Cross One Off the Bucket List

I love it when we go somewhere or do something and you can tell it's had a lasting effect on Dexter.  For the past week and a half he's been running around the house pretending to be in a horse race.  He put blocks out to be the "train crossings" (the quarter poles) at the track.  He has a starting gate.  He warms up before he races.  He says "I'm OFF!" when the starting gate opens and it's time to race.  It's ridiculously cute.

We went to watch horses gallop at Fair Hill a few weeks ago.  Thus the horse racing obsession.

This morning he was romping around pretending to be a horse at the horse show.  He was jumping jumps.  Buddy was jumping jumps.  There was a ring.  There were tractors.  The blue one dragged the ring and the green one had trailers attached to it.  It was all very involved and the horse show lasted a good hour in our hallway and the kitchen.  Until everyone got tired and had to go rest in their stalls.

Why the horse show theme?  Yesterday we spent the day at a place I've been meaning to go to since I moved up this way in 2003.  Devon Horse Show.  A week-long spectacular of hunters, jumpers, conformation classes, driving classes, and equitation.  A week-long spectacular of horses that cost more money than both our cars combined.  Cute small ponies who truck any kid around.  Don't know how to ride?  Hold on, kid.  I got this.  Juniors (under 18 years old) riding horses over jumper courses, with jumps that are taller than me.  Maclay classes (the best of the best showing in equitation).  Lead line classes this weekend, with cute small children being led around on cute horses and all winning blue ribbons.  It's the A Horse Show world.  It's crazy.  It's expensive.  It's a little like watching paint dry after you see a few horses go.  I still love it.

The Maclay class was held in the Dixon Oval in the morning.  They had so many entries they ran three sections of the class, with at least 20 horses in a section.  Maybe more.  We lost count.  This is the paint drying class.  Watching one or two is fine.  After that they all blend together.

We had to move so Dexter could be right in front of the green jump.  It was his favorite.

Awwwww.  Snuggles while watching horses.

The Dixon Oval, still the Maclay class.

We went in to "the house" to watch horses for a while.  Snuggles with Daddy.  No idea where that big red mark came from - he woke up with it.  Dexter.  Not Daddy.

Dex liked being way up at the top of the grandstand.  It WAS pretty cool up there - you could look one way to see the ring, and look the other way to see the warm-up ring.

After lunch we checked out the midway, which was exactly 4 rides and some midway games and food.  Dex picked a carousel horse that went up and down.

Then he wanted to go on the motorcycle carousel.  He picked the purple bike.  And I was so proud, and petrified, and also a little sad that he went on it all by himself.  About 3/4 of the way through he looked at us as he went by and said "ALL DONE!"  Sorry, kiddo.  You're stuck on that one for a little while longer.

Dex wanted to play the ball game.  The game person (what do you call those people?) was cracking up because he really sucked at it.  Like, this was about as far as his ball ever went.  But he had fun, and he got a purple necklace that he is still wearing around his neck right this instant.

We ALL went on the ferris wheel, which was an accomplishment because yeah.  Mama?  Kind of hates ferris wheels.  I had a death grip on the bar, though, and I was ok.  Dex liked being able to see all the horses and the cars when we were way up high.

Figured we'd just do all the rides.  Dex had to do this one by himself, too.  I have no idea if he had fun or not - this boy is a tough nut to crack.  BUT - I think we can probably go to Dutch Wonderland this summer and he'll be ok.  The riding on a ride by himself thing was the big test, and he didn't freak out.  So I think we can do it.  Carefully.

All those rides will tire a boy out.

The entertaining Junior Jumper class in the afternoon.  Horses jumped the long course.  If they had no rails, and made it under the time allowed, they jumped the short course.  Horse with the fastest time and no rails on the short course was the winner.

Big jumps, brave riders.  Only one fall that we saw.  The winner was this unassuming little chestnut horse.  He walked in the ring after all these huge warmblood horses had gone, and I thought nothing of him.  Local girl was riding him.  Clear round on the long course.  And then she rode the short course and made the most incredible tight turns with that tiny little horse, and damned if that horse didn't turn the corner, see a jump right in front of him, and pop over it easy as can be.  It was impressive, and the crowd went wild.  She had the fastest time by 2 seconds.  Not the horse pictured here.  I forgot to take pictures of the cute little winning horse.

Ants in His Pants was a little wiggly when horses were in the ring.  But then he sat down and sat still, with rapt attention, for a good ten minutes.  What was all this focus aimed at?

Why, the tractors, of course.  This is the really long tractor (it had three trailers on it).  There was another kind of long tractor (2 trailers), and 2 blue tractors dragging the ring.  All in the ring at the same time.  Fascinating stuff.  Best thing we saw all day, I do believe.

If you ask Dexter his favorite part of the horse show, his answer varies.  He told Grandpa it was eating funnel cake.  I think he told Grandma it was the blue tractor dragging the ring.  Sometimes he'll say it was watching the horses jump.  But based on today's repeat performance in the kitchen, I'd say that Devon was a rousing success.