After church today Taryn and I decided, despite heavy rain, to drive up to Thunderbird Show Park to watch the Show Jumping Grand Prix. Armed with rain coats and umbrellas we made our way across the border noting the incredible line coming back into the States. Hmmm....
The event started at 2 pm and we got there with 15 minutes to spare. Normally we would have gone early to check out the horses but with the incredible rain we decided to get there right before it started.
As we parked we saw the Kopes and joined them. We secured a spot to stand right next to the course fence and set up our multiple umbrella's. This was a bit tricky since one umbrella would drip onto another and we were often getting each other wet. Did I tell you yet how hard it was raining!! The course was incredibly sloppy with standing water everywhere.
Courses are designed to incorporate a variety of fences and obstacles. Turns can be tight and riders must carefully plan both their approach and speed.
Some vertical fences are over five feet high, and there are verticals fences that create jumps five feet wide. Thunderbird also has a wide water jump.
Riders walk the course prior to the event counting the number of strides between jumps to formulate a strategy. Judging is based on a combination of jumping faults (knock-downs) and time to determine a winner.
The riders we watched were the best-of-the-best in North America and even included one member of the Canadian Olympic Team, Jonathan Asselin and horse Lolita. He was actually wearing his signature Canadian helmet from the Olympic Games. How cool is that!
First rider Andrea Strain and horse Novalis jumped a clean round despite losing her stirrups right before the final fence. A heavy landing on the previous fence jarred them loose. We all saw it happen, and immediately there was a group gasp as we watched her continue...jump...and perfectly land her final fence. Incredible!
Taryn looked at me and said "and that's why Marg (her trainer) has me practice jumps without my stirrups."
Two of the twenty-three riders completed clean rounds qualifying for a jump off. After the course designer shifted a few fences to give the two riders the best footing possible, Andrea Strain and Gary Brewster competed in the final event.
Strain led off and finished clean with three time faults. Brewster then beat her time and with a clean ride won the $75,000 event prize.
This was an incredible opportunity for Taryn and I to watch Olympic/Rolex caliber riders compete just minutes from our home.
Unfortunately the time we spent at Thunderbird Show Park did not diminish the line of cars at the border. We knew from the radio that it would be brutal so we stopped and got some dinner and magazines to read while we waited…and waited….and waited….nearly two hours. Way worth it!
The event started at 2 pm and we got there with 15 minutes to spare. Normally we would have gone early to check out the horses but with the incredible rain we decided to get there right before it started.
As we parked we saw the Kopes and joined them. We secured a spot to stand right next to the course fence and set up our multiple umbrella's. This was a bit tricky since one umbrella would drip onto another and we were often getting each other wet. Did I tell you yet how hard it was raining!! The course was incredibly sloppy with standing water everywhere.
Courses are designed to incorporate a variety of fences and obstacles. Turns can be tight and riders must carefully plan both their approach and speed.
Some vertical fences are over five feet high, and there are verticals fences that create jumps five feet wide. Thunderbird also has a wide water jump.
Riders walk the course prior to the event counting the number of strides between jumps to formulate a strategy. Judging is based on a combination of jumping faults (knock-downs) and time to determine a winner.
The riders we watched were the best-of-the-best in North America and even included one member of the Canadian Olympic Team, Jonathan Asselin and horse Lolita. He was actually wearing his signature Canadian helmet from the Olympic Games. How cool is that!
First rider Andrea Strain and horse Novalis jumped a clean round despite losing her stirrups right before the final fence. A heavy landing on the previous fence jarred them loose. We all saw it happen, and immediately there was a group gasp as we watched her continue...jump...and perfectly land her final fence. Incredible!
Taryn looked at me and said "and that's why Marg (her trainer) has me practice jumps without my stirrups."
Two of the twenty-three riders completed clean rounds qualifying for a jump off. After the course designer shifted a few fences to give the two riders the best footing possible, Andrea Strain and Gary Brewster competed in the final event.
Strain led off and finished clean with three time faults. Brewster then beat her time and with a clean ride won the $75,000 event prize.
This was an incredible opportunity for Taryn and I to watch Olympic/Rolex caliber riders compete just minutes from our home.
Unfortunately the time we spent at Thunderbird Show Park did not diminish the line of cars at the border. We knew from the radio that it would be brutal so we stopped and got some dinner and magazines to read while we waited…and waited….and waited….nearly two hours. Way worth it!
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