I bet the WEG isn't happy...

There's still a mess of availability left. I don't think any hotels are sold out yet! I got the e-mail from the USEF trying to promote the events, but my aunt who lives in Richmond (about 45 minutes from Lexington) said that because of the World Cup the games won't be nearly as big as the WEG was hoping. I suppose that's good for me! For 2 (cheap) tickets to all of the Jumper events, it's $1,006.00. Holy Robin eggs, Batman. I think I need to talk to my dad again...Parking at the Horse Park is $100 a day! It's crazy. Slap a horse on it, and quadruple the price.

Anyways, I have a busy weekend coming up. Tomorrow afternoon I'm making the trek east to visit my grandmother. She had surgery to remove a cancerous lesion from her colon last week. She recovered amazingly well, and already made herself a hair appointment two days after being released from the hospital. I hope I'm that resilient at 80 something!

Then on Saturday I have to school up Patrick really well in the morning, because a woman is coming to try him Sunday afternoon. I'm not thrilled about this. She's only interested in leasing him, and I think she's one of those women who thinks they're better than they are, so that automatically means they need a green bean to train. She was very proud of her 22 years of riding experience, and made it a point to mention she owned her own horse at one point, from the ages of 15 to 21. Ummm...I wanted to ask her if she'd noticed Patrick's age. I mean, yes...he's honest, quiet, willing, and generally a super little guy. But a 30 year old doctor who has been taking 1 lesson a week since she got her doctorate? I don't think she's going to like him, but that's fine. I don't really want the hassle of dealing with a lease anyways. I'd much rather just sell the little fella'.

Then, ALSO on Saturday is my good friend Britteny's college graduation party. Something tells me I might be feeling a little ill come Sunday...

But hopefully the fact that I'm forcing myself to wake up early Sunday and go to Swan Lake will deter too much drinking. Swan Lake is a show grounds/riding stable about 45 minutes from my house. They host one "AA" show a year, a myriad of "B" shows, and a mess of small schooling shows each year. I competed there once on Quinn eons ago, but I thought I might drive up and observe their "B" show this weekend. If all goes well, they have another one mid-August that I might bring Bella to. It's close enough that I wouldn't need a stall, and I think their "B" circuit shows are fairly inexpensive...which, of course, is relative.

Anywho, my sister rode Patrick today. He was a little turtle and poked around all lazy-like with her. He's so good. The best $500 ever spent, I think.

Bailey was a little bit of a spitfire, but she was still trying to behave herself amongst all the fussing. She's such a little filly, always letting me know what her opinion is, though trying to please me at the same time. There were a few really incredible moments, and I just can't get over how much power she has. I can't wait until she's fully grown!

Bella, of course, is taking all this week off until that good-for-nothing blacksmith comes back and tacks some decent shoes on her feet. I still spew steam out of my ears whenever I look at her feet. Again, I will be collecting phone numbers over the next six weeks...I'm back on the farrier prowl yet again.

When will it end?