European Championships - Saumur - August 2003
Tuesday morning, bright and early, 1.30 am to be precise, the entire squad, John, Gemma, James and Catflap all in the minibus - Alistair, Bruce, Tiny, Bowler and Smirnoff all in the Ketterer, headed for Dover. 4pm in the afternoon all arrived in Saumur. It was hot. Horses unloaded, tents up, no sleep - too hot!.
Wednesday dawned bright and sunny - trot up through the trees, three very sound horses from the EVS camp. Smirnoff orbital! Such an exciting day. Alistair took some great photos, doesn't Lucy look smart.
Tried not to do too much training, much too hot. After someone complained about our Team we had to have a change of plan and were required to put Aska in the team, bless her she was wonderful but Lissy drew the short straw and had to run in as reserve. She is one of our hardest workers and we really missed her. Pippa now realizes just how strong Lissy is !
Compulsories went well, I was pleased with all of them. All deserved the swim in the pool, just wish Bowler had the same luxury. Freestyle went really well, they all learnt a great deal from the trip.
We all went for a meal out at a nice restaurant, Alistair thought he was going out with a mad crowd but the EVS were nothing compared to the French brawling! Had a lovely time.
My Individuals all went well, they were all in the top twenty, Sarah pulled up eight places after her freestyle. Tiny was a star. Ararat finished 13th, Tiny worked very hard for all of them.
We had a little training session with Silvi and Smirnoff, he found that very hard work but was a very good boy. I was very pleased with him. He even got to go in the main arena for a practice for next year.
Gemma Walker was an absolute angel she really looked after us, we couldn't have survived without her. Josh , John and Lucy worked their socks off in the terrible heat.
All of my children really enjoyed themselves, they made some good friends and have been emailing like mad since they have got home, they are all looking forward to competing next Easter.
Catflap is back in her own bed, cool at last - beer run out ! Aska is back in Japan, both her and Agou are training hard for Easter. Aska was inspired and really enjoyed herself - even the camping ! - but pleased to be back with Japanese food! I was very glad she had the opportunity to see Mattias and Nadia at their last competition before retiring.
A massive thank you to all who helped us, especially Alistair and Bruce for getting the horses there in the air conditioned lorry, thank you to Charlotte for lending us the lorry. To Tracy and Richard for looking after the horses beforehand. To all of the parents for the support at home, Team Balanced for their on going support, Shearwater Insurance and the other private sponsors.
The biggest thanks however to Nici and her supporters in Japan for managing to keep all of my children happily enjoying the sport of vaulting against all the odds. She is the biggest star. We are looking forward to a successful future alongside our new found friends.
