Oh Canada! Or should I say, Bonjour Canada! Late last night quickly turned into this morning as Andrea Baxter, a.k.a. XXX, and I crossed the border and were accepted into Canada. I have to admit, I knew that they spoke French in Quebec, but I’m quickly discovering that it is almost entirely French speaking.
I was quickly forced to tap into my French background to order breakfast. I think I would have made proud Yves and Christine Sauvignon–who I’ve ridden with for most of my life–with my French skills, though they are still, overall, poor. I would have to say that many dinners with these two over the years, where conversation mainly occurred in French, proved to be beneficial when needed.
I was very excited to finally see our destination, the Bromont Olympic Parc, which is a beautiful facility. Throughout the day, everyone arrived onto the show grounds and began unpacking trailers. There are many big name riders in and around the show and I have to admit it could be a bit intimidating following Kim Severson and Tipperary Liadhnan into the dressage court on Friday.
Our barn isle is exciting and full of life with Buck Davidson’s group. Kim Severson and Boyd Martin are within a couple of stalls’ distance from mine, and of course the familiar faces of the West Coast crew are something I find quite comforting so far from home in California.
The weather overall is great except for the ten minute hail storm–and I mean huge hail storm–which came out of nowhere today. It brought nightmares of Fair Hill 2009 streaming back to me. But the good news is the that clouds parted and the afternoon was beautiful.
This will all be, of course, following what I hope is a very good night’s sleep, because my pillow has never seemed quite so appealing after staying awake now for almost 24 hours. I am so thankful the journey to get here is over and that we were able to make it with no hiccups other than some rotten hay, which is minor to say the least. Until tomorrow… signing out from Bromont.
Bonne nuit (Good night)
-Frankie
