On the Road Again

I've been keeping this kind of close to the chest, but it has become official so I can share. Chemaine Hurtado, owner and trainer at Symphony Dressage Stables, has once again agreed to be the dressage clinician at the Western States Horse Expo in Sacramento this weekend.

The invite was very last minute as she was asked to fill in for Charles de Kunffy who had to cancel. Expo was lucky to get anyone on such short notice, especially someone as in demand as Chemaine. But like she always does, Chemaine rallied the troops and was able to get a few riders willing to make the trip to Sacramento for the weekend. ​And uh, one of those riders will be me! I rode as a demo rider for Chemaine when she was the dressage clinician at Expo in Pomona last year (part 1, part 2, part 3), but I am just as anxious, excited, and nervous for this go round.

Friday at 4:00 p.m. - Strong Arena

Saturday at 12:45 p.m. - Strong Arena

Sunday at 1:15 p.m. - Strong Arena

Fortunately, I don't have to make the nearly 300 mile trip alone. Stella, another student of Chemaine's, will be bringing her horse to Bakersfield on Thursday night, and then we'll drive up together on Friday morning. 

I don't normally haul this far, so Blue Truck got some spa time yesterday. I got the oil changed, had my tire pressure checked, and then for good measure, I drove BT through the car wash and vacuumed. I was less worried about Stella sitting in dust than I was about the creepy spider webs that take over while BT waits for its next use!

After loading hay and shavings, I realized that I didn't want Speedy and Coco spending half a day breathing in old shavings and dust, so I raked out the inside of the trailer and gave it a good scrubbing.

The trailer will be dry this morning when I go out to ride, so I'll bed things down with a bag of shavings and add a freshly filled hay bag.

Sacramento or Bust!

If you live in Northern California and are planning to visit Cal Expo, I hope you'll catch one of Chemaine's clinics and stop by her booth to say hi. This year, she's doing seat evaluations with a customized prescription for success! The evaluation comes with her yoga ball dressage DVD (at no extra charge). The seat evaluation and video combo are $20 unless you let her know you're a blog reader. In that case, the evaluation and video are FREE!

Now, as long as nobody breaks a leg or tries to maim themselves (Speedy, I am looking at YOU!), Stella, Coco, Speedy G, and I will be on the road at Friday's crack of dawn!