Hi everybody!
I am sorry that this blog update is a little late - we were at Lexington horse show from Thursday all weekend so it has been very hectic!!! However, because it's late it means I have got even more to tell you all about so I hope you find this action-packed update interesting!
I am sorry that this blog update is a little late - we were at Lexington horse show from Thursday all weekend so it has been very hectic!!! However, because it's late it means I have got even more to tell you all about so I hope you find this action-packed update interesting!
July the 4th Celebrations
I was really excited to be able to celebrate July the 4th in the USA and it is safe to say that I have never experienced anything quite like it. Melissa (one of the other interns) and her family were extremely kind and invited Kaitlin and I to go with them for a meal and to watch the firework displays at the Washington D.C monument. The celebration of independence day is a very nationalistic day for most Americans and I heard several declarations of 'God Bless America' in true stereotypical fashion. We had a really nice meal at an 'British' style pub, which to be fair was a reasonable impression - and the food was amazing! We then drove to the nearest metro station and got the metro into D.C. When we arrived, I was in awe of the sheer amount of people that were there - 1000s of people of all races and nationalities. The atmosphere was very merry and everyone seemed to be extremely open and friendly. Kaitlin and I bought t-shirts from Walmart with cheesy American pictures on and I even got shorts with stars on! Well, I decided, when in America....
I was really excited to be able to celebrate July the 4th in the USA and it is safe to say that I have never experienced anything quite like it. Melissa (one of the other interns) and her family were extremely kind and invited Kaitlin and I to go with them for a meal and to watch the firework displays at the Washington D.C monument. The celebration of independence day is a very nationalistic day for most Americans and I heard several declarations of 'God Bless America' in true stereotypical fashion. We had a really nice meal at an 'British' style pub, which to be fair was a reasonable impression - and the food was amazing! We then drove to the nearest metro station and got the metro into D.C. When we arrived, I was in awe of the sheer amount of people that were there - 1000s of people of all races and nationalities. The atmosphere was very merry and everyone seemed to be extremely open and friendly. Kaitlin and I bought t-shirts from Walmart with cheesy American pictures on and I even got shorts with stars on! Well, I decided, when in America....
When the fireworks began, everyone started cheering. We were a long way away from the monument so I didn't quite understand the scale of the fireworks until we got close to the monument afterwards - they were going so high that some were actually above the monument - the highest structure in the whole of D.C! The grand finale was spectacular and the atmosphere was incredible with the music in the background and everyone shouting an cheering.
After the firework displays, we had a walk around before we left and I got my first glimpse of the White House and the Abraham Lincoln Memorial, although they were too far away to get decent pictures of in the dark. I will hopefully get some pictures if I get to visit D.C again before I leave!
We then began the journey out of the capital. It was an epic journey.
I have never seen so many people crowded into one metro station and the trains themselves were even crazier - it was like being a very small ant amongst a very large ants' nest. Kaitlin captured the crowds in the metro station in the picture below, but this doesn't quite demonstrate how crowded the metro itself was.
We then began the journey out of the capital. It was an epic journey.
I have never seen so many people crowded into one metro station and the trains themselves were even crazier - it was like being a very small ant amongst a very large ants' nest. Kaitlin captured the crowds in the metro station in the picture below, but this doesn't quite demonstrate how crowded the metro itself was.
Those of you that know me well know that I am quite claustrophobic and a lot of the time I wanted to just scream and push everyone out of my way, but I managed to man up and deal with it! I don't think I have ever been so close to strangers - it did not feel natural! However, the atmosphere was incredible and everyone was laughing, talking to each other and making jokes. It is really something to experience and despite the fact it wasn't 'comfortable' I am certain it is a memory that will stay with me for life.
The 4-H Kids Trip to the MARE Centre
When we were first told about the '4-H kids' coming to visit the farm, I hadn't heard of this group and for a few days thought that the girls were saying 'forage' rather than '4-H' - so I was rather confused by the name. I later realised that it was me misunderstanding the American accent ONCE AGAIN haha. So from what I understand, 4-H is an after-school club similar to the scouts/brownies and involves kids taking part in various activities in the local community. The 4 Hs stand for head, heart, hands and health and I found their 'pledge' on their website which reads as follows:
"I pledge my head to clearer thinking, My heart to greater loyalty, My hands to larger service, and my health to better living, for my club, my community, my country, and my world"
Very American!
Anyway, we organised several activities for the kids to participate in during the day, which included a tour of the farm and demonstration of our equine treadmill. I had never seen this equipment in action before so it was fun to watch and really impressive. However, it's not quite as comical as a cat on a treadmill (look this up on Youtube if you have time - so funny). Here is one of the mares, lovely Consuela, showing us how it's done...
The 4-H Kids Trip to the MARE Centre
When we were first told about the '4-H kids' coming to visit the farm, I hadn't heard of this group and for a few days thought that the girls were saying 'forage' rather than '4-H' - so I was rather confused by the name. I later realised that it was me misunderstanding the American accent ONCE AGAIN haha. So from what I understand, 4-H is an after-school club similar to the scouts/brownies and involves kids taking part in various activities in the local community. The 4 Hs stand for head, heart, hands and health and I found their 'pledge' on their website which reads as follows:
"I pledge my head to clearer thinking, My heart to greater loyalty, My hands to larger service, and my health to better living, for my club, my community, my country, and my world"
Very American!
Anyway, we organised several activities for the kids to participate in during the day, which included a tour of the farm and demonstration of our equine treadmill. I had never seen this equipment in action before so it was fun to watch and really impressive. However, it's not quite as comical as a cat on a treadmill (look this up on Youtube if you have time - so funny). Here is one of the mares, lovely Consuela, showing us how it's done...
Dr. Splan told us that when horses are first trained to go on the treadmill they do not understand why they can trot along for 10 minutes without getting anywhere and can become quite disorientated and confused when they come off the treadmill so you have to make sure they are fully aware of their environment - an interesting little fact that I hadn't considered!
After the tour, Dr. Splan gave a short reproduction lecture and we followed it up with a game of adapted 'Jeopardy'. Once again, this was a new game to me that I have never heard of but it is an American TV quiz show which is very big over here - Kaitlin informs me that sometimes people wait for 15 years or more to get on the show! I watched an episode on Youtube and I think the basic idea of the game is that contestants choose a category and difficulty of their questions - the harder the question the more points available. Here is the Jeopardy board based on equine reproduction that we set up...
After the tour, Dr. Splan gave a short reproduction lecture and we followed it up with a game of adapted 'Jeopardy'. Once again, this was a new game to me that I have never heard of but it is an American TV quiz show which is very big over here - Kaitlin informs me that sometimes people wait for 15 years or more to get on the show! I watched an episode on Youtube and I think the basic idea of the game is that contestants choose a category and difficulty of their questions - the harder the question the more points available. Here is the Jeopardy board based on equine reproduction that we set up...
For the younger kids, 'Jeopardy' might have been a little TOO intense, so James, Emily and Melissa had some other ideas. They brought in the help of 'Hearsay' - a lovely mare with a great temperament who is 100% trustworthy around children and loves a bit of attention. The kids stuck stickers on Hearsay so that they could learn the points of the horse and then groomed her - they seemed to have a lot of fun and Hearsay seemed to humour them in good spirit (as captured by Emily in the picture below)....
We then showed some of the horses in hand in the round pen so that the kids could have a look at different breeds of horses that have been bred for a specific discipline. The kids really enjoyed their day and it was fun to do the event too - I have never done anything like this before so I think I probably learnt more than the kids!
Lexington! The preparations....
Dressage at Lexington is the second biggest horse show of its type in the States, so as the big event loomed, my nerves started getting the better of me. Everyone else seemed pretty chilled but inside my butterflies were fluttering. We practiced a lot handling and showing the mares and foals before the event with Dr. Splan guiding us carefully to make sure we all knew what we were doing. We clipped the horses and gave the foals full body clips. They looked like miniature adults - too cute! The day before the show we bathed the mares and the foals got to experience their first ever 'bath time', which caused a few temper tantrums here and there but they soon got used to the idea!
Lexington! The preparations....
Dressage at Lexington is the second biggest horse show of its type in the States, so as the big event loomed, my nerves started getting the better of me. Everyone else seemed pretty chilled but inside my butterflies were fluttering. We practiced a lot handling and showing the mares and foals before the event with Dr. Splan guiding us carefully to make sure we all knew what we were doing. We clipped the horses and gave the foals full body clips. They looked like miniature adults - too cute! The day before the show we bathed the mares and the foals got to experience their first ever 'bath time', which caused a few temper tantrums here and there but they soon got used to the idea!
In addition to bathing the horses, we also experienced the marathon of packing, which I remember well from my own showing days! I have never shown in hand properly before though so we needed slightly different things and it was interesting to realise how different packing for a show where you stay overnight is (I have only ever competed in one day shows). We got most things ready Wednesday evening for our departure on Thursday....
The journey up to Lexington was beautiful and I got the chance to see a little more of Virginia as we travelled south into a more mountainous region. I wanted to stop and take millions of photos but we didn't have time.... However I did manage to get this shot from the car across the 'highway', which shows how amazing some of the views were even from the car....
The Big Day!!!
Before I knew it, it was the day of the show. A 5am rise is not a regular occasion for me and the fact tha we would be showing soon had barely sunk in as we were preparing the horses. It wasn't until we watched a few of the horses in the arena or 'colosseum' that he excitement began to kick in.
Before I knew it, it was the day of the show. A 5am rise is not a regular occasion for me and the fact tha we would be showing soon had barely sunk in as we were preparing the horses. It wasn't until we watched a few of the horses in the arena or 'colosseum' that he excitement began to kick in.
In our first class, 'FIlly of the year', I was handling a mare called 'Peri' and Kaitlin was handling her beautiful little filly 'Dulcinea'. Showing was so much fun - we all got a real buzz from it and the atmosphere was amazing. It was also a great opportunity to watch some of the professional sports horse handlers and it really opened my eyes to a whole different side of the industry that I have never seen before - I learnt a great deal just by watching and observing. Dulcinea came 3rd in this class, whilst 'Gigi' and her foal 'Replica' who Emily and Melissa were handling came 4th. It was a good day for Virginia Tech and we got a few other ribbons in other classes too with some very tough competition from some gorgeous horses!
After our classes had finished we were all feeling that wonderful feeling when you have been tired out from a great day - and so were the horses! Whilst the horses enjoyed some time in peace eating their hay we attended a 'barbecue', which is not actually a barbecue in America - it simply refers to food that is cooked in barbecue sauce and not actually cooked on a barbecue. It was yummy though and the cake was even better!
After we had finished showing, we had some professional pictures taken by a photographer which was fun - although after a very long day I think the horses definitely looked fresher than the interns - the horses were groomed to perfection but we could have done with our hair and make-up being done too!
After putting the horses to bed, we set off back to the hotel and Emily had a great idea - let's get some pictures of the beautiful views of the Blue Ridge Mountains near to Lexington - so that's what we did!
John Denver said it best - "Almost heaven, West Virginia, Blue Ridge Mountains, Shenandoah River.... Life is old there, older than the trees, younger than the mountains, blowing like a breeze.... Country roads, take me home to the place I belong..... West Virginia, mountain momma, take me home, country roads...."
On the next day of the show we got to watch a bit of the dressage and some young horse classes which were really good to watch because we heard the judges comments about the horses. I also got chance to look round some of the stalls and got tempted by very OTT sparkly browbands - although I didn't indulge myself! In the afternoon we set off back from a fantastic weekend and I felt like I had never done and learnt so much in such a short space of time!
SPEAK SOON!
That's all I have time for today but I will be updating you soon about my latest activities and adventures! Thank you for reading - I hope you have enjoyed the pictures if not my whittling haha!
Take care,
Charlotte Xxx
SPEAK SOON!
That's all I have time for today but I will be updating you soon about my latest activities and adventures! Thank you for reading - I hope you have enjoyed the pictures if not my whittling haha!
Take care,
Charlotte Xxx