Tips for Eventers Living in Itty-Bitty Apartments in the City: Rolex edition

City slickness can be an advantage when it comes to navigating Rolex. Yvette Seger shares some tips.

From Yvette:

Happy Rolex Week, Eventing Nation!  While many of you are preparing for epic road trips to Lexington, Kentucky, and hoping to see WFP knock another amazing accomplishment off his “to do” list, I will be…

At a wedding.

Yes, yes…while you are all jockeying to improve your view at the Head of the Lake, I will be fidgeting through a bridal shower (seriously, how many pots, pans, plates and towels do two people need?!) Even worse is the fact that the actual wedding ceremony starts at the same time as show jumping (!@&%&Q%@*^$@^!!!!!!) Only you, my dear EN family, can fully appreciate the sacrifices I am making for my friend, and if you truly love me and my crazy column, you’ll send gifts of Valium.  (Kidding. Sort of. OK, not really.)

But I digress.

Most of the time, I’ll say that we city dwellers have a disadvantage when it comes to horsey things.  I mean, my horses live about an hour away, I have to beg for trailer rides for my horses (the Super Pony and I literally stand at the end of the driveway with our pile of equipment waiting for the “eventing school bus” to come pick us up), and it always seems as though my car is parked 50 blocks away on the mornings when I need to schlep all my competition stuff from my apartment to my car.  But at an event like Rolex?  This is when we city peeps shine!  Wonder how we always manage to get a front and center view at every jump?  Pshhh – have you ever navigated DC’s Metro Station at rush hour?  Stuck behind a big group of slow pokes when you are in a rush to catch a glimpse of Boyd jumping the ginormous squirrels?  HA!  Not only is that the most bizarre sentence ever to be posted on EN, but DC residents are pros at navigating around clueless tourists!

Well, anyway, here’s a tip, and a video of my own shenanigans in a borrowed Land Rover during the 2011 Rolex (you know, the monsoon year).

Tip for Eventers Living in Itty-Bitty Apartments in the City #35:

Want to ensure that you get the most bang for your Rolex ticket buck?  Navigate Rolex crowds like any old rush hour traffic – get an early start, plan multiple routes, bring snacks (preferably in SmartPaks), and limit your consumption of liquids because, really…who wants to spend time at Rolex waiting in line for a Port-a-Potty when you could be stalking (Insert Your Favorite Rider’s Name Here) in the Trade Fair or terrifying others on the Land Rover obstacle course.