Julia D’Rozario ‘24
Staff Editor
I should open by saying that I am about as oblivious about school events as a student can be and, until the absolute last minute, had no idea that Foxfield was a horse racing event. As I understood it, Foxfield was essentially an excuse to 1) get dolled up and 2) get day-drunk. As it turns out, I wasn’t that far off—I think I spent a grand total of about thirty seconds actually looking at horses.
Our section’s bus was the first to set off and was scheduled to leave at 9:40 a.m., which meant that the pregame started early early. I can’t say that getting out of bed before noon on a Sunday sounded all that appealing to me. But it’s conventional—or so I’ve heard—to break out the mimosas as early as 8 in the morning. And who am I to flout convention? The general sentiment seems to be that it’s acceptable to start drinking at 8 a.m. so long as you’re dressed fancy and the drinks are orange juice based. So, giddy up![1]
The event itself was, by far, the most aesthetically pleasing moment in my law school experience to date. The setting was incredibly beautiful, and the weather was amazing, despite it being a bit[2] hot. Everyone looked great, and it was genuinely delightful to take the time to get dressed up and feel fancy after what has effectively been seven weeks straight in sweatpants. To me, at this point in the semester, putting on a pair of heels felt equivalent to getting dressed for the Met Gala. Goodbye, Walking Dead… Hello, Gossip Girl![3]
All in all, Foxfield was a lovely time, and a highlight of 1L so far. By the time we piled back into the buses at the end of the day, everyone was exhausted, sweaty and ho(a)rse,[4] but really happy. The actual horse time (or, the surprising lack of actual horse time) wound up being beside the point. I left feeling like I had met new friends, gotten to know my section[5] better, and made memories that I’ll look back on for years to come.
I will definitely be back next year, floppy hat in tow.