An amazing trip - and "Goodbye Gators - Hello Horses"

Back from an absolutely amazing trip through the Everglades National Park*. Even as a little girl in Germany I wanted to see the Everglades and ride on an air boat (thank you - American television!). So last weekend I journeyed back to Florida, this time to Fort Lauderdale, start of the "Everglades Safari and Eco Tour". The tour was described as "small tour" and beside me there were three couples. Apparently women are not traveling alone in Wisconsin, they quite wondered where was my husband??  But once I explained JP was on 'farm-sitting duty' and I was there only for the weekend visiting friends they warmed up to me.


I LOVED the air boat ride, seeing Alligators in all different sizes, Pelican colonies, a wide variety of birds, turtles, etc. etc. The trip included a nature hike and another boat ride, this time on a skiff

(a shallow, flat-bottomed open boat with sharp bow and square stern). It was truly amazing, and I'm so happy to got to do this. And yes, I even ate a tiny piece of Alligator :-). There goes the vegetarian - the curiosity got the better of me, and I have to say it was quite tasty.

The next day it was "Goodbye Alligators - Hello Horses": Back to West Palm Beach and Wellington. Judy invited me to observe her lesson with Jan, and that was such a cool opportunity: How often does "Otto Normalverbraucher" (= a regular person) get to see a Grand Prix rider (and yours truly's coach)  getting a lesson from an Olympian? Judy's young horse Quintee is spectacular, but can sometimes be also challenging. I was very happy because the things Jan pointed out made sense me, which means I'm not that far off. Hah!

We also saw the CDI Freestyles which was interesting, some very good and inspiring, some not so much. The fun part was the "Two Tempi Challenge", where the horse with the highest number of clean two tempis (for my German friends: Fliegende Galoppwechsel alle zwei Spruenge) won. And the winner was: A Haflinger!! The cute guy managed over 50. He also competed successfully at PSG. Note to Remy: Look at the Haflinger!

My jaunt to Florida meant Remy had four days off, but our 'Back to School' today went quite well. If his stupid rider (me!) could just get the changes right all would be swell. At least Judy commented on my improved position.

Guess watching all the (good) top riders paid off. "I'm looking at you, kid" (Judy) :-)

*Everglades National Park is the third largest national park in the US (after Yellowstone and Grand Canyon). It is a World Heritage Site, International Biosphere Reserve, a Wetland of International Importance, and a specially protected area under the Cartagena Treaty.