Day 2 of competition and rest day

Sorry for the down time, i have been seriously missing my trusty xperia mini phone and I am afraid the iphone6 is not as good for on the fly blogging!!

Anyway day 2 of competition started with a misty warm up

It is quite cold here like autumn in the UK, only warmer as the sun comes out (picture from Monet Smith Photography who have been taking some excellent shots!)

Individual sword was up first and i had a point to prove after a seriously iffy day 1 performance. I managed to finish 5th overall, but as usual when the pressure was on i accidently reached on a peg and missed.

Oranges were up next and again a shocking performance from me let the points score down, but fortunately the others did well for some high individual places and scores on the door for GB.

I have to mention at this point i was feeling fairly sick as i have been fighting an indonesian gastro bug since being here.... One day the team will be sponsored by immodium!! 

So just indian file to run where i bucked up my ideas and GB just missed out on silver by 2 points to Iraq which was rather gutting, but we are in the medals!

Evening was rewarding by a steak followed by a rather long bar session which is onsite, and explains the lack of blog!! 

Never ever get in drinking competitions with South Africans as they will beat you with experience. On the plus side we got lots of tips from the SA coach before the shots started, unfortunately the springbok shooters taste good so slip down easily (creme de menthe topped with amarula cream).

Fortunately as i was still under the weather i did not really partake so was a lot perkier than other team members emerging on the rest day!

So today we went to the lion park and saw lots of animals including the lions, tigers, chimps and caracals. 

  

The rest of the day was spent at the waterfront in cape town, which is stunning in the backdrop to table mountain

 

Tonight we analyzed videos of the teams performance and plan to use what we have learned from this in the final two team events, which are tomorrow

Better sign off at 0630 start tomorrow!

South Africa 2015 Day 1 of Competition

Guest blogger Tina as I'm in the shower!

so today was the first day of competition however the walls between our rooms are so thin that we (Jenna and I) are next too the lads and lets say they are not quiet in the bathroom!!!!!! which means not a peaceful start to the morning being woken up at 6.30am for breakfast and it's still dark. We had a Zulu tribal war dance at the official opening ceremony to get us in the mood for pegging.  the morning went well with all riders getting good scores.  another huge lunch then back for the pairs where team GB came third gaining a bronze medal.  I presented the medals which was fun only having the use of one fully functional arm.  we then went the scenic route to the shopping mail but somehow ended up in a coal depot!!!!  at the mail everyone had a quick shop and or coffee and cake they don't do portion control.  As I type this Jenna is trying to clear the flood of water from our shower room with her feet, if we need to use the facilities we may have to swim.

South Africa practice day

Quick update: I am here in Cape Town, South Africa for a World Cup Qualifier with manager Tina Ricketts-Smith, and riders Adrian Deane, Michael Smith and Peter Turland.

We started with a lovely breakfast at Le Bac and headed to the Mistico Equestrian Centre for a morning briefing.

Tina and Dalene headed to the airport to collect our 5th rider Bradley, who had been delayed due to BA being sticklers for paperwork.

In the mean time the brits checked out the track, whilst the South Africans did a team huddle (and then got distracted by our antics....)

The missing riders arrived and horse draw followed and because its winter here we had lots of cute hairy South African ponies lined up for the draw

Practice followed and i don't have any pictures! It was well organised and we dis 7 runs in total including rings and oranges, which was great way to warm up.

I started on a cute pony, but was swapped to Protem a bay pony. I have to say most ponies here are well behaved.... Well except for one who hadn't been ridden for some time and bucked in warm up, but fortunately Marni from South Africa was on that one!

Tonight was back to Mistico for a super dinner, but went to candle light due to a scheduled power outage

So you guys will have to make do with an african sunset as phones don't pick up much in the dark!

Final day of competition India 2015

Today started off grey and cold with rain, not quite what you expect in India, but we took it as a good omen for the British as this is our weather.

First up was Indian file, which we have been training hard for. This is the event where you ride one after another, as close as you can and pick up the correct peg in a single row.

The horses all arrived and the original plan was to put Sarah's horse first, as it was the fastest. However the grooms advised against this as said it wouldn't run straight so we quickly changed the order to me in front, Sarah, Michael and Rachel with the hardest job at the back.

First run with lance was good and we were level pegging in the lead with Sudan and no time penalties.

Second run was with sword, and we knew what Sudan had done and yes we picked up and were elated as we knew we couldn't be beaten by remaining teams, cue lots of celebrating in the GB camp as we had taken the gold.

Team lance followed, and whilst we put quite a few points on with Michael and I hitting 5/6 targets it was not quite enough to put us in the medals and Sudan won in style with multiple full houses.

I would also add that it rained hard at lunchtime and the event was delayed until the rain stopped, and then delayed further by a guy doing a display with a parachute and a fan strapped to his back.... frankly we were surprised the horses didn't panic as he was also dropping, confetti, rose petals and business cards all over the ground.

The overall championship and best rider went to Sudan, who are now a force to be reckoned with in the tentpegging world.

We got back at the hotel at 8pm and the gala dinner was at 8.30pm, however delayed to 9.30pm and we didn't get to eat until past 11pm. There is a strange tradition of presenting all the other teams with gifts for turning up, which is bizarre as you should really be thanking the organisers for hosting.

In all this was a good event for GB, and showed that we can hold our own against profession and government funded countries.

It would be great if the success here can help promote the sport back home in the UK.

Third day of competition - march 14, 2015

So i had a day off from blogging for our rest day. The team explored Delhi and discovered that by using the metro we could travel quicker and cheaper than via vehicle. We visited various shopping places and raced tuk tuks around Delhi and finished with dinner back in the hotel.

Today started with the pairs class, we paired myself and Sarah and Michael and Rachel, matching the speed of the horses.

Unfortunately i muffed up the sword, and only picked up one peg, so our chances were blown. Rachel and Michael got a full house first run, but got too excited and couldn't manage a repeat on the small ones.
India took Gold, Oman Silver and Sudan Bronze in the pairs.

Individual lance followed and it was again a knock out round, requiring 10 points to get into round B. Myself, Rachel and Michael all progressed to round B, which was a good result for the British.

it was the Grand Regency again for lunch, this time we also took carrots from the salad to give to the horses as treats, as polos and apples are refused by the Indian horses, but carrots are good.

Round B was a late start and delayed further due to the timing equipment playing up.  So its been a long day, again the GB team did well, but did not achieve perfection so unfortunately not in the medals today. Sudan dominated taking Gold and Silver with India taking the bronze.

Day 2 of competition India 2015

This morning we have got into a routine of going to breakfast at 7am to be on the bus for 8am.

This morning started with the oranges class. Which was interesting as the hooks of the gallows were the twisted steel that goes into reinforcing concrete, which was interesting as even if on target, chances are that you will hit steel.

Mr India is running well but in the oranges the performance was 50% due to rider error, but the oranges were different heights.

Gold was taken by Sudan, silver to India and bronze to the first timers Russia!

We have been wearing union jack stick on tattoos which seemed like a good idea and did look good.... the downside is the team now have an untanned patch on both arms!

We then started round A of individual sword, however you need 10 points to qualify for round B. Both Sarah and I managed to qualify for round B.

Lunch was at the Regency Hotel as usual, we have now become adept at getting our water supplies at lunch.

After lunch it was Sarah and myself up to run, the break does put you off your rythm , but i was pleased with picking up all small pegs. However with misses was out of the running as both Sudan and Germany managed full houses and won gold and silver respectively - its really nice to see Jenny from Germany winning a medal "girl power"!

Results so far:
Rings & peg: Gold Iraq, Silver Great Britain, Bronze India
Team Sword: Gold Iraq, Silver Sudan, Bronze Oman
Oranges: Gold Sudan, Silver India, Bronze Russia
Individual: Gold Sudan, Silver Germany, Bronze Oman

Day 1 of competition India 2015

This morning started with a good breakfast at the hotel, i have taken to drinking strawberry milk in the mornings.

The hotel is suffering from power cuts, which is slightly nerve wracking if you are in the lift.

When we got to the ground, all horses were present and correct and we got a 5th horse, but was bigger and looked angrier than Nakul , so I stuck with him.... in hindsight might not have been the smartest move!

We had one practice runs on pegs and Nakul was drifting left severely. So in rings i went one spur on the left, but managed achieve the second fastest time, but no where near the rings....

Second run i added a whip on the left, but failed once more to get anywhere near the gallows, but did slow him to 7.2sec (time allowed 7.5, first run was 6.77secs)

Sarah didn't far much better on Raja got no where near gallows on first run, but managed one ring before she drifted left on the second run.

Michael and Rachel had nice straight horses, and Michael went to town with the South African overarm technique and tied in first place with Osama of Iraq.

Next cam a nail biting run off gold and silver, with Michael taking the first run and did a beautiful run just dropping one ring and square on a 1" peg. However luck was against us and by a nip Osama managed both rings and a nick out of the side of the peg for a 2, so won by the two points!

However we are all still absolutely delighted with a silver medal in the first event of the day.

Next came team sword and I ditched Nakul on safety as didn't to wipe out my team, the Indians came trumps with "Mr India" a chestnut with the most floppy ears I have seen.

I was told he was good but slow, however on first team he turned into a pocket rocket and out raced the others.

I guess it depends on your definition of slow, but the grooms did say the have never seen hime run so fast!

Team sword was lucky for us, although when first faced with a huge crowd of hundreds, GB pulled it out of a bag for a full house, but we couldn't repeat the effort so no more medals today.

Some teams and certain managers are looking very pink after the first day under the Indian sun!

March 10, 2015

So first blog from India.

We arrived yesterday lunch time, taking the night flight, where virgin looked after us well, but it was hard to get quality sleep in economy!

We were met at the airport and joined team Kazakhstan on the bus ride to our hotel in Noida.

We were checked into JP hotel, which was comfortable with good hot showers. We did a bit of exploring in the afternoon and due to Elie from Lebanon got sucked into celebrating an indian wedding in the street.

Dinner was in the hotel and other than beer costing 400rps it was good

This morning we needed to change hotels to the one next door, the buildings are twins, but the chaos of moving teams with lots of kit showed. We have dropped all of our kit in one room and heading out, as it was too early to get the rooms sorted out.

Next up was a trip the the univeristy where the competition is being hosted. We went to an auditorium to hear from the organising committee and introduce the teams, the list is as follows:
Germany
Great Britian
India
Iraq
Kazakhstan
Jordan
Lebanon
Oman
Pakistan
Russia
Sudan
USA

Once we got through the introductions it was time for lunch. We went to the Grand Regency hotel for a buffet lunch

Horse selection and practiced followed

Day 27th jan 2015

Today we had an earlier start due to the heat
So headed to the course to start team lance. This was an interesting one as we hadn't had the chance to run this group of horses together, so we needed to work out who goes well.

Michael and peter were out the front with me and Adrian bringing up the rear with Adrians pony being enthusiastic and blotting its copy book with some rearing action.

Again our pegging is patchy, but we were still in with a chance after round A.

We had a long lunch break with plenty of time to chill by the pool, however this does mean my legs are looking a bit red tonight!!

Lunch was a traditional sudanese burger & chips, our diet this week could possibly explain why the GB ponies are getting slower, but was very good nevertheless.

Round B of team lance was a mixed bag for us and we were absolutely gutted to lose bronze to Qatar by 1 point!

Pairs was next and I paired with Peter, whilst Adrian and Michael ran together. Sadly i let the side down with a 2 not 6 on lance, and we were out of the medals again!

So we are so close, but so far, however are all hungry for a win and are out for a fight tomorrow!

Dinner tonight was in the hotel, which was nice to relax, although i am still complaining about being cold due to fierce air con!

Rest day 26th Jan 2015

Today we are on our rest day, so following a later breakfast at 9am we were off to the market

Lots of interesting things to be bought, but as usual Michael lead the way in the shopping department

Lunch was an egyptian restaurant and we had lots of food, but weren't really sure what it was!!

In the afternoon we headed to the army military academy to watch army and navy cadets pass out. They were both from sudan and Libiya

This evening i've gone to bed early to see if it improves performance!

Evening 25th Jan 2015

Well lets just say this is a day i'd like to forget

After a quick swim to refresh at lunchtime, round 2 was going to start at 4:30pm sharp....
So the british baked in 37oC waiting to start as we were first on... it got pushed to 5pm and then finally started at 5:15pm. The cameras were there, but couldn't see a van so not convinced the live tv was accurate...

Anyway after we were nicely sweaty lets just say we didn't cover ourselves in glory... especially me!

For oranges i swapped to a different  horse, as my stallion won't do teams as too risky, given that he kicks and attacks.

First run was good both oranges but reached for the peg and missed. Then second run my line was bad, i used my legs over corrected made a total hash of it (he moves more with leg pressure than the other horse) and ended up with a big fat zero

Its day off tomorrow and Tina is threatening push ups by the pool as punishment!!

This evening was dinner at a lebanese restaurant, because we are so hungry by 10pm the british haven't managed to restrain themselves on starters so consequently feel incredibly stuffed most of the time.

The food so far has been amazing, all fresh and really good flavours... however this would not be a good trip for vegetarians or those with nut allergies!

Morning 25th Jan 2015

Well this morning is individual sword, all the team doing well apart from me, with 3 zeros i am curently trying to get sports physiology going, but do feel very despondent.

However getting tips from Mansoor and General Atef, so i will try my best to recover my dignty this afternoon

We had a good crowd and lots of cheering from school children

This afternoons session will be broadcast live on Sudan TV at 4.30pm (1.30pm GMT), you can watch live via the internet

Breakfast

Breakfast picture

Evening 24th Jan 2015

Lunch was sudanese BBQ where fresh meat was cooked for you. We had lamb, beef, and lambs liver... latter not being my favourite but was apparently very good.

I also got a taste for a local drink a mix of 7up and yogurt

After lunch we had a cool off in the pool as temperatures topped 35oC today and are forecasted to hit 37oC tomorrow!

We meet back at the ground at 4pm and started on round 2 of individual lance, having beaten myself up over this mornings performance i was pleased to pick up all my pegs.

Next came rings and peg, and all brits scored, but we didn't manage a full house, but everyone put in lots of points.

The evening was the official opening ceremony, with lots of speeches, presentations and sudanese dancing

Ind Lance Results:
Gold Egypt
Silver Qatar
Bronze Egypt

Rings
Gold, silver & bronze: Sudan

Morning 24th Jan 2015

Round one of individual lance completed. A mixed bag from team GB everyone is scoring, but Michael is the only one a full house so far

Egypt is leading, followed by Sudan, GB is closely behind and Qatar is brining up the rear.

Grooms on horses, guess which is mine.....

Horse selection 23rd jan

Just a quick one tonight

Today we had breakfast followed by a good session in the pool and even used a ball for some team bonding

Lunch followed in  rather interesting safari restaurant, where the food was excellent, but despite being outdoors I got cold in 33oC due to a misting system which sprayed water on you. However this combined with a bad fan position meant I got drenched and cold...... I am the one on the team that loves the heat!!!

Then after a quick change and grabbing our gear we headed to the track for the introduction and horse draw. This is the first competition under ITPF rules, so there were a few changes to highlight

Manager Tina does the running order draw and GB are first on!

Peter draws for his horse, carefully watched by Tina!

The horse draw was a bit complicated as the first horse we drew was very lame, they are all stallions so possible it had just been kicked.  After the rounds we ended up with a pony chestnut for Adrian guessing about 14hh at a push or smaller, a grey for Peter - Slightly bigger maybe 14.1hh, a Grey which was bigger for Michael and being greedy I have two horses which are both 14.3hh/15hh ish.  A bay who runs well and is fast and smooth, however is a horror waiting around and has a penchant for picking fights with any nearby horse and a chestnut who was a bit bouncy to stop, but is slower with a more lumpy gait, but is so much easier to handle

Worth bearing in mind these are all stallions, so prone to fighting if they get a chance!

Stock saddles are the name of the game with 3 out of 4 riders bringing Norton synthetic stock saddles with them (available from www.cotswoldsport.co.uk). These give added security and its nice to ride in a saddle you know

Practice went well although was under floodlights and the dry sand did produce a challenging haze when trying to see the peg.

Dinner was at a fish restaurant and was amazing with fresh local fish

So the competition begins tomorrow with Individual lance and rings.