Today was a VERY slow day! Henk wisely scheduled all the riders for afternoon lessons at 4:00 pm because he wanted everyone to be rested from our night on the town in Maastricht. Without any motivation to leave our beds, the riders lazed around for most of the day, finally moseying to the barn one by one in the afternoon. Taylor was the last to arrive, wandering to the barn around 3:00. The riders and grooms gave her a hard time (everyone but Ginny, who might possibly be the nicest groom of all time), but catching up on a bit of sleep and homework was worth it!
Finally, the time for lessons with Henk arrived. Karl jumped Notories Utopia (Toby) over some small fences; Nick, Jen, and Michael all schooled Malcolm, Venturo, and All Star, respectively, over some bigger courses; and Taylor jumped Karonda over small single jumps and had an interesting experience while jumping a two-stride when Karonda decided to jump the standard rather than the jump. We are all lucky to have scopey horses! Karl just flatted Uno as usual, and the other riders' second horses got to hop a few fences as well. Everyone is feeling great! The Nation's Cup horses are slowly getting back in form for competition, and using the walker and grazing in the paddocks at Henk's has helped rejuvenate them.
After riding, we stayed at the farm for dinner and all the riders huddled around Karl's computer (our constant source of entertainment) to watch Fight Club. Jen and Taylor really enjoyed watching a shirtless Brad Pitt parade around the screen while the boys rolled their eyes. It was a lovely team bonding experience! Tomorrow we are planning to have a barbecue at the farm as a thank you to Henk and his family and a farewell dinner for Lizzy because she flies to Rome tomorrow.
- Jen and Taylor
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