GOBIBLOG #12

Greetings to all my friends old and new!

Whew, what a month September was! I was so pooped that October crept up on me before I realized that I’d neglected to write my Blog. Sorry.

I think September is best summed up by saying that the 2007 Wellpride American Eventing Championships at Lamplight Equestrian Center came about quite successfully! I can’t say it went without a hitch, but I think overall it ended up in the positive column. Of course, though this will never be publicly acknowledged, that success can be directly attributed to my expert advice, sage counsel, and the amazing calmative effect I had on Mom throughout the month. You didn’t hear it from me, but in truth, she was like a raving lunatic, a mental condition that escalated as the month went on. Damn good thing I’m good at what I do best – taking care of her (and eating cookies).

But I digress. The month leading up to the event started with Chris from the south coming in to start aeravating. It was actually pretty funny. Mom had gone to bed early with dimwitted Bruiser, and Sluggers and I were in our beds in the kitchen. Chris from the south drove in around midnight, hauled his suitcases and computer in, fed us a handful of cookies, (of course – we have him well trained), went upstairs to “his” room and went to bed. Neither Mom nor the dimwit heard him, and she almost had a heart attack when he wandered into her office the next morning! Even “The Girls,” Molly and Jane who were in their beds on the sun porch didn’t hear him! For a big guy, he moves very quietly. Aren’t they great watchdogs? It’s a good thing I was on duty as the first line of defense to check things out. “The Dachshund Who Never Sleeps” could well be my motto!

There had been a lot of rain in August, and Not So Mean Dan spent at least a week repairing footing and fixing things on the cross country course that had been trashed during the rainy period. Chris from the south started out mowing pretty much non stop while Not So Mean continued building and getting the ground right with something called a chain harrow. Steve who I’ve never met also did a lot of mowing so that things started really shaping up by Labor Day. Grandma Ana arrived that weekend and started working on making the jumps pretty and putting out flags, and Jon who feeds me pizza followed. He is responsible for three of the courses while Ritch the designer does the other three. All this is terribly complicated and hard to keep straight. In fact, it gives me a whopping big headache!

I have to say that Mom and everyone else here who planned and produced the 2007 AEC’s were pretty amazed at the number of horses that entered. I think the final count was in the 550 range. According to Mom, this was really a big boost for eventing in the middlewest – but it also came with a downside which was specifically the problems associated with parking all the vehicles that brought the horses and riders to Lamplight. She said it was like “trying to fit ten pounds in a five pound bag,” a phrase I really don’t understand, but which I guess means something! Anyway, despite this, from all I’ve heard, the competition was a success. Of course, I can only rely on second hand reports because when it came down to it, did Mom take me to see for myself as she had promised? Noooooo. This kind of hurt my feelings, but I’ll get over it. I did miss seeing Addy, my half sister and Bruiser (the dimwit)’s litter mate who flew to the event from Georgia. I would have loved to have visited with her. Maybe next year?

A couple of great things did happen though that made me feel better and less neglected. I made out like a freakin’ bandit in the area of cookies and elephant goodies – and I had a visit from Mort who runs Rolex! He brought me the very coolest dancing/singing elephant!! His Mom, Janie came with him as did Shealagh the hottie. It was great to see them. Malcolm the T.D. and Mrs. Malcolm also came for dinner on the last night and brought a beautiful elephant as well as some disgusting Chinese food. I let Malcolm shamelessly suck up to me by scratching my ears, and I finally let him think that I forgave him for referring to me as a “cold hearted little bastard.” I think the most thoughtful present I got were two bags of home made elephant shaped cookies. Talk about addressing my two major passions! One batch was baked by Sheila from Arizona, and the other by Shealagh the hottie. Come to think of it, that’s kind of weird. Their names are very similar, and they both created the same clever gifts for me. They tasted good too, and I shared a couple of them with Sluggers and Bruiser the dimwit.

The only sad note of the whole AEC week was that on Sunday, Molly the coonhound who has lived here longer than I have got dead. She had been sick, and I’m glad she doesn’t have to feel bad anymore. I do miss her – and it sure is quiet without her Boo-ooo-ooo’ing at all the raccoons in the back yard! Now I am officially “Senior Canine” here with all the privileges that the title guarantees. (As if I need a title …. )

Speaking of the canine status, a really exciting thing happened last week. The Maui Jim Horse Trials gives money to a Search and Rescue dog organization, and to thank Mom for her help, they gave her a “photo shoot” of Sluggers, Bruiser the dimwit and me. The photographer was Jen Bidner who really impressed me when I learned she’s written 25 books. She worked really hard – and brought some wonderful treats to get our attention. I can’t wait to see the pictures. Sluggers behaved like the complete nut case that he is, especially when he insisted on sharing photo space with Barney, his ratty stuffed purple toy. Bruiser the dimwit was hopeless, and needless to say, my professional demeanor salvaged what could have been a wasted day. It was fun, and they are a great group of people. I overheard them making plans with Mom to have a training session for their dogs here in November. Maybe they’ll ask me to join them. I have world class tracking skills!

Believe it or not, Mom is already busy working on the 2008 AEC’s. She’s been choosing officials and talking with Steve who I’ve never met and Tom who likes meetings about things they can do to make it all run better. Personally, I wish she’d take a break and maybe take me to Thailand or someplace interesting. Looking at her calendar though, the only trip she has planned for the rest of the year is the USEA Annual Meeting. I think that’s the place where everyone goes to have nightcaps and stay up late.

I probably won't be writing another Blog until after the meeting unless some really interesting piece of news come up in which case I’ll be the first to keep you posted.

Until that time, have a wonderful Fall – and don’t forget your cookie loving Blogster!

Lots of love,

Gobi

Gobi resting up from the AEC's