Second Email - Thursday

Hello All,

I have retreated indoors to send you an update on the past couple days because we are just about to have a thunderstorm... which means a down poor of rain is about to start!! The day we moved Stentano over to the horse park (Wednesday) we all woke up to a massive thunderstorm!! I can't quite describe to you how unreal these storms are except with the description that it sounds like the sky is cracking in half! The lightning seems to continuously be going when a storm like this rolls in and when the rain starts you don't want to be outside let me tell you!!

So on wednesday my mom and I made sure that everything was ready (stall bedded, fans up, waters filled etc.) before bringing him over to the horse park. I rode him at the barn before we brought him over and then he had from about 2pm onwards to get himself adjusted to the venue. Luckily, Megan Lane (she was the gold medal rider last year at Junior's and now is doing young rider's from Ontario) had arrived on Tuesday night with her mare so when we brought Stentano over he had a buddy a few stalls down. Esmee and Erika's horses were supposed to arrive Wednesday too so Stentano would have had more friends but the transporter's truck broke down and a part had to be ordered so that delayed them 24 hours so we are hoping they should arrive at least by 12pm tonight (Thursday). Sylvie (from the interior of BC) and Lindsay (from Alberta) are arriving tomorrow too!

Today Megan and I rode at the same time which was nice for Stentano to have a pretty lady to follow behind! He was trying to act tough but I know deep down inside he was rather terrified about making his way to the ring! He was super today and I began working on more lateral work and collection. I rode around 10 am this morning and it was already in the 90's! By the time we were finished we both were rather hot and sweaty!! We have also been lucky to rent out a grass paddock for Stentano before the competition gets started so he has a place to move around and roll... it is pretty hard to use it during the day because it is too hot so after the dinner hour he is enjoying spending a couple hours out there! Yesterday evening he had a huge blgium in the paddock near him - Stentano wasn't quite sure what to make of him! His nose is beginning to look better and is less swollen each day!

Other regions are beginning to show up in order to get themselves set up before their horses arrive and the Mexican jumping team got in yesterday... we are staying far away from them because they seem like trouble! We also started to get out BC and Canadian spirit going as we began setting up flags and decorating today! I will send pictures once we are all set up!

We are enjoying are stay at the campground which is a good 20 minute walk up and down some good hills to the stabling where the horses are! We finally gave in into renting a golf cart to drive back and forth between the campsite and the stabling because the walk was rather overwhelming (never mind making that trip 3 to 5 times in one day!) We enjoyed cooling off in the pool today with Esmee, her mom, Erika, and Megan! Yes, I know it sure sounds like we're roughing it!! ;)

Alright well I better say goodbye for now because we are off to dinner to some Chinese restaurant in Lexington city so that ought to be interesting!!

Monica and Stentano