Eventing event

I had a hugely fun day fence-judging at the Plantation Field International Horse Trials on Saturday. Twice before I'd helped out some friends who are experienced judges, and they (and the wonderful volunteer coordinator, Melissa) assured me I could handle it on my own -- though I begged to be assigned an easy, uncomplicated fence to monitor.
Your job as a cross-country fence judge is to sit at an obstacle and report in on your walkie-talkie whether each horse clears it, refuses, or falls. Mostly they clear it just fine, though there were plenty of falls at the challenging Fence 10A right next to mine, even among the highest-level riders.
Because you are right there where the action is, you get to hear the riders talking to their beautiful horses: "Good boy!" exclaimed one woman after her horse simply soared over the intimidating Fence 14B. And from where I was sitting, I could see the riders galloping full tilt (yes, time counts) south toward the fences closer to Route 82.
While concentrating on the rider numbers and who's coming next, you also have to play traffic cop. Folks aren't always aware that they are walking along a path that a galloping horse is going to be occupying in about 10 seconds. I got plenty of practice saying "Oi!" and "Yo!" and "Heads up!" in my best outside voice.
It take a lot to pull together a big three-day event like this, and I have to say that it was beautifully run. At the 7:30 a.m. briefing, the officials gave us clear explanations of what to do and what to watch out for (including any harsh treatment of horses). During one of the divisions I was assigned a slightly tricky fence where the riders had an option of what to do; before they started, the head guy came out and explained exactly what was and wasn't permitted.
When fences were damaged, the repair crews were there immediately. Folks in Gators drove around the course efficiently collecting our score sheets and passing out bottles of water.
Many of the competitors came up to me and thanked me for volunteering -- including some of the big names in the sport. Very nice.
To top it off we were even given coffee and donuts, a delicious lunch, and great T-shirts.
If you remember the weather Saturday, it was cloudy and a little bit chilly. Thank goodness I just happened to bring an extra pair of warm socks!