Races

It was supposed to be stormy again by lunch time on Saturday, but it was nice until nearly 6 o'clock. I got all the washing dry. And then it thundered and poured for about an hour. It was windy too as it only can be in Wairarapa. 

The fair organizers at Martinborough would have been happy with the weather. A camper said they came from Hastings today. Somewhere around Ekatahuna the weather was really awful and they were beginning to think they should stop until it passed. 

We have had a few more customers in for the races on Waitangi Day. The powered sites were all booked up.

On the lawn by the ranch house there is a kahikatea stump in the grass near the ranch house. It's quite big and not really easy to miss. One day, during the week a lady drove over it and got her sump stuck on the stump. There was a lot of mirth, but they got her off. Eddie put a rope on her back bumper and pulled with the dodge, while 6 men pushed at the other end and she popped off. She was moving slowly and texting at the same time. Mmmmm.

Monday and Tuesday were really hot with 30 - 32 degrees. 

One of the jockeys wanted to come to the races by his cessna aircraft and land on the back straight. He was given a very definite no. He did it in Gore and now thinks he can do it anywhere. There were 2 of them and they missed their first race as they had to land in Masterton and then come down here. I don't suppose the owners and trainers were very pleased with them.

We went over and watched the second race, the 3 headed T shirt race for the children and a pony club race. The 3 headed T shirt race was very funny. The kids were in huge T shirts with 3 head holes and 2 armholes. The child in the middle often got left behind. The girl who won the pony race was very excited. Her horse took off like the others were standing still. She was pumping the air with her fist as she crossed the finish line.

We had an impromptu bbq that night with Matt his wife Rae, some campers and some other committee men who had been working around the course today. We didn't eat until 9pm, so we went to bed with very full tummies.

It is very dry here now. The hills are very brown as are the paddocks as shown in the picture below. It's a bit dark, as the mornings are beginning to draw in a bit now. Soon it will be too dark for morning walks. I don't enjoy them in the dark.