All the Roads in Lexington are Paved in Gold(books)!

Okay, have you started getting at least a little excited about Festival yet? Or are you kind of freaking out at the concept that yes, in fact...

FESTIVAL IS 10 DAYS AWAY??!!

Egads. Where has the time gone?

But I digress. Today's topic for a blog-tastical adventure is (drumroll) THE GOLD BOOK. Isn't that swanky how I made the font gold? My mother always said I was too creative for my own good...anyway. What is The Gold Book? Do you need to read it? Why is it called "The Gold Book"? These are life's little mysteries that I aim to resolve in today's blog!

First of all, if this is the first time you're even hearing of THE GOLD BOOK, here's the link. I recommend that you download it and/or print it out and READ it before you even start packing your horse trailer for the trip to Kentucky. In short, THE GOLD BOOK "includes vital information that will help you prepare for Festival 2011. It will help you prepare for the Championships activities and the Educational programs and will answer many of the questions you might have." Got a question on whether or not stalls need to be stripped and checked by staff after Championships? It's in the Gold Book (and the answer is yes, or else you forfeit your $50 deposit.) Are we using Feed Rooms or Feed Trailers during Championships? You got it...it's in the Gold Book (and the majority of competitors will be in Feed Trailers.)

I could regurgitate much of the information in the Gold Book here in my ever-so-witty prose, but really, it's something you just need to sit down and read. I recommend printing out a copy and keeping it with your horse's health papers. The Gold Book represents the "Standard Operating Procedures" for Festival Participants, so you might even want to have a copy to share as a team (you can tuck it in with your Rulebooks!)

I do need to make a very important correction to the information on page 5 of the Gold Book, under the header "Other Horse Management Information." Item #1 says that screw eyes may be used for hanging items in the stalls. This is incorrect. Kentucky Horse Park rules indicate that nothing may be done to the stalls that will permanently alter the materials, so driving in screw eyes, nails, etc. to hang stuff like racks and buckets is NOT allowed. You may get creative with other hanging materials, such as baling twine, chains, rope, C-clamps and latticework to make your tack room a cozy little home away from home. Please refer to HM Rule 11 for more information about fastening materials and requirements for breakaway capabilities.

So, why is it called "The Gold Book"? Well, when I was in Pony Club, back before there was this fancy thing called the internet and "google" wasn't a part of daily lexicon, Championships information was sent out as an insert in the USPC News magazine. It was printed on yellow (gold) paper so that readers would know to pull it out and save it. Not only was it printed on gold paper, you only got one copy, so you treated it like it was gold! No one wanted to misplace their Gold Book!!

OK. Moral of today's story is READ YOUR GOLD BOOK! Capice?

10 Days Until Champs Move-In day!! :)