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
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.
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.
Good luck team GB xxx
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