Another Day (or two)...

I have managed to get up and out to the park much earlier the last several days. I get a bit closer parking place so I only have to walk about a mile! When I checked in on Tuesday, I mentioned the mix up yesterday and asked specifically where I should meet my group for pre-shift orientation later and I was told to go directly to the Main Stadium at my designated time. Since I was already planning to be there I thought this was a great idea!

I got to the Main Stadium's warm up arena in time to watch Great Britain's Carl Hester on his horse, Liebling II. I did get a few photos & a video on the new phone but most of my photos are trapped in my camera since my lap top will not read my SD card for some reason. So these aren't the best but they do show just how close you can get!

Some last minute coaching.

I liked this shot of USA checking out the competition

Competition time!

I tried to purchase a ticket but was told my credentials would get me in for free and to sit anywhere that was open...hurray!!! So I rushed in to watch a few riders before my shift in the Program and information booth.

Of course the rides were spectacular but you could tell it was a very Dressage-savvy crowd as the whole place uttered a quiet "ohhh" when horse bobbled or something else went awry. It was fun to be be there, watching these world class riders and their ultra amazing horses.

The booth I was working at was both for Information and Program Sales. My job was basically to sell the Official Souvenir program for $15, a Discipline specific book for $5 or the daily ride order sheet for $2. It was pretty fun and I learned a bit too but I'd say the best part (besides being just around the corner from the Big Screen, a perfect shot for quick viewing) was that I was working with this team of Brits who work for the company who prints the programs. They were particularly entertaining as none of them seem to have any knowledge of horses. I got lots of horse questions but was amused by their observation of American culture. They love Lexington and feel it's a hidden treasure that we keep from them on purpose...they love the people who are very friendly (and the young men find the southern girls extremely beautiful!) but they were totally confused by our money and didn't understand why we preferred to give out paper bills as change and why the 10 cent piece was smaller than the 5 cent or even the 1 cent piece...and I failed to have an explanation for that as well! "Dime", "nickle" & "penny" was something else I had no intelligent explanation for either...Anyway, it was a good and fairly busy day and I enjoyed it quite a bit but discovered later in the day that I had FAILED again...the ladies at the check in booth had told me to head right over to the booth but I was supposed to go back to the volunteer check in before my shift for a briefing so they thought I was a no-show...again! is

I did get to watch a few fantastic rides...like Edward Gal from the Netherlands on Moorlands Totilas & Steffan Peters from the United States on his horse, Ravel. I have to say I think it's been quite an honor to be able to watch these Grand Prix level riders...and I was not alone...

On Wednesday, I pretty much showed up just in time to work and did everything I was supposed to...my duties for that day were to drive an ADA cart between designated pick-up/drop points for disabled guests. That was actually pretty fun too. I got to see parts of the park I would not have on foot and got to speed around (ok...as speedy as a golf cart for 6 can go!) and was a welcome sight for the passengers. I did have to collect one gentleman who I watched trip ahead of me, hitting his head on the pavement. He was already up by the time I reached him but he soon started bleeding quite a bit so I took him the medical team and they scooped him up from me. I think he was ok...he was more worried about how he was going to get back to where I kidnapped him from! I hear everything went fine :) But I felt a bit like I was in a Monty Python movie...I'm ok...it's just a flesh wound...

So I have other days to write about but I've been getting home late every night and add a bit to this post so for now I'm going to post this...sleep....work and then try the whole process again! Enjoy!