In which we survive Convention, buy stuff, sell stuff and have a real blast
2014 PNER Convention!
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| The Usual Suspects dressed up in our finery for the PNER Banquet |
We went there with boxes of used tack to sell, lists of tack to buy
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| Rosemary lusted for the saddle, but didn't buy it. |
and the intention to have a lot of fun.
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| It's impossible to escape Seahawk Fever, even for Santa. |
Mission accomplished!
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| Two Green Bean riders show off their new membership cards alongside Santa Jim's evil twin (Bean-there, Done-that rider Paul Latiolais) |
I led two Endurance 101 clinics (standing room only for session 2!),
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| Green Beans getting ready to ride! |
and sold some books.
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| The Endurance 101 booth, prettied up by the addition of Monica's Helmet Project bling |
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| Becky Bean from the Blog of Becky did NOT die of appendicitis, although it might be more reassuring if she'd blog more than once every second month. Just a hint. |
I managed not to buy much. The new line of "PNER gear" was irresistible, so Jim and I now have grey sweats advertising our favorite endurance organization. Raffle winnings were, as always, very popular.
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| Major winnings from the raffle table! |
We spent a lot of time socializing, of course, and meeting up with people we mostly only see online.
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| Rosemary and Monica in an extremely British conversation. |
And then there's the banquet and dance.
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| Heaps of people, clapping for winners and hoping to win raffle ride entries! |
None of the Usual Suspects were getting important awards (although I got to announce a couple of awards, and that's always fun)
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| Rockin' the formal wear, the striped fingerless pirate gloves... and the reading glasses |
But after the banquet is the DANCE.
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| Endurance riders love to dance! |
And for the DANCE, we like to dress up in fancy/funny outfits
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| Is this photo a million times cooler than any prom picture anywhere? Yes. Yes, it is. |
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| mid-point in the dance, the fun continues |
And when that's all over
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| snoozin' in the Party Van on the trip home |
It's time to go home and get ready for RIDE SEASON.
Because life as an endurance rider is GOOD, ya know?
I don't know which genius decided that convention should be in January, but he or she deserves an award. Every year, no matter what the topics are, I get a much-needed shot of motivation to keep riding through the winter weather...
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