Darby

With the Darby this weekend and the year end awards banquet, it is sure to be a lot of fun. Each year, the Darby is free to enter and there are no prizes, just your time on course if you don't screw up and E out.  Last year if any of you were reading then, you might recall our blunder on the course? If not, let me refresh your memory or bring you up to speed.

Coming through the poles- power poles set well in the ground, we went through #1 and made a hard left to spin around and come through #2. That was the plan anyways... I tried to get Kat to make the sharp turn, but he wasn't responding so well. Looking back he may have had his tongue over the bit? Hmmmm  Anyways he wasn't as responsive as he could have been, we didn't make the turn like I had planned and suddenly it all came to an Abrupt and unplanned for STOP!  The right shaft of the cart had slammed into the pole and we weren't moving.  Yeah, that was fun! Feel free to laugh here. I did then and still do now thinking about it.

After my pony looked back at me to give me the wicked stink eye, I backed him up a step or two, moved him over and off we went to finish the course.  Things went well enough, but I went through #9 the wrong way and E'd out. Considering that was only our 2nd Darby/fun event, and Kat's 5th time out and about in harness, I was still getting the hang of things which could only mean- anything could happen. I have looked at the map for the course this year and it has the poles on it again. I am NOT planning on slamming into any of them this time around. Considering I entered at Expert level, so cantering is ok for us? Hitting anything is going to really do a number on things.

After this, it is on to the first ADT of the year, which will be at Goree's in Coolidge. Always a fun event and next year- we have to move up to Training Level and compete with a lot of other people. That group is generally pretty large and competitively fierce. Which is why I have been watching our scores and comparing them to their scores. We have always landed right about in the middle. At the last ADT there were 4 entries but for the year end, there is 8 competitors. Combine that with the 4 of us who gave it a whirl at Green Driver (two of us have to move up), so there can be 10 of us or more at any given event. It should be fun!