Friday 31 August 2012

Once in a Lifetime......



Yesterday was the first day of the London Paralympics...and we were lucky enough to attend.  We had tickets to the Equestrian Team event at Greenwich.  We were there for the afternoon session which I had chosen for ease of getting there and because it was short - my daughter wouldn't have managed any longer.

We were interested to see that some horses required a friendly face to accompany them in the arena!

 So did some riders - this one had a 'caller' as she was partially sighted.
Meanwhile, the weather was preparing something - it was already cold and extremely windy up in the stands.  We were hopelessly underdressed - a couple of extra pullovers would have been nice.
After completing her test, the Canadian rider did a bit of showboating as she left the arena with a fancy extended trot - I didn't manage to catch it on camera unfortunately.
There was a short break while they raked the sand and members of the audience  nipped to the loo!
Some of us weren't interested in the proceedings....
....they were more interested in stuffing their faces.
We were lucky enough to see the GB Gold medallist Lee Pearson compete, although by the time he was in the ring the rain had really started to hammer down.
It didn't seem to bother him though....
...and he finished with the highest score of the day.
We left the arena cold, wet, shivering uncontrollably but very happy we'd had this opportunity to take part in a once in a lifetime event.
Off for a hot chocolate & a Danish pastry and to wend our way slowly home....


2 comments:

Magpie Magic said...

Looks like a great day and a fantastic opportunity, despite the cold and rain. xoxo

Sue Doran said...

Fantastic; it's really brilliant to hear a first hand account :-)