Steeplechase Report #3: Horses

"A racehorse is an animal that can take several thousand people for a ride at the same time." ~Author Unknown

And now, we have our third and final report on the steeplechase I attended last weekend along with 50,000 other people. Don't forget to catch the fashion report or the tailgate report if you missed those. I saved the best for last....the horses! (Sidenote, Miss Canada requested larger photos...but Blogger didn't cooperate. I think that if you click on the pictures, they will become larger in another window...)

As an ag girl, you know that I love a good horse race. I think this started when I was 6 months old and my dad bought me my first horse. It was only continued when our old man neighbor, who was sort of like an adopted grandpa to Little Brother and I, would tell us about his racehorses. I mean here we were, like 7 and 4 years old having conversations about jockey weights and trifectas.

Anyway, I was excited to see a steeplechase. I was honestly a little shocked at how many people at the races didn't care at all about the horses. Several people there in our group didn't seem to watch a single race....but I represented well and was glued to the rail the whole time! I love love love the sound of stampeding hooves going by. I wanted to get shots so you could see what I saw.....here you go!

These races are LONG—like 2-3 miles and there are a varying number of jumps—between 8 and 24. Let's compare that to the Kentucky Derby, which has no jumps and is only 1 1/4 miles. Or to the Belmont, which you always hear commentators talk about being such a long, greuling race at 1 1/2 miles.

So you want to talk about some talented, athletic horses....these were them!
Now, there was no starting gate (much to my surprise and confusion) but instead they just get the horses all lined up in a fairly straight line in the order of post position, and off they go.

Here are some pictures of the races going on.

We had running....

And we had jumping.....

Now, I can tell you that if the jockey falls off the horse, he is disqualified. I know this, because in the main race, three of them fell off and were out after the second jump. Talk about crazy!

And when it's allk said and done, the winner proceeds to the winner's circle and is crowned. (The marquee race was won by a woman jockey for only the 3rd time ever. Go girl!)It was amazing to watch these beautiful animals in such a beautiful setting. The rolling hills of rural Virginia sure make make me wish that Mr. Right would waltz off his Southern planation and sweep me off my feet. Preferably on a racehorse….but I’m not picky.

Steeplechase Report #2: Tailgaiting

**I already wrote and posted this once, but during the big blogger meltdown last week, it was lost. I've tried to re-write as much as I can remember, but honestly I was feeling more clever last week, so this re-do may not be as good. Regardless, stay tuned tomorrow for Part 3....The Horses! If you missed my Fashion report, click here.***

"The rule on tailgating here: There are no rules, so plop your canopy down, set up your lawn chairs, fire up the grill and party." ~ Dave Hollingsworth

Just so we're clear, I went to school at Oklahoma State. And lived a block from the football stadium. This girl knows how to tailgate.

But apparently they do it differently in the south.....it involves taxidermy, chandeliers, floral arrangements and private bar tenders. There were no grills, no kegs, and no touch football games. Instead there were linen tablecloths, fine wine, stuffed foxes and floral arrangements.

Taxidermy

Apparently the rich folk don’t leave home for a steeplechase without bringing along their stuffed foxes. Seriously…..we saw three. And people were mesmerized by them. I mean I can’t even tell you how many people took freaking pictures with these things.

These people apparently brought not only their fox, but also a chandelier....

What do these foxes have to do with anything? I haven’t a clue.

Food and Drink

Everyone said it would be like a tailgate, but it wasn’t like one I’ve ever been to. The people we went with had their own bartender who was serving your choice of 4 different wines. There was one fancy person kind of beer (meaning no Coors Light or Corona which are really staples where I come from). And don't worry, Mrs. Top Gun was drinking sparkling cider purchased just for her and the little Top Guns growing in her belly!

There were beautiful flower decorations on every table. Then there were these gourmet spreads of food.

I did find one table serving fried chicken, and thought it was hilarious, so I snapped a picture. I mean here we are wearing our fanciest clothes driving "our" fanciest cars, yet we're serving food that you can buy in a bucket for$1.99. Maybe it was the wine talking, because it seems less funny to me now.

The Rides

Then we have the fancy cars. Everyone drove out in the middle of the “Member’s Hill” where we were in their Bentleys and Porches. The friend of Mr. and Mrs. Top Gun who got us tickets showed up in his Bentley. Here we are posing in front of (read: blocking) the car. Notice the jeep on the left. There was some grumblings about it being there. I bet it's not back next year.

Sidenote: Every time I hear of a Bentley, I think of Kim Kardashian when some reporter asked her if she had any tatoos and she responded with, "Would you put a bumper sticker on a Bentley?"

Audi was a race sponsor, so they had their newest car there in every color.

I was a bad photographer when it came to the cars. There was one really fancy car that parked next to us, but I learned the guy we were there with didn't like him because last year, his car stole "our" Bentley's thunder. I protested by not getting a picture. I'm nothing if not loyal.

My favorite part of these fancy cars? There they all were, parked in the middle of a freaking field at a horse race, with cows in the background.

Photos of the Week #19 and Project 64 Week 19 - Cerulean

Okay, blogger went completely crazy last week and wouldn't let me on, then erased proir posts, then would let me on but would not let me upload pictures......long story short, I threw up my hands.

Now I'm trying to get everything caught up. And because I'm super anal and organized and the classic example of a Type A personality, I'm going to give you a schedule of how this catch up nonsense is going to go.

First, today I'm going to combine my Photos of the Week and my Project 64 blogs into this one.

Second, we're going to skip Meet the Cast Monday tomorrow so I can figure out my steeplechase series. If (by some blog miracle!) my post from last Thursday on Tailgating is recovered, I'll just have the third and final post on the horses to do. However, because I think my tailgaiting post may be lost forever in internet outerspace, I may have to re-post. Sigh.

Okay, after that I think we should be back on track and I'll try and get back to our regularly scheduled programming and organization. I don't know about you, but this blogging by the seat of my pants is stressful on a girl! With that....let's get to the photos!

Project 64: Week 19 - Cerulean

I knew exactly what I wanted to shoot for this picture. This is a tiny, old Catholic Church just down the street and I love the bright blue colors on the steeples. Be sure to check out the other entries at Project 64!

Theme: Up

This was one of my favorite "people" shots from the steeplechase I attended. I thought this little guy was super cute and I loved watching him watch the horses warming up. Of all my fashion shots, I deem him best dressed!

Theme: Birds

I actually don't like birds. I blame Alfred Hitchcock for traumatizing me in elementary school. (P.S. what elementary school lets kids watch horror movies?!?) Fortunately, I had this shot of a bird house that fit the bill!

Theme: All Smiles

This is my favorite photo of the week. My Little Brother graduated from college. I know that "photography" wise it's not that impressive, but for this proud sister, it was perfect for the theme! I thought it fit well for Photo Inspiration Friday!

Theme: Milk

I knew that this shot I took a month or so ago would come in handy one day!

Theme: Water (Live Every Moment)

This picture is also from the archives---I shot it just as it was starting to warm up this spring on a running path. I just love the color of the water and I've been waiting for the right theme to use it for! Go over to Live Every Moment to see all of the other entrants!

Theme: Action (Pioneer Woman)

I always love a new Pioneer Woman assignment! This week I entered a few of my steeplechase photos in the challenge. Didn't make one of the groups.....but I'll keep trying next time! Check out the amazing entries that did make the groups here!

Theme: Friendship (Quotography)

I wish this theme would have come later---like post-Girls Weekend 2011---because I don't have any recent "friendship" pictures. But, I did find a quote and a photo from the last time I was in Oklahoma and the Blonde Oklahoma Girl threw a dinner party. It's crazy to believe I've been frineds with these girls for over 5 years now, but our friendship does just get better over time! Be sure to check out the other Quotography entires here.

Theme: 2 Corinthians 5:17

I love this quote, and when I was trying to think of something to symbolize new-ness, I figured nothing was better than a blooming flower. Since tulips are my favorite, I chose this shot! Don't miss Verse of the Week at Lindsay's blog!

Steeplechase Report #1: Fashion

"She'd rather wear a pair of cutoff jeans than an fancy evening dress..." ~Brad Paisley, Old Alabama

As you guys know, I did a crisis preventing trip last weekend and attended the Virginia Gold Cup Steeplechase in The Plains, Virginia with my friend Mrs. Top Gun. I'm going to divide my report up into three parts (yes, Mom and Loud Oklahoma Girl, that means no Family Farm Friday this week.....you can whine now). We'll start the day off with fashion. Those of y'all who know me in real life are probably sitting there with your jaws dropped thinking to yourselves, "SHE is writing a FASHION post?!?" Well yes I am!

To try and gain some street cred here, I figured I'd share what I wore. I was a little nervous about the hat (due to a prior traumatic experience) but I think it all worked out okay. My goal was to look good enough not to get kicked out---I went very middle of the road. If this were the Oscars, I wouldn't have made either the best or worst dressed list, and I'm good with that!

Now, even before I went, I was excited about the fashion. I had no idea what I was in for. Without further adieu....here are my favorite Gold Cup fashions.

The Belles

For the ladies, it was all about the hats. There were hats as far as they eye could see..... (please read this in your best Bubba Gump voice).....There were:

Flat hats...

Floppy hats...

Flower pot hats... Straw hats...Big ugly bow hats....

Crazy hats...

Wild game looking hats....

Curtain-looking hats...
Black and white hats....

Red hats...

Rose garden hats...

Box shaped hats...Big puffy fake flower hats...
and I guess that's about it. :)

The Gentlemen

Now, y'all know I do love me a southern boy. Seriously, you get me someone with an accent who calls me ma'am and my heart melts all over the floor. However, I was not quite prepared for the southern man's steeplechase wardrobe!

We'll start off with a kilt (of which there were multiple) And follow with the most popular look of the day...seersucker suits. This dude added a bowtie. Nice touch.

Silk print pants. This might have been the most shocking look of the day.

A bowtie and matching baseball cap. I would be friends with this guy. He's formal, but here to party. (What movie? Anyone??)
This might have been my favorite look. Very Baggar Vance-ish.

And we'll finish off with this guy. My secertary asked if it was Richard Simmons. Alas, it was not. I have no idea why he wore this, but we all love America, so it was okay.

Little Ones

Lest you worry about there being future generations to carry on the traditions...fear not! I think they have it under control!Oh yea, one last thing. I am probably going to get arrested for snapping pictures of random people one day, so if you see a few days without blogs, you might want to check up on me and start gathering up bail money. Thanks in advance.

What Is Faith?

"And I know there'll be days when this life brings me pain, but if that's what it takes to praise You.....Jesus, bring the rain." ~Mercy Me, Bring The Rain

I have a daily calendar that I absolutely love from She Lives, She Loves, She Laughs. Recently, the daily thought was "What is faith? It is the confident assurance that something we want is going to happen."

I have to be honest.....I'm not sure that's really the best explaination. Sorry, calendar. I've been thinking about this for several weeks to try and figure out how to express my thoughts to explain why I don't think this is the right explaination of faith.

To me, faith has far less to do with getting what you want, and far more to do with believing that even if you don't get what you want, there is a reason for it.

It's easy to believe when everything is going right for you. When you ask and receive. When you hope for something and it happens. When rain gauges are filled.

But what about the other side of the coin. When bad news comes. When the cure is not to be found. When you pray for something, only to learn that the answer is no. In those situations, faith really comes into play. When this happens, when things go wrong, yet you still manage to believe....that's what faith is all about.

All of us have had dark times in our lives. And it is during those times when we have a choice to make. We either keep believing, or we give up and walk away. Sometimes, I think that walking away would be easier.

But it's like Tom Hanks said in A League of Their Own, "It's supposed to be hard. If it wasn't hard, everyone would do it. The hard...is what makes it great." So we stay put, and we just keep on praying and trusting and believing. And in the end, things work out like they are meant to.

So, for me, the bottom line is this: Sometimes its hard to believe and to praise and to forgive. But by doing so, we live out our faith. Regardless of whether we get what we want or not.