It feels as though I stepped right out of summer and into fall.

In previous summers I’ve allowed myself to gradually begin thinking about school so I can mentally prepare for the daily grind of classes and textbooks once again. But this year I was too busy to even consider it until I was in the car driving out of Saratoga Springs.

All of a sudden my life went from 100 mph to like, 10. I’ve gone from waking up around 5 a.m. every day at Saratoga to go to the track, to dragging my butt out of bed around 6 to feed my own horses (whom I love dearly, but it’s not quite the same as watching morning workouts) and figuring out my new class schedule for the semester.

If I really wanted to throw a good ole’ pity party, I’d go into how I haven’t been in school since December of 2014 (eight months!) because of my internship with the American Quarter Horse Association. But I’ll spare you.

It goes without saying that working in Saratoga this summer was the best summer of my life. But I said the same thing last summer, so here’s to hoping the best is yet to come! I’ve taken a month and a half hiatus from blogging, so starting today I’m going to ease myself back in. Throughout the next few weeks I’ll be writing about my experiences in Saratoga and a few of the things I learned.

But for now, I’m far too excited to do any deep reflecting, so I’m going to talk Travers and share a few photos. At this very moment I am about six hours away from flying back to Saratoga for the weekend to watch the Travers Stakes and experience two more days of writing for The Saratoga Special. Did I mention I’m excited? Oh yeah, I think I did.

Anyways, here are a couple neat shots of two Travers contenders, Texas Red and Frosted. Texas Red found a special place in my heart when I began following him around before the Jim Dandy. I wrote a small preview about him that you can find here. When he walks on to the track in the mornings, you can’t help but stare at him. He’s incredibly imposing with an enormous frame, beautiful muscling and glistening red coat. Plus, he has a don’t-mess-with-me attitude to match, according to his trainer.

I took these shots during his workout at Saratoga on July 25.

 

 

And how can you not love Frosted? That face… that beautiful gray coat. I mean, I might be a bit partial to grays, considering I have a very bodacious dappled gray Quarter Horse mare named Misty. But Frosted is pretty much the walking definition of majestic. I had the opportunity to meet the big guy while touring Greentree, a private Darley training facility located next to Saratoga. He also has his share of personality, and was dead-set on biting me when I tried getting a picture.

 

Enjoy, and happy Travers weekend! Check out my Facebook page and let me know who your pick is for the Travers!