It was a beautiful day for the 2017 Iroquois Steeplechase.  The weather was in the high 70’s with a lovely breeze.  We started our day by riding in with our neighbors the Zions, who have graciously invited us to join them the last several years.  Randy Zion attended his 39th Steeplechase this year.  He knows how to do it up for sure.  We’re always Topside, which is such an amazing spot to watch the race.  See, Randy has created large pieces to go in the back of the truck that once we’re parked, the guys unload and assemble into a really cool truck deck.  It never fails to attract attention from the police officers to frat boys.  Once everything was set up, we enjoyed breakfast burritos that Randy’s wife, Nancy, made.  We began the day with light libations as we waited for the first of eight races to begin.  One of the usuals to our spot, Vicki, cut up the names as we each put in $5 for the pool to choose one at random.  This year we won two of the races, so we felt pretty good.  Jell-o shots began about lunch time.  We played cornhole in between races or caught the horses being cooled down as they were walked back to the stables.  My favorite part is right before the last race, when they ‘release the hounds’ and a brigade of beagles and fox hounds are escorted around the track by some riders.  It was a beautiful day to take in the race.