back off course: IT'S MY FAVORITE TIME OF YEAR: DEVON!!!

I can almost taste the tea sandwiches and chocolate fudge now. It's my favorite time of year. It's time for Devon!

For normal people the last weekend in May is a celebration marking the official start of summer. For horse people, it means Devon. Get out your powder blue blazer, your sun hat and your rain boots (you know it will rain at least once). Pack up your yearlings, your ponies, and your fancy hunters and jumpers, and prepare to watch one very adorable lead line class. You may overdose on iced tea and cucumber sandwiches, you may sweat in your Lilly Pulitzer, and you may suffer a panic attack trying to turn your trailer around between the barns.

In less than two weeks my favorite show of the year starts, and at this stage in my life I get to bring my baby. To be clear, I mean my horse baby. Who is less of a baby than she was last year in the yearling classes, but more of a baby than ideal for handling purposes. Leading a yearling around an active show grounds is like having your arm attached to a kite in a tornado. You never know how strong and in which direction she will go.

Last year we caught some jumpers and then stayed up until midnight tiring out the baby before her big day.

Zoe during her midnight school. Have you ever walked a yearling around a show grounds with a carnival and carriage horses? I don't recommend it. I must have burned off at least two caramel apples.

After about four hours of sleep we came back to the show grounds and to get ready for Zoe's first class (PA Yearling Fillies). I was so nervous about her misbehaving I walked her around the schooling arena with gloves, a crop, a halter, chain shank, AND a bridle. I even had a secret stash of carrots in my pocket. I handed her to the groom, aka my sister, aka the baby horse whisperer as I watched the class before her go. After I watched about five minutes of the yearling colts I was no longer worried about her misbehaving. One of them reared up and struck out at the judges before getting his front foot caught between the reins. At least I had never seen her do that before.

Sunrise at Devon, 2015.

I walked over to the rail to watch as the professional handler led her into the ring. I felt more nervous than when I had ridden into this same arena doing the equitation years before. I thought, is this what parents feel like when they watch their kids compete? Predictably, I took about a thousand pictures.

I held my breathe as she was paraded around the ring with the other yearling fillies. She didn't rear up and strike out, and she didn't get loose and take off. Instead, she stood quietly in the line of yearling fillies and shook her head until the black ear-puffs shot out of her ears. Against the Devon footing, they looked like to black pieces of coal somehow placed in the ring. How embarrassing, I thought. And then I started to laugh, I guess she was going to be pretty cool about this whole horse show thing. That is, as long as she can compete without ear plugs.