Following Canada's Equestrian Team

CBC TV Schedule for Olympic Equestrian Coverage

CBC has posted their tv schedule for coverage of the Olympic Games. They will be doing some fantastic coverage of Equestrian with camera crews here. I ran into Peter Gray at the accreditation tent today who is here on behalf of CBC to help them catch all of the horsey action. Colour commentators include Nancy Whetmore, Beth Underhill and Cara Whitham. Should be great! Even though I’m here, I’ve asked Al to tape on tv for me.

Go to: http://www.cbc.ca/bold/BOLD_2008OlympicSchedule.pdf

Lots more to update here, but I’ve got to run for a Team Leader meeting. I’ll quickly say that the Canadian Jumpers touched down safely and all are now relaxing in their stalls.

Random thoughts

I was pretty tired last night so didn’t write as much as I would have liked but wanted to make sure to get some pics up.  Thanks to everyone who have left comments. I’m so glad to hear that people are enjoying the blog and the pics. And a huge thank you to those who have let me know that I don’t look as scary as what I fear I do in the pics! 🙂 I’ll jog down some random thoughts here of things that have happend/I’ve noticed/experienced etc. lately.

My Routine
Well….that greatly varies depending on the day. Mike (aka Mr. Infinity) keeps everyone extremely organized with his handy-dandy charts that he updates on a regular basis. I have a wonderful laminated version that I keep in my bag at all times. The chart outlines what is happening each day that we are here: team leader meetings, chef d’equipe meetings, arrivals of horses/athletes/grooms/support staff, security briefings, receptions and of course the competitions for everyone. My day typically starts at around 6:30am. Those who know me are probably chuckling right now because they now I am NOT a morning person! Back home I regularly go to bed around 2 or 3 am and get up at 9 or 10. Since I’ve been in HK I try to get to bed by 11pm and am up by 6:30 or 7am!  After getting dressed and checking emails, I go down to the restaurant where a buffet breakfast is included with the room. I made the mistake of missing breakfast one morning……baaaaaad mistake. It ended up that day that I couldn’t eat until dinner time, and I was starving! Breakfast is a pretty good mix of items: cereals, fruits, omelettes, bacon, beans, toast, hashbrowns. Plus some Chinese choices which I haven’t been brave enough to try. I tried the sausages once, but quickly found that they are really just mini hotdogs. Don’t think I’ll be having those again. On my lucky days, they serve french toast and pancakes. Needless to say, my breakfasts are pretty heavy on the carbs!  Most mornings I’ll see our dressage chef d’equipe Ali in the restaurant, which gives us a chance to chat about how things are going and compare notes. If I’m lucky I might see Deb (Eventing’s Stable manager) and Graeme (Eventing’s chef)…but the eventers have pretty early schedules so they are both typically already at the venue by that time.  I definitely have to give some blogspace here to talk about the toaster. The restaurant has a 6-slice toaster. There are tongs to select the bread you like and put into the toaster. Then you crank the little knob to get the toaster going, and there’s a lever which you can push to lift the toast up so you can check and/or grab when done……at least, that’s how it’s supposed to work. I can’t tell you the number of times I’ve arrived to get some toast going and I see people jamming the tongs into the toaster to grab their toast back out. Did I mention that the tongs are metal? And that the toaster is plugged into the wall? I’m just waiting for the day that someone gets zapped.  Another scenario that typically takes place is people waiting and waiting and waiting for their toast to brown. This one is actually pretty funny because these are the people who don’t realize you have to turn the knob to get the toaster running – I guess they think the toaster is constantly running. That’s when I reach over and turn the knob so that presto…..toast is now toasting. 😉

Once my good samaritan deeds are over with and I scoff down my carbs, I catch the shuttle bus to the venue. The shuttles leave every 20 mins and it’s only a 5 min ride to the venue. At the venue, I get dropped off outside the security check (since I’m coming from the unsecure media hotel) and need to be scanned and bags xrayed. Sadly for me, the scanning of my accred. never gives a green light…I always get amber. I finally asked why and was told that it’s because my picture isn’t in their system, which is strange because they were able to print my accred with my picture on it. Oh well. Today was also the first day that my bag was searched after being xrayed. That is odd too since my bag contains the same things day after day after day. I guess the people I had today were a little bored so decided to be extra precautious with the Canadian in line. Not that I’m complaining because it’s great that the security is there. The extra check didn’t take too long and off I went to the stables.

Was meant to do a photo shoot for the eventers today, but that’s been rescheduled for the afternoon.  While chit-chattin’ with everyone I get a text from Mike who was on his way to pickup the RCMP seargent who was flying in from Beijing to do a security tour of the venues and sites and will be giving us a security brieifing tomorrow. Mike just got word that 3 of the 4 grooms who were to arrive tonight are delayed because of bad weather. They won’t be arriving until tomorrow night. Uh-oh….the jumper horses are arriving at noon tomorrow.  I get my instructions to make sure that the jumper stalls are bedded and ready, and I give the Eventing and Dressage teams a heads up so that there will be some extra hands on deck if needed when the horses arrive. Situation under control.

I decide to head back to the hotel to catch up on computer work that I missed last night. I pass by the horse scale on the way out and can’t help smiling when I see some support staff from other countries trying out the scale themselves. Although they weren’t speaking English, I’m pretty sure they were arguing that the scale must be a bit off because they couldn’t possibly weigh as much as it was saying. 🙂  I think I’ll steer clear of the scale…..or maybe weigh myself at night when no one is around.

Did I mention that I saw my hero last night? Being a dressage person, you might think I’ll be saying Isabell Werth or Anky or Jan Brink (I did see Briar in the flesh for the first time, and he is stunning). Nope….none of the above. It was Mark Todd! He came walking towards me and it might as well have been Sting heading my direction. Wow! and he wasn’t even on a horse! I’m pretty excited to be able to see him ride while I’m here.  There were of course some very beautiful dressage horses going through their paces last night with everyone looking fit and ready. I found out that the reason the lights are so bright  is because the Chinese broadcasting network is televising everything in high definition.

My pin trading has been pretty non-existent. Gotta get more assertive and start collecting! In Rio, I came away with a pretty heavy load of pins so I’ve got to get cracking. Although I did trade a pin for a piece of cheesecake last night. I thought that was a very good deal. I ate at the groom’s cafeteria and got talking with the manager on duty. Turns out he lived in Halifax for 10 years and went to Dalhousie. Small world or what?!

If anyone has any good luck letters/wishes they want to send to the Canadian team riders let me know.  I’m sure they would all be very excited to know that there’s a whole team at home supporting their efforts here in Hong Kong. Maybe I can even start a Canadian Good Luck Wall at the barn and post all of the messages.

Strike a pose….

Ok, get ready for a whole lotta pictures with me in them. Thanks to the IOC blogging guidelines, yours truly has to be in any pictures taken in an accredited area. This is going to be tough for me because I typically do everything possible to avoid being in pictures!

Although today was a quiet day, it still managed to whip by pretty quickly. A team leader meeting was held again this morning. Nothing too exciting when on, just a recap on meal vouchers (which are purchased by countries for their grooms to eat in the cafeteria), training hours, bridle numbers etc. The biggest discussion seemed to centre around day passes for the venue. My understanding that for past games day passes have been somewhat readily accessible for those people who do not have regular accreditation. But things are really strict for these games and going strictly by the book. It’s definitely understandable that you don’t want a whole gaggle of people wandering around the venue on non-competition days and roaming through the stabling area. At the same time it’s difficult when BOCOG (the Beijing Olympic Organizing committee) were so strict with the # of accreditations that they handed out to each country, and many countries have extra support staff that have no accreditation (ex. physiotherapists, farriers etc.) So far no one has been successful in getting a day pass so it will be interesting to see how that one plays out.

The horses continue to look very well and seem to be adapting no problem to their new digs and the weather. The weather doesn’t seem to be an issue at all. I have asthma and have had no problems. When it gets particularly hot, there might be a bit of a haze…..but then again, the same thing happens in Toronto when it gets really hot. With the main competition arena being open now at night until 10pm there are many riders who take the horses out lightly in the morning, then again in the evening to school. Not long now before the first jog for the Eventers on August 8th! The Canadian Eventing Team seem to be in really great spirits with all horses doing well. They even did a gallop on the famous track at Penfold Park. How cool is that?

Tomorrow the jumper grooms arrive, with the horses coming the next day. So within 48 hours the whole Canadian Team will be in Hong Kong and the maple leaf will truly be everywhere. Go Canada!

in front of the Canadian Dressage Team's tack stall with a vintage Olympic flag....I gotta work on a more relaxed casual pose

me, dressage chef d'equipe Ali Buchanan and the grand poobah himself Mike Gallagher (our team leader)

me with Lindsay Kellock and Gran Gesto, who just enjoyed a relaxing shower

at the main entrance to the competition ring surrounded by mega-wattage lights

quite a busy place at 9pm at night with everyone wanting to get in some practice sessions under the bright lights

the dressage grooms chit chattin' with chef Ali

Let’s say it with pictures one more time…

This will be the last time I can post pictures like this as the IOC Blogging guidelines kick into effect. I’ll do my best to post what pictures I can that conform to the rules….but taking them on the ‘inside’ may be a little difficult as I have to be in them. I guess I’ll have to learn quick how to hold my arm out steady in front of me so that I get a bit of me, but mostly the scenery behind me.

our fearless and intrepid team leader Mike Gallagher hard at work

the Olympic Village hotel is incredible, including this indoor/outdoor pool

the Canadian team was invited to tea with Olympic Village mayor Ms. Elsie Leung

the most delicious and beautiful tea was served. this started out as a little ball at the bottom of the glass but within seconds the hot water expanded it into this amazing flower.

the team was then invited to sign the "Truce Wall". Pictured here are Ashley Holzer, Selena O'Hanlon and Jacquie Brooks

Olympic dressage rider Leslie Reid leaves her signature on the wall

the two Mikes (Gallagher and Winter) leave their impressions...

It’s starting to get busy

Horses, athletes and support staff continue to come in every day from all over the world. On Friday, a plane from England arrived with horses from the British and New Zealand teams. I just love the logo for Team Great Britain. They must have brought over a million stickers because I see them everywhere. And they have a large flag hanging in their barn aisleway. Looks fantastic! You can check out their logo by going to: http://www.equestrianteamgbr.co.uk/

Every other day there are Team Leader meetings held in the morning. These are an opportunity for the organizing committee to share information as well as hear from team leaders if there are any questions, requests or complaints. Mike tells me that as the days/weeks go by these meetings become shorter and less frequent as issues are resolved and things start ticking over like a well oiled machine.

With the venue being as incredible as it is, and horse transport from the airport being extremely efficient, there are not too many issues that are raised. Leo Jeffcott, who is the Veterinary Commission’s Foreign Veterinary Delegate commented that in the 6 Olympics he’s been to that there have never been such good facilities. This is something that you hear pretty much everyone saying.

The meeting covers items such as hours of operation for the dining areas, training hours for the indoor arena and the outside arenas etc. The news everyone was waiting for was the opening of the main competition arena. Over the next few days it will be open to the Eventers and the Dressage riders so they can start to get their horses used to the area. The organizers explained that the arenas are open until 9pm at night but the question was quickly raised as to whether this can be extended until 11pm at night. It doesn’t start getting dark here until about 7:30pm, and the majority of riders are eager to train under the bright outdoor lights since most of the competitions will take place until the evening running until 11pm or later. I suspect that the organizers will likely grant this request and likely extend the ‘quiet time’ in the afternoon to be for a longer period to compensate. ‘Quiet Time’ is when there is to be no riding/training. The FEI stewards want to ensure that rest time is built into each day to allow horses to relax. Right now it takes place from 12pm – 2pm every day.

A topic which gets continuous attention is the weather. In the week I’ve been here, it hasn’t been too bad and today is actually quite nice. There was a presentation made by the Hong Kong Observatory where we were explained the differences between amber rain, red rain and black rain. Amber rain is what we would typically experience back home. Red rain is ‘cats and dogs’ and from the description of black rain it sounds like ‘elephants and rhinos’. Needless to say, if there is black rain they advised that the competion would stop immediately.

The HK Observatory have also installed a lightning sensor at the Shatin venue as well as at Beas River where the cross-country will take place. The sensors will help them detect if lightning is in the area so that the necessary precautions can be taken. The level of organization and expertise is quite impressive and certainly gives you the feeling that you’re in good hands.

Since there are only one opening ceremonies, those being held in Beijing, Hong Kong organizers have put together a Welcome Reception on the same day for those who are not travelling to Beijing. This will include a mini team parade where 2/3 athletes or reps from each country will march behind their country’s flag. There will also be a live broadcast of the Beijing ceremonies on a huge tv screen for all to enjoy.

The Canadian event and dressage horses continue to do very well. The Eventers are now into a regular training schedule as they are the first ones to compete (their jog is August 8th with dressage being on the 9th and the 10th).

the Canadian aisle is becoming a sea of red & white

taking shelter from the rain while waiting for the horses to arrive from England

the super swanky air-conditioned rockstar horse vans from the Hong Kong Jockey Club

Great Britain's Team Leader pitches in

Team Great Britain's aisle, with their fabulous stylized lion's head logo

The incredibly efficient and expert handling of the horse transport has everyone raving with compliments. Managing Director Martin Atock of Peden Bloodstock is hands on throughout the whole process.