Photos will be coming over the next several weeks assuming I ever go through them, but another year, another fair hill complete.

Paddy the Caddy and Erin Sylvester

This year was bittersweet. While I am looking forward to the 5*, this was the last 4* (old 3*) ever, and it just won’t be Fair Hill without the 4*. And the last Fair Hill on this side of the property. As they are constructing the new course/venue on the other side of the road (I drive by ever day on my way to work), it’ll be interesting to see how it turns out. The one thing that I love about the current course about is the varied terrain. There are so many hills and drops and all that. The new course/area? It just looks…flat. We’ll see how it develops over the next few months. The arenas will be great. The rest? I’m reserving judgement.

Vandiver and Doug Payne

We could NOT have asked for better weather on Saturday. Sunny and GORGEOUS.

Polaris and Sara Gumbiner

We paid dearly for Saturday’s weather with the disaster that was Sunday. Cold. Rain. And almost no one was there for stadium. It was a complete washout and, if anyone knows the bus situation at Fair Hill on Saturday and Sunday, I didn’t see one bus hanging around Sunday following stadium. I’m not sure how the poor handful of people who parked over at the fair grounds (at least one lady was there) got back to their cars as the buses were MIA… It was that dead. I felt for the vendors.

QC Diamantaire and Sydney Elliott

But, it wouldn’t be Fair Hill without weather. Wednesday, rain for the jog. Thursday was cold with 40 mph wind gusts. Friday wasn’t much better. Saturday was gorgeous. And Sunday, pouring rain.

Classic’s Mojah and Megan Sykes

The courses on Saturday were definitely tough. In the 3*, jumps 5-7 took a lot of competitors out. Whereas the combination at 13 in the 4* was deadly. There was a point in the 4* that we probably went about 15-20 minutes without seeing a horse. But, thankfully, no one was seriously injured. The courses just were tough this year. Then the flags… I’m staying out of that one…

Carrick Finest Lad and Abigail Niles

Overall, another Fair Hill in the books. We’ll see what next year’s new beginnings bring!