We woke up Saturday after a ridiculously small amount of sleep, but onward we trudged nonetheless. Blearily we prepared for our morning performance, the earliest yet, and we were feeling the strain. While we still looked fabulous, we just didn't have the same pep we brought to earlier performances. The horses knew the routine and were quiet and well-behaved. Even Vanessa, a notorious hot rod, waited patiently by the entrance gate while our arena was set up. Half-asleep, I got the surprise of my life.
"HALEY!" I heard someone calling from the sidelines. I looked to where I heard the voice and nearly fell off my horse at a standstill. It was none other than my boyfriend, Sven, who had flown in to surprise me. As I went through the performance, I had a hard time scraping my chin off the ground, and any lingering frustrations I harbored from the traffic jam of a lifetime were gone. After our performance, I showed Sven around the grounds before we had to be back for our next show. Because we had some extra tickets from kids who couldn't come, Sven was henceforth known as Carlee and was able to help us make it through our last performance. Then it was time to pack.
Packing was much easier than our original packing for the trip. Instead of micromanaging and labeling, we were shoving and stuffing. With enough hands, the job wasn't too difficult, and within a few hours, horses and equipment were loaded up. Our tenure at WEG was finished.
And now it was time to party! There was no better party palace than our dear friend Rachel King's horse palace, Deer Haven Farm. After ordering quite possibly the largest Chinese food order from the farthest away Chinese restaurant and waiting for what felt like days, we were treated to a sumptuous feast with our entire Wisconsin crew and our Kentucky friends. The horses were happy to be free in their paddocks, we were happily munching on Chinese and other goodies, and all of us were happy to be together. Brenda topped off the night by making a toast that took no fewer than 53 minutes, thanking everyone and everything from Ben Franklin to the flowerpots to Rachel's halter organization system. After the festivities, I took Sven back to quite possibly the oddest accommodations of WEG: a floating cabin about an hour away. After rocking the night away on the waves of the 1970s-themed cabin, I was rested for the long trip home.
