Each June, we load up the horse trailer, and head north to Philomath, Oregon for the Inavale horse trials. Today, while dragging a suitcase through 100 degree heat in to the living quarters of our horse trailer, I was struck by the nearly ridiculous amount of stuff we must take with us to horse shows.
In our little sport of eventing, one horse and rider pair must complete three different phases of a competition over anywhere from 1 to 3 days. Each of these phases can require it’s own set of equipment, and that plus the general stuff required for the transport, care and maintenance of horses and their people, and you are talking about a load comparable to what Hannibal and his elephants crossed the Alps with.
This weekend we are taking three horses and three people, and a partial list of the equipments we are dragging along includes:
Six saddles, 8 bridles, 6 girths, 15 saddle pads, 20 pairs of protective boots for the horses, a box of grooming equipment, a box of equine first aid equipment, a box of equipment to clean the tack, a box of 30+ towels, a box of sheets and coolers for the horses to wear depending on the weather, four bags of grain, three bales of hay (a small number, since good hay is cheap and plentiful at this venue), 9 bags of bedding (just to get us started) 20 buckets (some for drinking, some for washing), and implements for cleaning the stalls daily.
Inside the living quarters we have about 200 pounds of food, clothing, and bedding for the human component. Basically, it’s a camping trip in an RV, and we’re dragging a barn behind us.
Frighteningly, we could take another person, and another horse with us.
We spend a full day packing and organizing for a trip like this, and that’s with having several of the above items that only go to shows and lives permanently in the trailer.
I suppose it goes with out saying that the laundry pile from a weekend like this could crush a small child (and I have one, so we’re careful).
Will be back on Monday, wish us luck.
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