Dear Mother and Father,
This week has been rather exciting, due to the dwarven Harnkeggar Games. Unfortunately, I could only attend the first day, but I shall tell you why later. Jardic and Rua both decided not to go, Jardic saying all that racing made him tired just from thinking about it and Rua claiming he was too old to engage in such shenanigans, so I was on my own. It was a rather uneventful trip to Thorin's Gate, where the Games were to start. But once there, I met up with miss Acorne, miss Tibba, miss Nimelia, miss Yidia; so many familiar faces! Master Ponso was there too, helping with the organisation by being a judge for some of the races.
The first race was the Harnkeggar Race, the winner being the first to race down the steps at Thorin's Hall around the statue standing in the middle of Thorin's Gate and back up the stairs. I decided to try my luck, but there was quite a bit of competition. I finished in the first ten so I feel I didn't do too badly, and miss Nimelia managed to snag third prize, so we are all very proud of her!
After that was the Bone Breaker Race, a race from the bottom of the stairs at Thorin's Gate to the hedgegate entering into Needlehole. A great many competitors entered for this race and competition was very fierce. Sadly, just down the road from Thorin's Hall, my poor pony, Marshmallow got a stone in his hoof and it took a few minutes to get it out. That put me well behind in the race and I didn't even make the top twenty! But two hobbits won second and third prizes, so we were still very well represented.
Then was the fishing competition, which master Ponso was in charge of, since he knows so much about fishing. I thought to fish next to miss Yidia and miss Acorne first, but there was such a crowd, I was jostling elbows with a lankyshanks to my left, so I went to look for a better place and found one between master Wolden and master Potty. I did manage to catch a great many fish, and won a fishing rod! Though I shall always use the one Isembold made for me, because it has sentimental value. Miss Acorne won the grand prize with a total of over sixty points! I didn't envy master Ponso and the other judges the task of counting all those fishes, I can tell you!
While the winners were being decided, we danced and sang around a campfire for a bit, but I felt bad for Marshmallow, since he was still a little lame from the stone in his hoof, so I had a long walk home with him and that was the only day of the Harnkeggar Races I managed to visit.
I was sorry I had to miss the other two days of the Games, for I very much enjoyed the races and fishing competition. But you'll be pleased to hear that Marshmallow is now fully recovered from the stone in his shoe and can gallop as fast as ever. Not fast enough to win a race it would seem, but he's more of a long-distance pony anyway.
Your loving Zara
