Halloween That Wasn't
Three years running, I’ve had a pretty bomb Halloween party. My house went from having a few pumpkins here and there to being coated in skulls, black cloth, and blood spatter. I have singlehandedly kept our local Dollar Tree in business based on spooky purchases alone, and I regret nothing. If I can carve a pumpkin, drink some themed cocktails, and have a great time with friends, it’s an A+ day in my book. But I’ve never done a horsey Halloween with my own creature.
I carve a mean pumpkin, too.
Once, when I was a little kid, my riding instructor put together a fun day for us on Halloween. We rode a few little obstacle courses and collected candy at different stations, and even did some kid-speed gymkhana. But there were no costumes, so I’ve kind of been waiting my whole life to have a horse of my own to dress up. One of these years, I will successfully do this, but it was not this year.
I started the month with great intentions. I messaged the other boarders about maybe having a Halloween fun show, and there was some interest. Around this farm, we like our fun and shows and drinking, especially all at the same time, so the response was positive. One boarder, who has an absolutely kickass Friesian named Aloha, was on my level of excited. I think we’re kindred spooky spirits, and she loved the idea.
Too spoopy to eat.
So I started costume-planning. Who to be? Lagertha and her grey horse from Vikings? A princess and a unicorn? Arwen, of LoTR fame? The unicorn seemed easiest; I had seen amazing unicorn horn browbands on Etsy, and I could snap one of those up...nope, just kidding. The store was on vacation and the other one I liked had too long of a timeframe to get the horn on time. (I didn’t say I started planning with a lot of time.) What about a native costume? I could probably swing that in a halfway decent way. Mom’s a solid seamstress, after all.
I aspire to be as badass as her in this scene. Alas, rearing is off the table for Java.
Mom, however, was saved by the bell. Enter Andrea, Total Livesaver, who just so happens to own a goddamn gorgeous costume and was all the way down to lend it to me. It’s black and gold and absolutely beautiful. I got to borrow the costume in exchange for a ride on Java (I got the better deal; he was a giraffe demon that day).
But as we got closer and closer to Halloween, it seemed like everyone had a conflict. A show here, a family thing there, a vacation. It never really came together, which was hella disappointing. I was really looking forward to seeing my Arabian dressed up in his finest. He, on the other hand, thinks he dodged a bullet.
Joke’s on him; I already have his costume for 2018 picked out.
