Victor and I capped off his first year at International Grand Prix with an invitation to the Festival of Champions, to be held December 9-13 in Wellington, Florida. This is one of the most prestigious dressage competitions in the United States. For many years this competition was used as the selection trials for the major championships (WEG, Olympics, Pan-Am games, etc), although they have altered in the selection procedures in recent years. Scores have to be earned at CDIs throughout the year, and then riders are ranked and the top 15 riders are invited. Just to earn an invitation is a HUGE honor.
However, I was originally going to sit this one out because of the distances and logistics (and finances!!) involved. Boise, Idaho, to Wellington, Florida?? In December? That's probably about as far across the country as one can travel (it would only be further if I lived in the Seattle area) and during a really horrible time of year for traveling (with winter encroaching). In the end my ambition and sense of adventure (??) overruled reason and I decided to make the trip.
Victor and I leave a week from tomorrow (Monday, Nov 30) to drive to Southern California with our chauffeur Todd Fears. Normally I just drive myself (and when I say myself, I mean ME) but this time I was pretty worried about the weather. Nevada can be fine in the winter or it can be downright nasty. Todd was chosen for this job because he is a bad-ass truck driver, who runs the night-shift 5 days a week, driving a triple-trailer Semi for FedEx back and forth between Boise and Hermiston. All year long. If you've ever driven down the famous Cabbage Hill at any time of year, you know it is really, really horrid and especially at night. In snow and ice. And wind. In a triple trailer. So he's ok to drive my horse trailer LOL.
We'll have a few days layover at the ever-wonderful W Farms crew (thank you David, Alisa and Amanda!!) who have so graciously allowed Victor and I to stay at the farm before our flight leaves Friday, December 4th. Victor and I will fly out of the Ontario airport at o-dark-hundred and arrive in West Palm Beach later that day. From there we'll be trucked to Global (the show facility). The jog is the following Tuesday, the GP on Wednesday, the GPS on Thursday, and the GP freestyle on Saturday. Our flight returns Sunday, December 13 and Todd and I will drive back on Monday the 14th. So it will be a whirlwind trip!
I decided to fly him because it is much, much easier on Victor and I, plus I got some financial help to make it more feasible. I actually looked at driving to Florida, and even had a route penciled out. I knew there was NO WAY I was driving across Wyoming in the winter (I've heard far too many horror stories to even consider it), so I mapped a route south through Nevada, into Arizona, through New Mexico, Texas, right through the deep south into Florida. The theory being that the weather would likely be better on that route (of course, right after I looked at this Hurricane Patricia happened and Texas flooded). It was a 5 day trip, with 10-12 hour days. That's assuming you drive straight through and don't stop for a day or so to recover. I looked at that and said "NO". No way. I wasn't going if I had to drive there. Particularly not during the winter!
The past few weeks have been crazy-busy with pre-trip preparations. As far as the training goes I've been getting Victor back up to full-intensity GP mode (he had most of the month of September off and was ridden lightly in early October). I want him super fit before leaving because I know the travel and show will take some out of him. Although luckily he's generally a very easy traveler. I've also beefed up his feed to try and put some extra weight on him, since he will inevitably lose some in transit. Today he also got rid of the yak costume that disguises the International GP superstar. This time of year he puts on so much hair that I sometimes call him my dressage yak. Thanks Aly for clipping him! Victor looks much more the part now after his clip job and he probably lost 50 pounds. Time to feed him more LOL.
I still haven't packed anything yet but I did make a list of stuff to bring. On an airplane they generally don't like you bringing tons of stuff (not that I do anyway), plus since I'll have to keep track of it without my horse trailer I like to pack as light as possible. My trusty groom Lana has helped immensely by researching hotels, making reservations, and taking care of some logistics. We're unfortunately staying near the Palm Beach airport (about 20-30 minutes from the show grounds) because Wellington is amazingly expensive. It should work out just fine, although I'd rather be closer.
So much excitement ☺☺☺☺
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