YOU SAY VACATION, I SAY SHOWCATION!

Eventing rule # 4 -" Nobody cares on Monday!" 

Two of us sit together in an air conditioned kitchen with stories to tell... My friend and coworker just returned from a four star retreat in Cabo San Lucas.  She and her husband enjoyed freshly prepared meals on their veranda overlooking the Gulf of California.  She rested, caught up with her reading list and enjoyed evening swims after healing massages.  She looked lightly tanned, well groomed, rested and ready for the weeks ahead. 

Water jumps are wonderful!

She turned to me and asked, "What are you doing for vacations this year?"  My skin is darkened not with a sunkissed glow but from an angry sun and the body is slow, it's movement a gift from the coffee gods and Advil.  Ahhh, the Showcation!  How does one explain to a Earthling the beauty and allure of a Showcation? 

Do I grab her interest as I tell her about the Motel 8 just a mile off of  Interstate 89, or would she be captured by the essence of the Days Inn nestled next to Thai take-out.    You know, maybe she would be impressed by the "Motel" off of the Taconic Parkway where we could hear the Deliverance theme song twanging in our head as the night clerk puffed her cigarette behind the No Smoking sign and croaked, "Cash only. Oh, you want two beds and not the king?" {{{Cough, Cough... haaaaaccccckkkkk}}} 

 

Water jumps contain Walrus!

The FOOD!  That's it!  I can tell her about the Food!  Each summer I become an expert on the well prepared (or is that well done?) burger (or insert meat here).  Some of you in Area 1 are getting dreamy right now as you think about those burgers ... some served with cheese, some with peppers and onions and some without cheese. 

Oh, I know occasionally we get surprised with a fancy dancy bit of vegetables or a wrap...  no Resort will ever be able to capture that flavor after finishing a XC run! 

No one but a horse girl (and most likely an Eventer) will ever understand the beauty and fun of a Showcation.  I just got back from the University of New Hampshire's Summer Horse Trials.  It was as hot as a summer vacation in Cancun.   Stabling was quiet since folks truck in for the one-day show.  We greet old friends and make new ones...  Someone always has something you need and you always have something to share...  Friends, comrades in just a few short hours... we are one!

The beauty abounds!

The early evening cross country course walk was beautiful in all its show finery and glistening in the setting sun.  This is the night where dreams are possibilities and the future is ours.  And the dogs roamed free and splashed in the coolness of the water jump.

 

And on the day of the Horse Trial, I am with 200 of my closest friends as we live the life of Eventers... graceful dressage, accurate Stadium Jumping and brave XC.  We all know why we can not let go of the thrill even when sometimes it disappoints - we are never alone!

Ok, I do want to go to Cabo San Lucas and have a beautifully built pool boy gently stroking a fan over my body to keep me feeling refreshed.   Yeah, I want that but if I have to choose, give me a Showcation any day!  

 

Showcation pics are good too!