Boyd Arrives in Pau

I arrived safe and sound here at Pau after catching the Red Eye from Philadelphia through the night. I was happy to see no road blocks, protests or riots on the way. It seems like the French sorted out their retirement issues just in time.

Remington looks like he has traveled like a champ. We have pumped 40 liters of fluids through him since leaving Unionville. I worked him lightly yesterday, and a little bit harder today. I worked mostly on getting him soft and stretching yesterday for about 20 minutes, then a 40 minute hack around the race track. Today I went a bit longer and started doing some movements from the test. I was really happy with him, he felt great since he has not been worked in 5 days.Looks like I have the trot up tomorrow at about 5 pm. I must say, I think we have Remington about perfect. He looks fit and trim, happy and healthy. I gave him a trot up straight out of the stall this morning and he looks sound as a pound.

After only spending 40 minutes on Remington's back today, I spent the rest of the day watching all of the rock stars working their horses. It was great to see how the legendary European riders train leading up to a big one. Caitlin and I also zipped into town and took in a bit of culture. Pau has some fantastic old buildings and churches that we checked out. We also spent a lot of time hand grazing The Hannoverian Hurricane,(Remi's wishful nickname), which he seriously approves of! I also had a sneak preview of some of the xc fences...Fence 12 is nearly as tall as me!We are stabled with all of the New Zealanders, Itallians and Spanish horses and the other riders have been friendly and welcoming. The weather looks good for the next few days. Silva, Ron and Densey get here tomorrow. Boyd