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.