Messenheim

Bibi,Vincent(5)and I drove back through the Black Forest to meet up with Eddie, Maria(15) and Emilie(13) today. Both girls are competing in a one day event (over 3 days) equivalent to our Pony Club Champs for Baden Wurttemberg. Maria has ridden in the National team and she rode very well to finish 2nd her section, and just 0.3 points behind the winner. Emilie was riding Eddie's big grey horse, as hers is too young and Eddie is not allowed to ride yet after an accident with his horse earlier this year, which resulted in him suffering two strokes. They travel around the shows with a big horse truck and a caravan and with 5 of them, there wasn't room for me, so Mrs Oppenheim is staying in a Gasthaus in Altenheim and there is a huge tent with a street party and an oom-pa-pa band playing outside my window! A hunter came in tonight dressed just as in children's picture books with knickerbockers, a hat and a gun slung over his shoulder! In the event centre tonight there was a very good display of 'voltige' - a kind of ballet and gymnastics as a horse gallops around on a lunge.It was fun being back in the horsey world.