Talk Derby to Me
You may not know this, but I have been riding horses since I was five years old. Yes, I was that horse-crazed little girl with equine themed everything, from pencils to wallpaper to notebooks and more. I rode English, mainly competing in Hunters, Equitation, and Jumpers classes -- this means various versions of jumping horses over fences in courses, being judged either on your horses' finesse, your finesse, or based on your speed and precision. I personally loved Jumpers which was essentially a speed trial where you had to zip through the course as quickly as possible through tight turns and switchbacks without knocking over or missing any of the jumps. I can be a bit of an adrenaline junkie and the sound of the buzzer was full of so much excitement and laser focus. Needless to say, I really really miss it... I competed up until freshman year of college when I sadly had to sell my horse (my beautiful Trakehner mare Helari) and move on. It's not really feasible to ride when living in NYC, so I haven't ridden in several years, which seems strange to say considering I rode consistently for literally my entire life. Anyways, I still love any horse related event and it's high up on my bucket list to go to the Kentucky Derby. But since I can't go this year, I've gotten an outfit to at least dress the part while I watch. You can't go wrong with some hot pink, ruffles, and a fascinator...
Thanks Lena for the photos!