7/13/2013
Patricia gives many
options for experiencing Maryland’s horse culture. Most are races or shows, but
what really caught my attention was her mention of jousting – apparently
Maryland’s state sport. Through a little research I found out a joust was
happening at a church in Annapolis and basically planned our schedule around
attending.
The joust wasn’t scheduled
until 11, so we had a laid-back morning. The storms had passed, and now there
wasn’t a cloud in the sky. I was pumped. I thanked the Village Inn guy for his
restaurant advice and for the great stay, and away we went to St. Margaret’s
for some medieval fun. Zounds!
It wasn’t until we got
right up to the building that I saw it. My greatest fear realized: a cheap,
cardboard sign with the words “Joust Cancelled” hastily scrawled.
I went into the church
anyway. [Okay, that’s just creepy.] I don’t
know why. Did I think they were hiding all the horses in the sacristy? I did
encounter a group of women in a meeting who were very sympathetic to our
plight, although confused. “Don’t you have jousts in Ohio?” one asked. Um… No.
They were really quite
nice, and tried to get me as much information as they could about what
happened. Apparently the stormy weather the day before had made the field too
muddy for the horses. They said they were sure the joust would be rescheduled,
but they didn’t know when. No matter. Time was ticking and we had to move on.
I got back in the van.
“Where are the horses, Daddy?” came the disappointed voices. [That’s not what they said. What they said was, “Where is
my juice?” and, “My foot hurts.”] I explained righteously, “It’s too
muddy for the horses, and we wouldn’t want them to slip and hurt themselves.
Isn’t that more important?” All the while in my head I’m screaming
“NOOOO!!!!!!!!!” like a defeated James Bond villain. [Also
you weren’t screaming in your head. You
were screaming that out loud.] I looked at their sad faces. I promised
the kids horses and I couldn’t deliver. That stung. [My
only response is “HAHAHAHAHAHHA!!!]
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