Cornish lobsters - the perfect holiday lunch
After the rigours of spectating at Greenwich Park (tough job but someone has to do it) Paul and I have been enjoying some R&R with friends and family in sunny climes. Well the first holiday was not really sunny - in fact by Australian standards it was probably overcast with occasional showers however by English standards it was positively balmy. But with good friends, great food and wonderful views, who cares if the sun didn't grace us with its presence all the time?
During our stay with friends at their house in Cornwall the London 2012 Olympic experience came to its conclusion with the Closing Ceremony. Like millions of others we crowded around the TV but, as you can imagine, as token Aussies we came in for a fair bit of ragging. The Olympic Games had not been fruitful for Australia but for the British it had been a resounding, enjoyable and almost unexpected success. Despite being token Aussies we still celebrated the British success and did I catch a glimpse of Andrew Hoy and Chris Burton in the crowd of athletes?
While other AEL contributors have been busy covering events around the world, my only contact with our four legged friends was Pedro the burro on Tenerife
With the Olympics over it was time to move on, metaphorically and literally. As I was lazing around the island of Tenerife in very definite sunshine, Alison was keeping eventing news up to date on the website, John Lechner was reporting for AEL at Australian country events in Coonabarabran and Warrumbungle (I'm still not convinced that's a real place), Libby Law was photographing the Aussies and others competing at Hartpury and I finalised travel arrangements for the next event I'll be covering - the FEI World Cup at Le Pin au Haras in France from 24th – 26th August.
This event is in Normandy where the Alltech FEI World Equestrian Games 2014 will be held so it seems that I will literally go from London 2012 to WEG 2014. I’ll be hopefully catching up with some of the Australian riders competing there; Clayton Fredericks who won’t be defending his World Cup title from last year but will be riding Mr Sydney Rocks and Sorrento in the CIC 1* and Brookleigh and Pigrela des Cabanes in the CIC 2*, Lucinda Fredericks who has three rides in the CIC 2* on Acheron, Rovello II and Shelter Cove and of course Sam Griffiths who has both Paulank Brockagh and Real Dancer in the World Cup. I’m also really looking forward to seeing young British rider Laura Collett and her superstar horse Rayef in the flesh and the 2010 winner Emily Baldwin and Drivetime. No doubt everyone is relieved that Toddy and Andrew Nicholson are busy doing civic duty in New Zealand but New Zealanders Bruce Haskell, Megan Heath, Debbie Mitchell and Alice Montgomery are flying the black and white flag in the World Cup while Clarke Johnstone has Call Me Al in the CIC 2*.
We’ll be bringing you daily updates from the World Cup event but you can also watch the action unfold from 24th – 26th live for free at www.dailymotion.com/le-grand-complet
Aside from the eventing action there will no doubt be lots of fun and a little culture too. Sadly we won’t be there in time to see Clayton perform with his band Snatch at the Fox Cafe on Thursday night but we’ll try and catch some of the Dragon Dance, demonstration of Tai-Chi Chuan and Chinese art and opera exhibitions being held as a part of the Chinese ‘Country of Honour’ celebration during the event. Maybe they’ll feature Australia in years to come - I'm sure we could come up with some cultural activities of interest and lots of riders wishing to improve French/Australian relations............
After the event we’ll be heading to Caen where most of the 2014 WEG events will be held to find out more about what is coming up in two years time. In the meantime, it’s 7:30pm in Paris and time for une verre de vin rouge and to find a small restaurant for dinner.
As I said earlier, tough job but someone has to do it ..............
