Planning for 2011

We experienced 2 days of temps in the 50s last week, so Winter blankets got to come-off. Everyone rolled in the mud almost immediately. It reminds me of how I feel at the end of the day when I take off my workboots. AHHHH! It seemed that no sooner were the blankets off and the horses were all muddy, when we got a terrible rainstorm, with thunder, lightning, and high winds. Mark and Tom dashed outside to get the blankets back on the poor horses. Even though I was born and raised in New England, I still have this odd belief that on March 1st, the weather will get warm and sunny. Well that date is only one week away, and I guess its time to be realistic--it ain't getting warm anytime soon. So, what do you do during your winter "down-time". This assumes you don't travel south in the winter. I try to catch up on paperwork,research, and correspondence I also try to spend some time enjoying my hobbies other than horses. Mark has reffed a couple of arena polo games at UCONN. He's also taking some classes at the local community college. He must be planning to someday have a job that is non polo related, like something that pays real money.

Guess What you are Doing---

You're wearing long underwear, flannel lined jeans, tee-shirt, turtleneck, sweatshirt, down vest, wool socks, your warmest boots, gloves and a hat. If you guessed watching a polo game in January, in New England, you are correct. Tom and I went to watch the final game of an arena polo tournament being held at Shallowbrook Equestrian Center. Fortunately, we always cheer for both sides. If we had to pick sides it would have been a slight dilemma, as Mark and Jenn were on opposing teams. The game was very exciting. The scores went back and forth by 1 point, with the final score being 11 to 10. Marks team made the final goal. All the horses played very well. It was the first time I had seen Eva, Tequila, and Trick since their move to Shallowbrook. They looked great, and Eva especially, was outstanding. We look forward to more polo matches this winter. Will have to be sure that the long underwear and wool socks are handy!