I probably set some kind of record for the quickest site visit by an advisor by going out to see Natalie on project today, four days into senior project. It was a beautiful afternoon to see her riding in a show (aka competition) at Chagrin Valley Farms outside Chagrin Falls. It was a while before her turn on the course, so I had a good chance to meet two of her six (!) horses, Kip, in both pictures, and Jasper. They were both super-friendly...either that, or super-hopeful that I had food! Oh yeah, the other living thing in the pictures is Natalie!
The competition I got to see was jumping. First, though, I got to walk the course, sort of like a golfer checking out a fairway. The riders stride from one jump to the next, then translate that into the number of horse strides it should be. OK, smarties - how many Natalie strides equals one Kip stride? Anyway, I hung around long enough to see Natalie ride Kip through the course. Imagine riding a half-ton behemoth as it (he) flies through the air. Fun to watch, but I won't be doing that any time soon. Natalie, I want to hear how that feels. NatKip made all their jumps but one - no rails knocked over, and just one refusal. A refusal is just what it sounds like - the horse rides up to the jump and says, uh, No. But they went around and made the jump on a second try. Good job! I was going to make a video, or at least take some pictures, but my camera batteries had a refusal of their own. Drat. Did you know that horses wear shin guards during the jumping competition? I had to leave before Nat rode Jasper later in the competition, but I'm sure she'll fill us in on how it went.
I had a lot of fun on my site visit. This duty is the reward for being an SP advisor. Thanks, Nat! Enjoy the rest of your project.
Doc M.
No comments:
Post a Comment