Tails From Provence

Last year, I posted this on my personal Facebook page :

This was the Google Maps satellite image of Flurry and Aero’s field in June 2015.  I was very excited to see Flurry right in the middle, the white dot casting a shadow.  I wasn’t sure I could see Aero but I eventually convinced myself that I could see an Aero-shaped dark spot in the shadow of the trees.

So when I took a screen-grab of the satellite image for the Torment and Torture with Tricklenets post, I was surprised to see that it had changed.  There’s been a more recent pass of the satellite, apparently.

That’s Aero, wearing his fly-rug, standing in his usual eating spot in front of his shelter.  To his right is one of The Girls who used to live next door.  I presume that Flurry is in the Boy’s shelter, in his usual eating place.

Hmm, what else would have changed since the last satellite photo?  I scrolled up to see the big barn – was that my Jeep parked beside it? No, it didn’t seem to have a sunroof… I scrolled on up to the arena and I literally laughed out loud.

An alien landing site?  No, this was the scene sometime during the week after June 21st, 2015 – just after Gaec de Pimayon had hosted the Provence Equifeel championships.  The arena still has the chalk marks for the different ateliers it contained – Déplacement Lateral, Pivot, Licol, Essui Glace, Saut à Longe and Le Double.  To the right of the arena is what we call Le Parc Equifeel.  The Trèfle à Quatre Feuilles was in there.  To the right of that, we had a section of Zingara and Odji’s paddock fenced off for Le Van, but the fencing and the trailer had been removed by the time the satellite passed overhead.  The round pen on the bottom left contained Transitions and to the bottom left of that, we had a small patch fenced off for Les Embûches.  What a great snapshot in time!

But looking closer…

…in the bottom right corner is my Jeep!  But not hitched up to my trailer – my trailer is parked in its normal spot (not shown here).  Of course – at last year’s competition, the lovely Simone put one of her great big hairy Friesan Feet through my ramp, so we had to use MC’s old trailer for the rest of the competition.

Simone, Destroyer of Ramps

And looking closer again, who’s that riding in the arena?

From the colour of the horse, I think it must be Alexandrine and Valentine.  I just love the shadow they are casting!

See if you can find your horse on Google Maps!  Maybe you’ll find a lovely little riding snapshot from space, too!