This message is from: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Today went just as planned. After a good night's sleep I was pleasantly surprised to discover that my $28 inn room includes breakfast! Coffee, orange juice, waffles, and bagels. After breakfast I went to the fairgrounds and leisurely got stuff done. First I assembled my newly purchased wheelbarrow. Couple of good whacks and the parts reluctantly went together. I trimmed Rafael's mane and beard with the electric clippers (very challenging, like sculpting something that moves), then gave him a bath. No wash rack at this place, so it was a water spigot and bucket. Item added to my horse show list: hose! Rafael does not like a bath, so I only subject him to it for important events like this show. The body was no problem, although it did take quite a few bucketfuls to get it rinsed, but the mane was a different story. Rafael is head shy and no amount of training will change that. So picture me with a bucket full of rinse water, waiting for him to stay still for a moment, then dumping it on his head! More times than not he managed to swing his head away, dumping the water on the ground or on me. By the time I finished Rafael looked stunning, and I looked like I was entered in a wet t-shirt contest.
By noon no one had arrived. I put a wet and stressed Rafael in the stall and took my wet self back to the inn to change clothes. I took a walk around Prineville, taking pictures of silly things like a sign for an eatery saying "YUM YUM FOR TUM" and eating lunch at a burger place called "The Arctic Circle." Back to the fairgrounds for a major tack sorting and cleaning project. Saddles, bridles, and other parts are all clean, oiled, shined, and arranged in order for tomorrow. By now Rafael and I have bonded, as there are no other horses around. He calls whenever he sees me, and puts his nose under my arm when he's unsure. 4PM, back to the motel for a rest. I was just getting into a program about the great mathematician Archemedes when I fell asleep. At 6 I dragged myself up and back to the fair grounds, to find that several people had arrived. The sound of whinnying was everywhere, and people were bustling to set up their stalls. I saw Catherine Lassesen and my driving instructor Kasey Ashley who, like me, came happily by herself this year. We went for a pizza dinner and got caught up. Funny how we live not far from each other in California, but meet in Oregon! After dinner, back to the fairgrounds (at this point I'm glad my room is just down the street) where I feed Rafael and clean his stall. Later in the evening when it was quiet, I walked into the covered arena and imagined what will go on tomorrow. I thought with happiness of all the places the Fjord journey has taken me. Tomorrow will be another step on that journey, a story I look forward to telling! / )_~ /L/L Brigid Wasson SF Bay Area, CA www.Brigid.Clickryder.com
