We are set to go!

Hello Y'all!

Today was the last somewhat "easy going" day before things get started! We awoke to a suprisingly cooler morning ( 77 degrees F ) and the temperature peaked to only 85 degrees F today! This would have seemed hot to us a week ago but now I think it is safe to say that we are getting used to the mid 90's now!!!

I was able to watch Albrecht instruct some of the western riders this morning while I grazed Stentano beside the ring - this was a nice treat because normally I am getting ready to ride or I am riding when the others are riding too. Around 9:30am my mom and I left the horse park and we hit up Hagyard's (the vet clinic that is across from the horse park) to buy some stitches scissors. We were in luck! I must quickly mention that this vet clinic was extraordinary - we just saw it from the outside but it looked like they had everything there (including an MRI)! We then proceeded to head to the airport to pick up Karen! It was great to see her and catch up with her today! When we got back to the horse park I had a lesson with both Albrecht and Karen helping me... I wasn't sure what to expect and whether it would be too overwhelming with two voices but it worked amazingly! The intensity was still there but with Karen helping it kept me calmer and things just fell into place! I was so happy! We worked for about 30 minutes because you can't go much more than that in this weather without them overheating or simply just getting too tired.

This afternoon we hit up a tack shop with Karen... it was very strange but neat at the same time. The store was in a house so it was like Christmas almost.. you just kept walking and you would find another room with more things!! After that outing we came back to feed Stentano and the barns were slightly chaotic because the last minute arrivers were rolling in but it was nice to finally have all of the Canadian dressage riders at the park finally!

The evening ended with a dinner outing to a funky restaurant in downtown Lexington! We went out with the whole Western group (including Albrecht) so I think we had almost 20 people there! It was fun to squish in with everyone - I will put up some pictures tomorrow of the group!!

Alright well I better head off to bed because tomorrow is expected to be a crazy day with an early start! The jog is tomorrow so that marks the official beginning!!

Good night!
Monica and Stentano