Winter League - Competition 1

Competition 7th November - PTV in Bantry

The day of the first leg of the WCT PTV League Bantry got off to a rocky start with an urgent phone call from the Technical Delegate Elaine and Chef de Piste Frances.  The jeep had broken down en route not far from Cork city (and a good hour from the venue).  Not only were they towing their horses, but they also had with them a couple of obstacles that we would need plus all the judge’s paperwork in their car, however a quick phone call to Bastian ensured we could get a second set of the obstacles to the venue for the competition, and Jill photocopied the necessary judge’s data sheets and score sheets.
 
The replacement obstacles and paperwork arrived at the yard around the same time, about 40 mins later than planned.  Everyone pitched in to help set up the course.  Poles were put in place for the slalom, rein back, s-bend and corridor, and marked the areas for the mounted immobility and mounting.  The acting TD, Megan, went around to measure widths between the poles etc for the mounting, s-bend, rein back and corridors.
 
Once the course had been built, the riders were given a course walk by Adèle, and then the Level 3 riders left to get their horses ready.  The Level 2 and Level 1 riders then took up their judge’s sheets and stationed themselves at the various obstacles, along with judges Sara and Megan.
 
Since Frances and Elaine were stuck on the side of the road still, which meant we had just 3 riders for level 3. Judith was the first to ride, followed by Annie and then Kate.  Barely started, we then had to break after the Level 3s to let the Level 2 riders get their horses ready while Level 3 put their horses away.
 
A quick reshuffle of judges, and an adjustment to heights/widths of obstacles as necessary, and the first of the seven Level 2 riders began.  Once the Level 2 riders were finished their round, they went to put their horses away, and the level 1 riders went to get their horses ready.  The Level 2 riders were drafted back in as judges, so that the Level 1 riders could begin their rounds.
 
The course of 16 obstacles included: Slalom, S-Bend (ridden and in-hand), Corridor (ridden and in-hand), Rein Back (ridden & in-hand), Mounting, Tree Trunk, Mounted Immobility.
 
One horse, new to TREC, decided the flour marked circle of the mounted immobility obstacle was something akin to a trap, but eventually was persuaded to enter.  Once inside he then had a few sniffs and sampled a taste, curling his lips at the experience – to much amusement (and some sympathy from onlookers who experienced their own sudden flash back of memories to the taste of sandwiches on a sandy beach).
 
The in-hand corridor proved to be a sticky obstacle, with a couple of riders unfortunately forgetting to dismount. The different rein backs caused another issue.  While some of the horses appeared to get a little better the second time around, others were not as lucky.
 
Overall, there was a good turnout, with a total of 17 riders. A big thank you to all the riders, judges and helpers, and to Georgia of Bantry Bay Pony Trekking for the use of their facilities. It was great to see some new faces, looking forward to the next event.