Encore! and Daubry graze while I walk the evolving dressage arena. First order of the day is to measure the Standard arena and figure out where the letters will go. Daubry and Encore! stop in to check on the progress. They check out my tape measure and blue stake markers and move on to greener pastures.
I stretch out my measuring tape and layout the rectangle. Primitive, but effective, I measure twenty feet at a time to come up with a rectangle sixty meters by twenty meters. Fumbling around, I finally get the markers in place and gasp! It’s twenty-five feet short. Despair. So close to perfect; how can this be? I panic and text super-hero-tractor-man Jon. I sleep on it and by the next day, I realize I forgot to include one twenty foot section in my count. Bingo! I have exactly what I need to do USDF dressage tests. Big sigh of relief and a huge apology to Jon for doubting his measurements.
It’s time to dance on dirt floors with a twelve hundred pound partner that is ready to learn all the moves with panache! The question is can Encore! learn to do it; can she learn to dance? I know I can. I danced Flamenco for seven years. Encore! is another story. Born to run, can this high-spirited Thoroughbred slow down enough to learn a sport some people describe as watching paint dry.
We have our goal to dance. We’ll put out our best effort. We’ll start at training level and waltz our way up to level eight. Encore!’s got the sass and flash, but it takes more than good looks and attitude to learn to dance; it takes patience. Patience is not Encore!’s strong suit. If it looks like the dance floor is torture to this high-strung brunette, we’ll pack our bags, load up and ride the wild places for adventure. At the moment, Encore! loves the dressage game. If I keep the lessons interesting and lighthearted, she’ll learn the steps and dance Flamenco!
Ballet is for everybody; especially big equine divas in shiny fur coats!
~ Catalina
Love it!