The Slower Road

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.

May 16, 2009

coaching and more

Posted by Jennifer under Windsor
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Yesterday was another beautiful day at the horse show. Beautiful in terms of what we watched – the weather was, shall we say, variable. Fortunately for a couple of us, when it did briefly pour down with rain, we had just sat down under a tent to eat lunch. Then it started to sprinkle, then rain, then pour, and a multitude of people crowded into the tent. Luckily, the rain didn’t last very long and, of course, the horse show continued throughout. Unluckily for everyone involved with the coaching marathon, all the coaches had started to assemble for their drive into the main arena when the downpour commenced.

Undaunted, the nearly twenty coaches trotted smartly into the main arena at their appointed time, where they lined up for the judges’ inspection. There were three regimental coaches, four road coaches, and a large number of private coaches / park drags. Once the two judges (Jack Pemberton and John Parker) had a good look at them all, they left for their drive through the park.

One of the members of our group, Dr. Gibelli (president of the Coaching Club in Argentina), had been asked to judge the coach horn competition, and I was lucky enough to be able to ride along with him. Dr. Gibelli, Jill, Bob (who was our navigator and who held the Union Jack at our stops, which was the horn blowers’ signal to play), and I piled into our official Land Rover with our driver, and off we went. Because anyone who’s important at this show is driven around in an official Land Rover, it was kind of funny to see horse-show spectators peering in as we drove by, to see who might be in the car.

The judges were in their own Land Rover, and we all went to a variety of stops. We stopped along the “Long Walk” and along a road in the interior of the park, where, of course, we heard all the coach horns being played. Mr. Pemberton and Mr. Parker, on the other hand, stopped at more places, to watch how the horses were going, to see how the drivers and horses handled a variety of turns, etc.

At the end of the several-miles drive, the coaches all lined up again and came into the main arena in a group for their final judging and awards.

three of the many coaches, heading down the Long Walk, with a portion of Windsor Castle in the background

four of the many coaches, heading down the Long Walk, with a portion of Windsor Castle in the background

Bill Ginns, here driving his park drag with the castle in the background, won the private coach division

Danny Kindle, driving the Household Cavalry’s coach, won the regimental coach division; he also won the award for the best turnout and was declared reserve champion overall

Bob Alexander won the road coach division and was declared overall coaching champion

Bob Elliot won the coach horn award; he was the guard on Ian Smith’s original road coach, driven by Ken Ruthven

Later that afternoon, several members of our group met with Karen Bassett, one of the British four-in-hand drivers, who very kindly took us on a course walk of most of the marathon obstacles. She explained all the ins and outs of driving marathon obstacles and answered everyone’s questions. She also told us that, unfortunately, one of her best horses, a wheeler, had come up lame the day before and might not be able to compete in the marathon. Which would mean that she would have to move a horse that normally goes in the lead into the vacant wheeler position. This particular horse has never been at the wheel, so she’s not sure what to expect on the marathon today. The “problem” with this scenario, as Karen explained it, is that you normally don’t want the leaders to actually do any real pulling. The wheelers are the powerhouse workers, and the leaders, if they’re not really pulling, allow better articulation of the turns in the obstacles. So putting a leader in a wheel spot is a challenge because that horse is now being asked to work harder and pull the carriage around: something it’s not used to having to do. We’ll see what happens today on the marathon!

Additional scenes from the show:

the judge riding one of the entries in a cob class

competitors lined up and awaiting their turn in the tent-pegging competition; in this class, they gallop across the arena, two at a time, and attempt to spear (and pick up) what appears to be a chunk of styrofoam on the ground

one of the tent-pegging competitors; unfortunately, she’s just missed the mark (you can see the styrofoam by her horses’ front hooves)

Windsor Castle at night, from the Eton side of the river

May 15, 2009

a full day at the show

Posted by Jennifer under competitions, RWHS, travel / destinations, Windsor
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Yesterday (Thursday) was a long, full day at the horse show.

The members of our group went their separate ways to find the things they most wanted to see. And there were so many choices!

First, there were the horse pairs and pony four-in-hand teams in the FEI driving event … they had their dressage tests yesterday (all the many horse teams will go today). The only American competing in this event this year is Miranda (“Randy”) Cadwell, who right now sits in fifth place out of 21, with a dressage score of 54.78 penalty points.

In the other three rings of the horse show were such diverse classes as jumping, riding horses, “fancy dress” for riders with disabilities, light trade turnouts, hackneys, polo ponies, driving for the disabled, hunters, mounted games, and more (see the photos below).

Each year, the layout of the venue changes ever so slightly, so that I always spend part of the first day at the show getting my bearings. This year, in the middle of the circle created by the three rings and the warmup areas, and next to the vendors and food court, is a big display of military vehicles. Most of these are open for peering or even climbing into.

one of the competitors in the riding horse championship is standing here in the collecting ring, and on the other side of the rail is an RAF plane on display

one of the competitors in the riding horse championship is standing here in the collecting ring, and on the other side of the rail is an RAF plane simulator on display

one of the colorful turnouts in the light-trade class

… and a different sort of milk-delivery wagon from the one above

this butcher’s cart won the two-wheel division and was reserve champion overall; they won the championship a couple of years ago

these were the champions in the light-trade turnout class: T. Cribbs and Sons’ funeral service delivery van (they won the class last year as well)

a competitor in the “heavyweight hunter” class

this hackney pony was declared reserve champion for the hackney division (check back for the pony's name because, after I've touted it, the show's website doesn't have these results posted yet)

the Hackney pony Westbourne Hi-Tec (a 5-year-old stallion by Plaistow Pippit, owned by Mr. E.A. Ward) was declared reserve champion in the hackney division

... and the champion in the hackney division (check back for the horse's name because, after I've touted it, the show's website doesn't have these results posted yet)

… and the champion: the Hackney horse Forewood Brave Heart (an 8-year-old stallion by Heldon Expectations, owned by Mr. J. Wenham)

one of the exciting classes of the afternoon was a team jump-off between various hunts; for the awards, these hounds were in the ring as well and led the way for the victory gallop

one of the exciting classes of the afternoon was a team jump-off between a number of hunts; these hounds were in the ring for the awards ceremony, and they led the way for the victory gallop

Near the end of the day, many in the group made our traditional trek under the Victoria Bridge, over to the stable area, and on to the Bowman/Fawcett “camp” for drinks and a visit. The Bowmans are actually not here this year, but the Fawcetts did a marvelous job of making the Pim’s in their stead! We all had a nice chat under the trees by the river. That part of the stable area, where the caravans park by the Thames, is always very peaceful and friendly. While we were there, several of the group met and struck up a conversation with a woman and her family, returning to their horse box from the arena. She had shown her “coloured” horse (pony-sized, actually) in the in-hand class. He was an adorable youngster, only two and a half, that she had bought from the gypsies when he was six months old. Someone offered him a bit of his Pim’s cup, and the young pony was only too happy to have a slurp or two.

Later that evening, at least two members of our group who had so enjoyed the tattoo the night before went back again. Unfortunately, it poured rain for about ten minutes in the middle of the performance, but then it let up. We’ll hope it didn’t put too much of a damper on the festivities.

Today is the coaching marathon and such diverse horse-show classes as tent-pegging and skill-at-arms.

For combined driving or other horse-show results, don’t forget to check www.rwhs.co.uk or www.hoefnet.com.

May 14, 2009

the tattoo

Posted by Jennifer under travel / destinations, Windsor
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Last night, we went to the Windsor Castle Royal Tattoo — a spectacular nighttime show featuring military bands, horses, and military tributes.

On the horse side of things, we saw the always-thrilling musical drive of the King’s Troop and the musical ride of the Household Cavalry. If you’ve never seen the King’s Troop, they have about 75 or so horses and six guns in the main arena. They do an exciting pattern of driving the guns (each one hitched to six horses) around the arena and (at high speed) across the diagonal from alternating sides. Near the end of the show, they unhitch the guns, take all the horses to the other end of the arena, and then shoot off all six guns, one at a time and then all together. The smoke from the guns is quite impressive at night! Once the guns are hitched back up and the show almost over, each team (six horses pulling a gun, with three riders behind) takes turns exiting the arena at a full gallop. The Household Cavalry, in their traditional uniforms, performed their own thrilling show, with the drum horse at the center. They also had four “trick” riders … at one point, two of the “trick” riders were each being circled by half of the cavalry riders. The “trick” riders made their horses lie down and then lay their heads in the riders’ laps (they were sitting on the ground at this point). Then, on cue, the horses jumped halfway up, the riders got on, and the horses leaped up the rest of the way. I’m not sure what the purpose of this is/was, but it was impressive nonetheless. At the very end of this performance, the cavalry galloped out of the arena in small groups. Then each of the “trick” riders galloped out, one at a time, each carrying a flag. At a full gallop, the flags streamed straight out behind them. First went the English flag, then the Scottish and the Welsh, and finally the British flag. This final one received a really loud cheer from the crowd.

We were also treated to a number of impressive military bands, from here and abroad. There was a fife and drum corps and drill team from Denmark and a marching steel drum band from Trinidad and Tabago. The Royal Air Force’s concert jazz band played some lively swing music. The Royal Navy band played while students from the Navy’s physical fitness school (or somesuch, I don’t remember the exact name) danced the hornpipe. And, of course, the military marching bands from the various branches of the Army and Marines thrilled the crowd, as did the massed bagpipe band.

Sorry for the lack of pictures from the tattoo, but we were sitting too far away for photos. As soon as I finish this, I’m heading over to the show, so we will have photos of today’s events!

If you want to follow the show results, don’t forget to check www.rwhs.co.uk. You can also find results for this weekend’s FEI driving event at www.hoefnet.com.

May 13, 2009

if it’s raining, we must be in England

Posted by Jennifer under travel / destinations, Windsor
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I’ve been here in Windsor for a few days now … glorious, warm, sunshine-y days. Then a cool breeze set in. And now that today is the first full day of our CAA trip, it’s of course turned misty and rainy. As I’m writing this, it looks dry outside, but it’s still gray. As long as it doesn’t actually set in and rain, we’ll do just fine.

On our CAA trip this year, we have a group of nearly 30 people from across the U.S., Canada, Bermuda, Argentina, England, and even Austria. That number includes me and our intrepid group leader, Jill. Nearly everyone arrived here in Windsor yesterday, and so our first group activity was (of course!) afternoon tea. After a short walking tour of Windsor and Eton, everyone met at a quaint restaurant known as the “Crooked House.”

it’s easy to see why the “Crooked House” was given its name

And here’s what one of our three tables looked like after we’d had our fill of tea, sandwiches, scones with clotted cream and jam, and fruit cake:

these are just the leftovers, after we’d enjoyed a typical afternoon tea

This morning, the group had a behind-the-scenes tour of the King’s Troop Royal Horse Artillery, which is stabled in the Royal Mews for the duration of the horse show this week. Normally, the troop is stabled and stationed in London.

The King’s Troop will perform its famous “musical drive” once each evening during the military Tattoo and then one final time on Sunday afternoon. After our tour guide met us and led us through the guarded gate into the mews, we were given a brief history lesson on the troop and then taken to see various areas: the farriers’ shop, one of the harness-cleaning rooms, some of the stables, and the indoor riding school, where the six guns are stored (and cleaned) during the week.

Each morning while here, the King’s Troop has taken its horses out for about 30 minutes of exercise. We learned on our tour that, when they’re at home in London, they go for a similar exercise walk each day for an hour and a half.

a portion of the large contingent of King’s Troops horses, leaving the Royal Mews this morning for their daily exercise walk

another section of the long line of King’s Troop horses, walking on the grass beside the Long Walk; each rider is leading two other horses

In a very slight departure from my practice of years past, my plan for the blog for this trip is NOT to run through each day’s results. We’ve been informed that the results will be uploaded to the show’s website almost immediately as they happen, so if you do want to follow the results, you’ll be able to look them up faster than I would be able to get them to you through the blog. What I’ll be doing instead is trying to give you some of the “flavor” of this incredible horse show, and let you know what we’ve been up to on the CAA trip. If you followed the blog while we were in Spain, you already know that there will be lots of photos! To check the results from any of the horse show classes, visit www.rwhs.co.uk. If you have any questions about the show, or if you can’t find specific results that you’re looking for, post a comment here, and I’ll see what I can do.

Cheers!