To continue on from yesterday’s Show Jumping post, we move right on into cross country. Except today I took B and the husband! And then ended up spending most of the time taking care of B, so really, it was a bit difficult to get the pictures and videos that I wanted.
Really though, wouldn’t change it. I loved bringing B there, she was a really good girl. It was fine for about the first hour, but then I just knew she was getting sleepy, and I couldn’t figure out why she wouldn’t just go to sleep. Turns out, the stroller we bought for this offroading adventure is way too hard for her to sleep on. Something I should have checked beforehand. Dave ended up holding her for at least an hour while we viewed what we could. She was silent the whole time, just watching the horses go. Hopefully this bodes well for a horsie future for her. (It sort of feels like I’m trying to get my daughter addicted to drugs. “Cm’on… just watch the horses for a little bit… Yes, watching the horses does make you feel neat, doesn’t it?” Horse Shows: The Gateway Drug.)
Next time, more padding for the stroller. Then she can sleep as needed. Of course, she’ll also get bigger, and not need to sleep as much, so there’s that. Basically, it’s going to get easier to take her out and about. She’s not going to stay a little baby forever! (Which I have mixed feelings about… She’s such a cute little baby.)
I was also glad to see lots of other babies around. She was definitely not the only one. Most of them seemed to be slightly older though, but it was good to see that it isn’t at all uncommon to bring the little ones to a horse show. There were lots of other strollers too – I was initially nervous about bringing a stroller as I thought it might spook the horses. But these horses are literally pros. They aren’t fazed by such minor things.
I really like how this show is set up for a nice day out for families. There was a covered viewing area for relaxing, a beer garden for drinking needs, and ice cream. I would have liked to see more variety of drinks (just beer and a wine), and more food vendors in general, but maybe there’s not the foot traffic to justify it. It did seem less crowded in the vendor area than the last time I went. I recall a previous year having way more food trucks, and actually, more vendors in general, so I’m not really sure what changed.
They had other events going on throughout the event, though. On showjumping day, I was most excited about a coursewalk with Jimmy Wofford, but unfortunately baby duties called. I really hope they do it again next year!
Although a large portion of the day was dominated by baby care, I really had fun. I enjoyed the parts I did see, and met up with some great people, who hopefully didn’t mind my disapearing act.
I’ll have to keep going to these events to keep practicing my photography. In general, I like how they are turning out, but I think I can do better. At the very least, I can stop cutting rider heads off!