Reims Day 1

Today was our first full day at the Reims horse show.  We moved in yesterday, which went pretty smoothly aside from the fact that there were no shavings or hay here... We got shavings within a few hours, but still waiting on the hay.... Apparently we are supposed to bring our own hay until the show starts.  This was news to all of us.

Today, Wednesday, was the horse inspection and jog.  Similar to last weeks show, we all met for a team breakfast, had a practice jog in the morning, and flatted our horses after that.  1 o'clock was the jog, and all the horses passed again.    At the jog, the vet had this really cool device that checked if the horses had a chip in them.  I didn't even know they put chips in horses, but apparently they have started to in Europe, which was just something I thought was really interesting.

So, off to a good start.  Now, the property where the show here in Reims is held is amazing.  Its in the middle of a public park.  So while people are jogging, picnicking, or playing soccer, we are riding on one of the many open fields.  The park seems large from what where we've ventured to so far.  It's such a cool idea, like having a horse show in Central Park, NY.  This just shows how widely followed the sport of show jumping is in Europe.

The field where our competitions will take place is beautiful.  It is a huge field in the park, and surrounded by tents for vip's and possibly shops.  This event, unlike Bonheiden, has an open water built in.  We are anticipating this show to be a bit more challenging with bigger, more technical tracks.

In the afternoon, we all were treated to a tour of the champagne caves, which was such a cool experience.  As a team, we are all having an amazing time and hope to have another successful week in Reims...showing will start tomorrow.