There really hasn’t been much to say the last few weeks. Oh So is fairly calm on stall rest and I’m really getting the urge to ride. I am physically aching to ride, which is driving me nuts! I’ve only ever gone 2 weeks without riding in my entire life.

Lisa found me the perfect project horse, an OTTB that was 7 and had been started under saddle, like Oh So, but hadn’t done much since he stopped racing at 4.

We had him vetted last week and he was totally sound and perfect…until we got to the X-rays. He ended up having OCDs on his hocks, so no go, unfortunately.

I was so close I could taste it, and now I’m just feeling a little down in the dumps. I just want a horse to ride! How hard can that be? Lisa is back on the hunt again and has a couple of leads that she’s checking out this weekend. I just feel like I flushed $1,000 down the toilet.

Oh So had an ultrasound yesterday and the vet said she saw about 15% improvement on the accessory ligament and 25% improvement on the suspensory. She had hoped for more improvement on the accessory, but overall, we’re moving forward positively.

Since I had nothing to do last weekend, on Sept. 22, I made my first trip to the Plantation  Field International Horse Trials in Unionville, Pa. (check out my photos here.)

The self-proclaimed “best event ever” is in it’s sixth year hosting CIC divisions and while I’ve been to many of the east coast’s top FEI-events as a spectator or reporting for The Chronicle, for some reason, I’d never made the trip. Plus, we have so many events in Virginia and Maryland that a four hour drive to compete and stay overnight seems like a lot of effort!

Nestled in the heart of the Brandywine Valley, Plantation Field is smack dab in the middle of eventing and hunt country and since it’s inception, is starting to become riders’ last run before the fall three-days.

In striving to be the “best event ever”, Plantation Field engages the community. Several local business and riders sponsored cross-country fences, donated money, or set up booths in the trade fair.

Bringing more interest from the public is a constant battle for horse sports, so this year, the Plantation Field team stepped up the trade fair and held “a weekend in the country”, that included a Kid’s Corner, Wine Bistro, Beer Garden, and to top it all off, a Downton-Abbey themed tailgating contest where spectators came in their poshest tweeds.

The event is taylor-made for the spectator, with the trade fair at the crest of a hill overlooking the cross-country course on one side and the show jumping arena on the other.

While there were several spectators that made their way down to the water jump, many were just as happy to sit under the food tent, drink a beer and watch from the top of the hill.

I took photos of the CIC divisions, and the three-star division got dramatic when 7 horses and riders fell at the A element of the water jump and officials ultimately decided to take out the A and B.

Plantation was the start of a pretty insane next 6 weeks. I’m off to the AECs in Texas today, then home for a couple of days, then up to Capital Challenge in Md. for a day, then Morven Park.

I’ll have a weekend off before spending an entire week in Harrisburg, Pa. covering the Pennsylvania National. Unfortunately, that falls on Fair Hill weekend, which is celebrating its 25th year. I’ve gone for the last 11 years of my life, and I’m devastated to miss it, but we’re short-staffed, so I have to fill in.

I’m hoping to drive from Harrisburg to Fair Hill on Sunday morning so I can at least catch some of the show jumping.