Tuesday, February 24, 2015

Importing horses and importing cheese - quite an analogy

On Friday I was sitting in the Skyclub at the airport with Matthieu, my French boss. He was waiting for his flight to France, and I was getting ready to jump on the plane to NYC.

We were talking about our interests outside of work, and what can I say, my horses came up. I explained that I felt it was my 'mission' to show people that it's not necessary to spend a fortune (and as some do, mortgage everything) to import a Warmblood from Europe. In my opinion, on a Morgan with correct training (well, yes, good conformation helps) you can be as competitive as almost any other amateur with an import.

Matthieu listened to all this and then said "Ah, well, it's like with French cheese - initially the Americans imported all their cheese from France, then they learned how to make it themselves, and now they are very good at it". I have to say, the man has it figured out!

With that good start to the weekend Ingrid and I delved into NYC. Unfortunately, the cold I had been battling reared its ugly head in full force Saturday, just as the snow and sleet came down on the city. Perfect timing to walk many miles in search of the tack shop (thank you for your patience, Ingrid!). And when we finally got there... disappointment. It was not at all as I had expected from the article and website. Oh well, on the bright side, we didn't let the snow deter us from finding the place: Two German women on a mission :-).

Sunday brought sunshine, the New Year's parade in Chinatown, a lovely ride on the Staten Island Ferry to see Lady Liberty, followed by a great dinner in a French restaurant on Broadway. Life definitely is good!



Coming back home yesterday: Reality hit with negative temps. No riding all week. To top it off I had to drive to Northern Michigan today in whiteout conditions to face a plant quality audit tomorrow.

Life is still good: Temps in the 20s on the weekend, riding on the horizon.. and getting a wonderful French dinner served at home!


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