New England Medal Finals Bound... or how to survive when nothing goes to plan.

I'm back! Sorry for the radio silence last week, but it was hectic. If you follow me on Instagram, you probably didn't miss much though! When we left off last week, I was still trying to decide which horse to bring as my alternate.

Huey

Cara (she's really not grumpy, she just didn't think she looked photo worthy)

Last weekend I had two lessons on Cara, one on Huey, and one on Jamp. I finally decided that Cara would be my alternate. And also that I'm too old for four lessons in two days. I slept like a rock Sunday night!

I worked a half day on Monday, and then went home to work Jamp and finish getting things ready for the show. Once I was done in my barn, I headed over to my trainer's to pick up Cara. All went smoothly. We packed her stuff into the trailer, as well as a couple bales of hay (she's allergic to certain hay, so best to bring what she's used to). Then we walked Cara into the trailer, kicked the goats out of the trailer (trainer has two baby mini goats, they are hilarious!), and we were ready to head back to my farm. AND that's where things started to go wrong. I hopped into the truck, turned the key, and... nothing. Bruce wouldn't start! Bad Bruce.
It was at that moment I decided to only bring Jamp. Assuming I could get there at all. So we unloaded Cara, all of her things, and the hay. Trainer's hubs opened the hood, and discovered a corroded battery. He cleaned it up for me, and Bruce started right up! He said though, that it was probably a bad battery, and I should have it looked at before leaving for the show. Heard that loud and clear! So Bruce, the trailer, and I headed for home without Cara. As I was driving home, the radio shut off. Then the lights dimmed... I was PRAYING I'd make it home without losing brakes or steering or anything vital. Thankfully I made it.

The repair guy arrived around 6 and got to work checking the batteries. When I explained what had gone on, he said it's probably the alternator. And that's not something they can fix in the field. Or that night. Of course not. So then this had to happen:

I had so much angst. SO MUCH ANGST! We have a company truck that is also an F350 and has a ball in the bed for my goose neck trailer, so I figured worst case, I should be able to use that. But I was waiting until 9 am on Tuesday to figure that out. That would be when I'd have more information on Bruce's status.

At nine I found out that the shop was having trouble getting the part I needed. Of course. Why would it be easy? So I called my dad at work and filled him in on the current status of the situation. He asked our dispatcher about using the other truck, but turns out the ball was frozen folded down so it was not going to work as a substitute. Poop. BUT the good news was that my coworker could run to the Ford dealer near work and get the parts Bruce needed AND drive them to the shop. I really have good people in my life. Not only did he do that for me, but he waited for the truck until it was ready and dropped it off at my house! By noon! Yay!
Jamp and I pulled into the show grounds with plenty of time to get in the ring and school. I decided to unpack the trailer, but not set up until after we did our warm up. Best to get the important things done first! Jampy schooled GREAT! Which I really needed... The angst was starting to catch up with me!

Once I had him all cleaned up and settled into his stall, I got to work setting up the grooming stall. It was kind of nice having Cara's stall for a feed stall too.

Jampy supervised:

Surprisingly, despite all the bumps in the road, I made it to the hotel by around 6 to check in and get cleaned up. I stay at the Hampton Inn every year, and I have to tell you, it's such a nice one! They even had free pizza!

mmmm pizza....

I grabbed a shower, and then went for a more substantial dinner than the piece of free pizza I shoved in my face. After that, I headed back to tuck Jamp in for the evening. I rounded out my crazy day with a stop at the dollar store... Why yes, I DID forget to pack a hairbrush. Fortunately the dollar store had plenty to choose from. And candy... and more candy. And some snacks. I love the dollar store.
I pretty much fell asleep as soon as my head hit the pillow that night! Stop by later to find out how the big day went!