Barn Decent?

As an endurance rider, there was no way I could run errands after a conditioning ride. I was always filthy and usually had an accompanying odor. Besides that, it wasn't unheard of to have a rip in at least one article of clothing.

See? A rip in my clothing - happened more often than you'd think.

Now that I primarily school dressage, I can dress better, and I don't usually smell too bad. On Tuesday though, I got a really late start to the barn, and it was getting hot quickly. To cope with the heat, I dragged out a gnarly pair of endurance tights, my coolest pair, and slipped into a racer back tank top.

I planned to do a quick ride and then race back home to clean up and meet my mom who was coming into town for a visit. As luck would have it, I got a call from the optometrist saying that my new glasses were ready to pick up. Believe it or not, the eye doctor is less than 5 minutes from the barn.

I looked down at my purple Ovation Zocks which were pulled over my breeches and stuffed into a grimy pair of Mudruckers. I thought about how much time I could save if I went straight from the barn to the optometrist's. The problem was that I looked gross and probably smelled a wee bit funky.

Selfie proof that I need to ALWAYS be barn decent.

Then I remembered that my pal Sarah, of Eventing in Color, had insisted I take all of the left over wet wipes from our last dinner together. She suggested that I keep them in my car for an after barn emergency clean up. I scoffed at the notion, but shoved the packets into my glove box to make her happy.

Life savers!

The toilettes had dried out in my car, so I remoistened them with a little water from my bottle, and then I gave myself a mini spa session in the parking lot. I ran a comb through my hair, kicked the debris loose from the bottom of my boots, and peeked through the window of the optometrist's office.

To my relief, it was a slow day and I was the only one in the waiting room. I was in and out in five minutes, but I learned my lesson: Always be a little barn decent in case you have to run an errand afterwards. And if not, keep some wet wipes and a bottle of water handy!

Got my new glasses and still had time to clean up to meet my mom!