Tonight is installment number three of Jacky Green’s guest blogs for Eventing Nation. [Archives] Jacky works for Team New Zealand and also runs her Maizey Manor Farm in the UK, where many US competitors stay when in England. I met Jacky this weekend at the test event and am pleased to report that I found her every bit as charming and fun in person as she sounds in her articles. If Jacky will permit me, I will preface her article by saying that Will, like all of us, occasionally has moments of what I would call casual obliviousness, that, like with all of us, can occasionally become prolonged thus creating humorous situations. This blog is about several of those moments, the types of moments which those of us who know Will love him so very much for. I should also point out that Will has read this and approved its publication.
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Will and DHI Colour Candy at the test event
From Jacky:
Disproving the immigration officers theory that Team Faudree would be a drain on the British Economy Will speedily acquired first a car then a horsebox within a couple of days of hitting town. Two things stand out about this, firstly that currently Will has parted with just £200 to obtain both and secondly nothing about Team Faudree is straightforward.
To begin with, the car. Having weeded Will off the pages that were full of natty convertibles we found a cute little run around with just seven previous careful owners and a million miles on the clock. As Will then discovered that the insurance premiums were twice as much as the car he spent a couple of hours either on hold, on line or just generally feeling it was never going to happen and then finally found a company willing to take the risk. Spencer Edwards, his new farrier, acquaintance a few hours, happened to walk into the kitchen and was immediately relieved of the £1000 premium courtesy of his UK credit card as Will’s mysteriously would not work. As there were no other takers I then headed off into deepest darkest Swindon to collect said car and first stop was a cash point to relieve me of £500 as Will had mysteriously (again) exceeded his limit. With no sat nav, no map and just Will deciphering the route master by some incredible chance we eventually stumbled upon the car buried on an estate in the depths of town and whilst seven year old boys slouched past with hoodies well up (it was also 30 degrees in the shade) and mothers of 14 pushed multi coloured babies around us Will filled out the paperwork completely oblivious of his jods, chaps, spurs looking just slightly out of the ordinary. We then got completely lost and circled the estate looking for a way out which was imperative before darkness and although Will claimed it was his amazing sense of direction that led us out personally I think it was pure chance.
Next stop was a horsebox. Our next road trip incurred a 2 hour drive along major motorways, narrow lanes and busy towns. Having nearly wiped on a kerb or two whilst being entranced by the garden statues in Hungerford, had a couple of near misses at zebra crossings (he truly does not get the concept that pedestrians have right of way on those), been hooted and flashed at on the motorway as he hogged the middle lane whilst scoffing sweets that were stuck to the bottom of the packet and done a James Bond style U turn when we had actually passed the turning place we arrived in Sussex relatively unscathed. Horsebox purchase completed we headed home and Will kindly let me drive the untaxed, unplated, probably uninsured nearly out of fuel truck whilst he sailed along behind in Gertrude causing untold havoc in his wake which I could clearly witness in my mirrors.
Next stop, Test Event, Greenwich. John has posted every available piece of information on the event already but as a side line….
Rumor has it that a well regarded US eventer once had a mare in his barn called Queen Wanna Be, stable name, obviously, Camilla. I mention this purely because at a very grand reception hosted by British Eventing on Monday night at The Queens House whilst we sipped champagne and chatted I turned around and saw Will approaching the afore mentioned Camilla Parker-Bowles. Intrigued, I watched him pursue a body guard, all but shove aside the couple who were waiting to be presented, announce “Will Faudree, America” so loudly the Duchess jumped and turned around and then spent ten minutes chatting away to our hostess who seemed enchanted although I was too far away to actually hear what he was saying so she might just have been shell shocked. In 1614 Anne of Denmark accidentally shot her husbands favorite dog whilst hunting and he apparently, and quite understandably, swore at her. Since her husband happened to be King James 1 he apologized by allowing her to commission The Queens House which was built in 1616 by Inigo Jones and with all those centuries of history, Royal Courts and time honored traditions surely it is only fitting that on American Independence Day Will flew the flag for America in such illustrious surroundings!
