Gatcombe Horse Trials 2013
The Festival of British Eventing is a unique event. A one day event is where each competitor has to complete all 3 of the phases, Dressage, Show Jumping and Cross Country on one day.
Weather for the day promised to be a mixed bag so we were dressed for "all weather"...
After the sun came the rain and so we decided to declare an early lunch. Foie Gras and a Gatcombe Cheeseburger accompanied by some local ale and we were off!
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Lunch! |
It didn't take long for these two to get drunk...
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"And this is what she said to me..." |
With full bellies we walked the course and our first stop was the watering hole. A spectacular section of the cross country course that saw the competitors tackle a very difficult water hazard. We witnessed some thrills and spills and enjoyed a lovely
99 flake before moving on...
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These boats are such a nuisance! |
The weather picked up and so did the competition. We were racing towards a climax. Just another furlong and we would know who would whinny. In the end, it was Jonathan Paget on Clifton Lush at a canter and neigh WFP, although Fox-Pitt did win the Smith and Williamson British Intermediate Championship (a highly coveted competition) riding Fernhill Pimms....
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Shit! It's William Fox-Pitt! |
Speaking of Pimms, we had quite a lot of it. Go Foxy!
The last show of the day was that of the English Foxhounds. And what a show it was! Even though it would take 3 weeks to get the stench of dog shit off my clothes it was a lot of fun to run with the hounds!
Life is like a Wild Horse. You ride It or It rides You!
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