{"id":38091,"date":"2016-07-30T10:05:47","date_gmt":"2016-07-30T14:05:47","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/blacktypebugler.com\/?p=38091"},"modified":"2016-07-29T20:08:28","modified_gmt":"2016-07-30T00:08:28","slug":"elite-racing-club-gets-their-equinics-baptism-by-fire","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/btb.ehorseracing.com\/?p=38091","title":{"rendered":"Elite Racing Club gets their Equinics baptism by fire"},"content":{"rendered":"

\u00a0\u00a0 \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0\u00a0 \u00a0 ELITE\u00a0 RACING\u00a0 CLUB\u00a0\u00a0 –\u00a0 EQUINICS\u00a0 DIARY<\/span><\/p>\n

OK.\u00a0 It’s our maiden voyage competing in the Equinics,\u00a0 specifically the Summer Equinics of 2016 and I have to make sure I don’t post “stupid stuff” (or maybe that’s all I should post ??? ).\u00a0 From the Pastures Of Green residency\u00a0 the Equinics torch gets passed onward from the Green Mountain state of Vermont,\u00a0 home to our ever gracious hosts and site of all the dirt events.\u00a0 The torch has been divvied up amongst the participating residencies,\u00a0 and since seniority mattered most (or so we were told and believed),\u00a0 we wound up with a mini-Bic lighter to represent our share.\u00a0\u00a0 \u00a0<\/span>
\n.<\/span>
\nNow,\u00a0 we’re a relatively small group;\u00a0\u00a0 luckily some are from the northeast so we can get the torch traveling agenda off from Vermont smoothly.\u00a0 Many club members are from around the globe;\u00a0\u00a0 so it should be a gas meeting and greeting our fellow members.\u00a0 We envision a timely and error free handoff to the torch’s,\u00a0 errrrr,\u00a0\u00a0 lighter’s final destination.\u00a0 Many of the club members,\u00a0 refugees from another time and place that needs no elaboration,\u00a0 are looking forward to putting ERC on the map with some competitive Equinics entries. \u00a0<\/span>
\n.<\/span>
\nWith eager anticipation I awaited the arrival of the torch from Vermont,\u00a0 in Providence R.I.,\u00a0 stomping ground of one of our founders and fearless leaders,\u00a0 jbcri09 (JB,\u00a0 or John).\u00a0 Mightyforego (Dave),\u00a0 visiting his youthful haunts across\u00a0 Long Island Sound,\u00a0\u00a0 docked his speed boat to join the beach fest to begin the celebrations.\u00a0 JB pulled out all the stops at the clam bake he prepared for us.\u00a0 A selection of beers from\u00a0 the area\u00a0 (well,\u00a0 Sam Adams this and Sam Adams that …) flowed all night long and the lobster was excellent !\u00a0 In order to get the complete diary details,\u00a0 ric480 (John) had flown to Rhode Island from Northeast Pennsyltucky to meet the “torch” and chronicle its trek to the start of the Equinics.\u00a0 Mighty headed back across the Sound as the sun set and said we may see him yet again. \u00a0<\/span>
\n.<\/span>
\nThe next morning (well it was closer to noon than morning)\u00a0 JB and I\u00a0 ( yeah that’s right,\u00a0 we were the only two left after\u00a0 the clambake – I did say we were a small group) got on the road for our next destination,\u00a0 Louisville,\u00a0 Kentucky.\u00a0 We made it to\u00a0 Williamsburg,\u00a0 PA where drhet58 (Don) put us up for the night.\u00a0 The good doctor provided some terrific “sleep” aids as me and JB were afflicted with a tough case of “Sam Adams’ revenge”,\u00a0 We convinced the doctor to come on down to Louisville and beyond with us (we figured it would be a smart thing to have a doctor along for the rest of the trip). \u00a0<\/span>
\n.<\/span>
\nWe arrived in Louisville ready for action,\u00a0 where we met up with club co-honcho amir1605 (Amir),\u00a0 who flew in specially from the island nation of Mauritius;\u00a0 tees (Rich) who flew in from Northeast England;\u00a0 from the Southeast U.S.,\u00a0 tygereye (Lauren ?);\u00a0 harrylan (Harry) who motored down from Indiana;\u00a0 and the Left Coast contingent came together from the airport – dontbetonme (Andy) and huddybuddy (Hudson) from sunny California;\u00a0 and from Arizona\u00a0 gryphon (Gayle),\u00a0 who was happy to escape the Arizona heat. <\/span>
\n.<\/span>
\nAmir gave us the royal treatment,\u00a0 with a private box at Churchill Downs for the day’s racing,\u00a0 (from which we all departed with a handsome profit).\u00a0 Let’s not forget the medley of Kentucky bourbons at the dinner party later that evening,\u00a0 after a meal of regional foods,\u00a0 like rolled oysters,\u00a0 hot browns,\u00a0 and fittingly for dessert,\u00a0 thoroughbred pie ( no equine ingredients we were assured).\u00a0 This party was positively raucous as the club members got to know one another in between bourbon shots,\u00a0 and we found we all have much in common in addition to our devotion to the almighty “SIM”.\u00a0 Harrylan,\u00a0 dontbetonme,\u00a0 huddybuddy,\u00a0 gryphon,\u00a0 tigereye and I had a spirited game of bourbon pong.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Your humble,\u00a0 bumbling correspondent accidentally set something on fire (I can’t remember what)\u00a0 when “inappropriately” swinging the “torch” around after being unable to pick a favorite bourbon after many tastings.\u00a0 No offense JB,\u00a0 the clambake was awesome,\u00a0\u00a0 but this Amir guy knows how to throw a shindig. <\/span>
\n.<\/span>
\nAfter a sumptuous breakfast including a whole lot of the hair of the dog,\u00a0 the southern leg through the U.S. of our long journey headed for N’awlins (that would be New Orleans, Louisiana for the uninitiated).\u00a0 Amir had arranged for a luxury touring coach,\u00a0 loaded with all the right things for a road trip.\u00a0 What a ride !\u00a0 Later that day,\u00a0 we arrived in New Orleans and met up with summerset (Mike) who informed us we were going to nearby Slidell for that evening’s festivities and that we would NOT be boogieing down Bourbon Street.\u00a0 But our disappointment quickly faded when we reached bayou country. <\/span>
\n.<\/span>
\nWe got a true taste of southern hospitality as summerset hosted a wild,\u00a0 Cajun influenced celebration.\u00a0 The fried alligator was especially delicious,\u00a0 though we all thought it was chicken until summerset clued us in after it was all gone.\u00a0 Mightyforego did say we might see him again,\u00a0 and there he was after driving up from Florida in his Corvette – this guy likes and owns many fast things\u00a0 – including his racing stock .\u00a0 After attending to our hangovers the morning after with a marvelous bayou concoction that summerset refused to reveal the contents of,\u00a0 everybody readied themselves for the pub crawl back north and west and south as the torchbearers (Amir and JB) readied themselves for the final destination,\u00a0 Rio de Janeiro,\u00a0 Brazil.\u00a0 Tees was going to fly back across the pond from N’awlins to make his “Brexit”,\u00a0 but decided to stick around when he learned most of us were going back to Louisville – something about those Twin Spires gets to horse racing fans. \u00a0<\/span>
\n.<\/span>
\nWe all went to the airport to bid farewell to Amir,\u00a0 JB and me.\u00a0 In true club spirit,\u00a0 we descended on the airport bar to toast ourselves and the “torch” bearers when we learned all flights were delayed.\u00a0\u00a0 Finally,\u00a0 it was time to go and we settled in for the long flight to Brazil.\u00a0 Lots of conversations among the passengers centered on this damn Zika virus thing;\u00a0 I guess that’s why drhet58 was not leaving the U.S.,\u00a0 “no way,\u00a0 no how”,\u00a0\u00a0 but he did slip us a little something that he said would be “helpful”. \u00a0<\/span>
\n‘<\/span>
\nSurprisingly,\u00a0 the rest of the flight was uneventful as we caught up on some much needed sleep.\u00a0 Amir and JB continued on to the torch lighting ceremony and handed off our share to ROYS,\u00a0 who had an amused look on her face.\u00a0 My BTB credentials somehow didn’t get me past the first security checkpoint\u00a0 – that seniority thing again I surmised.\u00a0 JB and\u00a0 I then flew back to Louisville to get JB’s car\u00a0 while Amir went in the other direction on his way back home to Paradise on Mauritius. \u00a0<\/span>
\n.<\/span>
\nJB and I split the driving duties and eventually made it to my neck of the woods;\u00a0 I offered to put him up for the night,\u00a0 but he wanted to get home pronto so he peeled out of my driveway towards New England. \u00a0<\/span>
\n.<\/span>
\nI sure hope our results live up to the partying we’ve been doing;\u00a0 if not, we’ll be back again in two years,\u00a0 undeterred,\u00a0 ready and willing.\u00a0 Thanks to all the club members for their releases for this story ( I fortunately collected them at “opportune” moments). \u00a0<\/span>
\n.<\/span>
\nP.S.\u00a0 We figured out that the Comedy Central crew pulled a fast one on us when JB went to Vermont to get the torch – here’s your Bic lighter newbies,\u00a0 now deliver it to Brazil !\u00a0 Way to go out with a bang,\u00a0 CC.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

\u00a0\u00a0 \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1219,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"colormag_page_container_layout":"default_layout","colormag_page_sidebar_layout":"default_layout","footnotes":""},"categories":[4],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-38091","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-general"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/btb.ehorseracing.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/38091","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/btb.ehorseracing.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/btb.ehorseracing.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/btb.ehorseracing.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1219"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/btb.ehorseracing.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=38091"}],"version-history":[{"count":5,"href":"https:\/\/btb.ehorseracing.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/38091\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":38125,"href":"https:\/\/btb.ehorseracing.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/38091\/revisions\/38125"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/btb.ehorseracing.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=38091"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/btb.ehorseracing.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=38091"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/btb.ehorseracing.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=38091"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}