Badminton - part 1
We arrived in Wiltshire in the dead of night after a two and half hour drive from London. It always seems to take longer driving to our destination than it does driving back.
J stayed awake for the entire journey much to my dismay so I knew he would be extremely tired the following day. He said he wishes he had a Pegasus so that he could fly over all the traffic - that made me smile.
Knowing how expensive these events can be I came prepared with a cool box full of goodies to sustain us throughout the day. I knew there would be a lot of walking but I hadn't anticipated quite how much walking there would be.
We set off early-ish on the ten minuet dive to Badminton Horse Trials and paid the £14 car park fee. We joked how it was the most expensive fee we have ever had to pay to park in a field. Thank goodness this wasn't held in London as it would be doubly costly.
After embarrassingly walking in on a local farmer relieving himself in a porta loo with a broken door we quickly made our apologies and headed into the event.
It was ginormous!
Being new to the world of eventing I wasn't quite sure what to expect. My mind was blown by that very jump which was where we were to meet Gold Medalist Ros Canter, even if we were an hour or so early! Not that we were excited or anything.
I have to admit I did a bit of research on Ros before hand and am so impressed by her riding resume. She has quite the collection of horses and medals to boot!
Due to being so early J was already itching to go shopping and see the prestigious horses which were partaking in the dressage test that day. So while we waited we took some snaps.
As the crowd began to grow so did the anticipation for meeting Ros and when the representative from Jump4Joy Show Jumps introduced her I was in awe of how petit she appeared, despite being heavily pregnant also. It showed me how much strength one really needs to ride at this professional level. It was quite daunting actually.
Walking to the next fence I began to realise how technical cross country riding really is. There were other competitors, with their green armbands, walking the course with a metre counter and calculating every possible angle and approach.
We learnt fast how uneven the ground was which was a particular design by Eric Winter who said that this years clockwise course design, with its undulating ground at the start, was by far his favourite.
I personally found the information which Ros talked about insightful and inspiring. In particular how different horses would approach the same fence and how the rider calculates the most appropriate angle on entry for the best opportunity on exit/landing.. I found it really helpful when she voiced that there was only so much a rider can do to line the horse up, keep the steady pace, but eventually you have to not hold back and give it over to the horse. I reiterated this to J over and over as he is forever holding B back as he tries to hold on. Thus restricting B's natural movement.
When Ros stated that it's best to make the turn before the jump than after you can save time - literally seconds - I could picture J bending B into the correct position for take off.
Oh how I wish I could ride even an ounce like Ros!
I just wish I had the funds - and the balls!
These jumps are NOT for the faint hearted I can assure you.
J found it all particularly hard going - in all honesty I am not sure it was entirely suitable for children. Though as you saw in the pictures above he was thoroughly engrossed in taking pictures of the jumps as Ros demonstrated how many strides she would estimate before taking off and where she would be exiting the jump to head out on the correct lead towards the next jump.
Not only did J struggle with all the walking (with his dyspraxia etc). He found all the technical talk a little overwhelming. That and the fact that he had to remain focussed and well behaved for an hour physically and mentally drained the little mite. But I was so proud of his good behaviour and good manners. As I say to the children I teach 'manners don't cost anything'.
J doesn't tend to do well in crowds though he is improving tremendously. He tried his hardest to keep up and I tried my hardest to explain things in child-speak. I do believe he took a lot away from the walk and meeting Ros even if he was a little star struck when we spoke to her personally about being new pony owners. She asked him if he was loving having Boston and in true J style he said "yes and no" - I added quickly about the difficulties we have had and asked if she remembered her first pony to which she replied "oh yes of course".
We talked about how Ros is expecting her first child and I asked about riding while pregnant - no I do not have any news to share ;-) I was just curious. Ros explained that she rode until quite late on but now she finds it too uncomfortable.
I wasn't entirely sure of the etiquette regarding photographs and autographs so we politely stood in a group photo and took a few sneaky selfies.
This all happened by midday.
Thank you Ros Canter and Jump4Joy for such a great day :-) J now wants to make his own set of show jumps to get himself and B ready for Badminton - or at least the local hunter trials first!
Keep an eye out for Badminton - Part 2 where we met another famous person....
Until then, take care.
KJB
xxx
*You can follow Ros Canter on Twitter @cantereventing
**You can follow Jump4Joy showjumps on Twitter @jump4joyjumps
J stayed awake for the entire journey much to my dismay so I knew he would be extremely tired the following day. He said he wishes he had a Pegasus so that he could fly over all the traffic - that made me smile.
Knowing how expensive these events can be I came prepared with a cool box full of goodies to sustain us throughout the day. I knew there would be a lot of walking but I hadn't anticipated quite how much walking there would be.
We set off early-ish on the ten minuet dive to Badminton Horse Trials and paid the £14 car park fee. We joked how it was the most expensive fee we have ever had to pay to park in a field. Thank goodness this wasn't held in London as it would be doubly costly.
After embarrassingly walking in on a local farmer relieving himself in a porta loo with a broken door we quickly made our apologies and headed into the event.
It was ginormous!
 |
| Fence 2 The Keepers Question. |
Bigger than Bolesworth, The Liverpool International Horse Show and Olympia jumps we have seen before J couldn't believe how the horses could jump higher than he and wider than when he stretched his arms out.
Being new to the world of eventing I wasn't quite sure what to expect. My mind was blown by that very jump which was where we were to meet Gold Medalist Ros Canter, even if we were an hour or so early! Not that we were excited or anything.
I have to admit I did a bit of research on Ros before hand and am so impressed by her riding resume. She has quite the collection of horses and medals to boot!
Due to being so early J was already itching to go shopping and see the prestigious horses which were partaking in the dressage test that day. So while we waited we took some snaps.
 |
| I believe this is Nicola Wilson for GBR - please correct me if I am wrong. |
 |
I love how J caputured this horse in action.
You can see ever intricate detail of these magnificent creatures.
Takes my breath away.
|
 |
| J was fascinated with the quarter marks and can't wait to try it out on B. |
As the crowd began to grow so did the anticipation for meeting Ros and when the representative from Jump4Joy Show Jumps introduced her I was in awe of how petit she appeared, despite being heavily pregnant also. It showed me how much strength one really needs to ride at this professional level. It was quite daunting actually.
Walking to the next fence I began to realise how technical cross country riding really is. There were other competitors, with their green armbands, walking the course with a metre counter and calculating every possible angle and approach.
We learnt fast how uneven the ground was which was a particular design by Eric Winter who said that this years clockwise course design, with its undulating ground at the start, was by far his favourite.
I personally found the information which Ros talked about insightful and inspiring. In particular how different horses would approach the same fence and how the rider calculates the most appropriate angle on entry for the best opportunity on exit/landing.. I found it really helpful when she voiced that there was only so much a rider can do to line the horse up, keep the steady pace, but eventually you have to not hold back and give it over to the horse. I reiterated this to J over and over as he is forever holding B back as he tries to hold on. Thus restricting B's natural movement.
When Ros stated that it's best to make the turn before the jump than after you can save time - literally seconds - I could picture J bending B into the correct position for take off.
Oh how I wish I could ride even an ounce like Ros!
I just wish I had the funds - and the balls!
These jumps are NOT for the faint hearted I can assure you.
J found it all particularly hard going - in all honesty I am not sure it was entirely suitable for children. Though as you saw in the pictures above he was thoroughly engrossed in taking pictures of the jumps as Ros demonstrated how many strides she would estimate before taking off and where she would be exiting the jump to head out on the correct lead towards the next jump.
Not only did J struggle with all the walking (with his dyspraxia etc). He found all the technical talk a little overwhelming. That and the fact that he had to remain focussed and well behaved for an hour physically and mentally drained the little mite. But I was so proud of his good behaviour and good manners. As I say to the children I teach 'manners don't cost anything'.
J doesn't tend to do well in crowds though he is improving tremendously. He tried his hardest to keep up and I tried my hardest to explain things in child-speak. I do believe he took a lot away from the walk and meeting Ros even if he was a little star struck when we spoke to her personally about being new pony owners. She asked him if he was loving having Boston and in true J style he said "yes and no" - I added quickly about the difficulties we have had and asked if she remembered her first pony to which she replied "oh yes of course".
We talked about how Ros is expecting her first child and I asked about riding while pregnant - no I do not have any news to share ;-) I was just curious. Ros explained that she rode until quite late on but now she finds it too uncomfortable.
I wasn't entirely sure of the etiquette regarding photographs and autographs so we politely stood in a group photo and took a few sneaky selfies.
This all happened by midday.
Thank you Ros Canter and Jump4Joy for such a great day :-) J now wants to make his own set of show jumps to get himself and B ready for Badminton - or at least the local hunter trials first!
Keep an eye out for Badminton - Part 2 where we met another famous person....
Until then, take care.
KJB
xxx
*You can follow Ros Canter on Twitter @cantereventing
**You can follow Jump4Joy showjumps on Twitter @jump4joyjumps
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