Chemaine and I messaged back and forth until we had her travel arrangements sorted. From there, it was just a matter of scheduling the rides. In the end, the first three rides were scheduled at a barn on the west side of town. This worked out fine as that barn wasn't too far off the highway. From there, Chemaine ended up traveling another 40 minutes to reach my barn which is on the extreme east side of town.
While the original plan was just to have a lesson or two, I realized that if I was having company, I wanted to make sure the barn was extra clean and welcoming. During the week, I printed out waivers, made directional posters, planned for chairs, swept, cleaned out the arena water trough, and made sure that the poles that form my little dressage court were straight and accurate.
Once everything was in place, I jumped in my truck and zipped over to a nearby barn to pick up our trailer-less rider. Her boy hopped in with nary a complaint and unloaded just as nicely. Since he was to be at my barn for the entire day, I had arranged for him to hang out in the turnout next door, the same one that I use for Izzy. Just as we were finishing turning him out, our first rider pulled in.
Even though it was toasty, everyone kept a positive attitude about the heat. There was a small bit of shade in the arena, so Chemaine was able to escape some of the sun when she needed to cool off. The rest of us had a lovely shaded area in which to hang out and watch the riders. Our wash rack is right next to the barn and arena, so each horse was able to have a cooling shower after their ride.
Part 2 tomorrow ...