For those who’ve never been to the Virginia Horse Center in Lexington, Va., it is a big, sprawling, lovely facility. It’s got a gajillion showrings; even more schooling rings; oodles of big, airy barns; great electric outlets all over the place. There’s a lot to love.
But it’s impossible to make that big a facility also compact, so I knew I was going to be doing a lot of walking this coming weekend. Until ride times came out, though, I didn’t really think about it. Then I sat down to make up my schedule.
It is total chaos.
I have four students to mind, plus the three horses I’m showing myself, so it was inevitable that we’d have some conflicts, but I don’t think I have more than two consecutive riders in the same general area through the whole weekend. Back, forth, back, forth. I swear show management heard I’d put on a few pounds and decided to help out. (Thanks, guys. Really.)
I’d planned on taking my bike, because that would certainly help a little. But I’d forgotten the hill. There is a BIG hill with a pretty steep climb to get to rings 4, 5 and 6, steeper than I could make on a bike without having to (pathetically) get off and walk it up (shut up, this hill would make Lance Armstrong need a Gatorade).
So I set off to Target, where I purchased Option B: an electric scooter. The box proclaims: Up to 10 miles per hour! Charges in 12 hours! Cute and pint size! No gas, good for the environment!
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So I take it home, and after the some assembly required and 18 hours on the charger, I take it out for a spin.
First, let’s be clear about something. What they call a scooter is more closely related to a roller-skate than a moped. There’s no seat, and the part you stand on is the size of a kid’s skateboard. I wear a size 11 shoe. Also, the handlebars are sized for jockeys, not dressage riders.
But worst of all, it can’t handle the hill of my driveway. If you’ve been to my farm and are thinking, “What hill of your driveway? Isn’t your driveway almost completely flat?” you would be correct. The Virginia Horse Center hill is going to eat this thing for breakfast.
So what to do? Return the scooter-skate, for sure. (Although it is a little fun to put-put out to the mailbox.) But do I pathetically walk my bike up the hill or tough it out? Life’s persistent questions. Maybe I could get actual roller-skates.
