Traveling for horse shows is not a new thing for me. Growing up doing h/j shows, and now eventing, in a place where the closest shows are 2-4 hours… traveling becomes normal. Week-long h/j shows, those are pretty simple. Lots of supplies but not much tack and equipment. Weekend-long events, also pretty simple. Lots of tack and equipment, not a lot of supplies. But two weeks of eventing and 4 solid days of travel for Coconino? Sweet Jesus, the amount of crap we need is overwhelming. Add the complication that we have to fit it all into a 2 horse Brenderup and my regular size truck… I’m still not really sure how that’s going to work.
I’ve been keeping (and regularly adding to) a list of all the things we need to take with us. Priority one is hay, because in Arizona you can’t get the type of hay our horses eat, and I’m not changing their hay on a long trip like that. So, we shall load up the truck bed and stack that shit sky high.
Aside from just figuring out what to pack and how, we have a lot of other stuff to get ready too. The truck and trailer need to get serviced and checked out before their 2,000+ mile round trip journey. We need health certificates to cross state lines and booster vax for our USEF paperwork. Our layover and pit stop destinations had to be checked out and planned (done!). The horses need to start on electrolytes and an immune booster, because Bobby and I are both paranoid and it’ll be hot. I already located a feed store in Flagstaff where we can buy Triple Crown in case we don’t have room to take enough with us, plus a laundromat to wash clothes in between weeks, a place where we can shower if our Plan A doesn’t pan out, and the closest grocery store and Walmart to the show grounds. I’ve stalked the hell out of Flagstaff via Google Maps.
Aside from all that logistical crap, we also have new tests to learn (Training B for Bobby, the N3D test for me. By the way we both hate our new tests. There will be much whining on the way to Arizona.) and extra stuff to acquire. I was down to just one pair of white breeches so I got two more (the really nice Winstons for when I want to look legit and a cheap, fun pair for when I need my butt to be inspirational)
plus I had to get jog outfits. I’ve figured out that jog outfits, which I was originally excited about, sound much more fun in theory than they are in execution. I still haven’t decided exactly what I’m going to wear but I have several options, so that’s what matters. I’ll figure out the rest later. I also got my awesome new custom belt from Boy-O-Boy Bridleworks in my colors that I’m more than a little obsessed with.
And – my Winston coat that I ordered a couple months ago has arrived from Belgium! I can’t wait to have it in my hands.
I didn’t really like using Henry’s navy and yellow bonnet for dressage (nothing says LOOK AT ME BEING UNSTEADY IN THE CONTACT like a bright yellow line across a horse’s forehead) but Henry is too fussy about his precious ears to go bonnetless at a summer show, so I got a monotone one – navy with navy beads – from If The Bonnet Fits. A little bit of sparkle but mostly very subdued, for a more elegant dressage look.
I also got an awesome box of stuff from Riding Warehouse with poultice, hoof pack, some Licky Things, a jacket, and some ice boots, PLUS a box of stuff from Teddy’s Tack Trunk with liniment, more of my favorite fungus spray, a couple more brushes, etc. I needed all of these things for our trip, so now I think we’re fully stocked on pretty much everything but fly spray.
The last thing I really wanted before we embarked on our journey was a custom helmet cover for my skull cap but I’m out of budget money for non-essentials now, so that won’t be happening. Gotta just suffer through with the plain navy one that doesn’t have a stitch of yellow on it. Sad story, I know.
I still have a few more odds and ends to pick up for Henry (Red Cell paste, Flair strips, etc), but otherwise I think we’re all set. Now if anyone needs me I’ll be playing a really fun game of How The Hell Do We Fit All This Crap In Our Tiny Amount of Space. Because I really don’t know. Anyone want to volunteer to rent and drive a U-Haul?
breedrideevent.com 
So much stuff. So little space! Is there a way to put stuff on top of the cab of your truck? Haha.
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We’re gonna find out! That might be where Bobby goes.
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I am driving! …but maybe you can ride to Flagstaff on Henry IN the trailer??
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That won’t make him mad at all.
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He’s gonna be pissed regardless – this way we have more room in the cab.
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I can see it now, Henry and I taking turns kicking the ramp…
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Does Bobby’s trailer work better for hauling 2 horses? It looks like your truck is bigger, so probably more room there. Definitely lots to plan for!
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His trailer is newer/in better shape than mine, plus he has at least a little bit of storage (I don’t).
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Makes total sense
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I had to pack for a week long event last year with one horse and that was bad enough. Packing for 2 weeks would hurt my very organized soul I think since once you get past a certain amount of STUFF, the OCD organization goes out the window.
Not sure if you like the look, but this is a really cost effective option of jazzing up that skull cap until you can get a new cover –
http://www.katostack.com/catalog/item/6196064/6003913.htm
I was searching high and low for a royal blue helmet rubber band and couldn’t find one until these guys. Came quickly too.
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I need that!
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I think you should just strap Bobby to the roof of the truck, and put everything in his seat. 😉
But in all seriousness- that trip sounds like it will be a blast! I love the prepping and planning stages of a big trip.
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Does the corgi fit in the box too?
RE packing hay, I’ve done this a couple of times where we simply didn’t have enough room to bring that much hay with us. About two weeks before, I started adding alfalfa and beet pulp to the boy’s diets, subbing out some of their Texas hay. I also got chopped hay from TSC (because those are EVERYWHERE and the quality of the bagged hay is fairly consistent) and subbed that in. I still brought some of their regular hay, but basically only enough for 1 flake per horse per meal. I don’t like switching out their feed like that, but sometimes you’ve gotta get creative.
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They both already get some alfalfa, so that was pretty much our idea too, we’re going to slowly up the ratio of Alfalfa so that they’re getting half and half while we’re gone. We know we can get good alfalfa there! They both eat a lot of hay though (and have to, being TB).
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All I have to say is thank GOD I only show Hunters locally because the amount of crap WE just took for our show is really, really overkill.
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OMG I am SO excited for you to do the 3Day!!! That is one long ass trip, but it will be worth it! And it’s kinda amazing how much you can shove into a Brenderup. And I imagine Bobby knows you get like 3/4 of the available space since you are doing the long format?
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I get 3/4 of the space anyway since I have a lot more AMAZING STUFF. He calls it crap, but he’s wrong.
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How good are you at Tertis? It’s just a big game of Tertis, but things won’t disappear when you fit them all together.
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we’re going to find out!
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I’m not sure what model of brenderup Bobbie has but in some of them you can fit a bale infront of the chest bar (like right below their heads). If it makes you feel any better we manage and we have have a brenderup, a small truck, three people, two horses, four saddles a bale of hay, two to three tack trunks and suitcases and somehow make it work. Use all the space in the brenderup that you can. You’ll be amazed at how many things fit in the weird angles that they have.
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That’s a lot of stuff with such a tiny horse trailer. We have to pack a lot of stuff for camping, but at least we have the trailer dressing room to shove hay and other crap into.
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This is why I insisted on a trailer with a tack room. I have an overpacking problem. Having the extra space means I can take ALL THE THINGS. And then the kitchen sink too if it seems like i might need it.
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I think we would need like 5 tack rooms to fit everything. Eventers = lots of crap.
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Also there are two of you. Only one of me. And I filled that bad boy. I have a goose neck, so I have the tack room plus the part over the hitch. Which is called the peak, but I don’t know which way you spell that… Peek? Peak? Pique? Anyway, it’s tons of space! And it’s all full…
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My only suggestion, see if any other eventers are going from your area who might have a spare bay or a bigger rig. They might be happy to help, especially for some fuel money? I feel your pain,I have a bumper pull pony trailer wth a carriage extension on the front and a 4×4 wagon. We recently took the pony, the carriage, 4 hay bales, my riding equipment for warm up, two sets of harness, two people, two suitcases, some water in case the pony didn’t drink and all the towels, wash gear, horse blankets to keep the pony looking pretty, two sets of show outfits and some hardware in case of carriage emergencies to a horse driving trial. It was a third of your distance though. Good luck!
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Yikes! Reminds me of my yearly Wellington journey. This year I had 5 horses, a golfcart, a dirt bike, 2 massive trunks, hay, feed, stuff for the condo (a toilet for example…seriously..) enough clothes for the season plus show clothes, my dog and her massive dog bed, and me… Haha. It’s a 14 hr trip and we also layover. Packing for the trip is a week long affair and reminds me of playing Tetris!
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ha i was gonna suggest googling for a yellow rubber band for the helmet cover too – seems like something that should totally exist! good luck packing all that shit up. seriously. so much hay tho… that’s one of the things that made my head spin when i was toying with going down to aiken last spring, esp since it’s highly recommended that you bring your own for the entire stay…
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Random lurker here – I see you’ll be traveling through my neck of the woods, Albuquerque. Let me know if you guys want some food or other amenity suggestions! My email is adele_19@comcast.net.
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Thanks! We’re laying over in Clovis (Bobby has family in the area).
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Trot-up outfit….. may I suggest something like this? http://horseandponymag.com/2016/04/28/rolex-kentucky-underway-jog/ – best presented at Lexington. Alarmingly.
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