Last minute preparations for tomorrow's DEPARTURE!!

Today I had one final ride on the boys before I leave tomorrow.  Majek started off very good, his passage was much better and he had some very nice canter work.  Then I went to run through the GP in the outdoor arena.  He started out great, much improved cadence and rhythm in the trot work, a little tense into the second piaffe/passage sequence and resulting kick in the passage/canter transition, but well recovered for a very good line of 2 time changes.  Then he saw the neighbor and his dog out doing something beyond the arena, and then, well, he was an idiot.  I mean, really an idiot.  He's never dangerous or anything like that, and I can't blame him for getting wound up about something out in the distance that he couldn't quite make out.  But really??  I tried to continue the test but his attention was totally gone and focused on whatever it was scared him.  We even had running sideways and blowing through the nose aka Arabian moment.  I had to give up the test and then ride basic transitions until he started relaxing and paying attention again.  Not a good way to end before a big horse show, but I know Majek very well and I'm sure that won't be repeated.  Plus we'll have plenty of time down there to get acclimated before we have to ride a test.  Hopefully...

Victor on the other hand was great.  I ran through the freestyle yet again and although I was a little off the music (I was having a heck of a time hearing the cd player over the wind outside today), he stayed on the leg very well and I was able to clean up a few technical issues from yesterday.  I also rode the GP again today and was very happy with how it went.  I made a few corrections for him wanting to come behind the leg in key places but overall I was better able to stay relaxed in my body and not push quite so much all he time.  The piaffe/passage was MUCH improved today, and also the pirouettes (although the second one was too big because he misinterpreted my aid to stay in front of  me as "go out of the pirouette").  But I was very happy with the improvements over yesterday's trial run.  Much, much better.  Thankfully.

We finished packing and Lana's husband Bruce showed me how to change the tire on my truck and how to put tire chains on.  Useful information for us road warriors to know.  It wasn't complicated, just a matter of running through it once to get familiar with the process.  I like to have a basic understanding of these procedures in case I end up in Nowheresville, Nevada (I go there a lot) and need it.  Also good to make sure you have all the right equipment and that your tire chains fit your current tires (thanks Bruce!).  Lana also put together a basic tool kit for the truck.  Before we only really had my square nose shovel (which was very handy when needed, that sucker helped me get the fender off my trailer on the last blow-out!), now we have all sorts of handy tools.  Including a crowbar.  Which would have been really helpful in that fender-removal situation. 

I'm planning on leaving tomorrow at 7am.  It's about 11 hours to Bishop, California, from here (which is where we're overnighting), so we should arrive around 5pm if all goes well (includes time change from MST to PST).  The horses will be staying at the Tri-County Fairgrounds which is right off Highway 395.  Bishop is a very cute little touristy town near Yosemite, nestled in a valley between the Sierra Nevada and another impressive mountain range that I can't name off the top of my head.  However being a tourist town the restaurants and grocers are a little pricey.  Since this is the off-season hopefully a bag of ice won't cost us $6.  The drive down looks great.  I'm looking forward to getting started!