Rolex Kentucky

This past weekend was the US's only 4 Star CCI Event, the Rolex Kentucky 3 Day.... I wish I could say that it was a wonderful, joyous occasion for all who attended, and that nobody was injured, or killed, and that all the horses made it out alright. Unfortunately, I can't. This year, two horses either died on course or were euthanized at vet hospitals after their cross country runs. Both horses, Frodo Baggins and The Quiet Man, fell on course, and both were the dreaded (and controversial) rotational falls that seem to be occurring more and more at the upper levels of this sport.

The Quiet Man fell at the Sunken Road (I believe). His rider will be alright, though she has a concussion. Quiet Man fractured his shoulder in the fall and was humanely destroyed following examination at a local veterinary hospital. An image of his fall can be found here. If you choose to look at the image, you can clearly see that his shoulder hits the large, stationary top rail of the jump, and he rotates over it.

Frodo Baggins fall occurred at Fence 5, The Flower Basket, which was one of the most straightforward fences on the course. Something went terribly wrong, however -- Maybe Frodo slipped on takeoff, maybe he was coming in to the fence too quickly; I wasn't there, so I can't say for sure...but he caught both of his front legs on the top of the fence and flipped over onto his rider, Laine Asker. Laine is hospitalized with a closed head injury, lung contusions, 4 broken ribs, and a broken jaw. She has lost most of her teeth and is currently on a ventilator while her lungs heal.... Frodo broke his neck in the fall and was euthanized at a local veterinary hospital not long afterwards.

This is the second time I've posted about this on my blog....

How many horses have to die before we see a change in this sport?

Why is the short format better than the long format?

(to me, it's clearly not...we've had SO many more deaths and injuries in the last 5 years since it's been adopted....)

Why are we not using frangible pins in cross country fences?? Why do they have to be so completely solid??

What will it take to make a difference??

How many times does THIS have to happen to make people sit up and take notice??




(Image courtesy of Jen from the UDBB...thanks so much Jen for letting me use it!)

Friday Randomness

Well, the semester is nearly over, and that's a good thing. I have finals in two weeks, then I have two weeks off, and then I start summer school. I'm NOT looking forward to summer school, only because I have to take PreCal over the summer, and I'm not the world's greatest at math. BUT -- it's during the summer long semester (10 weeks), 4 days a week, so HOPEFULLY I'll get it. I think I should; I'm doing very well in my current math course (yes, you may fall over now), but I'm quite intimidated. And, of course, I still have to take Calc 1. *pulls out hair*

In other news, I present my summer proposal next Friday. I've worked my butt off on the power point, I know my plan, so I should do great. That and it's a really small, low key thing in front of McNair people and our mentors/family/friends. I invited several people; we'll see who shows up.

AND --- Wait for it .....

MY FROGS CAME YESTERDAY!!! *dances about* I haven't had a chance to go and see them yet, but I will do that today. I wish I hadn't taken my camera out of my bag -- I'd post some pix of them. I guess I will have to bring it on Monday and run to the lab and take pix of them then. I know there are 4 pairs, but I don't have a naming system or anything for them yet. EEEEeeee...

Let's see....what else can I report....? I've got some horse show photos to put up, so I will do that probably this weekend.....

OH! And we went to Scarborough Faire this past weekend! We had a total blast, as usual. I wish Livvy hadn't pooped out so early, but even that was alright. We saw several people that I hadn't seen in a while, including our old friend Lady Phoenix. It was awesome to see her and to see how well she's doing. She's living in a questionable situation, BUT that's her choice and not mine. So to each his own, and if she's happy then I'm happy.

I also saw some model horse friends -- Alicia & her crew, Shannon & her family, Leah (of course), etc... I wish I could have spent more time hanging out, but we had a friend in town, so I was somewhat at the whim of my love and our friend. =)

And on a sadder note.... A person my lovely wife grew up with and went all the way through school with was found murdered in Seattle on Monday. His was a life far too short. I had never met him, but I met his brother, who I like very much, and I feel horrible about this senseless loss. Unfortunately, the only suspect in his death is dead himself -- he blew himself up with a homemade incendiary device. The funeral for Livvy's friend is Monday in his hometown of Odessa.... My thoughts are with his family at this horrible time.

Random Things Meme (From Livvy)

I know, I know... It's been WEEKS since I updated. Unfortunately, it's been absolutely crazy in my life of late, so updates will probably be a bit sporadic for a while longer. I'll do better, I Promise.

Anyway, my Livvy Love tagged me with this meme -- 7 Random Things:

Here's how it works:

The rules: Someone writes a blog with seven weird/random facts about him/herself. Then, at the end of the blog, he/she tags seven people by listing their names. These people then need to write their own blogs with seven facts about themselves with these rules stated clearly. It is also required that you leave a comment on the new tag-ees pages, telling them they have been tagged and that they should read your blog.

So here are 7 random things about TankDiveGirl:

1. I show Model Horses. (These are plastic representations of the real thing). I realize that this is very odd to those of you who have no idea how it works, but I promise we're NOT a bunch of crazy old ladies....well...nevermind, yes we are, but it's good fun and I've made some awesome friends doing it. =)

2. I have a warehouse of strange facts in my head, the most unusual and pointless things that anyone has ever heard, and I enjoy trotting them out in front of everyone -- especially at inopportune times.

3. I was engaged 4 times before I married my girl.

4. I love to read memoirs, especially those of people who have mental illness, or are doctors, etc.

5. I recently switched to Mac and will never go back to a microsoft computer again!

6. I have a strange weakness for country music....and bad 80's pop.

7. I have a near anaphylactic reaction to rodents, their dander, urine, or feces. I literally can not be in the same room as one, or I get hives all over my body, my throat swells, and I can't breathe. Fun huh?

Now -- I'm Tagging....

1. Alicia
2. Sarah
3. Kate
4. Dani
5. CK
6. Joey
7. Janine