Tim and Jonelle could hardly be further apart in terms of distance and level of horse today with Jonelle at Le Lion d’Angers with Faerie Good Golly doing her very first three day event at 6 years old and Tim with Falco at Maryland 5 star with his World Champs, 5 star winner and Olympic mount Falco heading up the jog strip in America.
Jonelle and Golly are contesting the World Young Horse Championships in the glorious setting of the Loire valley in all its autumnal finery. The jog is held at the stables which have their own history and it is generally accepted that here you will see the best of the 6 and 7 year olds from across the world, apart from Southern hemisphere horses as they have their birthdays on August 1st as opposed to the Northern hemisphere on January 1st so they are generally a year behind in competition terms…quite the disadvantage at 6 and 7!
Golly thought the whole charade of getting plaited up and prepped just for a parade past the grand jury most confusing but very enjoyable! Some 5,800 kms away across the pond Falco knew exactly what was happening and enjoyed his spin past his ground jury immensely. Tim said on Tuesday that Falco was super fresh and had travelled really well so plenty to look forward to over the next two days.
Our good friend Joanie Morris heads up the organising team at Maryland and she has many talents, has worn many hats but also groomed at International level and she continues to innovate at every level. Not only do they name the grooms for every horse at the jog, such a small thing but so respectful, but apparently there is hot water in the wash bays! For anyone that has ever tried to bathe a fresh fit horse with cold water in cold weather will know how much hot water means!
Both events are live streamed on https://www.clipmyhorse.tv/en_GB/
Maryland: Results: https://www.rechenstelle.de/de/
Le Lion d’Angers: Results: https://results.worldsporttiming.com/event/234
Annoyingly, despite a hefty annual fee of £126, ClipMyHorse does not let you watch both livestreams at once. Due to the time difference though there isn’t a huge cross over.
Photo credit Sally Spickard: Tim and Falco at Maryland
Louella with Golly, credit Jonelle Price.
