The Royal

Spent the afternoon at the Royal today with Heather and Sarah.   Not too much damage on my debit card!   Only 1 pair of new breeches.    There would have been more if they would have had more colours in my size.   I also bought 2 pairs of winter gloves.   My age old faithfuls...tan thinsulate lined deerskin and a new pair for me called 10 Below's by SSG.   A couple of woman in the store, that were not sales people, were raving about them and said I had to try them because they are the best winter gloves by far.   I figured I had nothing to lose and my hands are almost always cold.

But the real deal about The Royal was my favourite meal; the pulled pork parfait from Hank Daddy's BBQ!   Pulled Pork Parfaits rule the Royal.   This little meal is the smoky sweet taste of BBQ pork with the creamy goodness of mashed potatoes, topped off with a few baked beans for good measure.  Here's mine served up fresh!

The best $5 bucks I spent this year tho was 15 minutes in a $7000 massage chair.   After several hours of shopping we had tired feet and aching lower backs so took the earlier offer from the Pansonic salesman.  

Here's Sarah pretty happy after her well spent $5!

Going back to the Royal now after competing there 2 years go has a different feel to it than prior to being a competitor.   It has a touch of nostalgia and good memories of the red ribbon first ride we had there with our first trip to the big ring with the big indoor crowd.  The Elvis Quadrille is the stuff you talk about in the nursing home!   Two years ago I got to check off "ride at the Royal" on my bucket list.   I also retired the the most amazing horse that has touched my life so far.   It was a grand celebration with friends; to celebrate our overall second place finish in the team quadrille competition and the closing of a long, successful show career of my one in a million horse, Magnolia.

A trip down memory lane...The Elvis Quadrille

l to r - Liz Schilke, Sheila Dunbar, Bronwyn Barlow-Cash, Lynda Cooper