Hi team EN.
I know we are still celebrating Toddy’s fourth title at Badminton. Toddy is an amazing horseman and it was great to see him do it again.
Meanwhile, those in Lexington preparing for Rolex next week are getting a little wet. I just got this email from Hamish Cargill, yes Hamish of Hamish and Dave fame or as we are calling him at the moment, HamoNoDavo.
Hamish is happy to share it, so he is the latest update from Hamish.
Hi everyone,
I’m sorry about the bulk nature of this email but it seems the best way to let you all know what’s been happening on this Kentucky trip so far. It’s now evening on Easter Sunday and Rolex kicks off in just a few days. The weather hasn’t taken notice of the looming event yet and it continues to rain – they’ve had a record April rainfall already and it doesn’t show any sign of letting up in the meantime, with storms forecast through to Wednesday evening. Fingers crossed that it stops there because it is seriously soggy out there, beautifully green and lush but unnecessarily damp.
Tiger is being a real champion and has settled in well to life in the USA. It was surprising how well he handled the long trip over to the US – 33 hours in that stall from Sydney airport to quarantine at Los Angeles is a long time but he happily ate and drank the whole way and made friends with the stockhorse stallion he had on one side and the tiny Arabian filly that was squished in on the other. The little Arab filly was very cute but had a terrible biting habit that made entering the stall to check the other horses a hazardous affair.
I have to admit that I really enjoyed the flight. It might be a long way but in a business class seat at the top of a 747 you’re pretty damned comfortable. There’s heaps of space, a galley just behind the six seats stocked with self-serve food and drinks and the cockpit is just down the aisle. I was fortunate enough to be able to sit in with the pilots for the landing and take-off into and out of Anchorage, Alaska, and for a person who has an unusual addiction to Air Crash Investigations this will go down as one of life’s great experiences. No doubting that it’s a long way around the globe but when your horse is happy and healthy it’s sort of fun to visit Hong Kong and Anchorage with all the freedom and insight that comes with flying with cargo.
After about 44 hours in quarantine Tiger was deemed healthy enough to be let loose in the United States. Just as I was starting to adjust to the time zone I had a 1am start to pick him up from quarantine for an hour trip down the road to catch our flight over to Kentucky. This flight was an experience in itself and if sitting in the cockpit of the 747 was a highpoint in my life, this was a definite return to reality. I was fortunate enough to have squeezed onto a charter flight of racehorses moving from California to Louisville for the Kentucky Derby so for that I should be grateful. Nevertheless, it was a horrendous four hours – 16 seats at the back of the plane, all old and tatty and literally right behind the horses ass, so it was a stinky plane as well as a cold one. My comrades for the flight were the Mexican workers and grooms for this particular racing barn, and of course within seconds of sitting down in this stinky, cold plane they whip out blankets just as the pilot rocks on down and gives us the safety briefing (ie. No pissing in the horse stalls) and finishes by adding that yes, it will get very cold. About fifteen minutes into the flight the plane is at genuine refrigerator temperature, and fifteen minutes after that it’s a genuine ice-box. Nobody notices the small underdressed Australian in the back corner, the only person not sheltering under a blanket, and in a real Bear Grylls moment I am forced to use a handkerchief sized chamois towel and some earphones as my only source of warmth. I had to put my body into a form of hibernation, a half-unconscious, half-asleep mode that was the only way to stop myself stepping across the aisle and pinching a wollen blanket off a sleeping Mexican.
My accommodation of choice here in Kentucky has been in a big caravan in the Horse Park campgrounds. They are way better than you’d think and I can see why so many people choose to live in them over here. It’s pouring with rain right now but here in the trailer it’s warm and cosy, the central heating is spewing hot air up through the floor, there’s a bathroom, beds for any friends that Bols and I might meet along the way and a fully equipped kitchen. Before Bols turned up at the start of the week I had already fully accessorised the rig and I’ll admit that some cash has been blown at WalMart. I bought a toaster for $6.95, a 12 set of reasonable metal cutlery for $3 and a blender for $12 just because we had a bunch of bananas that needed to be eaten. Walmart is sort of like going to Bunnings but then you can whiz over and put your groceries in the same trolley. If you needed to buy ammunition or a firearm you could do that too. Odd but extremely convenient.
The Horse Park is a genuinely amazing facility and the perfect place to prepare for an event. Tiger seems to be really enjoying it here and has gotten used to the fact that he’s only had Bols and I to hang out with for the last ten days. There are yards available but he goes a little bit loopy every time we put him out there so he is permanently attached to us on the lead when out eating grass. For a horse that doesn’t really like people he certainly seems to enjoy this. We have loads of room to roam around so we go for long rides in the park and enjoy some quality time together.
Unlike when I came over to the WEG there has been plenty of time to see the sights of Lexington. Lots of long drives in the country checking out the phenomenal thoroughbred farms and a few trips to the races at Keeneland – as far as I can see gambling in the USA is a no win situation and with our gambling debts growing to more than the value of a blender at Walmart, Bols and I have retired from this line of work.
The rain outside has just turned into another big storm, hopefully no tornado warnings tonight although this has been a threat over the last few days. Whether it keeps raining or not things are starting to get serious around here, and with the English horses now on the grounds and the Americans no more than a day or two away there is a definite sense that an event is about to kick off. Planning to stay relaxed and enjoy the experience.
All the best,
Hamish
I am sure that we will here more from Hamish as the week progresses and Samantha accosts him, catches up with him again.
Yours in Eventing,
ESJ
