Thursday at Blenheim

On Thursday the competition got underway.  We used an early morning ride to practice the dressage test and focus in on all the little details.  As David said, I had to be sure not to give any points away since Quincy's gaits can only give us 7's at best. Quincy was very focused and relaxed so I was feeling good about my ability to get the most out of every movement.

The small North American contingent gathered an hour later to walk the cross-country course and I started to wrap my head around how I was going to tackle the monster... 

Fence 1

The first few fences were big but fairly plain and all in the shadows of trees. Quincy is very brave but sometimes aloof so I tend to walk lines that give me an extra stride or 2 to get his attention.  Right from the start the conversation was about the difficulty making time on this course.  The early sections were fairly flat but wound all around the trade fair and main arena so I thought it was going to be a challenge for me to get up on the clock early while keeping Quincy focused and jumping well. A combination of tables at 4 would give me a good feel of his length of stride and adjustability but fence 5, a massive ditch and brush, would make sure I wasn't getting backwards to the fences (because I would end up in the ditch).  After a quick uphill gallop fence 6 looked like a fairly serious question as we had to jump a rail towards the trade fair down into a bowl of water then turn sharp left to head up out of the bowl and over a tall, narrow canoe 4 or 5 strides later.  To me it was going to be key to get Quincy slow enough to get his focus and to trust he would be brave so that we didn't end up jumping all the way to the bottom of the bowl and either pecking or not being able to make the turn... 

If I describe all of the combinations I could really send all day writing so I'll just give you some other quick impressions:

• there were more brush fences over my head then I've ever seen...and it wasn't exactly brush I would want to jump through.. 
• all of the technical questions also required a great deal of scope as they were all spread fences & most with brush over my head (sometimes I wish I was taller so they didn't seem quite so big!).. 
• the drop was the biggest I've ever seen and the terrain was used mush more to challenge your ability to stay balanced while going forward..no second guessing..just get on with it!
• everyone needs to get much more comfortable jumping massive ditches (or as I was fond of calling them, canyons) as it seems to be the new trend.. there were 5 on this course and they started huge and got bigger so the one at fence 25 was outright ridiculous, if the riders here spend 15 minutes during the rider meeting trying to convince the course designer to give us an option you know it must be...
• the course never let up..the table to corner at fence 24 was a massive question and the 2nd to last was a question that did not seem at all appealing to jump on a tired horse
  

2nd to last fence.. a little surprise on landing

Last fence..still more brush!

• you know the course is big when they had to place the cabins from the Olympic course in the warm-up for us since they were too small for the course..and they were the smallest of the warm-up fences..

Olympic cabins in warm-up

Just another warm-up jump

So after a good look around the cross-country we decided to check out the trade fair. Adding to the theme of everything being massive it was as well.  Fortunately for Jeff I was feeling a little under the weather so had little interest in shopping and went back to the barn for a rest until the arena familiarization at the end of the day. The familiarization was not only to the main arena but also to the trek required to get to the main arena as it was a 20 minute walk past the cross-country, trade fair, over a narrow bridge, and through the woods. Fortunately Quincy was unimpressed by it all and was just as happy to stand around and take in the sights.  I hoped he'd feel the same Friday morning as we were first up at 9!

Quincy getting "familiarized"

Tuesday and Wednesday at Blenheim

First and foremost, a huge apology for all of these updates coming after the conclusion of the event...there was quite literally no data service anywhere...so now to catch up:

We shipped from Aston Le Walls to Blenheim on Tuesday afternoon and were one of the first to arrive.  Lucky for us we were stabled in the barn with the New Zealand horses so I figured Quincy would be getting good advice from his neighbors. Quincy bounded off the lorry, suddenly realizing that all of this crazy travel had a purpose! Once Quincy was settled into his stall Jeff and I went out to continue our search for a wheelbarrow which took many miles and more than an hour.  I never would've guessed it would be such a difficult task but in the end we prevailed.  Back at Blenheim Quincy got to go on his usual first ride which consisted of wandering around the schooling field in a hackamore finding nice patches of grass to nibble on along the way.  There was actually quite a  bit more grazing than wandering...

Wednesday started with a nice dressage school having David watch over our work. Quincy felt great and we worked on solidifying a good warm-up routine to get him loose and engaged without making him feel like he was having to work too hard (after all he's still very lazy at heart). David also helped me to focus on better timing of my half-halts to prepare for my lateral work and that was just the tune-up I needed to solidify several movements.

The rider briefing wasn't until 1 so we got Quincy beautified and braided so that I'd be able to walk the cross-country after the briefing.  And I'm glad we made time to do that... first impression was that the course was enormous and packed with technical questions (which were also enormous). That definitely got my heart rate up a little but nothing compared to the jog... looking back I really think the issue was simply the jog surface but in the moment I had no idea why my horse was suddenly trotting short in front and off we were to the hold area.  There was no obvious reason but unfortunately he continued to jog the same in the hold area.  It actually got to the point of weighing whether or not to represent... then jeff said to go once more and just focus on keeping him straight and in the middle of the lane (the road was actually crowned) and suddenly he seemed ok so we decided we had nothing to lose. I focused on keeping him straight and not allowing him to dawdle and he jogged just fine for the ground jury.  I really hoped this was not an indication of how the weekend was going to go! We decided to push on as usual and not read too much into the way he had jogged so I tacked up to go out for my usual Wednesday gallop.  He felt great...gotta love horses sometimes.

Aston Le Walls lay-over

Once we did make it to Aston Le Walls it seemed all was well.. unfortunately there were a few other hiccups along the way but not any involving Quincy which is really all that matters!  The first day was a busy one since they were running a horse trials all day so we got a good look at lower level eventing in the UK. I think most people I know would be put off walking training level course that had a ditch and wall as fence 4, one stride combination at fence 5, roll-top into water at fence 6, and also included a bank combination, mound combination, giant corner, trakener, and an option at the 2nd water to jump in over a log atop a very steep mound... My overall impression was that it would be nice if more of our courses gave us the opportunity to jump questions like those...  And I love that the dressage rings are truly just white rails lying on the ground.. Talk about making sure a young horse stays between your aids since it would be so easy to leave the ring!

Later in the day we were invited to watch the Burghley coverage and then got to pitch in when they had a few volunteers needing to leave early.. Jeff and I got to be cross-country starters our first day in the UK!  Once the competition was over Quincy got to go for a nice hack and was introduced to the thousands of birds around the farm (they raise pheasants as well!).

Wormleighton Hall B&B

View from our room at Wormleighton Hall

With a lovely B&B just down the road past the pub we were all set! Next on the list was the rental car (and Jeff learning to drive) and finding a tack shop so that we could pick up a few things, namely a wheelbarrow. So Monday was filled with excitement while we spent most of the day learning to navigate the super narrow windy roads that have no names.  If you don't know the name of the village you need to go to or through you basically just have to guess at which road to turn on or be lucky enough to have your gps pick up a signal. It was not difficult to waste away most of the day but we did get back in plenty of time for Quincy to have a good dressage school.  He was a little grumpy about having to go back to serious work but by the end of the ride felt great.

Since I knew that we would focus quite a bit on the dressage once we arrived at Blenheim I decided to give Quincy a light jump school Tuesday morning.  He was fairly uninterested and didn't feel like making much of an effort.  I didn't want to push the issue in case he was feeling the effects of his travels so we kept the jumps small and just did enough to get him loose.  Then Jeff and I were off to find Blenheim and our cottage since Quincy couldn't get a ride until later in the day...

Are we there yet ?!?

While driving to JFK airport on Thursday afternoon/evening we ended up stuck in traffic more often than not...frustrating but I just kept thinking that once we got to the airport the stress of travel would subside and it would be smooth sailing.  Looking back I could not have been more wrong! We arrived at JFK Thursday at 10pm... we arrived at Washbrook Farm, Aston Le Walls, UK at 6am on Sunday.  For those trying to do the math I will happily break it down for you since those hours are permanently etched into my brain:

• 10pm JFK vetport arrival - no other horses, asphalt stalls, & metal channels inside the stall to hold the partitions when they need to convert to tie stalls...the beginning of my sleepless nights even though we did stay at a nearby Hampton Inn.  Visions of abrasions danced in my head... The reason for the Thursday arrival was that the cargo had to arrive before noon the day we shipped so we didn't want to risk being late on Friday.  Lesson learned, stay at a private farm the night before.
• Noon - cargo loaded...then the waiting game begins. Quincy was not allowed out of his stall as I was made aware that it is far too risky.  If a horse gets loose (or dog it appears) it is very likely to be shot as they cannot allow any chance of an animal on any of the runways. 
• 6pm - planned loading time to ship horses over to the plane.
• 7:30pm - actual loading time to ship the horses over to the plane.  Quincy now begins the portion of the journey that goes from confinement to no movement allowed.  We were vanned to the airport to go through all of the normal passenger check in as the flight we were on was a KLM combo... meaning a giant passenger plane with cargo just behind.  We were told they would take care of the loading and we would get to see the horses once we boarded the plane.
• 10pm - time to board.  The official KLM groom gave us a quick peek at the boys, Quincy was travelling with Walstraed (Jules Ennis' horse that is travelling to school with her at Hartpury) and a 2 year old Arabian colt heading to England to race. 
• 11pm - take-off. Jules & I decided it was best to have Jeff hang out with the horses during take-off and landing.  It sounds like Quincy's eyes have never gotten so big...and that's saying something!
• 11:55am (with 6 hour time change) - amsterdam landing. The plan was to get the horses out of their little box & van to a stable where they could stretch their legs for 4 hours or so.  The trip to England was said to take 10 hours or so... but now we found out that the horses couldn't leave their little box until the vet was there to see them.  So we made our way to meet them at the animal hospital hoping it would not take too long.
• 2pm - the vet arrives and we load straight onto the truck to head to England... Quincy literally got to walk 100 feet from one box to the truck.
• The plan was to head to Calais for the ferry crossing just in case it was busy...
• 6pm - serious traffic back-up as we near Calais....
• 7pm - we arrive at the cargo entrance for the ferry and luckily there's no line.. figuring the trucks decided not to wait..instead we are told that we need to turn around and come back once the ferry is not so busy. Thankfully our drivers understand that we will not be ok with prolonging the horses' time on the truck.. apparently there are several ferry companies so they  made a couple of calls to change our "booking".  We got the go ahead with the news that the ferry was running 2 hours late but we were booked on the 8pm & by this time it was already 9pm..
• 10:30pm ferry boarding... if the time does not seem to match up with the planned time, you're right!  There are many extra hours added in here and there..  Here I am envisioning the ferry that crosses the potomac & in rolls what looks to be a cruiseship! Once on the ferry you can't stay with the vehicles so we check the horses for the umpteenth time & head up to the lounge area which includes a restaurant, thankfully... and by the end of the trip it is full of snoring people of benches and chairs.
• Midnight - off the ferry with only one more side trip to customs in Dover...which should be quick since there were no other cargo trucks aboard.  But of course that is not how our trip is going so it really should not have been a surprise to hear that it will take 30 minutes before they can see us.  Then after 30 minutes we're told it would be another hour... I was in and out of consciousness so much that the whole thing really is a blur.. at some point we begin driving again but now we're in England so I keep feeling as though the truck is about to tip over on the windy roads so there's not really any sleep yet again.  
• somewhere around 4am - we deliver the Arab racehorse to his farm, which happens to be the Sultan of Oman! I really wish we'd gotten to see that farm in the daylight...
• 6 am - we arrive! Quincy got to go into a stall then out for a hand graze... 

I'll have to have a brief delay on sharing our 1st 2 days in England as recapping the journey has exhausted me  my computer battery.  Photos and the fun of round-a-bouts and searching for a wheelbarrow to come! I can leave you with a quick trivia question though: What is the difference between a "humped zebra crossing" and a "humped tucan crossing"?  Just one of the many thoughts to ponder.  

Sneak peek: We have arrived at Blenheim! but there is horrible cell reception so my posts may be a bit delayed... or written at a pub with a pint :) 

Quincy's next "ride"! He will now be an experienced traveller of air, land, & sea transportation...I have a feeling he will be very happy to be off the truck, whenever that may be :)

Quincy getting in a little snooze before boarding the plane...

Pre-Game Preparation

The common question the past few weeks seems to have been "How excited are you?" or some version of that...honestly, I've barely had a moment to really think about anything more than the day at hand. Last night, while packing, the enormity of what we are about to do started to sink in (especially due to the enormity of the trunks needed to pack all of our gear) and I finally started to feel the twinges of excitement. Until you are preparing for a trip of this magnitude I don't think you can really appreciate how all-consuming the weeks prior can become...being that this is my first overseas competition I thought I'd share some of those details:

• It takes a village - Literally! When we began to plan our Blenheim adventure I had a small enthusiastic group that had great plans to raise the money needed to ship Quincy and I to the UK... In the works were eventing camps, jumping derbies, and a raffle just to get started. All of my amazing sponsors supported us by donating prizes for the raffle as well as for the derbies.  Then came the offers from family and friends to host a couple of fundraising dinners.  Before I knew it we had scheduled something for every week from mid-June through mid-August. At one point I truly wondered how I was even going to have time to ride and prepare for this event that we were doing so much to raise funds for... Fortunately I did have a very good group helping to keep things running smoothly.  Quincy was very good to go with the flow since there were days when I would ride him at 5:30 am (before teaching camp all day) and then again at 7:00 pm (since the light wasn't good enough at 5:30 am to jump...). The long days were certainly worth it but I must say the most amazing support was from individuals that simply want to give us this opportunity.  Over 175 individuals helped us make this a reality by either attending a fundraising dinner, sending a donation, or participating in our raffle. And that does not take into account all of the people that were behind the scenes making this work... I cannot thank you all enough! 
• Hire a travel agent! If anyone wants to know how to arrange the flights and lorries and stabling and cottage and phone service....I will have to direct you to my travel agent, Jeff Beshear.  If it had been left to me I doubt we would actually get there anytime this year!  The amount of time needed to organize and make all of the pieces of the puzzle fit is very daunting.  So I happily took on the task of packing..because that will be easy!
• Is anyone capable of packing without having to sit on every single bag and trunk to make it close? After days of organizing and consolidating I thought everything would easily fit into the 2 giant cargo trunks that were loaned to me by Chris and Michelle Adamson.  (Actually, the first thought was that I would only need one of the giant trunks... ) But it never seems to fail that there's always "one more thing".  Katie Shipplett gave me the great advice to get the storage bags that shrink wrap everything.  It's amazing how small coolers and blankets can become once you suck the air out...unfortunately I learned quickly that the bags are fairly sensitive and not really meant to be shoved in with objects that may have rough edges. Let's just say I'm hoping the duct tape will hold otherwise people may want to stand back when the trunks are opened...
• Don't forget all of the horses and critters at home...critter #1 being the 9 year old Nicholas that is  being forced to stay home since his first week of school happens to be the week of Blenheim.  Jeff got to add the title of "handler" to his resume... I "handled" the horse plans by being clever enough to have Katie in the barn and giving her a vague wish list of what the horses should do while I'm away.  I think my plan to compete them right after we return will be good incentive... more on my exciting new additions after this journey!
• # 1 lesson learned this summer - I'm actually pretty good at delegating but I'm still too much of a control freak to have a groom travelling with us :)!

So now the preparation is over and the journey has officially begun. JFK is an hour away then we fly to Amsterdam tomorrow evening followed by a 12 hour lorry ride to the Taylor's yard (arriving Sunday morning while they are having a horse trial!).  I only know all of this because I am sitting beside my travel agent and I'm able to share it with you because he also happens to be my driver! I promise to have fun from here on out because otherwise Jeff may never want to go through all of this again and I certainly can't do it without him :). and let's all hope he decides to add "paparazzi" to his list of titles this week!  Follow us here or at www.emilybeshear.com.