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May 11, 2012

an unexpected day

Posted by Jennifer under RWHS, Windsor | Tags: postaday |
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As I mentioned in this morning’s quick post, everyone’s horse-show-viewing schedules were disrupted when a number of today’s classes, including the coaching marathon, were cancelled due to heavy, deep mud in the truck- and horse-trailer-parking area.

But we all found other things to do.

First, of course, were the dressage tests for the pair-horse class in the FEI driving competition. You can see how muddy the arena was in these photos, and don’t forget that you can read about the competition, get results, and see more photos at www.hoefnet.com.

Misdee Wrigley Miller

look at all the mud on Beat Schenk’s wheels!

Then, there were all sorts of other horse-show classes:

this Highland Pony won its class and its division and is owned by …

… HM The Queen, who was standing by the rail and watching the class

the exciting “skill at arms” class includes stabbing things with sabres (shown here), shooting balloons with a pistol …

… and tent-pegging (shown here); we’ll have much more on this topic in a separate post

Scattered throughout the schedule (with more added today when several regular classes were cancelled) were demos by some of the foreign groups scheduled to perform each night in the Jubilee Pageant, including …

… riders from Oman …

… Arabian horses from Azerbaijan …

… and expert sword-wielding, um, riders from Russia

Of course, the huge trade fair kept everyone (including us!) busy with shopping, meeting new friends, and seeing old friends. I’ll have more on that topic soon!

And, finally, just for fun: a quick look at some of today’s horse-show mud:

NOTE one correction in yesterday’s post: I had said the people in the final photo were from the Cook Islands. They are, in fact, from Kenya.

May 11, 2012

too much mud

Posted by Jennifer under RWHS, Windsor | Tags: postaday |
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Today’s weather is, in fact, glorious. Unfortunately, all the previous rain and mud have led the organizers to close the grass parking areas. This decision also affects those competitors who trailer-in for the day. Heartbreaking for them, I’m sure, but still better than getting their lorries, trucks, and horse trailers stuck in the mud!

Sadly, the trailering-in-for-the-day crowd includes the nearly twenty coaches that were expected to compete in today’s now-cancelled coaching marathon.

We’ll see what else is going on at the show today!

May 10, 2012

our first day at the show

Posted by Jennifer under RWHS, Windsor | Tags: postaday |
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Our run of good luck with the weather ended today. Have you seen the photo of Boyd Exell on www.hoefnet.com? He performed his dressage test in a downpour. By the end of the afternoon, previous rains, today’s rain, pedestrians, cars, and horses had turned the showgrounds into a slimy, muddy mess, with standing water in (multiple) spots. But, as A.J. said, one can hardly travel to England and not expect it to rain. We all still had fun!

Here are a few photos from the day:

entries in the Disabled Riders Fancy Dress class are stables and clubs that provide therapeutic riding; each club makes its own costumes, for pony, rider(s), and walkers

this club had, as you may have guessed, an American theme; their other two walkers were a football player and Abraham Lincoln

English knights!

this beautiful cottage faces the Thames and sits near the driven-dressage arena

Laurie Astegiano was the first of two U.S. drivers to go; helping her with last-minute details before her test are (l. to r.) Todd Draheim, U.S. coach Michael Freund, Katie Whaley, and Misdee Wrigley Miller, who will drive her dressage test tomorrow morning

CAA member Mia Allo, of Belgium, drove her four-in-hand team of ponies

while warming up for his dressage test, Spanish driver Juan Antonio Real Garcia had a passenger sporting bright red boots (I’m guessing this must be his daughter)

no matter the dress code for the members’ enclosure, VIP parties, or the Jubilee Pageant, wellies are always acceptable attire (the height of fashion, even) when there is this much mud everywhere

these are my feet (warm and dry despite all the mud and standing water!); I’m sooooo glad we brought our wellies to England with us! (photo by A.J.)

many of the participants in the Jubilee Pageant are also performing during the day at the horse show, showcasing their country’s horses, culture, dances, etc.; this group (obviously on a break) is from Kenya

The Light Trade class was today as well, but I haven’t had a chance to sort through all those photos yet, so I’ll post them later! Tomorrow is the always-beautiful coaching marathon, and the weather forecasters are promising that the worst of the rain was today, so keep your fingers crossed.

May 20, 2009

the final day of the show

Posted by Jennifer under competitions, RWHS, travel / destinations, Windsor
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The final day of this year’s Royal Windsor Horse Show was as exciting as you might expect. With the final phase of the FEI driving, the beautiful “private drive” of the British Driving Society, and final rounds and championships in many of the show’s most popular classes, there was a lot to see. I missed most of the show jumping, unfortunately, but some of the biggest classes, including the grand prix, are held on the final Sunday of the show.

The weather on Sunday was variable. I awoke to bright sunshine, and then by a bit later in the morning, it was pouring rain. The rain was so steady and the clouds so solid that it looked as if it were set in for the day, but by late morning it had blown over and the sun was back out. Then, in the early afternoon, it rained again, and then cleared up again. And on and on it went. As you might imagine with all this rain blowing in and out, it was really quite windy.

In the FEI driving, the rain, hooves, and carriage wheels had turned the warm-up area into a sea of mud, and the carriage cleaners must’ve had quite a job at the end of the day! When everything was finished, Dieter Hoefs of Germany had won the pony four-in-hand division with a score of 170.89, Beat Schenk of Switzerland had won the horse pair division with a score of 130.98, and the reigning world champion, Ysbrand Chardon of the Netherlands, had won the horse four-in-hand division with a score of 134.09. In the horse pairs, American driver Randy Cadwell finished in 9th place overall, with a score of 154.57. In the middle of the afternoon in the main arena, HM The Queen presented the awards to the winners of the FEI driving competition.

American driver Randy Cadwell on the cones course with her pair of horses

in the horse pair division, Austria's Isidor Weber won the cones phase and finished sixth overall; his horses are owned by one of the members of our CAA group at the show

in the horse pair division, Austria’s Isidor Weber (shown here on the cones course) won the cones phase and finished sixth overall; his horses are owned by one of the members of our CAA group at the show

Ysbrand Chardon, saluting the crowd and celebrating his victory after the awards ceremony in the main arena

In the early afternoon, a large number of beautiful turnouts gathered in one of the arenas and then left for a lovely (and, unfortunately, rainy) long drive through the park. This annual class in composed of BDS members and is judged as a concours d’elegance of sorts. The judge each year is an artist (this year, it was Joy Claxton), and her task is to pick the turnout that makes the lovliest picture, the one she’d most like to paint.

as is tradition, HRH Prince Philip led the way for the BDS drive

a long line of carriages, heading out of the showgrounds and into the park for their annual drive

Some of the highlights from the rest of the day:

one of the several packs in the annual meet of the hounds

the members of the team from England celebrate their victory in the Pony Club games, which go on throughout the show (with the final on Sunday) and which pit England against teams from Wales, Scotland, Ireland, and Northern Ireland

a bit of the excitement from the final round of the Shetland Pony Grand National (look at the jumping form of that gray pony!!)

a bit of the excitement from the final round of the Shetland Pony Grand National (look at that gray pony’s form!!)

In the evening, our CAA group met one last time for a farewell dinner. We enjoyed a traditional British Sunday dinner of roast beef, Yorkshire pudding, and vegetables. Speeches were given, stories shared, and then, sadly, goodbyes made. We’ll be back again next year with a new group of travelers and, in the meantime, we’ll be traveling to Germany in August for the 2009 FEI World Pony Driving Championships and to Argentina in November. Whether in person or here on the travel blog, we hope you’ll join us!

May 17, 2009

an exciting FEI marathon

Posted by Jennifer under coaching, competitions, RWHS, travel / destinations, Windsor
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Saturday was, of course, marathon day for the FEI drivers: 7 pony four-in-hand teams, 21 horse pairs, and 24 teams of horses (there are no single horses, single ponies, or pairs of ponies at the competition this year). The weather was good, with a few sprinkles but mostly just alternating clouds and sun, and quite a lot of wind. The several hills in and out of the water at the final obstacle, though, had turned to deep, slippery muck by the end of the afternoon. For most of the day, I stayed at the end of this obstacle where the drivers both enter and exit, as I’ve found over the years that I really like the photos I can get there. I did, though, stop at a few other obstacles on my way to the water. One new one is on a slight rise so that the posts and rails are about at eye level, making it a bit hard to see what the horses are doing inside the wooden maze. Another is actually set down into a depression, so this one is easier to watch. The “depression” at this obstacle is, as I understand it, known as the ice rink because it would be flooded with water in the winter and allowed to freeze, at which point Queen Victoria could watch from the castle windows as her grandchildren ice-skated. Of course, this was long before all the trees there now were either planted or allowed to grow.

George Bowman IV (known as “Young George” because he’s the son of the famous George Bowman) had one of the fastest times of the day through the water obstacle.

George Bowman IV, on his way out of the water obstacle

Near the end of the day, both Pippa Bassett (GB) and Boyd Exell (Australia) had a horse slip and fall coming up the muddy bank out of the water, but both horses appeared to be fine as they left. By the end of the marathon phase, Boyd had overtaken the lead from Ysbrand Chardon (Netherlands), the current world champion, who had led after dressage. We’ll have to see what today brings in the cones.

The current world champion, Ysbrand Chardon of the Netherlands, in the water obstacle

The current world champion, Ysbrand Chardon, in the water obstacle

After the first two phases, Randy Cadwell (USA) currently stands in seventh place overall.

Also on tap yesterday at the show were more show classes, more jumping, the “best turned out trooper” class for the mounted cavalry, service team show jumping (military, police, etc. making up the teams), the Shetland pony steeplechase, and more.

one of the competitors in the "best turned out trooper" class, waiting to go into the main arena

a competitor in the “best turned out trooper” class, waiting to go into the main arena

There were considerably more people attending the show, too, because of the fine, dry weather and because it was Saturday. I walked through the military section of the vendor area, where all the equipment is on display, and there was a tremendous amount of activity: people lined up to go on the various simulators, kids exploring the insides of helicopters and personnel carriers, army cooks making pancakes to give away, push-up contests, kids getting their faces painted with camouflage paint, target shooting, and more. And this in addition to all the booths promoting the various military branches and units. And the vendor area was, as you might imagine, teeming with people.

Today is the grand finale: the cones phase of the FEI event, the BDS private drive, the final round of the Shetland Pony Grand National (steeplechase), the delightful meet of the hounds, the Alltech Royal Windsor Grand Prix (jumping), and more, including a daytime performance of the musical drive of the King’s Troop. And, for our group, a farewell dinner. So I’ll have one more report after all that, and then I’ll be heading home.

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