Galoppen

I have been obsessed with going to Tivoli Gardens in Copenhagen, and 84% of the reason is the carnival game Galoppen. Everyone is assigned a horse in the “race,” and you roll balls to advance your horse. If the ball rolls into one of the holes, it jumps forward one, two, or three steps (depending on how difficult it is to reach the hole).

I’m not sure this video really captures the game, but it definitely captures the spirit of competition.

Anyway, I’ve wanted to go to Tivoli Gardens to play Galoppen. A few weeks ago, we were on the boardwalk at the beach — a beach only two hours from my home! — and what do I see but GALOPPEN IN AMERICA. My brain could not process that if I could elbow dozens of children out of the way, I was going to get to play Galoppen. And even better, with the exchange rate, a round of Galoppen at Tivoli Gardens costs over $3. And this Galoppen was a flat $2.

Josh told me I couldn’t elbow the children, so we had to wait two rounds to get four seats at the table. I plunked down $8, and we practiced our ball rolling skills while we waited for everyone to get settled. The announcers told us that we were going to be playing for a big horse stuffed animal, and she motioned to two choices: a grey one and a brown one.

“If any of us win, I want the brown one. Did you hear me? I want the brown one,” I hissed at my family.

And then… WE WERE OFF! I was rolling balls like my life depended on it. I didn’t even look up at my horse to see where it was on the board because (1) I was terrible at Galoppen, and (2) I was frantically hoping to get a ball in the red hole, which would advance it three steps. The buzzer sounded, and the announcer screamed, “We have a winner.”

It wasn’t me.

But it was Josh!

And I shook his arm and screamed, “The brown one! The brown one!” when they offered him a choice.

We all love the horse, who currently lives on the sofa. Except maybe Josh, who keeps asking if the horse really needs its own cushion.

It’s a good life reminder that you never know when something amazing will happen and then get even better.