weekend than jump judging and cheering on friends at King Oak Farm’s spring horse trials?

Uneventful day and only one refusal at our jump, last BN rider of the day.
Here’s the morning Training jump, just after the water:
And the afternoon Beginner Novice fence, logs with mulch between them meant to mimic a ditch:
The rain held off until the last few riders, and then it started coming down pretty good. We hopped the fence to the Opa Opa Steakhouse for a filling dinner and I had a martini with vodka, chambord, and white chocolate liqueur, because on the extremely rare occasions I drink, I like it to taste as little like alcohol as possible.
Prelim and Novice and my actual birthday, eep.

volunteering

King Oak Fall Horse Trials

AmandaLeave a comment

I had every intention of taking photographs with which to illustrate this post, and…forgot. Ah well.

I scratched Tristan from the Beginner Novice, but still had friends going, and already had the day off, so I helped pack and load ponies on Friday, then drove out to King Oak. We arrived in plenty of time to do the course walk, and my heart did hurt a little bit – we could’ve handled it just fine.

In bed by 10pm after some pizza, and by “in bed” I mean an actual bed! For the first time in years we weren’t sleeping in the truck, thanks to R.’s very generous offer of sharing her hotel room. It was lovely to have air conditioning and a proper bed and a shower. Unheard of for horse showing!

I helped clean tack and hold horses until my jump judge briefing at 8:15, and started to get a bit nervous during the briefing – the wind was picking up, and it was quite cold and cloudy. I told my jump partners that I’d walk out and meet them there, and went back to the car for my jacket.

I was sitting with two young girls and their babysitter, and so ended up doing the recording and radioing in myself, explaining eventing to the non-horsey babysitter (who was very nice and interested, and really picked up on things through the day) and answering questions for the girls. We were at a decently large Training fence for the morning, a sort of squared off stacked logs rolltop with some airy spaces in between. Fairly straightforward. It jumped just fine all morning, as it was soon after the water and usually by then horses were going.

Problems started when it started raining. Basic rain – not so much a problem. I mean, it was wet and miserable and the girls were not thrilled, but so it goes. I mostly kept my sheets dry and during a break ran to put my bag with my Kindle and cell phone in a dry car, and then resigned myself to getting soaked. The girls headed off, leaving me to judge the Beginner Novice fence with another set of jump judges, and at the end of the first BN division it started getting ugly. We heard thunder in the distance, and the wind and the rain picked up, and they called jump judges in when the radar showed a big, nasty storm cell close by.

I ran up to sit in the truck with J. and whew, the skies opened up. We waited an hour, and then they called off cross-country for the rest of the afternoon due to the forecast. I walked back up to the volunteer tent to drop off my things and stayed for a bit to help sort through forms to get them ready for tomorrow, then checked in to find that they were running BN in the morning, and R. was staying over in order to run her horse. King Oak was able to provide stabling, so huzzah for them!

I hung out at the volunteer tent and ate dinner waiting for that decision, and then was able to get back to the barn, soak Tristan’s foot, wrap it up (more on the wrapping adventures later), and be home and in bed by 10:30. Whew.

fitch's corner · volunteering

Volunteering at Fitch’s Corner

Amanda3 Comments

Fitch’s Corner is one of my favorite events of the year. It hosts the Area 1 Championships alongside a regular horse trials, right on up through Preliminary. That particular area of upstate New York is especially gorgeous, filled with farms and old houses, and the rolling hills and valleys make the drive scenic (and slightly terrifying for those of us with trailer driving panic attacks). For the second year in a row, we camped at a lovely little state park about 25 minutes away, saving on hotel costs and giving me an excuse to break out my beloved tent.

We arrived Thursday, and on Friday, as last year, I took the day to do some sightseeing. Last year I went west, to Hyde Park; this year, north, through the Hudson River Valley to hit a few museums and combine business and pleasure. I also had lunch at the Eveready Diner which was tasty if a bit overpriced (much fancier than the “diner” label would suggest…).

Saturday, I fence judged for cross-country. Briefing was at 6:30 a.m., which worked out well since Hannah had to feed & prep Tucker for their 8:08 start time anyway. Fitch’s is a fabulous, really high-end event, and their attention to detail is phenomenal. They don’t have the organization of King Oak – which remains my gold standard for military-like precision in the running of its XC – but they have style and are incredibly generous. For my services, I got a great new hat, good food all day, and an insulated lunch bag.

I spent my first shift at Training fence 14, a big hay feeder that jumped well all morning. After some years of totally uneventful fence judging, I had to stop someone for the first time. A rider had clipped a flag earlier on course in such a way that she hadn’t actually jumped the jump, which meant she was eliminated when she jumped the next fence. I was asked to hold her up and take her off course. It went well – there was a nice big gallopy stretch leading up to my fence that I could stand in to flag her down.

My next fence was a Prelim coffin, offset and while not huge, quite technical. I enjoyed watching that one, as you got a clear sense of the different styles and techniques involve in navigating it. I also picked up my second hold of the day when a fence later on course broke and I had to stop a rider after my fence, complete with timing. I stopped the rider, started my stopwatch, and then realized it was Bruce Davidson. So that was a moment! It was only a few minutes of hold and then I sent him on his way and reported in the time of the hold. New experience, nice adrenaline rush, but I was glad that it went perfectly.

Third fence of the day was a v. straightforward Novice rolltop before a bank, and for that I got to sit under some shade for the first time. I lost my radio as the fence judge after me reported for the whole bank complex, and it was by far the most relaxing of my fences. I didn’t have a BN fence, which worked out neatly, as unfortunately Hannah and Tucker had retired on course earlier that morning and we ended up going home Saturday afternoon instead of Sunday.

I love being a fence judge, especially when I’m stationed by myself. It’s low key but very important, and it lets me be in control of my own private kingdom, ordering my things about my chair, taking down information, listening in to the activity around the course, and doing some reading and relaxing, all while watching horses go cross country. Perfectly lovely way to spend a day.