Werribee Park was no warmer today for the all important Horse Inspection prior to the commencement of proceedings. Beautifully clipped and therefore quite fresh horses trotted up near the polo area of Werribee Park accompanied by some very well turned out handlers - it appears that a prize was on offer for the best presented handler and it certainly made an impression. Unfortunately, my camera at that point was on strike so I cannot provide any footage of these wonderful turned out pairs.
The indoor arena too has had a bit of a makeover and has been spruced up for the occasion with a very smart VIP area and, hopefully, lots of heaters. The theme this year is "Olympic riders"and the walls of the VIP area in the main arena are adorned with photos of Australia's Olympic equestrians. Down the hall in the trade stand area, the Palmer Higgs Publishing stand is equally adorned with large banners of Olympians Megan Jones, Sonja Johnson, Shane Rose, Wendy Schaeffer and Stuart Tinney where the new book An Eventful Life will be on sale. You won't be able to miss us! While we were busy setting up the stand, down the hall Megan and the Melbourne Eventing Team were already into the champagne celebrating our new book no doubt!
Wandering around the stables, Stuart Tinney's Vettori and Panamera and Shane Rose's Stratford Novalis horses popped their heads out to greet me - aided by Polo mints and licorice offered by their loving grooms, Amy and Michelle.
Meanwhile the indoor and outdoor arenas were being used by riders to familiarise their horses with the surroundings and have stroll or light workout. Sonja Johnson and Ben (Parkiarrup Illicit Liaison) were chatting to Sonja's parents, Dan and Phoebe as I took some photos of young Ben who decided to explore the nearby rubbish bin - much more fun than dressage!
Tomorrow it all starts in earnest with the dressage on Friday and Saturday. On Saturday at 2pm during the lunch break Wendy Schaeffer will be conducting a course walk on the cross country - so join us for a look at the course with an Olympic Gold Medallist!
We'll also have some video from tomorrow thanks to Charlie XEquus who will be putting video on our web site and YouTube - so see you tomorrow for more from the Melbourne Three Day Event and the team at An Eventful Life!
