A Hope-full Easter

It was Easter morning,
   with fog on the pike.
We headed to Maryland,
   with a TD in sight.

With “thanks for the memories”,
    “Hope” snuggled in her crate,
Onward to Elkton
    to learn of our fate.

Arrived at the welcome tent,
    there was coffee and a bun.
As we waited for the draw
    out came the sun.

My pick was third,
   George said take the blue.
When I looked at my choice
   it couldn’t be true.

The track that I picked
   was track number ten!!
I looked at poor Hope
   laying quietly in her pen.

The wait seemed forever,
   but our time did arrive.
I looked at the course
   and hoped we’d survive.

There was a terrier to my right,
   and horses on my left.
There was a marsh on leg one
   and a hill with a cleft.

Hope wasn’t too sure,
   with all the activity around.
She finally decided to
   to put her nose to the ground.

She had no problem,
   as she went through the muck,
Unfortunately for me,
   lost my shoes in mud-suck.

With my shoe in my left hand,
   and line in my right,
I hoped and I prayed,
   to keep Hope in my sight.

She melted into her first turn,
   and onto leg two.
It was getting quite hot
   without a cloud in sky blue.

I offered Hope water
   as I got back in my shoe.
She guzzled it down
    with energy renewed.

She tracked very well
    on leg two and leg three
But on leg four
   the horses she did see.

Onward she tracked,
   the horses quite near
I told her they were friendly,
   she had nothing to fear.

She continued to track,
   keeping horses in sight.
She passed turn four,
   but realized her plight.

We backed up until
   she picked up the scent.
She made turn four
   and away we went.

Hope continued on course,
   indicated the glove.
I bounded to her
   not needing a shove.

I hugged her and praised her
   “we did it” I did scream.
The judges came running
   saying she tracked like a dream.