Dan had taken me out of the box again and brushed my already shiny coat over it once more. He led me another round around the paddock while the woman got Temis ready. His bright coat shone in the sun and we were led away. The other foals were still in the paddock.

We passed other trailers and saw many foals. Most were light and had thin to no markings, but there were a few dark ones.

When we crossed the large meadow, we came to some sort of fabric tent that was more like a shelter covered with a tarp. Dan handed my rope to the woman leading Temis and entered the tent. Through the see-through tarp I could see that he was waiting in line, and when he finally got there he picked up two paper license plates and walked back out to us. He attached the license plates to the white halters we were wearing. Then we continued walking across the square where there was a large crowd of people walking around with foals. We also passed a few stalls until we finally came to a large sand arena where a foal was being shown by its owner. A few meters in front of the arena were wooden tethers. 

By the one Dan and the woman led us to, two other foals were already standing. A medium-light one with a narrow star on his forehead. The mane, which he had already grown, was fuzzy and thick and curiously it looked at the place.

The other one was a little darker and, like Darice, had no markings.We were tied up next to them and curiously we sniffed each other. "I'm Comet," he introduced himself, "and this is Samson." Samson, who was slightly taller than Comet, looked over the latter's neck and I stuck my head out at him. Samson and Comet seemed nice and I followed Comet's gaze. He looked at the square where the colt was just standing in front of five people who were taking notes on a piece of paper. The colt took a step forward and the girl corrected his leg position by driving him back a step. 

The five people nodded to them and the colt left the square with the girl. Suddenly, a man approached and led Samson away. I followed them with my gaze and realized that now he was being led to the arena. First he was led a few rounds at a walk on the edge and sometimes it looked like Samson would rather trot away. They did a hand change and he was now led at a walk from the other side. Then they changed once through the whole track and Samson followed his owner obediently. They also stopped in front of the five men and they insistently examined Samson. Then they came out from their seats and examined his coat, his teeth, lifted his hooves and looked at Samson very carefully. After that, they walked another circle at a walk and then began trotting two laps. It was quite a brisk and regular trot and Samson had to be having fun showing off and exuberantly did a canter jump, so that had to be slowed down again by the man. At a walk they changed hands again and trotted again in the other direction. After two rounds they parried again and after a last round of walking they stopped again in front of the five people. They nodded to the two and left the arena. Then Samson was led away and I lost sight of him. Comet was brought into the arena second and ran the same figures as Samson. His trot wasn't as fast and he didn't seem to walk as joyfully as his predecessor. 

Finally Dan came over and untied my rope from the beam and nervously I began to prance. Was it my turn now? Dan really led me towards the arena and I became more and more excited. He now led me along the edge and I struggled to contain my excitement and obediently obey his commands. We walked along the fence of the sandy place and I had to make an effort to resist the green blades of grass that stretched out through the sand. I walked nicely around the corner and had to be careful not to carry my head too high or too low, as I had learned during the exercises. Now we passed the people. Now I could see that there were three women and two men. They were following us with their gazes, paying close attention to my step and posture. 

Dan clicked his tongue and tapped my hindquarters with the crop and I fell into a steady trot. Dan spurred me on again with the crop, which meant that I should speed up. It was harder to run out the corners cleanly now and the first round went by faster now.

Dan clicked his tongue again and I tried to run faster, but almost fell into a canter, but was still able to correct myself. Dan slowed down and when I didn't slow down right away he took the crop a bit forward to my chest and after one last brisk walk that almost made me stumble, I was walking at a regular pace again. Dan turned towards the center of the arena and we walked once across the arena before Dan picked up speed and I trotted again on the other hand. This time my trot was brisk even at the start, so Dan didn't have to urge me on. It was also harder to follow Dan's commands because I also had to concentrate on my walk. 

After two more laps, I was parried through to walk and we ran a circle before stopping in front of the people. Meanwhile, they were taking notes and eventually walked around us. The people examined me, stroked my coat, opened my mouth and weighed my teeth. They stood in front of me and checked to see if I was standing straight. Then they lifted my hooves and checked that they were not too long and that they were clean and that there were no stones stuck between the frog and the horn wall. 

It was unusual to have so many people standing around me and I took a few steps back. Dan corrected my leg position by taking a step forward. People let go of me again and went back to their seats. Dan spurred me on again and I started walking at a slow pace. Dan changed with me through the whole track. Then we walked along the outside of the arena again for another whole lap. People were still making notes on their slips of paper, alternately looking at me and then back at the piece of paper. 

When I only had half a lap to go, they put down their pen and seemed to be done with their notes. Once again we stopped in front of them. They nodded at us and we left the square. Only now did I notice how many foals were standing around us waiting for their turn. It had been fun to walk somewhere other than the Haflinger yard and I was almost sorry that it was already over. 

I saw Temis being led into the arena, then we disappeared behind the trailers so I couldn't see him anymore. After five minutes we came back to our trailer and Dan groomed me briefly and checked my hooves before he put me on the paddock where only Fister was still standing. The others were already tethered to the tether poles at the sand yard. I was hungry and started grazing next to Fister, then he too was led out of my sight between the trailers.

Some time later Percy came to me. He told me that he had trotted twice too fast and stumbled as a result. He had not enjoyed it as much as I had, to show himself to the strangers. Gradually the others came back, but it was already evening by the time our herd of foals was complete again. We learned that Sylvett and Darice were being shown at another place. 

 Dan had moved the trailer aside a bit with the car so that we could now see the fillies. Then, on one half of our paddock, he fastened iron rods in the ground and covered them with a waterproof tarp, creating a shelter of sorts. Dan did the same for the mares, whose paddock was smaller than ours. He also set up a tent a few feet away and put two folding chairs and a camping table in front of it. 

As it got later and later and we still weren't going home, we realized we would be staying here overnight. Dan hung four buckets of feed mix for us consisting of two handfuls of oats, a half scoop of cereal made from dried fruit, grains and seeds, and two spoonfuls of mineral feed and herbs. He also had a large hay net hung up and we also had the grass growing on the ground. The mares got the same.

 Late in the evening Dan had built a fire in a bowl and was grilling bread, vegetables and meat with the wife. Afterwards they talked some more, extinguished the fire and finally went to the tent to sleep.