It was all quiet at Werribee when I picked up Sonja Johnson this morning to head to the ABC radio studios in Melbourne, where she was to appear on the Radio National program Bush Telegraph. Michael Cathcart, the presenter had a great chat with Sonja who kept him and the listeners amused with stories of fingers being bitten off by horses, throwing sheep across the withers of 3 Star horse Parkiarrup Illicit Liaison (aka Ben) and many other tales - which are all detailed in the book An Eventful Life! Michael had originally asked Sonja to come and talk about the book, horses and sheep but they didn't get around to much about Sonja's merino stud so I wouldn't be surprised if there is another interview in the future!
Back to Werribee where the sun had gone and the number of trucks and floats had increased dramatically. Niki Chapman, Shane Rose's fiancee had arrived with a truck load of horses from NSW while Shane was flying down - that's what I call equality! Stuart Tinney had also just arrived from NSW and Megan Jones had arrived earlier in the morning having left Adelaide at midnight on Tuesday. Local girl Katja Weimann was just pulling in as I left with her lovely horses on board having only had to travel an hour or so from the other side of Melbourne. Talking to Sonja after the interview about the distances she travels to compete makes going from Sydney to Melbourne seem like a short hop but when all of the trucks start rolling in for a big event like Werribee, it makes me wonder why we don't get more sponsorship from truck companies for events!
There were no formal proceedings for the event today - just arrivals, registrations and settling in. Grooms walk their precious horses around to stretch their legs after their journey and catch up with people they haven't seen since the last big event (the grooms that is, not the horses although some of the horses seem to know their job so well that you can almost imagine them nodding hello to fellow equines - "Hi Jester - how's things?", "Not bad, Ben - chased any sheep lately?")
The weather forecast is not looking too bad for the long weekend especially on the all important cross country day on Sunday. The organisers, Equestrian Australia Victoria, are hoping for a good turnout with lots of additional activities happening including the Great Southern Food and Wine Festival on Sunday and Monday showcasing some of Victoria's finest boutique producers. There is also the Dressage Masterclass on Friday night but, much more important (sorry Ricky McMillan but....) the launch of An Eventful Life in the VIP area around 6pm. After the Rider's Briefing, we will also have all of the riders and author Alison Duthie in the Main Arena signing books so make sure that you get a copy early and get it signed!
The real activity starts Thursday with the Horse Inspections for all classes and we'll be keeping you posted every day on this web site with blogs, photos and video of the competition. Also, Wendy Schaeffer will be doing a course walk for fans of An Eventful Life (even if you're not, pretend you are and you're in!) on Saturday at 2pm during the Dressage lunch break leaving from our Tade Stand. And yes, there's lots of great brands to buy in the shopping village - Musto, Wagner's, Horseland, The Rider Shoppe, Mark Todd and lots more so bring your credit card - nothing like a bit of retail therapy to chase away the winter blues!
So see you tomorrow with our first real update from Werribee Park. By the way, did you know - the Melbourne International Three Day Event in Australia is the second oldest eventing competition in the world after the prestigious Badminton Three Day Event which held its first competition in 1949. The Melbourne Three Day Event, held at Werribee Park, started in 1956.
