Centered in the Saddle

Yesterday, a brewery nearby posted that they were selling their old barrels for cheap. They are bourbon barrels that had been reused to make craft beer.

My first thought was, obviously, “must get some to build cool jumps!” Maybe a cross country jump, or at the very least, some cool looking jump standards.

And then I decided I needed some for our house. We can make end tables or planters or a bar out of them. It’ll look super cool.

I tried calling up the brewery to make sure there were still barrels left. What followed was one of the more frustrating conversations I’ve had.

Me: “Hi, I’m calling to find out if there are any barrels left.”

Cheerful But Stressed Brewery Girl: “Yeah, I don’t know!” 

M: “You don’t know?”

CBSBG: “No, not really!”

Me: “…Like, are there a few or a lot?”

CBSBG: “I’m really not sure! Someone’s here trying to buy 10 right now.”

Me: “Okay, so there are at least 10 left?”

CBSBG: “I’m not sure! A lot of people have asked about them.”

Me: “So. Okay. There’s someone there buying 10. So there are at least 10. Are there more than 10?”

CBSBG: “I don’t know!”Me: “I’m just trying to figure out if there are 10 barrels, or like, 25.”

CBSBG: “Girl, me too! Some are covered in snow, and some aren’t!” 

Me: “…”

CBSBG: “…”

Me: “So if I come there, do you think there will be any left?”

CBSBG: “I don’t know!”

Me: “If I call back in 20 minutes, will you know?”

CBSBG: “Probably!” 

Me: “Okay bye.”

To be fair, when I called back, I spoke to someone who was super helpful and willing to actually go outside and confirm that there were, in fact, barrels to be had.

Not as many as I originally wanted, but still. I was going to get those last five barrels.

I recruited my sister to meet me there with her van and I brought my Jeep and a prayer that they’d all fit.

I should’ve taken a picture of the barrels before we loaded them up. We’ve had a lot of snow lately and they were really stuck in a snowbank. But never underestimate a horse girl who wants to build a cool jump, guys. I dug those suckers out and rolled them to the cars.

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I honestly wasn’t sure if my sister and I would be able to lift them into the cars. They’re heavy. But, again – don’t underestimate the desire of eventers to jump horses over weird stuff. I’m very proud that we hoisted all five barrels into our two vehicles and they juuuuust barely fit.

SCORE. I can’t wait to go build something cool with them. If, you know, the snow ever melts.