Yesterday, I headed to the Equestrian Park with Ai-chan, my car.
It's only a week until I have to say goodbye to Ai-chan.
Next Saturday, Ai-chan's little brother, White-kun, will make his appearance.
(Ai-chan, thank you for the good ride today.)
The expressway was empty on the holiday, making for a smooth drive to Yoga.
On the left, I could see the Setagaya Art Museum, so I knew we were close to the Equestrian Park.
A few years ago, I had the honor of exhibiting my work there, so it feels a bit familiar.
First off, I headed to CABALLO, adjacent to the Equestrian Park.
I presented the chocolates I brought to a horse-loving friend of mine, who is also a Nihonga artist.
There were displays of gentle horse paintings and small items like pouches.
I, too, purchased a pouch with a calm horse painted on it.
After looking around CABALLO, we set off for the Equestrian Park.
I was meeting with three horse-loving friends. Despite us all being seniors, we call ourselves the "Three Horse Princesses."
The Equestrian Park, open to the public, was bustling with activity.
The three of us joined the crowd and watched a horse show happening on the front left side of the arena.
The horse show was a perfect example of unity between horse and rider, with horses understanding human commands, lying down, and then slowly getting up.
The audience seemed captivated by the performance.
The three of us headed to our desired booth.
We planned to get custom-made riding boots made there.
I've been riding for a long time but only just realized how different dressage boots are from jumping boots.
I decided to get boots that were hard on the outside and soft on the inside.
They were made longer on the sides to make my legs look longer. (Looks are important, no matter the age.)
Since it was a full custom order, they took detailed measurements of my feet, calves, thighs, and up to my knees.
I had brought my riding pants, so the boots should turn out just right.
The bootmaker said, "If you have legs that move easily, these are the boots for you. They prevent your legs from moving too much back and forth."
(I thought to myself, this could improve my riding skills.)
The full custom order was a little over 100,000 yen.
I'm curious to see what the boots will be like when they're finished in 2-3 months.
My horse friend and I, being the same age, decided to get matching boots...
Well, this has certainly motivated me to keep riding for a while. Yep, yep..
On the way back, we stopped by a nearby cafe.
The three seniors, like schoolgirls, got caught up in a lively discussion.
All three of us face our own challenges—caring for mothers with dementia, dealing with depressed children. I'm in the same boat.
But when the three of us are together, I want us to laugh out loud!
At the next table, a man didn't speak a word while he had an infant on his knee, and a young boy who seemed to be in the lower grades of elementary school sat bored.
Eventually, the boy turned to face us, listening in on our conversation.
Right, it must have been fun listening to our silly chat.
You probably wanted to join in, didn't you?
Or maybe you thought we were just a bunch of noisy old ladies?