Christy Reich of El Campeon Farms reports from Hong Kong
Sunday, August 17th
Second night of jumping
It's a hot, steamy night here at Sha Tin. I think the heat will play a factor in the performances of the heavier/more cold blooded horses over the course of this next week. Fortunately, Carlsson is light and hot but is at a great focused level. Will spent the day with his family. They encourage the team to go out and do things during the day so they they don't get too wound up waiting for the evening to begin.
76 horses will start tonight. The strong showing of the US team on Friday night gave them the advantage of going in the last group with Authentic and Beezie going last. The jumps are georgeous- it will be interesting to see what the horses will react to.
The water jump is one of the toughest anyone has seen. It's big, right after a narrow jump off a bending line and the lights are so bright that the reflection must be intense. It has taken it's toll on the majority of the horses.
The triple combination is proving to be nasty. Will thinks that its location off the corner where the torch is and that it is headed into the in gate are reasons why it is so tough.
Both falls at fence 12 were scary. It was such a big scopy oxer and the horses must be tired at this point. They announced that the Azerbajian rider is ok. The Brazilain horse looked hurt.
It is facinating to have such a wide range of scores in one class - 72 through 0. That's what makes the Olympics such a unique competition.
Tonight will be very interesting!
Friday, August 15th
The first night of jumping
Before we got to Hong Kong, when telling people that, no the equestrian Olympics were not in Beijing, it felt like we were out of the Olympic loop. However, the organizers here have gone to great lengths to make sure that this IS an Olympic experience- for locals and visitors. We have a torch, mascots, Olympic rings bedazzling several sky scrapers around town and posters every where.
45 minutes before the first horse goes in the ring, there are dancers entertaining the early crowds as the riders walk the course. Will looks calm and focused and he had a good ride this morning on Carlsson. Eva and I were in the barn last night giving him lots of attention- he is the sweetest!
When the first horse of the night jumped, the crowd gasped, ooohed and awed at each take off. They quickly got tired of that, but I have noticed that they love the wild horses and verbally respond to equine displays of spirit. Cool moment in the first group of 25 (out of 77) horses- Patrick Lam, representing Hong Kong, was so thrilled with his zero fault round, that he tossed his helmet in the air after the last jump. The crowd loved it.
Mclain and Sapphire were flawless and made it look so easy. Laura was very solid with one down. Will and Carlsson made it look easy, and Beezie was great as usual.
It looked like the favored Germans were having an off night, but every one back in the barn thinks that they went out there to school. These scores don't carry over to Sunday...
All in all the horses jumped the course well. We have Saturday off so everyone is going to lay low and rest up.
Thursday, August 14th
The night before jumping begins
Sitting here in the riders section watching the first round of the dressage competition, I am trying to recall all of the incredible, only in the Olympics, moments Eva and I have had. What had to take the cake was what happened last night around 10:30, as we walked to the cars through the practice areas. Anne Kursinski stopped us to take a moment to watch Isabell Werth, one of the top dressage riders in the world, school her horse Satchmo. George Morris, Sally Ike, Will, Eva and I all stood there in awe as Satchmo looked like he could have piaffed to the moon. When she stopped to take a break, George gave her a thumbs up, blew her a kiss and turned to us and said, "you just got a riding lesson from a master".
Beezie's husband, John, said yesterday that the Olympics makes the world smaller. So true, even if for these few weeks. What is making this experience so complete for Eva and me, is that we are credentialed for the barn, training areas and back gate. As long as we have been doing this we still get a thrill sitting shoulder to shoulder with the worlds best riders.
Other thoughts... My goodness is it hot here! Thankfully the events don't start until 7:15 pm, but the temperature and humidity can take your breath away at times. I am so impressed with the lengths that they have gone to to ensure that the horses and riders don't over heat- the cooling tents with fans and misters and the air conditioned barns make a big difference.
West Coast Active Riders in da house! Hannah Selleck arrived yesterday with two buddies and Lance and Shelby Walters surprised us in the lobby today.
It's a big crowd tonight for the dressage. I'm not sure that most of the spectators understand what they are watching (they have commercials on tv explaining it) but there is such local pride in Hong Kong that they are hosting this spectacular event that I don't think they care.
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