Anna's Awesome Adventures!!!: Rolex Kentucky Three-Day Event -- Day 3!

Today we woke up at 7:00, got ready, enjoyed breakfast (such a good variety of yogurt, eggs, sausage, fruit, breads, and juice), and headed for the Kentucky Horse Park for the cross-country phase. Everyone else was excited about watching it, too, as evidenced by the fact that our exit for the Park was backed up quite a bit. We had to get off on the shoulder to wait. Once we finally got through the gates, we headed for the start box and finish line (they're right next to each other). We got to see several horses start and finish before we headed for other jumps. We didn't get to see every jump, but we saw most of them and we definitely saw the most exciting ones! We loved the incredible photo opportunities despite the constant drizzle. It never poured, but it maintained enough to saturate everyone and everything. We both worked hard to keep our cameras in plastic bags, safely protected from any droplets of water, but we did pull them out anytime a horse was coming over a jump we stationed ourselves at. My poor camera's battery obviously got a tiny bit of water in it around noon, so we headed into the bathroom to use the air dryer and get it clean and dry. After that, it worked perfectly. Whew! We had lunch in the Rolex Stadium (tuna wraps, trail mix, fruit, and water), which was nice because the big screen was showing the live stream of cross-country, so we could keep watching the riders, even while we ate. Cross-country wrapped up over an hour early, so we walked around the trade fair a bit, then headed to our car to drive around the area and admire the beautiful, expansive horse farms. After a quick stop at our hotel to change out of wet clothing, we had supper at Ramsey's. The food was very delicious (I had lemon-yogurt chicken, yellow squash with onions, sauteed spinach, apple fritters, cornbread, and water), but we did have to wait over 45 minutes. I think it was worth it, though, especially considering we walked about 11 miles today! We ended the day with frozen yogurt at Orange Leaf...pineapple topped with strawberries, chocolate topped with hot fudge and cookie dough, and red velvet topped with white chocolate chips was my choice.

We really enjoyed watching each competitor fly around the course today. The extreme athleticism of the horses and riders is astounding, really making you appreciate the work that is put into this event. After the last team went through the finish, we were allowed to walk around on the cross-country course, and I must say that no photograph is able to accurately depict the massive size of each jump. Even the "simplest" ones are huge -- in terms of width and height! I am amazed, in awe, and humbled at the talent that I saw today -- just three or four feet from my face, the best eventers in the world were galloping by. Yet another reason why, despite rain and foul weather conditions, it's the "best weekend all year!"