Polo in the City 14.12.2012

On Friday we got to go to a Polo event in Adelaide. Neither of us had ever seen Polo before, and we were thrilled to finally get the chance. Mark and Belinda stayed at home, so we didn’t have to worry about feeding the horses and we got to take Mark’s car because the red UTE won’t last the distance to Adelaide. Mark said to tell the people at the entrance that we work for Andrew Grey (another Polo guy) to get in for free, but since we dressed up for the occasion, that wasn’t going to happen; grooms don’t usually wear little dresses and heels at work. We parked at the back of what had been the show-jumping arena for the Three-Day.Event and then just climbed over a fence. This was my second time trespassing in Australia and I’m getting better at it. We snuck through the back entrance of a bar and then just blended in with the crowd. After saying hi to Andrew, we found seats in the grand stand because we wanted to get out of the sun; it was quite hot and humid in the city compared to what it had been like in the hills that day.

It turned out not to be a proper Polo match; the chukkas were much shorter and the field was smaller than in proper Polo. But it was cool nonetheless. The first match we saw was a bit slow and had us wondering whether we had a wrong impression of what Polo is like, but it turned out that in the first match, it was mostly amateurs playing. Because the second match was Polo the way Polo is supposed to be. Fast, lots of goals and tricks, and the horses were much fitter as well. I have to admit that I still don’t really get the rules or why something is a foul and something else is not. But Belinda said that even after ten years, she still doesn’t quite get it, so it must be rather complicated and/or subjective. At times, I even found it hard to find the referee in the huddle of ponies and players, and it didn’t help that he wearing similar colors to one of the teams. They have two additional referees or whatever it is that they’re called, who stand by the goal posts and whose only job is to check whether the ball passed between the posts or not, because it is really hard to see, especially with the Polo balls being that not-striking, off-white color that they are. Why not have yellow or red balls that are much easier to spot?!

Almost as interesting as watching the game was watching the people. It’s similar o how it is at the races, maybe a bit more chic and definitely more drunk. At one point, they had a race on the Polo field. First the ladies in their short dresses and sans heels, then the men. It was very amusing and I got it all on video, including all the folks that fell over and rolled around on the grass like fish on dry land.

We didn’t stick around too long after the last match, because there wasn’t much going on other than people standing around, drinking and talking. On the way back, we stopped at McDonald’s and the shopping center, to get Christmas presents for Morgan and Imogen. I love how people stare and whisper when you go to places like that in a cocktail dress and high heels ;)

Australia’s International Three-Day Event

Adelaide CCI 4* and 2*

22.-25. November 2012

Friday

We didn’t go down to watch the dressage because a) it’s kind of boring after a few tests, especially with no really big stars competing and b) we went down to the show grounds later that night for a jumping demonstration that Mark was a part of.

So after the day’s work was mostly done, we loaded Shrek and another horse we were taking for a fellow show-jumper and then followed Mark and the other guy down in Mark’s car. To this day I’m still not quite sure why we didn’t just go in the truck with them, but hey, whatever. The show grounds are practically in the middle of the city, Victoria Park and Rymill Park with a beautiful old grand stand. Unfortunately, there was a construction site across from the grand stand that ruined the view a little, but it’s a very cool place to have a Three Day Event anyway. We were late for the celebrity course walk with William Fox-Pitt, so Debbie and I had a quick look at some of the cross country fences in Victoria Park, before we went back to all the little shops that were being set up that night and spent some time with retail therapy, buying some of the official merchandise of the AI3DE. I got a pink polo shirt and a sports bag, and I will try to remember to post the photos along with this blog. 

Then it was time to get Shreky ready to rock and roll. By that time, we had found out that it was a last man standing kind of jumping class, which led to the question why Mark decided to bring Shrek as he is not the most careful horse, i.e. he tends to have a rail ESPECIALLY when the fences are small and in this kind of class, when you have a rail, you’re out. Coolio or Dennis would have been the better choice, but with Mark, it’s always a little weird like this. Australian warm-up areas for show-jumping are chaotic at best. Remind me to never complain about German warm-ups again. Riders don’t shout “vertical” or “oxer” to let you know that they’re going to jump, so when you’re the groom upping the rails, it happens that people jump with you practically standing there holding one side of the rail which is not very safe. Also, these people do not have a system or a plan for their warm-up. They’re all over the place, walking one minute, then straight out galloping and jumping really high. And some of them are very bad riders. There’s no nice way to put it. Kamikaze style. But courageous, you have to give them that.

The first round was just for warming up, so it didn’t count in the competition which was lucky for Mark as he had a rail at 1.20m. He was pissed, I laughed, because it was exactly as Belinda had predicted. After that, both Mark and Shrek focused a bit more and they survived a couple of rounds. In this class, every round each rider chooses a fence to be put up two holes, and after a couple of rounds, the triple bar was at 1.50m, which some of the riders had never jumped in their life, and in my (maybe arrogant) opinion should never ever attempt to jump in their lives. Anyway, Mark had a rail at a smaller fence before but still finished the course, with Shrek jumping the triple bar beautifully and clear, just to have the teeny-tiny fence after that down, too.  But it was good fun anyway and Mark was thrilled to have jumped the big fence and didn’t whine about having the other fences down too much.

When the horses were taken care of, we went to the catering area and got something to drink, when Belinda grabbed Debbie and me and introduced us to William Fox-Pitt to make up for the missed course walk. Most of you aren’t equestrians, so let me tell you that William is one of the biggest stars in the world of eventing, like David Beckham in soccer and Roger Federer in tennis. He is also one of the tallest and skinniest eventers, so keep that in mind before you judge the fat, short girl with the sheepish smile on her face (me) standing next to him in the photo I HAD to ask him for because how unlikely is it to meet one of the British superstars in Australia of all places (Will post photo later). Also, I have seen William ride in both Athens and at the World Games in Aachen, we go all the way back ;). He was nice enough and we had a little bit of small talk before some other people came along that needed his attention.

It was late by the time we headed back home, so we grabbed some McDonald’s on the way. Back at home, we still had to feed all the horses and put the rugs back on, but that didn’t take too long and the day ended with two very happy grooms falling asleep very early.

Saturday

Saturday was a bit more stressful because we had to get our daily chores done till 11am to be back in Adelaide in time for cross country day which is what it is all about in eventing if you think about it. It was a terribly hot day again, in the 30s but with a bit more wind, at least up in the hills. Unfortunately there was no breeze in Adelaide, and it was freaking hot. I got a brand new sunburn on the edges of where the shirt ends because that’s where you sometimes accidentally don’t apply enough sunscreen. But enough with the whining; I bought an ice cream and everything was good. We got to see about half of the two-star cross while we walked the four star course and took photos of most of the fences. Some of the ditches were HUGE HUGE HUGE but I can’t help thinking this is what I wanna do and I can’t wait to be back with Snoopy next season. I also saw the very first possum; it was dead (dog-attack). But very cute, and I can’t wait to see one that is still alive. We got so sweaty, walking a course is terribly exhausting in this kind of weather and I had a feeling that some of the horses would find it very hard to get through their galloping alright. As it is commonly done in this kind of weather, at the finish of the cross country course there was a tent with fans and water sprinklers to cool the horses down, but they still had around ten minutes of galloping and jumping to do before they reached this little oasis. There were only 18 riders in the four-star, so not even enough time to see one rider at each fence as you usual try to do as a spectator. Debbie and I opted to watch the first rounds on the big screen in the arena, enjoying the shade of the grand stand. About halfway through, we ran over to the water fence and got to see some other fences jumped while we were on our way. A skinny element in the water proved to be the big question of the day and only two riders made it round the course without a run-out or a refusal, with ten combinations being eliminated. Some of the horses were breathing so heavily and jumped on their last drop of energy, I sometimes questioned why the officials didn’t pull them up or why the riders didn’t have enough sense to retire their horses when they felt that they were too tired to go on. A couple of not so nice situations, but thank god none of the horses got injured. While walking the course, we also got the chance to see Olympic Gold medalist (Beijing) Megan Jones and Kirby Park Irish Jester, who was retired on the Sunday. Got photos of this lovely grey and Megan signed my program, which is going to be framed when I get back home.

On our way back to Flaxley, we got lost in Adelaide, which happened to us before. We ended up in the hills closest to the city where all the big, fancy houses are (think Hollywood Hills). We had to drive on forever before we got a chance to turn around and head back, but at least we got a spectacular view of the city and all the way to the ocean.

Sunday

On Sunday, it was the same as the day before: start early, get done early so we can be in Adelaide before the show-jumping starts. Another one of those brutally hot days that I just cannot get used to, but at least I got no new sunburn. We didn’t get to see the two-star jumping, but that was alright with me. I went through the shops and found a nice cotton combo rug that I bought for Snoopy; now I only have to find a light rain combo. We watched the prize giving and lap of honor of the CCI** which was also the Australian Young Rider Championship. After that, Belinda gave us last-minute tickets for the grand stand and I was so glad not because of the better view, but just because that meant being able to sit in the shade for half an hour. Only half an hour, because out of the 18 starters, only seven made it to the show-jumping. I have ever heard of any of them and I hope you won’t ever, because that was some of the worst jumping I have seen in my life. Yes, the horses were tired after the grueling cross, but some of these riders were just horrendous and lacked some serious skill. I kept wondering what they do with their free time, because they certainly don’t use it to prepare for the jumping. The last three riders were the only one that rode well, but even so, none made it round without a rail down. The fact that William was sitting next to me in the grand stand made up for the bad riding in the arena a little, but I still shake my head when I think back. Between the jumping and the prize giving, Irish Jester was officially retired from international eventing, having never completely recovered from whatever went wrong on the flight from Sydney to L.A. on the way to the World Games in Kentucky. But he’s still fit enough to canter around and do some of the four-star fences, and I think it was a good choice to take him out of the sport sound and happy. The ceremony got very emotional and I only just managed not to cry, because the horse had been with the family since he was born and everybody was sad to see Megan say good-bye to him and their career. After that, and way more cheerful, followed the prize giving for the four-star, and only one poor rider didn’t get placed.

Adelaide Metro Show

17.+18.November 2012

On this weekend, Mark went to a really small local show in Adelaide which is right next door to the airport. The horses don’t mind the noise, but I do. No way to escape it, though. At least Adelaide is not a big, busy airport. It was nice and warm, not too hot. I still managed to get sun burn though, because I only put sunscreen on the parts of my skin that were meant to be exposed to the sun. But when I bent over to screw in the studs, my shirt crept up and my lower back got burnt. So by now I’ve got a little patch of tanned skin on my otherwise pale back. It’s like a tan tramp stamp.

Saturday, we only took Shrek and Salsa, and Mark rode three other horses but I didn’t have to do much with those, only help get one ready and screw studs in for two. My horses were happy, tied to the side of the truck with their hay and no drama when one went away. So it was relatively relaxed for me, I got everything done in time and the show ground isn’t very big, so the walk (or run, when Mark forgot something in the truck) from parking to the warm-up arena doesn’t take very long. There are very few starters per class, show-jumping is not big in this country, which means that when Mark has three or four horses in a class, there isn’t even time to warm them up properly because there are only one or two starters in between. But that’s not my concern and there’s nothing I can do about it anyway. Some of the riders are very bad, you can see that they don’t have a widespread training system here like we do in Germany, and a lot of people who jump have never learned the basics of dressage. It’s wild. Mark didn’t place but both horses did well so he was happy and that’s always more pleasant than when it goes wrong.

On the Sunday, we took all four: Shrek, Salsa, Coolio, and Dennis. And again, Mark rode three more. But today, I did not have time to help out with those, having to get all of mine ready. For whatever reason, the horses were a lot more clingy today which doesn’t interfere with the routine but it’s annoying having them scream all the time. I put sunscreen on my already burnt lower back, to prevent it from blistering, and thank god it didn’t get worse because I’ve only just recovered from my burnt feet. The day is a bit of a blur because there was absolutely no time to catch your breath or take in what was going on around you. It was all brushing, studs, putting the tack on, making sure Mark was dressed properly, helping with the warm-up, running back to get the next horse ready, swap horses and wash the other one before helping with the warm-up for the next horse. As yesterday, the horses went well but again, Mark didn’t place; sometimes I think he lacks that wanting to win, is a bit too relaxed about it just because it’s not a big show and there’s no competition. But anyway, when he’s happy, it’s a good day and at the end of the day, I don’t care whether they get a ribbon or not. We got done quite a bit earlier than the day before and we took “my” new horse back home. I have a sweet little mare all to myself now to bring on. When we were just about to leave, Mark backed into a power line and almost tore it off. Thank god some onlookers started yelling and he noticed before thousands of volts got unleashed. It took some time to get the truck out of the mess and making sure the power line did not get damaged, but finally we were on our day and another week was over.

Melbourne Cup Lunch 6.11.2012

The day started as expected. Mark had said he wanted to start early, so of course he started half an hour later than usual and then delayed morning work further by going for a coffee run (nice, but unnecessary and so not helping with getting done) instead of just hopping on his horse. After he was done riding, I hurried to get the other two done and to help Debbie finish up the stable.

The plan, at one point, was to leave at eleven or shortly after, but because of all the delays (thanks, boss), we only got ready at about 11.45 because we only have the one bathroom and we were required to look our glamorous best. Since neither of us brought any cocktail dresses and high heels, we had to buy our outfits especially for the occasion. I found a lovely off-white dress with a little bit of black pattern on it. Knee length, nice high waist and V-shaped top line always work well with my body shape, even if I eat a little more. For my shoe choice it came in handy that I always follow the fashion coverage for the big award shows, because the bloggers tend to slam the celebs who play it safe and add nude shoes to a neutral colored dress. I found lovely peep-toe wedges in bright red suede that added a little highlight to the look. To go with the outfit, I chose a black clutch that will also go with a lot of the clothes I left at home. With red shoes on, I didn’t want to add bright red lipstick because I felt that might be a little too much. So instead, I went big eyes in blue with even bigger lashes, using three different kinds of mascara and even more layers. For a minute I thought, ooh, maybe that’s a bit too much.

But then we got there, and it wasn’t too much. It was just a lunch in a marquee with the race on screens, but everybody was in full race day attire. And mind you, these were some of the richer folks of the Adelaide Hills. The Melbourne Cup Lunch was held at a manor about 20 minutes from Flaxley and the gardens looked like something you see on “90210” or MTV cribs. It was the fanciest thing I’ve ever been too. It was interesting, certainly, though I’m not sure that’s my kind of scene. The food was very, very good and the champagne as well. I didn’t have any wine (at the free bar) because I simply don’t like wine, but it was probably as fancy as the rest of the event. Mark’s firm had a table at the center and the other people there were super nice: two girls my age who work at the reception, Mark’s business partner, his brother and a friend, and Mark’s dad as well. Before the race started, they auctioned off the horses in some sort of betting game I didn’t quite understand. It was amazing to see people, including Mark and Belinda, just spend a thousand dollars on this like it’s nothing. I don’t remember much of the race because I needed to go to the toilet so bad that all I could think was “Don’t pee your pants”. An Australian horse won, sadly for Debbie and me; we kept our fingers crossed for the European horses, especially Godolphin’s Cavalry Man and the French Dunaden. But since we didn’t actually bet, it wasn’t too bad. After the race, they had a charity auction, and again, people spent ridiculous amounts of money on pictures, vacations, and toys. Fascinating. They also crowned the best dressed from the previous fashion parade (that we missed because we had to finish work first) which turned out to be more of a popularity contest of the rich daughters and sons. It’s like being in a TV show. A completely different world.

After the action in the marquee was mostly over, we moved closer to the bar and Mark and Debbie got really drunk. I chatted with the girls who work in Mark’s office; one of them is an eventer as well so we had something to talk about. Jon (Mark’s brother) joined us for a bit, and it’s creepy how much alike he and Mark are; the same way of talking, same mannerisms, they’re like twins except they don’t look that much alike and clearly aren’t as Mark is older. That part of the afternoon I like to call “freezer time”. There had been a thunder storm the night before and it was very chilly outside, especially in the shade. The others didn’t notice as much because they were warm/ drunk, but I slowly turned into an ice sculpture.

Towards the end of the event, Debbie and I met Killian again; he’s from Ireland and works for a polo player/ huntsman Mark is friends with. It was nice to talk to someone who is in a similar (work) situation and who is also from Europe and not usually this fancy ;) The three of us wanted to take a photo together and the girl behind the bar tried her best, but in a gazillion attempts, we never managed to keep our eyes open at the same time. There was always someone with their eyes closed or a weird look on their face, which in itself was so amusing that the end result didn’t even matter.

Mark tried to get me to drive them home, but his UTE is so incredibly huge and new and expensive and the roads so narrow that I refused to drive and so he did it, which was adventurous and very illegal, not just because of the alcohol, but also because he lost his license a couple of weeks ago. Back home we had to finish work. I had the clear advantage of being sober while Debbie really started to struggle when we had to bring all the horses in.