GMHA Sleigh Rally

I spent Sunday at GMHA with Amanda and family members human and canine.  You can find her post with pictures over here.  We'd decided to attend on a whim, with no clue what to expect, and it was definitely the best decision of 2014 thus far.

Sunday was a gift.  One day earlier and the rally would have been miserably cold; one day later and all that beautiful snow would've been ice and lush.  Instead we had this glorious window of sun and just barely below freezing and the Green Mountains all around.

Sighthound in a top hat rocking the sleigh dog class:

Most of the entries in the Currier & Ives class, which was the first time everybody unmuted their sleigh bells...

Sign in the hot-cocoa-and-cookies room

My favorite presentation of the day.  So spare and elegant!

All the drivers looked so cozy.

And so many good hats!

This group only did the Currier & Ives class -- showed up with bells ringing just as the class was getting underway and looked like they'd driven right out of a time machine to be there.

Yes, he did doff that hat when accepting their ribbon.

This Cattle Dog is apparently a working stockdog for a living (we got to chat a bit with her owner) but was gracious enough to play sleigh dog for the day.  She looked very smart on the seat as they went around and I'm sure would've handled it if any of the horses had stepped out of line.

The winner of the sleigh dog class and the horse I most enjoyed watching -- he is apparently twenty-two and this was his first outing in a year (or more?) -- he was clearly a pro and had a wonderful bright expression all day.

Another look at the hat-wearing dog.

Pony pow-wow!

Classic Vermont.

Like any horse show, there was lots of visiting.

Our crew headed out through the Dust Bowl to watch the cross-country pace.

Heading out for a lap of the jump field.

And a little zoom-zoom on the way back!

This horse and driver were at the Mud Ride & Drive that Amanda and I did P&R for last April.

Tired pit bull slept all the way home.