Today, I think it is safe to say I walked what will be the biggest course I’ll have ridden to date. It looks like a great course, and a lot of fun, but we have our work cut out for us as riders on Saturday! I always think it is interesting to get insight on courses from fresh eyes, and walking today with Buck Davidson, I felt well-informed of what will be ahead of me.
I will walk it again on my own tomorrow, and once more with Jill Walton, and should know my way around pretty well by then. There are a lot of hills, so I am hoping Fric is as fit as I think he is and that he is packing his “A” game on Saturday morning, feeling like a kid again!
The one and two star riders completed the dressage phase of their event today, and although I would like to report that the weather was beautiful, it was the opposite. Rain, and more rain is what we saw, other than this morning when I rode Fric, luckily, and this evening when things began to clear and the sun came out for a brief moment. Boyd Martin leads the field in the CCI1*, and after a lovely test and Buck sits right behind him on the beautiful mare Catalina. The CCI2* is tightly knit with Axel Rose ridden by Kelly Temple leading.Because of the rain, the barn was a lot of fun today, and we all sat around joking about pretty much everything, but especially a food they are serving at the vendor tents, which originated in Quebec, consisting of cheese, gravy and French Fries called Poutine. Everyone in the barns acted like little kids as we made every joke about this food’s name you can think of.
We watched Youtube videos and made the best of the weather, as most of us were smart enough to have ridden our horses in the morning. Lots of people seemed to enjoy reading as well. Will Coleman laughed to himself, immersed in the book he was reading, and Kim Severson sat in her tack room to take some time out and read during the rain as well. Overall, everyone made the best of the weather and cold.
Tomorrow is finally Dressage day for the CCI3*, and I am excited to see what the day will bring. Fric has it in him to put in a solid test and my coach at home, Andrea Pfeiffer, has been working very hard helping me urge him to participate. When we started this journey together, Fric used to own the dressage ring, usually placing in the top three. However, after coming back from an injury last year, he has decided that, since you still get to go cross-country even if after a sloppy test, it is a complete waste of time, he thinks, to even bother.
I will be keeping my fingers crossed that tomorrow Fric will rediscover his inner Dressage king. Regardless, I am sure there will be some beautiful tests with this talented field, and I am looking forward to watching them. Until tomorrow from Bromont, day 3.
The USEA Eventing Coaches Program (ECP) aims to produce and improve the craft and art in the teaching of riding and horse management through a pathway of workshops, assessments, and ultimately, certification of coaches.
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