Breeder's Cup picks:

Juvie Fillies: I love Proud Spell; she is just so fuzzy and cute, and I love the quick-horse-on-a-wet-track-coming-off-a-layoff angle. Have a huge soft spot for Tasha's Miracle and Grace Anatomy.

Juvie: Wicked Style. He's flashy and fun to watch, and his last really impressed me. That outside post sucks, though. Tale of Ekati has an amazing pedigree and is going to be a major player next year, but not sure how I feel about him tomorrow.

Filly & Mare Turf: Honey Ryder is my girl. She's always knocking on the door running against the boys....this is her day. She loves Monmouth, but the track is going to be an issue.

Sprint: Midnight Lute...have been waiting for him to strike it big for what, like three years now?

Mile: Let's swing for the fences here. Nobiz Like Shobiz, first time against older, but he gives me chilld when he runs; totally a different horse on the turf than he was this spring. My Typhoon; Mott wouldn't run her here if he didn't think she could do it.

Distaff: Love Octave and Ginger Punch to death.

Turf: English Channel/Dylan Thomas cold exacta....but my heart is with 'English. He's got some serious guts and personality.

Classic: I feel so in love with all of the three year olds this year...and I have so much respect for Lawyer Ron....but this week, my heart has been pulling me toward Street Sense. There are a lot of questions surrounding how he'll handle the track, but all I know is, he looked scary good working this week....and this race is such an unbelievable field, it's kind of a crap shoot, so might as well go with my heart. I say Street Sense/Hard Spun/Ronnie and Curlin photo-ing for the show.

That's all, she wrote. Everyone have fun tomorrow!

"You are a great champion. When you ran, the ground shook, the sky opened, and mere mortals parted the way to victory. Where you'll meet them in the winners' circle, and they'll put a blanket of flowers on your back. Run hard tomorrow. Goodnight, Dreamer."

Okay, I haven't posted in forever, so lots of fun, random stuff....bear with me here while I try to wrap it all up.

Classes: Only taking four “real” classes this fall, plus the Courier for credit. Pretty sweet schedule. Copyediting & Design is probably my favorite class. Broadcast History & Development is a little tricky because it’s a history/memorize facts and names course, and those aren’t my strong suit, but I’ve been keeping up with the reading and got 100 on the first test (grade is based on four tests). Biology In Society is kind of difficult material-wise, but we’re graded on three papers and two take-home tests, so at least I won’t have to do any hardcore memorizing. I’m taking Intro to Professional Writing (for my minor) with Kyle, and we’ve both decided it’s a waste of time. The professor is the nicest woman, but class is so disorganized and we could do most of the assignments in our sleep. Junior year going decently so far. I’m really bothered that I keep putting out my best effort and coming back with A minuses or B’s though….it’s just the perfectionist in me, but that bugs me.

D&C: I’ve been working there as an Outfielder for a little over a month now. I really, really like it. Admittedly, I’ve been struggling with the atmosphere a little, because I’m overly competitive sometimes and I hate people looking over my shoulder (it makes me too nervous to concentrate), but I like the other people there and I’m really comfortable with the workload….juggling calls, talking to coaches, getting things done on deadline, etc. I think I could cut 100 lines out of a roundup in my sleep now. I like that every single game is different—I don’t deal with monotony well.
And I’ve gotten lucky enough to pick up some really cool phone calls (there’s one main line that people call in on, so it’s kind of just a crap shoot as to who gets there first). My first night working, I picked up the soccer game that the girl doing the roundup that night had planned to use as the lead. A few weeks ago on a Friday night, I happened to pick up the phone when this kid Dave Zapata broke the Section V all-time rushing record and his coach was calling in the box score…I was literally shaking, haha, and I got to holler how he did (302 yards!) across the room and then write a cool web update about it. Also that same night, I got to write another web update on Averin Collier (the top-ranked DI prospect in the state) getting hurt, and also took Victor-Geneva football, which was the regional lead…so I’d say that was my best night ever! It was so exciting and I was literally running around campus on a high when we got back. This past Saturday, I got the Aquinas football game, which was the metro lead.
Plus it’s like hey, I just hung out and watched baseball and talked to a bunch of coaches and five hours went by like nothing? And I got paid 50 bucks for it? Sweet deal.

Courier: We’ve had lots and lots of fun bickering getting things off the ground this year and have already survived a few crisises, but overall, things are going really well. It’s really weird without Lyz (in England) and the kids who graduated around still, and we’ve had some growing pains with the website and magazine and how everyone is dealing with stuff, but we’ve gotten three editions off to the press without too much hassle. The entire paper was redesigned over the summer, and it’s been met really well. It’s been nice to get this part of my life and these friends and this routine back…I missed it over the summer. We’re having our usual good time with lots and lots of pizza and Coke Zero and Fergie. And tonight at production, we started talking about New York….aiiieeee!!!!!

The section where I’m a silly girl and write about my boyfriend: Okay, so sue me. still going strong and coming up on two years (Nov. 10)…seriously can’t believe that. I am really, really lucky, and we’ve been having so much fun together pulling random crap (like driving to Buffalo with Melissa on a whim), going out to eat, and doing silly things. He is probably going to grad school next year and possibly winding up very far away. I totally support him, but I am already freaking out a little (it’s just in my personality to freak about things way in advance)….but I just keep trying to remind myself that a) we WILL make it work, b) it’ll only be for like eight or nine months, and c) it could be so much worse; my friend Maggie’s boyfriend is in the Marines, and sometimes she doesn’t even have the option of seeing him once a month!

Fisher Football: Off to a 5-1 start, and looking really good…if it wasn’t for a 31-28 loss to Hartwick (dark horse of the E8 this year) we’d be unbeaten….Vosburgh decided to go for it instead of kicking a field goal to tie…oh well. We bounced right back with huge wins against Brockport (two rain delays cannot stop us, bitches) and Norwich (led by two touchdowns less than two minutes in) and look ready to take on Springfield.
I’ve only made it to two games this year (Homecoming against Brockport and this week against Norwich) because of work….that really, really bothers me. football season meant a lot to me last year….both professionally, because I got my first chance to do writing outside of the Courier when the team went on their huge run, and personally, because I made a lot of great friends in the “Cardinal Crazies” last fall during a really rough time for me. All the guys heckle me now when I show up for a game…”hey, where have you been? Ditching us? We have to catch up!” It just bothers me that I miss out on all the fun and camraderie. Plus, CTV covers all the games now, so I never see Cara on the weekends anymore…she goes to bed early on Fridays, is at the game all day Saturday, and produces all day Sunday. I guess I never realized how much my social life revolved around football (I am NOT a typical girl!), and now I miss it. But what can you do? At least I can go to the Alfred game (probably our biggest of the year), and hopefully we’ll get some more home games during playoffs….if we go as far as Alliance again (because we will definitely have to go through Mt Union), hopefully I can get off.

Racing: Let’s start with the bad news first. John Henry was put to sleep last week…the heat in Kentucky took a toll on him at the end of summer, and finally, his age just caught up with his body. It feels weird to be a racing fan in a world where John doesn’t physically exist anymore. What a remarkable life he had—how many lives touched, so many memories left behind, and how well he got to live, and for so long. He was surrounded by people who loved and cared about him right till the end, even if he tried to kill a few of them on occasion. We should all be so lucky. Rest in peace to a grand old man who did it all his way….it won’t be the same without you, John.
Good news. The Breeders’ Cup is next week….cannot believe it snuck up so fast….anyway, the Classic looks like a doozy this year, really evenly matched field, between the “big three” 3YO’s (Street Sense, Curlin, Hard Spun), Lawyer Ron, the up-and-coming horses like Tiago, and all the veteran campaigners who could still surprise. The Distaff looks fun if all the top contenders go….lots of classy, consistent 3YO’s (Octave, Lear’s Princess, Lady Joanne, Tough Tiz’s Sis, Panty Raid) and lots of tough, classy older mares (Ginger Punch, Balance, Indian Vale, Unbridled Belle) knocking heads. English Channel versus Dylan Thomas is the Turf, Greg’s Gold/Smokey Stover/Idiot Proof in the Sprint, and oh, it’s just gonna be an awesome day. Not sure how I feel about those new races on Friday yet, but if it means more live racing on TV…eh, okay.
Couple notable names missing, of course. Rags is out for the rest of the year with a hairline fracture suffered when she finally returned to the races in September…so glad it wasn’t more serious and she’ll be back; I’d miss her like crazy. Teuf is done for good after breaking down badly at Keenland last weekend…came through surgery okay, and prognosis is good, but he’s not out of the woods yet…got my fingers crossed every day.

Other random sports things: Yankees are out of the playoffs. In the first round. Again. Fun. Guess we’ll be seeing ya, Torre. Now I’m pulling for the Rockies, because a) they’re exciting to watch, and b) the thought of the Red Sox winning the World Series makes me physically ill. I’m kind of hoping the Indians knock them out before the finals. After losing their first two games to the Islanders, the Sabres have now picked up three wins in a row, including an OT thriller over Toronto tonight…I think everyone was panicking a little prematurely about them, because now they’re looking like a good, solid team. I’m going to the game against Philly with Craig on my 21st birthday next February, and can’t waaaait. The Red Wings (my favorite Western Conference team) are 3-1-1 and looking decent. Colts are off to a 5-0 start….Eagles are 2-3.

That's about it for now. I'm sure I'll come up with more. I'll try to update soon about the Breeders' Cup, the football season, the Matt Nathanson concert TOMORROW, etc....stay tuned, haha.

So, I haven't written in forever, and I need to fix that. And I'm horrible at keeping in touch with people, and I need to fix that, too. And life is insane.

I don't know where to begin, so let's start with the most recent adventure. I went back to Buffalo with Craig on Sunday night after he got off work (spent Sunday and Monday night at his house), and we went to Niagara Falls on Monday...did the whole Maid of the Mist/Cave of the Winds/random sightseeing & adventures thing. It was AWESOME....I think I'll let the photos speak for themselves.



The pedestrian bridge over the American falls....see the edge like 50 feet away? Yeah, if that bridge breaks, you're screwed.


Horseshoe Falls


Hurricane Deck...from below, as we were on the way up on the rickety stairs of death.


Getting SOAKED at the Cave of the Winds tour.


Essentially UNDER the Falls.


The waterfall just owned me.


The view from below....sooo cool!


On the Maid of the Mist!


And this would be the "mist."


We had like an hour of being semi-dry after Cave of the Winds...then this happened.


Haha, I'm a mess.


Rainbow!


Still soaked & not caring (gotta love the before and after shots!)


American falls from the boat deck


We climbed some more stairs of death to get right next to the falls!


View from the observation deck.




(In addition, there was another failed attempt to visit Murph, an hourlong encounter with a screaming two year old, a game of Would You Rather with Melissa that went terribly wrong for Craig--I won't post the video ;)--, a drive through pretty Wheatfield, and John's pizza. A really good time!)

**********

So yeah....summer is almost over. We move back in at Fisher on Monday. Strangely enough, I have mixed feelings about it. I've been looking forward to going back and getting back to my routine for so long. But...I don't want to say goodbye to summer just yet. I was so apprehensive about it, but it's been really wonderful.

A rainy Fourth of July watching Funny Cide win at Finger Lakes. Seabreeze and the Red Wings on July 7. The week at Stuarts with the crew watching Jan, Bobby, etc. The Sabres forcing OT with seven seconds left and beating the Rangers in the playoffs. A weekend in New Orleans and nights on Bourbon Street and falling in love with that city and its spirit--I cannot wait to go back. Going to the track after work and falling in love with random claimers....spending nights at Java's with Bridget watching street musicians play and talking about life....driving down Beach Ave with the windows down listening to Matt Nathanson....Craig being here so much, and being reminded every day why I love him....and all of a sudden, September's here?

I don't want to go back and have the year go by in a heartbeat. I don't want to face the fact that many of my best friends (boyfriend included) will be graduating at the end of it. I don't want to take another step closer to the 'real world' myself....even though I know that the 'real world' will be a good thing, and that there are things to look forward to out there. It's just nerve-wracking, sometimes, to have so many things change and to not know exactly what's going to happen.

But at the same time, there is so, so much to be excited about. I love Fisher. I love everything about being there, and living with Cara, and the crazy stupid things that me and Craig manage to pull. I'm excited about getting back to that. I'm excited about Fisher Football. I'm excited about new classes--and no night class!

I love the Courier and I've missed being there like crazy. I miss bickering with Kyle and talking trash with Bill and spending nights at the office eating too much junk food. I'm excited to get back in there and have more good times and see what we can accomplish this year.

And also....I'm excited about my new job :-) Because roughly three years after first getting in contact with them, and four openings/attempts later, I just got hired by the D&C as an Outfielder in the Sports department...hopefully starting the week we go back to school!! I'll admit that I'm ridiculously nervous about it, because I want to do really well, but mostly, I'm just excited, and really, really eager (to the point of antsy!) to get started.

All things considered....I think things are finally on the upswing here. I think I'm finally figuring out what is REALLY important, where I'm going, and what I want out of my life. I think I'm finally this girl where yeah, amazing things happen sometimes.

So the end of summer isn't a bad thing. It's just LIFE happening, I guess. And either way, I think this year will be the best year YET.

I'm re-watching Street Sense's Derby to settle down and then going to bed. Goodnight.

From the Blood Horse this morning...I am posting this for Brooke's benefit in case she didn't see it yet :-) I agree with everything Haskin says here, and I hope this horse kicks ass this weekend!

Perhaps the most popular winner in New York would be Sun King, trained by New York’s favorite son Nick Zito, who has openly admitted his affection and admiration for the son of Charismatic.

Sun King’s unlucky string of second-place finishes in grade I stakes has given Zito his share of migraines, and a victory in the Whitney would no doubt be one of the highlights of his career.

Sun King has been knocking heads with the best for four years, finishing second in the grade I Haskell Invitational, Whitney, and Metropolitan Handicap, and finishing third in the grade I Bessemer Trust Breeders’ Cup Juvenile, Champagne Stakes, Jockey Club Gold Cup, and Woodward Stakes. He was beaten a nose by Invasor in the Whitney and a head by TVG Breeders’ Cup Sprint (gr. I) winner Silver Train in the Met Mile. And he was beaten only a length in the Breeders’ Cup Juvenile.

Despite having won a pair of grade II stakes and a pair of grade III stakes, he still has managed to accumulate earnings of over $2 million. So, it is safe to say, no one deserves to finally land a grade I victory more than Sun King.

http://racing.bloodhorse.com/viewstory.asp?id=39877

We have a new course designer this year. His name is Richard Jeffry and he’s from Great Britan. Yes, he has a cool accent. He’s somewhat of a mad genius. He spent the entire day running around with his tape measure in hand like a maniac, as course designers are wont to do. Besides that, he very purposely wandered the ring checking random jumps that hadn’t even been touched while horses were on course…making us very nervous as he ventured onto their track…and I think I spotted him doing the Michael Dickinson check-the-footing-with-a-finger thing a few times! He definitely had this vision and was insane about following it. Everything he said sounded very stern because of the accent, but as it turns out, he was a big softie. Especially when we brought him a muffin in the morning.

Anyway, we wrapped up a great weekend today with the stadium. Will Coleman and K du Manoir were our big winners in the CIC, followed by Corrine and Dobbin, and then Jan and Syd Kent (apparently she’s only been riding him about three weeks, which made that even more impressive!). They all had clear stadium rounds—really great to watch! Jan won the Open Intermediate with her top horse, Task Force (rounding out the day, actually), and earlier, she picked up a win on one of her Prelim horses, Dario. Really fun to watch her; had never met her before this weekend, but she’s a class act, and I hope she comes back in the future (unless we scared her away with the Pony Club games!).

La and Eve had their ride early in the day. They weren’t in the running for a ribbon, but it was still exciting to see them go DOUBLE CLEAR! It almost got a little too exciting when Eve tried to jump one of the Intermediate fences already set up…La dragged her off with a very firm—“NOT YOURS!” And again, went around screaming and laughing the whole way. She’s been like that since I was eleven years old. I’m proud of her, and happy for her. I was thinking of Drib all weekend, and I’ll bet she was too, and Drib would be nothing but ecstatic right now.

Had a blast working stadium crew, as usual. The girls from Fox Creek Farm were back, and some of the girls who were at Black North when I was there were working. We all caught up and had some fun and everyone fought over the shady spots around the ring, as usual. And two of the BNF girls developed a serious crush on Will Coleman.

One of my cool moments of the day: Was standing next to Brian when he got the phone call from David that Karen and Theodore O’Connor had just won the gold in Brazil! Phil was second, Gina Miles third, and Darren fourth (with four rails down—hope Better is allright).

But yeah. We’re through for another year. It’s sad. It’s hard to describe why I love being there so much. Well, besides getting to see Olympic-caliber riders and horses compete, and then getting to hang out with them. It’s deeper than that. I guess it’s because for one thing, I’m totally in my element. Craig pointed it out on Friday morning when I was just striking up conversations with random strangers at dressage: Ordinarily, I am very shy and quiet, but here, I’m totally at ease and fearless. It’s a good feeling to have. Guess I should work on carrying it throughout the year, too. I also like it because I’m so sure of what’s going on and how to respond in any given situation. Ordinarily, how to act in a particular instance or how to deal with a crisis panics me. But not here. Fence destroyed? I’m instantly on my feet and out there, no hesitation, knowing exactly how to help put it back together. Rider down? Radio for Bob. Loose horse? Alert the crowd and keep calm. Lame horse? Hell, I’ll run scores on foot. I guess it’s a confidence thing again. For another thing, it’s just nice to feel needed…to know that we, as volunteers, are necessary to an event like this and that what we put into it is worth it. it’s a really satisfying feeling at the end of the weekend when things have gone off smoothly and all the riders are walking away smiling, having had a safe and productive weekend.

This was another great year (despite the lack of Darren…haha). For one thing, I got introduced to a wonderful rider in Jan. For another thing, I got to watch her and Bobby make fools of themselves on obstinate ponies. For another thing, my friends all TORE IT UP all weekend. And I had a blast with Jess. And another really special thing, I got to bring Craig with me for a day this year.

That’s all, she wrote…I need to sleep past 5am for the first time since Wednesday, and then I’ll have pics and video up soon. Night y’all!

It’s quite possibly my favorite day of the year….behind, say, Derby Day….CROSS COUNTRY DAY AT STUARTS!!!

To put the sheer amazingness in simple terms: I walked around in pretty pine woods and laid in the grass in the sun all day. While watching gorgeous, fit horses gallop across the countryside, and perform absolutely impossible leaps over huge fences that don’t fall over when hit. Sick and insane, I know. But amazing.

Also, one loose horse caught and one scoring disaster averted? I rock.

Got up early and got to see a gorgeous sunrise while driving to Victor. Hit the showgrounds at 6 and Jess headed off to jump judge while I hiked up the hill. By the start box. Sat on a couple of old fences to have breakfast (Timmy Ho’s bagel) while watching riders warm up and the first couple people start off on course (the Training divisions went first).

Laura and Eve had their run at about quarter to nine. Watched them come out of the start box and clear the first fence (with La talking the entire way), then turned around and hauled straight back up the hill toward the back field. It’s tradition that if you know a horse and rider, you follow them around the course like a maniac. My legs will hate me for about a week. But made it back there to watch them come through the water no sweat…now I’m getting really excited. They were sitting twelfth overnight, a couple people before them had time penalties, they’re clean and fast so far, they’re gonna be in the ribbons! Then, heartbreak. Eve ran out at the first part of a combination and threw a bucking fit before La finally got her over. Then she refused at the second part. 40 faults…crap. But they finished up strong…with La smiling and screaming the whole way. I will never cease to be amazed by that girl—she rocks.

Spent the morning walking around the course…down to the water, the up-bank at the road, out to the big hedge in the front field, to the huge flower tables by the trade fair. Things got a little more exciting than we bargained for with a couple of loose horses in the Prelim division. The first one lost the rider in the back field, then ran back up over the road to the front field….and straight for the trade fair. Shiiiit. But very, very luckily, he saw the rope around the course and must have thought it was electric tape or something, because he performed a perfect sliding stop. Have seen a Quarter Horse pull that move, but never a Trakhener. I was standing there and he started trotting like he was going to bolt again, so I ducked under the rope and grabbed the bridle till the trainer got there. All’s well that ends well.

The second loose horse actually jumped the rope fencing (thank GOD he didn’t catch a leg) and ran back to the warmup to be with his buddies before we caught him. Overall, the day was pretty tame spill-wise, though. Two riders had to be taken care of by medical staff, and were hospitalized overnight for observation….possibly concussions, but they were both conscious and talking, so everything is probably okay.

The CIC started at about 1:45, with Corrine and Dobbin first on course. Saw them at the start box, then made it back to the water/steps. Double clear! I actually didn’t find out till their ride that they changed the bank this year….instead of going up the steps, it’s down. I’m at the bottom waiting for them to come around the bend and go up…when all of a sudden, then drop over the top! Then it was another curve around, through the spectator areas (another first) to the last two jumps. I liked it. More visibility. Spent most of the time at the steps, and then at the water complex. Meant to walk around a little more, but didn’t want to miss any horses, and the camera angles I was getting were too good to resist.

We had a great day out there for the whole division—the crowd was really getting into it, yelling and hollering at each fence, and the horses were really tearing it up! Definitely a treat to get to watch such awesome riders and their horsemanship. I also have new respect for Teresa. Handsome Devil’s heart just wasn’t in it today. After two runouts at a very easy spot, she immediately turned and walked him right off the course, smiling and patting him on the neck. Good call.

So after today, Will Coleman and K. du Manoir are leading with a rail in hand…. Holly Payne and Madeline are second, Corrine and Dobbin third, and Jan and Syd Kent fourth. Ten points separate the top pair, so some movement conceivable. Stadium is pretty big now.

Here’s my adventure. During Intermediate, I was hiking up the road to go to the finish line (it’s my tradition to watch the last rider from the finish) when Billy, one of the outriders collecting scores, cut by me on his horse. The poor guy stumbles on his way down the hill, and is three-legged lame. They’re looking for a trailer to take him back to the barn when someone points out—how do we get the scores from the fences Billy is covering? The officials can’t pick them up. There isn’t another horse in the area. No way to tell the judges hey, go up to scoring. And Wezo is going to KILL someone if the scores aren't posted on time.

So happening to be standing there, and not able to held helping, I’m like oh, I’ll run the scores on foot for the last half of the division. Yeah. Goooood move Nicole. Here I am running through an open field (with no marked spectator paths) hoping to God that Brian is on top of things cause that’s the only way I know if a horse is coming on the track. And oh yeah, the sheets have to go up to scoring, on the hill. Plus, my legs hate me still. I think that was my year’s worth of exercise right there.

But it was exciting—it feels good to contribute and be needed. Really a satisfying feeling to do behind-the-scenes stuff like that (hey, that’s why I’ve been doing this seven years!). Glad I could step in—was in the right place at the right time.

The crowd really whooped and hollered the last horse through the line! Brian definitely got them into it.

So, another wonderful day on the Stuarts XC course in the books. Stadium tomorrow…aka my day to be in charge with the walkie-talkie and organize mass amounts of riders and horses. Can’t wait! Sad cause it's the last day of the show...but I get to sleep in a little...since when did 6am become sleeping in?

Also, another update from PanAm, which we got live on the phone...it pays when your announcer is a competitor's brother-in-law...Karen and the wonder pony Theodore O'Connor are now in the lead! Darren's in third. Show jumping for them tomorrow, too, so we should hear from them around three.

Another 5am wake-up call, and this time, I was dragging Craig with me. He had the day off work, so I was ecstatic to get to take him out to the show and introduce him to the wonderful world of three-day eventing.

Started off by watching the beginning of the CIC dressage. Corrine and Dobbin had a really nice test (I’m pulling for them to win), and so did Teresa Stewart and Handsome Devil (one of Darren’s students). Then again, most of the tests were pretty good, since most of these people are Olympic-caliber riders! I loved watching them, as always. Some people (cough, cough) might not think dressage is as exciting as the other phases…and okay, I guess the other phases maybe are more exciting, per se…but dressage is just as important, holds a ton of weight in scoring, and the benefits of it (harmony between horse and rider) carry over to the other phases. Plus, it’s beautiful to watch. Getting off my soapbox now. I made myself a cup of coffee with so much creamer in it that it barely qualified as coffee and attempted to explain some of the intricacies of dressage to Craig.

Then both jumping phases for Novice were starting—and everyone was bracing for organized chaos. Riders came down to stadium in their cross country gear, jumped the course, ran and changed equipment (horse), and ran cross country 15 minutes later. But everything went surprisingly well. Only two falls, riders getting out on cross country on time, warmup staff keeping things moving, etc. The only real bummer of the morning was that Carol Kozlowski (riding Jack Walnes’ horse Gran Mercury) crashed a fence and was eliminated after being second overnight on their dressage.

My three friends in the Novice were riding right after each other—Leah first, then roughly fifteen minutes till Fish, then another five minutes till Carol. Watched Leah’s stadium round—really strong, with only one rail down. Debated going and getting a spot on cross country, then decided to stay at the ring for Fish’s round. It looked like she really had to push Hannah around the course, and they had three knockdowns, but they survived.

After that, went to the cross country course. Managed to catch Leah at the first and last fences—and she went double clear this time! No 30 speed faults! And the people around me thought she was extremely entertaining, hollering in Smiley’s ear all the way around the course. Sarah went double-clear, with absolutely no missteps at the brush and drop, which was the part she was most worried about. Even though she was obviously going to be out of the ribbons, it was an amazing cross country run for their first time at Stuarts!!! Carol picked up a refusal and had time faults, dropping her way down from ninth. Too bad—she probably wound have pinned before that. When the final scored came up, Leah was ninth—less than a point away from being in the ribbons. If she hadn’t had a rail down, or if someone ahead of her had dropped one, she’d be sitting pretty. Sucks. Oh, well. That’s horse showing.

Then it was time for the annual Pony Club games demonstration. That’s always fun—it’s ridiculously brave little kids on these little short, fat ponies running relay races that involve popping balloons, throwing things, stacking things, etc, at a dead gallop. Then, apparently, the organizers had decided to be extra fun this year (or cruel. take your pick). They had Bobby Costello (former US Olympian) and Jan Byyny (rode for US in World Equestrian Games) come out, hop on two of the ponies, and compete against each other in a round of games. I was holding my sides laughing. Here is Bobby Costello, who I idolized when I was younger as he went galloping around XC courses jumping impossible things on huge Warmbloods….on a fat little palomino pony that is pinning its ears back and refusing to even canter….and running relay races that involve leaping off your horse and crawling under a hurdle on the ground. Priceless.

Brian was more or less having the time of his life during this, which was just the icing on the cake. Some gems:

“The only time in their lives that Advanced riders do not get lost is when they are going cross country. Because everything is roped off. You can ONLY go from 1 to 2 and 2 to 3…”
“Bad puns are a Pony Club tradition.”
“Don’tchu hit that pony!” (in reference to Bobby attempting to make the naughty pony move)
As Bobby is crawling on the ground….”I think we have the next cover for the USET magazine…”
Re: Harry Potter….“By the way, any rider who stays up late tonight trying to get that book will be automatically eliminated on the cross country tomorrow.”

Then we went back to watch a little more dressage—the last riders in the Intermediate division. I was psyched because I think Craig was actually starting to spot good and bad movements in the test….well, he could recognize when they messed up, anyway. And then he decided this one horse was his favorite because it kept whinnying during its dressage test, haha.

During a break between riders, Brian got on the PA to announce that he had just gotten off the phone with Karen from Brazil, and Team USA is leading the three-day competition at the PanAm Games! Darren and Better are sitting in fourth right now. Sucks that they’re not here, but glad it’s going well!

Overall, it was a really awesome day. Spent a lot of time being anxious and nervous about the girls riding, but they all turned out more or less okay. And it was an amazing day out on the courses—things ran smoothly, and the weather was beautiful! And just making a great day perfect—it was really cool to get to share everything with Craig.

CROSS COUNTRY TOMORROW....

After a long year of planning and anticipation….Stuart Horse Trials 2007 is finally here!

As always, highlight of my summer, and I have been counting down for weeks. Went to the showgrounds on Tuesday night for the volunteer orientation and kickoff party. And of course, the annual nighttime course walk with Jess. Then on Wednesday, I was there for a few hours in the middle of the day for stadium setup and to do lunch with Charlie’s Angels (oh how I did not miss Charlie). And today, the competition kicked off at 7am sharp.

Every muscle in my body is already killing me. And it’s only Thursday!

The odyssey started at 5am when I got up and everything possible went wrong in my quest to get out of the house on time. My alarm didn’t go off right, dropped a contact in the bathroom, couldn’t find my bra, and Mary Sue (volunteer coordinator) called me about judging on my way out the door. Anyway, I dashed to pick up Jess, and we finally got to the showgrounds around 6:15. Jess was ring steward for dressage, so she took off for the warmup, and I went to hang out by the ring. I basically tackled Brian, the announcer, as soon as I saw him—he’s the coolest guy in the world, and was really looking forward to seeing him! Then he enlisted me to pound stakes into the ground and go on coffee runs for the ground jury. Oh, Brian.

The highlight of the morning was getting to see my friends Sarah (aka Fish—from Naz) and Leah (from the BNF days) ride. They’re both in Junior Novice. Leah and her OTTB, Smiley, went around 10:15. They had a really nice test. I haven’t seen them in competition together in awhile, but it looks like Smiley has come a really long way in his dressage. Now if they can just not get 500 speed faults in cross country again, they’ll be fine, haha. Fish went maybe half an hour later. It was the first time I’ve seen her horse, Hannah Bananna, and she is so freaking cute! Little TB mare with a star. Their transitions looked a little iffy, but mostly, it was a really nice test, and I’m definitely pulling for them this weekend.

Also got to see my friend Laura (La), who, along with Bridget, taught me basically everything I know about horses and riding. La is Leah’s trainer…she’s also got her mare Eve here this weekend in the Training division. Their dressage test was today (didn’t get to see it, unfortunately), and they do cross country Saturday morning and stadium on Sunday.

My friend Carol is running around here in Junior Novice somewhere, too. I missed her test this morning, but told her trainer, Carrie, to tell her good luck for me (Carrie’s riding this weekend, too, and is leading one of the Open Novice divisions right now). Carol is sitting in ninth overnight, with Leah in a tie for 13th and Fish in a tie for 18th. Don’t know if they’ll finish in the ribbons, but if they have nice jumping rounds and the leaders drop a few rails in stadium, it could happen.

At noon, I reported back to the trade fair to jump judge. We had our radio briefing with Brian, and while we’re sitting in the tent, it starts to drizzle a little. Well, okay, there was rain on the forecast. At about quarter after, it stops raining and the sun comes out, so we figure it’s all over and decide to head out to the course. Me and my fence partner, Christine, hitch a ride on a pickup truck. There are about ten of us in the bed, and we’re perched on the sides of it. The thing was such a crappy piece of rust, I’m amazed it didn’t completely fall apart as we’re going up hills, through the field, etc. The side we’re sitting on is just swaying freely, and everyone is convinced we’re going to fall off and die. Meanwhile, this guy Bill is sitting there very cheerfully advising, “Just pretend we’re working without stirrups. Balance. Balance!”

We get to our jump (the down bank) at about 12:30, with the first rider scheduled to go at 1. Keep in mind, we are in the middle of an open field. About ten minutes after we get to our spot, the skies absolutely open up. We’re covering our clipboard, order of go, and other essentials (like our Matthew McConaughey magazine and bag of M&M’s….hey, we had our priorities straight!) with plastic bags. There is no saving ourselves; we were soaked through in seconds. Meanwhile, Brian is on the radio trying to find Trish, the TD, to get her to approve a half-hour delay of the competition. He finally finds Trish ten minutes later, and she says okay, hold the first rider and get everyone out of the rain. We run up to the patrons’ tent overlooking the course, so now we have a bunch of sopping wet jump judges with clothes plastered to various uncomfortable places on their wet bodies mingling with all the rich sponsors…who were very nice and shared their complimentary cookies.

Half an hour later, it’s still pouring, and the ground jury decides that there’s no way the course will be safe anytime today. They decided to move the Novice cross country to tomorrow. The division was already supposed to do stadium, so they’ll do that and then go straight out to the course. Meanwhile, all the other divisions, including CIC, will be running their dressage tests as planned. It should be a chaotic but fun day. I’m excited now because Craig is coming to the show tomorrow since he has off work, so he’ll get to see all three phases of an event.

I’m also excited that CIC will be starting tomorrow. The one bummer is that Darren isn’t here—he was planning to, but he was an alternate for the Pan American Games, and just got called to go there about five days ago when another rider’s horse came up lame. So he’s in Brazil. Boo. But good for him, and I hope he and Better kick ass. And it should still be a good competition without him—Corrine Ashton, Kelli Temple, Bobby Costello, etc.

So yeah, safe to say, Stuarts ’07 is off to an…inspiring…start. Nice to catch up with my summer horseshow family, and of course, we now have another crazy story to reminisce about for years, ie, the wicked rainstorm. Although the consensus was that this didn’t even come close to last year’s monsoon on cross country day, and moving one division in no way comes close to moving five divisions.

Will try to update again tomorrow night if I’m not completely exhausted, and I’ll post pics at the end of the weekend.

Me and my friend Matt drove out to the track around 11:30, when the gates opened. The parking lot was already full and they were going to overflow parking (in a field) by 1pm. It was unbelievable! Just so out of the ordinary for this track. People were bringing their kids and grandkids, and families were there together, and the whole thing was just surreal. It was steadily drizzling during the day, but nothing torrential, and everyone looked to be having a great time despite the weather…the track was messy, but from what I heard from eavesdropping on riders in the earlier races, it wasn’t unsafe.

Management did a good job of keeping things going, despite the crowd; they had extra concession people in (borrowed from PAETEC Park), extra food stands, extra tellers (called up from OTB)….the betting lines were really long, but they kept things moving along well. Anytime anyone got rowdy or anyone needed anything, there was security or a track rep there to help out. I’m proud of the hometown crew; they really stepped it up for the day, and deserve huge kudos!

We got to meet the Sackatoga guys (they did an autograph session), and that had to be the highlight of the day. They have to be some of the most wonderful, gracious, and generous people I have met in the sport. They all seemed genuinely flattered by the reception they were getting, and very humble about all the attention. They took the time to talk to each person in line, asking them how long they’d been coming to Finger Lakes or what their favorite one of Funny’s races was--for the record, I told them the Gold Cup. They were also very cool about answering questions (some of the more knowledgeable horsepeople were asking things like why is Garcia on him, why can’t he win at Belmont, and they were very candid and open about everything). I stopped to shake each guy’s hand and thank them all PROFUSELY for bringing Funny out to Rochester for us to see, and also wished them luck, of course. Got autographs and photos and a few good laughs. Really, they’re just great guys, and were enjoying themselves so much.

In a tent out front, they also had Funny’s Derby, Preakness and JCGC trophies on display. So I proceed to stand there in total disbelief, going, “There is a DERBY TROPHY sitting here at FINGER LAKES.” Too cool!

Plus, it was wonderful that everything going on was raising money for the track’s racehorse adoption program…they just did the groundbreaking for the on-track rehab and adoption center (first of its kind in the country!), and the sales of all Funny Cide stuff were going to raise money to support horses till homes are found for them. They had people on hand to talk about that, and there was a lot of interest.

A little after one, Craig calls, and it turns out he didn’t have to work his day job, so he booked it out to the track to meet us—and that made an already sweet day perfect. It was the first time him and Matt met, and they got along really well, so that was AWESOME. The three of us were having a blast. Enjoyed the races during the day….grabbed some lunch….got harassed by seagulls….lost a little money betting….lol. We’re all absolutely awful handicappers; we each picked a different horse in one race with six starters, and we couldn’t even get one of those three to hit the board. For the Wadsworth, I was backing Funny all the way, but the boys decided to get creative because they wanted to make money—Craig liked Tiger Speech because his grandsire, Machiavellian, is also the grandsire of Street Sense (he likes pedigrees); Matt liked Tomassi, because the name sounded cool.

As the day goes on, the crowds get harder and harder to fight. We decided we were going to skip the race before Funny’s and go stake out our spot at the paddock. Well, we get down there, and the crowd is already seven deep! And they don’t clear out when the horses for the previous race leave, either! COMPLETELY unbelievable. Our biggest day at the track usually is for the New York Derby, and MAYBE the crowd is three deep if there’s a big-name jockey or some horse that fell off the Derby trail in. But NOTHING like this. Thankfully, by virtue of me being really short, I managed to wiggle my way down right up against the fence.

When Funny walked into the paddock with Robin Smullen (Barclay was at Belmont with Nobiz for the Dwyer), this huge roar goes up, and everyone starts clapping as soon as he emerged out of the tunnel (the other horses were NOT pleased about this, by the way—Tiger Speech launched his saddle a good ten feet because they were attempting to tack him up when Funny appeared). I will admit to getting totally giddy—that’s my boy! He’s here! They took him straight on in to the stall to be saddled, and only walked him around the circuit once or twice. He was totally unfazed by everything and just kept looking around over everyone’s heads with his ears pricked. Some of the other FL regulars are standing around going damn, that’s class….we're all just in awe of him. I’m still totally in shock at this point….oh my God, there is a DERBY WINNER standing in my crappy backyard track’s paddock!

Call to post comes, they go out to the track, and we fight the crowd back to the front side of the grandstand. There’s no way we can see a damn thing if we stand near the winners’ circle, so I tell the guys just keep moving…we get down near the eighth pole and starting gate, and there’s no one there. We had a perfect clear view of the gate, and the horses would come by us again on the way to the finish. I turn around to look at the grandstand, and there is not an empty seat. Everyone is on their feet, and down on the apron, everyone’s standing on the picnic benches. As the field starts loading in the gate, everyone starts cheering….it was like the Derby field was getting ready to go off or something.

They break good (looked like Funny broke very relaxed and then tucked in behind the speed) and go by and vanish around the first turn, and we don’t see them for a good minute. I’m trying to listen to the announcer, and the guys are going crazy because they’re watching their horses lay second and third on the infield monitor.

All of a sudden, we spot the field as they emerge at the end of the backside, and Funny’s number starts moving on the monitor. I yell, “Here he comes!” and I’m shaking as they come into the stretch, just screaming his name over and over as they’re coming down the lane toward us and Funny is making his move. I will never forget that moment as long as I live. He catches Johnnie Bye Night (reigning FL Horse of the Year) directly in front of us and rolls home to win by daylight.

Everyone starts whooping and hollering and we run back to the winners’ circle. They can’t even do the ceremony in the normal enclosure because the Sackatoga guys have so many people with them, so they just do it out on the track. Funny comes walking back past the grandstand, and everyone is giving him a standing ovation; it continues as they unsaddle him and start walking back to the barns, and doesn’t stop until he’s out of view.

What an unbelievable day! I’m thrilled to death that he won big, and maybe it’ll be the confidence boost that he needs to pick up some wins at Saratoga or Belmont later this year. Either way, it’s great that he’s happy and healthy, and I will never, ever forget seeing him today. What a thrill. Sackatoga/Tagg/Smullen/etc were so wonderful to bring him out for the fans to see, and the owners are so damn wonderful. And like I said earlier, I am so proud of Finger Lakes and how today was handled. Cannot believe the crowd that showed up. Who said horse racing is a dead sport? I will not stop smiling over today for a good, long time.

I can try to keep going on and on about how wonderful it was....but they say a picture's worth a thousand words:

The Sackatoga crew:




Funny's 2003 Derby and Preakness, and 2004 Gold Cup trophies:





Me & my favorite railbird-in-training



The champ in the paddock and heading to post. Check out the crowd behind the fence!






Break from the gate



Coming back to the winners' circle....uh...attempting to FIND the winners' circle in all the chaos!



Going back to the barn.

Horse Racing:

Let’s start with the old news that I never sounded off on. Invasor was retired on Saturday the 23rd. I was literally jumping up and down giddy earlier that day because he had turned in a bullet work that morning getting ready for the Suburban. I go out that night, come home to click onto the BloodHorse and find out that he cracked a sesamoid in that work and is all done.

He’ll be okay, thank God, sesamoids always make everyone nervous…but it’s really such a damn shame. Such a classy horse…a real international superstar…won the Triple Crown in his home country, then came over here and beat everything we had to offer…Sun King made him EARN that Whitney…he ran down Bernie in the Classic with his ears pricked like he could go around again. I gotta give props to the connections…it would have been really easy to retire him after the Classic, but they brought him back for a 5YO campaign. Even if it was abbreviated, it was really sporting of them, and we still got to see two wonderful races in the Donn and World Cup. Probably the best older horse to win a championship in America since Cigar…and that is saying a lot. So disappointing to lose him.

The bright side?

The race for Horse of the Year is suddenly wide open. Right now, the frontrunners are the three year olds: Rags, Street Sense, and Curlin. All three will be racing within the next month, and they’ll be forced to take on each other and do well if they want to grab the title away from each other. Maybe Todd will be more inclined to run Rags against the boys again. She just returned to the worktab recently, heading for the CCA Oaks….Street Sense is back, too, and I’m glad.

The older horse division is suddenly wide open, too. Flashy Bull is the leading contender in the east…four straight wins and just got his first GI (happy McLaughlin has another nice one). But Lava Man staked his claim out west by winning his third straight Gold Cup in a THRILLER yesterday. That a special horse, but not leaving Cali will hurt him. Should be an interesting summer and fall.

Hockey:

Sabres lost both co-captains today, as expected. After free agency opened at noon, Danny Briere went to Philly around, oh, probably 3:30….eight years for $52 million, getting ten million the first year….after all the noise he made about wanting to stay in Buffalo….SELLOUT. A few hours later, nothing major has happened with Chris Drury, so I go for a run….around the block a few times and I’m rounding the final bend toward my house when I get a text from my friend Matt going “AHHHH NO NO.” So knowing Matt pretty well, I bolt for the house and the computer only to find out….that Drury is a Ranger.

Yep. Kind of ironic, in a sick twisted way, considering that Drury kept the Sabres alive in the playoff series against the Rangers by tying Game 5 up with 7.7 seconds on the clock (May 4….we were there!). Also surprising, because like 99% of the rumors I heard had Drury going out west somewhere. So now the Rangers have Drury, Jagr, and Gomez, who they also managed to sign today. That thought kind of makes me sick. My immediate response to Matt was “Someone needs to go Tonya Harding one of them.”

The bright side?

The Sabres aren’t a lousy team by any means without Drury and Briere. They still have Vanek (um, almost anyway….need to sign the contract), Afinogenov, MILLER, Stafford, Roy, etc…plus whoever they pick up in free agency (maybe resign Zubrus?). They’ll have to step up and work a lot harder, and their division suddenly looks really tough, but I don’t think they’re automatically a throwout because they lost the captains. They won’t be the top team in the NHL, but eighth seed in the playoffs and take it from there? Sure.

Also, Detroit got Rafalski and I'm happy about that.

Baseball:

The Yankees have been pretty woeful lately….they suffered through an awful road trip, won the first game of a home series against Oakland 2-1, then dropped a pair of games to lose the series. On Saturday, they lost 7-0 and managed one hit (maybe two….does it matter though?). Today, the score was 11-5. It really doesn’t matter if Jeter and A-Rod are two of the best players in the country if as a whole, the team can’t get it together and put some wins away.

The bright side?

They have the All Star break to hopefully wake the hell up. And I guess October is still a good ways off. And the Mets and Cubs are doing okay.

More baseball:

Barry Bonds keeps inching up on Hank Aaron’s record (has 750, record is 755). Personally, I think any pitcher with any reverence for the game and integrity shouldn’t give him the chance to swing at the ball. Walk the slime.

The bright side?

Unless Barry dislocated his shoulder without me knowing about it….there is none.

The lone bit of totally good news?

Of course it comes from horse racing. Because it never fails to make me happy.

I can’t wait till Wednesday. Funny Cide will be in Rochester to run in the Wadsworth Handicap at Finger Lakes, and I will be right up against the rail watching. It’s going to be exciting to see him. I adore that horse.

Maybe he’s lost a step from his Triple Crown run, but there is an old warrior who didn’t leave the stage too soon….who never sold anyone out for money….who always gave his best, even in the middle of every slump….who never cheated or claimed to be something he wasn’t. Granted, it’s a horse, but seriously….I need to see all of that right now.