Sunday, March 25, 2012

Coverage from Eventing Nation!

Advanced XC Poplar Place


IMG_7452.jpg
Missy Ransehousen relinquished her lead in Advanced B with a stack of time faults on the experienced Critical Decision, but must be pleased with their round which should set them up perfectly for The Fork, and then hopefully on to Rolex where I'm sure she'll let the handbrake off! More coming from Missy later!!

Saturday, March 24, 2012

James, Europe & Zoo Animals?!

James and His New 3* Mount!
James and Ben are off to Holland to join his fellow irish riders and to show the Europeans what he's got!  He will be doing a tour of Europe over the next several weeks to show the  Irish team selectors & the olympic judges that he is a prime candidate for the Irish Olympic team!!  He's been joined by the exceptional team of Jessica and Emily Walkup.
Emily the Circus Trainer!
The barn Ben is staying at is located near Amsterdam and owned by Jos De Swart, who is also the owner of Molen Koning (which means Walker King),  which provides horse walkers and stalls.  They have quite the menagerie of animals on the farm including donkeys, a zebra, monkeys & and several camels!  With all these distractions, Ben has settled in nicely & James has had 2 great warm up rides on their beautiful arena with felt footing.
James and Ben Schooling
They will be shipping to Deauville, France for the Grade IV para test where he will be doing the individual, freestyle & team test.  James has been selected to ride on the team for the first show in France which we interpret as a great show of confidence.  The jog is on the 27th and the competition directly thereafter.  Then they ship back to Holland on 4/1 & will stay at farm until 4/9 when they leave for Marseille in Belgium.

Jess will fly back to the states on the 16th, and Ben, Emily & James fly back on 18th.  Stay tuned for updates and results!!  Enjoy the Photo Slide Show!

Wednesday, March 21, 2012

Tour of the Olympic Village

Olympic Stadium
As part of the pre-Olympic preparation for the Para team, Missy joined other chef d'equipes for all the summer athletic programs over in London on 3/12!  The purpose of this trip was specifically to tour the Olympic village to see where the athletes are going to be living & the logistics of negotiating the Olympic campus.
Olympic Housing
It's fascinating to look at these photos, which give perspective on the enormous amount of construction and preparation that has been underway since 2005 to ready London for this great event!  The London Olympics commence on July 27th and run until August 12th, with the Paralympics starting on August 29th and running until September 9th.

To find out more information about the Olympics and ticket sales, please go to their website & register!

Enjoy the Full Slideshow!