Good Lesson

Today was a rainy day but luckily it was more drizzly than anything else and double lucky, Rana has a covered! We had a lesson at 2 and of course at 12:15 I noticed that Dan was black! I still had to finish my lunch and change my clothes and of course, by the time I did that, Dan was in the back farthest area. And then I had to pressure wash him off before our lesson. So we were running a bit later than I wanted. But we still managed to get on and be mostly warmed up. 

We started off with the trot and working on keeping him bent and through. Basically he has to go a bit deep because otherwise he braces with that under neck. Not rolkur! Not behind the vertical.. he's got to be in the connection, just deep. He'll come up as he gets stronger. And he has to stay bent. When he gets straight in his neck... he instantly braces the underside of his neck and that immediately shuts down his hind legs and inverts his back. We practiced outside leg to inside hand. And we also went back to "uberschr...... something"... ha ha! Where I get him in the connection and then give one hand to check it. If he stays bent and round and going forward.. yay! If he flings sideways.. then I'm hanging and holding. I also did the stirrup stomp thing which helped. Basically where I almost stomp my foot into my stirrup to help me keep that leg long and loose. And I cannot cannot cannot use my inside spur!! Danny has decided that inside spur now means swap up front. Sigh. So I have to teach him how to bend around my inside seat bone and upper thigh.. because he can't bend around my inside spur anymore. So we got some nice work. 

We also played with the turn on the forehand. Rana reminded me that it is the Ibuprofen of dressage. ha ha. If I'm correct, and time my inside leg aids with his barrel moving away from my leg (ie.. his inside hind coming up) and keep the outside connection and the inside bend... he comes onto the outside rein. I can do that a gabillion times in every ride if I need to. 

We also worked on the canter and collecting it. Sigh. That is HARD! I need to keep my hips swinging and asking for canter while tightening with my core to signal collection and half halt to signal collection, but.. not have to keep my leg on to keep him going. And it's hard! Either my aids or too strong and he breaks or we don't accomplish any change. But... we maybe got the most infinitestimal amount of collection for a few strides today. And he's gotta stay round and bent! Then we went ahead and tried the half pass to the left. It was better than the day before I think. We actually got some sideways without losing the forward until the end. But I've got to keep the forward. And keep my elbows at my side. 

So yep... still a work in progress. I've got to keep him round and forward and moving on his own so that I can just open and shut doors to create what I want. Vs working hard to create forward and then having nothing left with to finesse and fluff. But Rana did say that he did look MUCH sounder (and he felt much better today too, even from the get go) and that he seemed quite happy and content today. He wasn't fighting me. He wasn't giving it to me, but... when I insisted, he obliged. So yay!

And then, another happy moment of my day.... Kelli called to see how my lesson went and I told her much better. She said that she had talked to Rana and Rana had said that we had a good lesson today and that we were "Sooooooooooo close to 3rd". And also that she had fun riding Dan and was glad she did because I covered up so much of his problems. Which... I'm pretty sure was meant as a compliment... in other words... You couldn't tell the things he was doing to evade because I had hidden them and compensated for them. Yay! It made my day. BUT.. now to fix those holes that I've allowed so that instead of covering them up... they just don't exist :) 

Freaky Fit!

 Good googley moogly Dan is fit as a fiddle! Jeepers! We had our lesson today. It was hot! Like 91 degrees hot. Not as awful humidity wise though, which is awesome. And we had our lesson in the covered, so even better. But it was still hot. I was a little later than usual as we moved the time up some but not til it was almost too late for me to get there on time. But I had walked and worked on the half pass at the walk. Then while Rana and I chatted I did some trotting and cantering to loosen him up. But he wasn't "on the aids" yet. He felt kind of icky. Like... almost lame. Like maybe left hind. And he was biting at his shoulder again. Sigh. Dangit Dan! Rana thought he looked a bit stiff and different too. She felt like he had a hunters bump and was more angular in his butt again. We kept working and once I put him together he got more correct and felt better. Rana didn't see anything specific so we kept going. 

I asked her if I could show her my half pass to see how far off I was at home. Of course... it was tough because we hadn't properly warmed up and even gotten him connected in the canter, but.. off we went. I felt like they were semi-decent and actually half passes, vs... cantering on a diagonal. He wasn't crossing over a ton but.. he stayed forward and sideways at the same time. And he didn't prop or swap leads or anything. She agreed. She said that we both had grasped the concept and Dan had increased his academic knowledge of it. Hee hee. So then she set to work helping me make it better. Sorry Dan! So we went to work. Basically.. the same stuff. I've got to keep the bend, but use the outside rein to move the shoulders over, not use my inside leg and creep up his side, not hang on the inside rein, shift my weight and lean to the inside, use my inside leg as a pole to wrap around, keep my elbows at my side, don't cross over his neck, and... make my blasted inside shoulder go forward! She even had me ride looking back behind me in an attempt to get me to move my blasted inside shoulder forward. The right lead is way more difficult than the left. So we struggled... a lot... and it was like.. I could do one thing, but then forgot the others... and then when I went to fix that thing, something else fell apart. Sigh. BUT... we did get like 4 whole strides total of a legit half pass! Like he actually felt like he was crossing over even! But then it fell apart again. S

Rana asked to get on. Yes Please! Dan was actually being pretty good and not combative so I was hoping he wouldn't injure her since she's post surgery. She's only ridden Buttercup! But, she wanted on so... on she went. Dan was pretty good in the beginning but the side eye was strong. Then he got pretty fussy and started throwing some attempts at pissyness at her. And it sort of made me feel a little better cause she was getting some of the same issues I was getting... the stopping and propping... the dramatic downwards... the chomping... the behind the vertical... the not going forward. She's just MUCH better at fixing those things. And she did. After a bit of riding she got him going nicely and got some legit half pass. 

So then I got back on. She explained that basically... he's hanging on the right rein and not truly in it, so... he's not truly bent right and thus is my problem with the halfpass right. I'm working so hard to hold him in bend... that it's contorting my body. Sigh. So... she had me ride outside leg to inside rein. She said that yes, inside leg to outside rein is good and correct and legit and needed, but then as you advance, you need a little more. So, now we're doing outside leg to inside rein. But he has to be soft in the inside rein. No cheating, no hanging. So drop him. If he falls out of bend, then I'm holding him. If he stays bent, that's self carriage. And he was SOOOOO much better and even in the connection after she rode him. Sigh. I need to remember that and aim for that. So then we did outside leg to inside rein and basically asked for a haunches in and bend.... and then add the outside rein for the half pass. And.. it got a teeny bit better.. and then it fell apart again. We tried once more and got a decent one so we quit with that. At this point poor Dan was lathered and dripping from everywhere. His saddle pad was literally sopping! But by the time I got off and walked him to the trailer he was chomping grass and his breathing rate was normal. He was still hot though! Jeepers dude!! I'm pretty sure our lesson started at 3:15 and while we didn't get going til 3:30 at least... it was 5:45 when I looked at the clock after untacking you and chatting for a tiny bit and hosing you off. So he was probably ridden for at least an hour and 15 minutes if not an hour and a half. Granted, he got breaks and a longer one when we switched riders. But dang son! Fit as a fiddle.

Oh, and Rana didn't feel any soundness issues on him nor did I see any. She just thought he was being lazy and that I was blocking him by allowing him to hang and brace. But I may still put him on a month of previcox just to help because I still feel the teeniest little subtleties and have the last few weeks. Or maybe I'll just get a lameness exam. We'll see. 

Go Both of us!

 Dudes... dressage is hard!!!  Today we rode at home because we had a fun day with Mike. We went to Pistons and Paws, a fundraiser for the humane society and an old car show. Except it wasn't today. It's next weekend. Ha ha. But Mike and I still had a nice morning in Madison and sat in the park and ate our donuts. Then we finished the bathroom and put the hangers and tp holder up and organized. Then we got lunch. And then he took a nap while I cleaned all my tack, including my boots from stadium in Kentucky which had finally dried out. So then I rode. I had drug the arena yesterday and there were deer footprints. Hee hee. Dressage deer?! 

 

Anyways, we warmed up and then went to work. We worked on our transitions and bend. Dan was much more bent to the right when I made sure that my hips were actually bending to the right too. I think I sit shifted to the left so much that I'm blocking him. That may be why he struggles going into the left rein as the outside rein. He always seems to be slung onto the right shoulder, but.. perhaps that cause my hips are telling him to do that! Or maybe it's my shoulders because of my hips??? Who knows? But when I made sure my inside seat bone and hip were back and my outside seat bone and hip were more forward, it seemed to make him go more correctly. So yay! We played with that. And dang, it's hard for me to pay attention to that. I also worked on keeping my leg long and hanging. It very much wanted to creep up and back today. But I did manage to get it long and drapey at the trot when I paid attention. It's definitely harder at the canter but it was better, I think. We also worked on the half pass again. And by golly, especially if I focus on my seat, I think it's coming along! I think we finally might be getting it!!! We also worked on transitions because... it was my fault in Kentucky! He's picked up both leads incorrectly today and I think it's cause I'm not being consistent in my aids with my seat, legs and body. So not only did we work on me finessing my aids, but we also worked on him staying soft and correct within the transitions. We did walk to trot to canter to trot to walk to canter to walk, etc. We finished with the canter 10 meter circles on a straight line alternating leads. It's a little tougher with the jumps in the way, but... we had fun. Oh, well, then we finished with a lengthening down centerline and then a good normal halt. :) His final halt was square and straight!!! Yay!

He's poofed up with his winter coat coming in so he was quite sweaty. We took a quick walk to the lake after to help him cool down. The neighbors had their sprinklers on which necessitated a little bit of a stop and stare and hesitate but he went after a little bit. We even had a neighbor stop and tell us how pretty he was. :) Yes, yes he is! 

So yay! I'm excited to see how our lesson goes Tuesday. I'm hoping to show Rana my half pass before we start working on it so she can tell me how far off I am before he gets all rattled and my brain gets confused and flustered. 

Dressage again! Back to the sandbox!

Ahhhhh, back to work! We kind of didn't want to work. I'm still a bit worn out from Kentucky and working. But, I was also anxious to get back to some fancy prancing! 

Incidentally, today was also the Ashland jumper show day. And Dan met his mini me! My friend has Moose, a 13.3ish hand Appy pony. We took their photos together! Hee hee. Dan was sweet and nice to him too. :) Phew!

 

Anyways... we took a trek around the little lake to get warmed up. Then we headed to the arena. We had a good ride. It wasn't stellar, but it wasn't awful. We had some pretty good moments. Our canter half pass felt a bit more like a canter on a diagonal line today but at least he mostly held it. We did some canter with haunches in. And we played with trot half pass. So a decent ride. Unfortunately, he puffed up his winter coat and it was pretty warm so he was fairly sweaty. He worked well so we finished after about 40 minutes and went for a hack. Kelli was debating joining us so apparently she was about to pull in so we did a quick hack to the lake to see if Dan wanted a sip and then we went back to the XC field to meet her. While we waited we did a little bit of canter and trot in the field. Ha! Much harder to get the collected work in there. He was forward and go-ey! Which.. yay! 

So then we met Kelli and had a nice long walk. We ended up in the hay field and the grass was so high! I did a little trit trot for a few circles to get Danny to pick up his hocks and use them. Kelli was laughing at us... as he had hay hanging from his mouth... and was being all silly. Then we laughed at the "crop circles" we had made. It was a good ride! Then we had to head home so I could spend the rest of the day on the tractor!

Relaxing Day with Funny

 

I figured that Dan didn't need a whole week off... because then I might die! But, he also deserved some time off and quite frankly, I'm still exhuasted! So he got Mon, Tues, and Wed off and then today we went for a nice walk with Funny. He felt great though! Better than me. He was ready to go and was in beast mode. But he was good. Not as agitated as he was the last time we took Funny. They were playing a little bit mid walk too. We just trekked around and ended up at the lake. I took his saddle off in case he wanted to swim, but he didn't. He got plenty wet though. And Funny rolled again. After the lake I tacked back up and we took Funny down the bank, up the bank, over the ditch (even the BN one) and then into the water again. Then we even jumped 2 little logs in the field. He was a good boy. 

Then we got home and he got to chill for a bit and then Freddie came. He was sleeping pretty much most of his shoeing. But suddenly.... I'm so embarassed and mortified! I don't know why but he really doesn't seem to like Freddie. He lunged at his head with his teeth bared! He didn't get him, and it was like before Freddie or I even reacted he realized what he had done and pulled back. Then he hit the end of the crossties and pulled back hard enough to break both hay strings... so then he backed up down the barn aisle... took out the muck cart and then went in the front yard. I thought he'd let me catch him easily enough, but nope! That effer took off down the front yard, then crossed the street and went galloping around Eddie's yard... took a poop in the middle of their yard. Then galloped off again... then went across the culdesac, up Jeans' driveway... then tried to go around Jean's perimeter, but then came back... trotting across freshly dug up dirt where they were laying pipes for the bunkhouse.. then finally stopped to flirt with Jewel and let me catch him. Meanwhile he's got nails not clamped down on all four feet and the two cross ties flying around. He must have smacked himself in the nose with one because he was a little torn up and bleeding. Seriously Dan... what the heck?! You CANNOT do that to people! I'm surprised Freddie was willing to work on him after that. It's just rude. 

Sigh... Hopefully we'll ride Friday or Saturday. I got my second covid shot today too and already my arm hurts so bad. But I might get off early enough tomorrow to sneak in a ride. 

AEC: Stadium Day!

I'm not even sure what to say, but... Wow.. what a weekend! Or week. Part of me thinks it's silly to give a "speech" about the AEC's, but part of me feels the need. And given everything that is going on in the world right now, I'm extra grateful for the experience and fun we had. So.... scroll on, or read on.

This weekend was 5 years in the making... Yes it was beginner novice... and yes my horse is 10. And yes, I messed up the canter and geometry in our test and yes, I held and tipped and caused a rail which had I not, we should have placed in the top 10. But.... WE MADE IT TO THE AEC's!!!! We got to RIDE THROUGH THE HEAD OF THE LAKE! We got to RIDE IN ROLEX STADIUM! And... most importantly of all.... MY HORSE IS BACK!!!!! And he had a blast! And I had a blast! I'm eternally grateful to God that He saw fit to answer my prayers and let Dan recover from his injuries and let us go back to doing what we do.

4 years ago we were qualified for BN AEC's in Tryon. 2 weeks before I made a bad decision and hung a low hay net in Dan's paddock while in Aiken. He ended up with two muscle tears in his butt, and no AEC's for us. He rehabbed for 7 months and we got back to it. But somehow, somewhere along the way... something else must have happened. It was subtle and not consistent so I misread it for a training issue instead of a pain issue. We struggled. We lost confidence. We took money out of the bank. We had some good runs in there too though. We managed to qualify via placings for AEC's the last two years at Novice, but couldn't manage to get the third clean run. One year ended with Dan dumping me at the first fence and me dislocating a finger. I was so frustrated. I couldn't figure out what had happened. I got scared. Really scared. And then I finally realized that it wasn't a training issue.. it wasn't a confidence issue. It was a pain issue. We saw our vet and there was nothing blatantly wrong, but.... we could see something wasn't right. We decided to look at the right stifle as it had bothered him before. And... his meniscus was trashed. Badly. There was joint changes in the bone too. We took a month off and just walked the trails. We weren't sure if we would ever be able to jump again or dressage again. We thought that we'd be trail ponies and beach poines only maybe. We had an appointment with UT because they could get me in a week earlier than UGA thanks to Covid. And... for two days they worked on him. They couldn't make him lame on the right hind. But he was lame on two other legs. So we treated those. And he still wasn't right. So we went to the vet again. We decided to ignore the stifle ultrasound and just treated what we found. We rested the hind suspensories and trail rode for another 6 weeks. We injected hocks, stifles, and neck. We bemered, we lasered, we adjusted, we acupunctured, and we massaged. We did fitness work and did rehab riding. I finally managed to learn how to ride more correctly and focused on straightness and evenness. And he started to feel good! He got back in front of my leg! We got the all clear to start jumping again. So we inched our way along... feeling it out. We did our first event back at Beginner Novice about a year ago. And it was scary! But.... as we did more, our confidence came back. It wasn't a trust issue in each other... it was a trust issue in his body. Once he felt like he could trust his hind end, he got in front of the leg, and once he got in front of my leg, I could ride him better and we could be braver together. We worked really hard and slowly put more and more money back in the bank. We did another recognized BN and the course wasn't nearly as scary. And we started having fun again. Then we did a third BN and were qualified for AEC's. And at this point... BN wasn't scary anymore. So then we moved up to novice at a schooling show... and then at a recognized show. And he was a beast! And it was fun and not scary and we were feeling brave and confident again! But by this point, it was too late to push to qualify for AEC's at novice, and quite frankly... we probably would have been fine, but we had enough fun at BN that it didn't matter.

So we went to the AEC's and did BN. And we didn't come home with a ribbon, but we came home with the coolest memories ever. We accomplished a goal we set out to do. And we're doing it! And he feels amazing and ready to go and do more. And we're having fun doing it.

This horse is amazing. He is tough! Seriously tough. He's game. He's a perfectionist. He's a hoodlum. He's cheeky. He's smart. He's talented. He's hilarious. And I love him so. He takes care of me. He tries. So.... whatever happens now, happens. Hopefully we can continue on and maybe try our hands out at training level again. Hopefully we'll get a change and get our bronze. We'll continue to trail ride and go to the beach. And we'll teach sissy to be a good Fleck 3.0. And we'll keep having fun.

So... thank you God... for blessing me with this amazing beast and giving him back his wings so we can do what he was meant to do. And thank you to all my friends and supporters and trainers for helping us on our way. I'd thank you individually but my brain is so tired I'd leave someone out and feel awful, but I hope you all know who you are. There are a ton of you.... And thank you to all the volunetters and workers who allow us to do this sport. Thank you to all the professionals who have kept Dan and I together. Thank you Rubgy Breek Sporthorses for breeding this crazy talented arrogant beast.

Onward and upward!

 Just so Holly knows, in case she doesn't hear... as I finally figured out if I watched on only 240p my feed wouldn't keep freezing: Dorothy and John said, in that section that froze, that you had him beautifully going 'uphill' and using his hind end - and you do! (Coming from someone who competed a lot of different 'colours' - most with quarter horse in them - who tended to be on their forehands! 

 ). Well done!

AEC: XC Day!

 Rolex Baby!! Ha! Not quite.. not quite at all. But still!! We get to ride through the head of the lake!! I was so nervous though. Like seriously way more nervous than I should have been. And I don't know why! I got up and got everything done and get him fed. I bemered him. And then I panicked and thought I was late getting his studs in and boots on and then realized... oh, I still have an hour. Sigh. Not going to be able to walk him with his studs in though. Dang! So, I slowly and methodically tacked up and figured we would just walk under saddle. I got on a lot earlier than I had intended but oh well. We slowly walked our way up to the XC warm up area. We sat and watched .... things. Sometimes Dan just stared into the distance. He's so weird. Then we were walking and talked to another competitor walking. I was so nervous I was so chatty! I even apologized for being too chatty because I was nervous. But it helped. So then we trotted... and cantered. And jumped a few jumps. And then Cindy came up. Yay! Moral support! She suggested I jump one of the logs on an angle to make sure he was listening and not just going through the motions. It was a great idea but unfortunately he blew me off. We came again but there was no angle really because of me trying to ride around another ride, so then we tried again. Slightly more angle this time, but... oh well. We rested a bit and then it was our turn to walk down to the start box. At the start box Dan spooked at a golf cart and reared and spun. Then danced a bit. One of the volunteers took one look at me and asked very concerned if I was okay. I think he thought that Dan's rear had freaked me out. I was like "No dude... I look like this because I'm way more nervous about this XC than I should be... the rear is nothing!". ha ha. And then we had 1 minute! Luckily I finally got my helmet camera to click on and then w were off! 

  

Dan set off at a good clip to the first fence but because I was still being tentative and freaked out, he chipped it. I sent him forward and he sort of chipped the second fence too. I told him he had to get moving and go! So then we got a little bolder to the third fence and then the fourth and fifth fences he started rolling! YAY! He jumped the 6th fence fairly nicely and then opened up as we went up the hill to fence 7 on the top! GOOD boy! Then I had to bring him back together down the hill to the brush before the water. He was game and went bravely into the water and then made the sharp turn to the cabin. Then we came up to the sneaky ninja ditch. He was game and I didn't get him back to the trot but he broke to the trot on his own when he saw the ditch. It actually felt like he broke to the walk and was almost going to go backwards but then surged forward, but on the video it wasn't that obvious. I think that what I felt was just him suddenly stopping forward motion and then seeing what it was and carrying on. I was in the back seat and clucking and kicking but I think once he processed, he was game on his own. Then we went flying over the big rainbow bench. Then we came to the road crossing... The one where Kloie and Quinn took their spill. We trotted and realized we were WAY up on time anyways. We got across safely and then cantered up to the open oxer and then through the field. We were at 3 minutes instead of 4. Oops! Next was the head of the lake and Dan sucked back on his own but trotted boldly into the water with no thoughts of stopping. But since he was trotting, and since we had plenty of time to kill, we took the long route through the head of the lake. And honestly, I thought briefly about yelling something like "Rolex baby!" but my brain was so pre-occupied with getting home safely and cleanly that I just.. didn't. He jumped the big cabin bravely and then the second cabin and then... we were still at 4 minutes and only had a short ways to go with 2 fences left. And optimum was 5:35. Speed faults was 4:44. The crossing guard at the second road crossing had just stopped some golfcarters, but... Dan and I made two circles in the tiny little area there because... there was no way I was getting a speeding ticket this time! So then we carried on (Sorry for the wait golf carters!) and jumped the last two jumps in a nice collected canter. We finished at 5:14. :) GOOD BOY!!!!!!!

But you know what's so sad?! I was so nervous about the whole thing that I never really started to enjoy it. I never really got to think about the fact that I was riding through the head of the lake... and enjoy it! Normally on XC about 4 fences in we start having fun and enjoying it and get over the nerves. Not this time. Which makes me sad. Because... it was a fun course! And it was so cool to be there! On that magical turf where all the other greats have been. Sigh. But we did it! We finished clean! And... we moved up to 13th place! In the ribbons! Whooo hooo!

Oh and... they had Dorothy Crowell and her husband doing live feed commentary. It was so cool! She loved "Spot" and wanted to take him home. And she complimented my riding at the ditch! SOOOO Cool!

 

Dan was snacking before I could even turn my helmet camera off. Ha ha! So I hacked him back instead of getting off and walking. It was quite the hike. We stopped and chatting with Jodie and her spotted kids. Dan was glad to see his kind. When we got back, I got him untacked and unstudded. He was hardly even sweaty! (Unlike me... good gravy.. between nerves, the XC vest, the air vest and the pinney... I was WET!). I decided to toss him out in the paddock to roll and enjoy himself because... I wasn't sure how to coordinate icing him. And... most of my barn mates had left and/or were leaving that day. They were all done, so... the barn was emptying out. And with Dan having the broken stall AND being alone... I thought it might be best to try to move stalls. So while he was chilling in the paddock, I went to the office. They agreed that it was a good idea to move me so we got it figured out. Then I moved all my stuff down to the barn Dawn was in. Which was actually quite nice! It took me a bit and then I got some food. And then I grazed Dan before bringing him in. I bemered him and we were cracking up because I had his door open and he was hanging his head out. All the pony club kids walking by kept booping his nose despite him making snarky faces at them. I was laughing and said I'd pay them each a dollar per boop as it was so good for Dan. hee hee. Then I got him fed and it was time to get showered so I could meet Cindy and Sally, who drove up from Georgia, and Dawn for dinner. And shame on me... I forgot to ice him! 

Helmet Cam of XC

Dinner was.... awful! It was a great place the last few times Cindy had gone there but they must have changed ownership or something. We got there and had to wait about 15 minutes for a waitress. We ordered drinks and she said they were out of tea "but they had arizona canned tea". I opted for water and Dawn got the tea, which was stale and icky. It took 15 minutes to get our drinks. We did order appetizers too. Then we went to order our food and Dawn wanted ribs. "Oh sorry, we're out of ribs". So then Cindy ordered Pretzel crusted trout and they were out of trout. Which meant, they were also out of the trout soup I wanted. Sigh.. I asked what the chefs salad was. The menu says they have a house salad and a chefs salad which was a specialty based on what was in stock and what the chef was in the mood to do. She said that there was no chef salad anymore. Just the house salad. And it was just lettuce, tomatoes and croutons. Cindy asked if it was fancy lettuce or ? And she said "Iceberg". Sigh...okay. So then Sally ordered a grilled pimento cheese fried green tomato sandwich. The only thing on the menu that looked somewhat appetizing and that was available was the blackened catfish and grits. I asked her how spicy it was and she was like "well no one's ever said it was too spicy". So I said I'd try it but to please have the chef go easy on the spice if possible. So then we finally got our appetizers, which... the brussel sprouts were soggy and limp. But the pimento cheese and celery was pretty tasty. And then the fried green tomato fritters were pretty darn good. We finally got our food and basically... Cindy's pork chop was blah. Sally's grilled cheese was maybe in the toaster over for 10 seconds. It had the tiniest hint of grill to it. And me and Dawn's catfish... was basically mild catfish over grits with a 1/4 bottle of Frank's hot sauce on it. I couldn't eat it. It was WAY too spicy. I mean... just don't put the frank's on it!!! But "they put that sh*t on everything" I guess. Sigh. And then, they didn't even have bread pudding. Sigh. Such a disappointment. So then we tried to go for boozy ice cream and finally found it but basically... being Saturday night.. it was so crowded and there was no way we were parking two big diesel trucks so we just gave up and went home. It was late at this point anyways. 

I checked Dan and walked and grazed him some more and then I headed to the stadium arena to walk my course. Because.. it wasn't posted before dinner. Not gonna lie... that was cool! It was probably 11:30 at night, but... it was neat being there by myself.. in that huge arena...  again, you could almost feel the greats there before.