Austria

Tuesday was our big road trip to Austria.  It was about an 8 hour drive for all of us, and we arrived late afternoon, and moved the horses in Tuesday night.  We seem to all have a pretty good system down and the moving in and unloading has gone pretty smoothly. The drive here was absolutely gorgeous, with the Alps off in the distance behind stretches of open green farms.  The town we are staying in looks like a candy land town, with pastel colored buildings and cobblestone roads.  All the horses successfully passed the jog on Thursday, and showing began Thursday afternoon.  All the horses went well, jumped great, and we were all a little more conservative with our speed so the horses got a smooth, confident round.  Now we can all start to be more competitive.  Last night was the opening ceremonies for all the countries competing.  This is the first show so far that has held such an event.  There are so many countries represented here, which is also a little different than the past two shows.  There are countries like Serbia, Czech Republic, even Australia has a rider here.  The usual countries are also here like Germany, Italy, and of course Austria is here.  Nations cup isn't until Saturday this week, and the Grand Prix's run on Monday.  So, we have a nicely spread out week of showing which will help save our horses a little bit for the final show in Germany.