Showcation

 The nice thing about being retired is having time to do what I want. In the past every hour of vacation was carefully utilised and typically was around horse activities. I loved my 'staycations' because I got to do a lot with my horses. Now everyday is pretty much a staycation. So when Jane signed herself up for a big show in Quebec I offered to go with her as a helper. 

The plan was leave Monday and return the next Monday, taking the whole day to drive up to the venue and then back. On Sunday I was getting things organised for Ed when my hay guy called and said it would be ready for pick up on Monday. 

crap. 

I called Ed because I couldn't leave him to do it alone but I also didn't want to leave Jane in the lurch. There was no decision that did not come with a healthy dose of guilt. But I managed to get my son to come and help and Ed roped in a friend so I was good to go. I still felt guilty about not helping with the hay for my horses but Ed said it was fine. 

We left at 5 a.m. on Monday morning. The drive was long and, except for one detour through Levis Quebec because of an accident on the highway, uneventful. Juno is such a great traveller.  We'd stop about every 3 hours to gas up, check on him, go to the bathroom and switch driving. 

wassup? 

When we arrived at the grounds around 7:30 the barn was locked up instead of being open for us to bring Juno in. I tried calling the grounds but, of course, no one was working. I then started walking around and found a nice young man sitting outside a trailer. He was a worker there from Guatemala (I found out later). He spoke Spanish and French but not English. I have a small amount of French and no Spanish. But somehow I explained our dilemma and he came and let us in. Phew. 

The grounds themselves, Complexe Equestrienne Becancour,  are beautiful and the town they are in is a small little hamlet called Gentilly. Our Air BnB was 1 km away and right in the 'downtown'. 

part of the grounds

local graveyard

our tack stall with the Nova Scotia theme

Many mornings Jane left early and I enjoyed a lovely walk to the grounds before it got too hot.  The show itself was lovely, it was a gold show and CDI** so lots of horses. A couple riders from the National Team were there and a few who had competed in the olympics and para olympics. Jane had bought us passes to the VIP tent so we had ringside seats to the ring. It also provided breakfast and lunch which was great. Living in NS I don't get to see that level of horse and riders so it was a real treat to see them warm up and ride their horses. 

some interesting tow rigs as well. Why
yes, that is a Porsche towing a horse trailer. 

Everyone was really nice and friendly and one night we sat on the patio at the restaurant on the grounds and had dinner and socialised with our new friends. It was fun. One story: I saw a mother helping her daughter mount up on her pony. when I looked I thought 'uh oh' because she had on peacock style safety stirrups which have been banned from competitions. I was worried about saying something because I didn't want to be seen as intrusive.  But I did go up and tell her that I worried the stirrups were not allowed and that she should check with the steward. I said that I wasn't trying to be interfering or a know it all but that I'd hate for her daughter to be eliminated because of them. The mom took it really well and did check with the steward. She came up and thanked me after  and said that the coach had told her daughter to replace them but she forgot to tell her. lol, kids, am I right? 

horse shows are such hard work

a delicious bowl of food. 

But it wasn't all eating and drinking. Jane was there to ride and she did such a good job. Her coach was helping via video chat but we had some issues at times and I had to problem solve. The first time, the headphones would not connect to Jane's phone. She has a her phone and an old phone she uses for her pivo. So we had the pivo lesson feature going on one phone, I set up the other to video and then I used my phone to call her coach and then I relayed the messages. I told Jane 'now everyone thinks I'm your coach'. 

There were a few technical challenges but we muddled through and made it work. Jane had some really good rides on Juno and she capped it off with a Intermediare 1 freestyle on Sunday. It was fabulous. 

I was also the main caretaker of Jane's dog, Dottie. She's a very sweet dog and makes friends wherever she goes. There were a few people who recognised her from other shows. 

the best horse show dog

Dottie decided that I must be lonely and that she would sleep with me at night. Which would be fine. Except that when she was ready to go to bed she expected me to come. It would go like this: 

Dottie; Time for bed! 

Me: I'm not tired. 

Dottie: did I ask if you were tired? IT'S BEDTIME! 

Me: I'm not coming to bed yet! 

So then I went to bed. 

They had venues set up as well and I scored some wicked deals. Including a set of leather bridle numbers holders for my two. 

The week flew by and soon it was time to head home. Also a long drive. We left at 5 a.m. and by the time I got home it was 9. But I was happy that I was helpful to Jane and, honestly, being a groom/helper is the best way to enjoy a horse show. It's hard to find time to watch other riders when you're showing so this allowed me to see others.  It was also fun spending some non-lesson time with Jane just chatting and having fun. I hope I was of use (pretty sure I was).  At least Dottie wasn't lonely....