Boyd and Silva Martin: 7/22/12

Saturday, July 28, 2012

Friday, July 27, 2012

Cross-Country Course and First Horse Inspection Photos

This is how big we feel....

Immersed in the XC Course


Water Jump

All horses on Team USA Passed 1st Inspection

Go Team Otis!

Jog Strip

Decked out in Olympic tracksuit

Wednesday, July 25, 2012

Let me start with, "It is absolutely amazing to be here"!!! The atmosphere in London is unbelievable and the horse park is out of this world. I can't even begin to imagine how much money and work went into the park!

Kingham

Jess Frankfurt, (Will Coleman's better half), and I took the train from Kingham, (near the training camp), to London yesterday. Since we are both…let’s just say, "not the best " with directions, we weren't sure if we would ever make it there. Actually we are pretty sure we are going to miss the Olympics altogether! BUT, amazingly enough we made it here with NO problems at all! We even beat the boys to the hotel and they took the car!

Jess and I in London

We took three trains and one bus and could not believe our eyes when we drove by the Olympic park and all around London . It is indescribable!

London Fashion

It was a fun trip and definitely the way to go to London, by train. We had so much fun and let me tell you, if you are one of the many people that say, "the English can't dress", YOU ARE RIGHT!!! Jess and I could not believe what kind of fashion we saw arriving in London.

Yesterday afternoon the team went to meet the horses and took them all for a walk. Jess and I went to check out the shops and the restaurants (the important things!) Greenwich has some pretty areas with nice parks and nice places to eat.

Clothes, Clothes, Clothes!

This morning we got up early because I had to get my day pass to get into the park. The security is very strict and I am not accredited to be with the horses or the riders. I am getting a day pass for every day to coach Boyd up until Sunday, which is the last day of dressage. After that I will be on a ticket for cross-country and show jumping.

Seating

We worked Otis this morning in the main arena and he was great. He really looks fantastic; we just have to keep it that way until Saturday!!

Main Arena

Boyd at Main Arena

The arena is very electric and I think there will be a lot of atmosphere when the stadium is packed on show days. Otis seemed to be okay about the arena.

Stilts

It is absolutely amazing what they have done to put up this horse park. Since it is in the middle of a park in the middle of the city the entire park is on stilts. Nothing touches the ground. That means once the last day of the Olympics is over they will take down everything they put up and nobody would even know that there was anything going on at all.

Boyd and Will Watching the Horses

The footing is amazing and the amount of it everywhere is also unreal. They have big watering trucks to water all the footing and the grass they put up. To make sure that all the water they need to keep the footing perfect does not ruin the grounds underneath the venue they catch all the water in big containers underneath the big platform the venue is on. Amazing! They even perfected the venue to the point that when you are on the platform you would not know you are on stilts and not even touching the ground at all.

Stilts

This is such am amazing time for us to be able to be here and for Boyd to achieve his dream to compete at the Olympics. We have worked very hard for this but we would not be here without the support of our amazing owners, friends and our families.

Team USA!

It is also so comforting to know that our team at home is taking care of everything for us and we don't have to worry. We would not be able to be here without Caitlin, Kymmy, Sara, Beau, Scout, Jen and Felix. THANK YOU!!

We will keep you posted as much as we can!!

Silva

Stabling

Arrival in Greenwich

Stables

We had a busy day today, traveling to Greenwich Park with the horses and all of our equipment. The equipment was loaded at 4 am, and sent off to be scanned and X-rayed before entering the Olympic venue. After the equipment truck departed from the farm, we prepared for the final vet inspection before the horses were put on the truck to head to Greenwich. Both Otis and Remington, (listed as alternate), looked great in front of the team of vets and Otis was put on the truck with the other four team horses.

Entrance

It took us nearly three hours to get to London, where we pulled into the equine staging post, unloaded the horses for the vets to examine them before they entered the venue, then loaded them back onto a sealed lorry in which we were escorted to our final destination at Greenwich Park. Security surrounding the venue is extremely tight, and the lorry was examined by a bomb squad before permission was granted for it to enter the stabling area.

Bomb Squad Checking the Lorry

Upon arriving at stabling, we unloaded the horses and took them to their stalls, which were expertly prepared and decorated by our stable manager, Dougie. The stable decorations show off our patriotic American spirit and create a sense of team unity. Other nations have similar decorative displays, calling for a true international experience when walking along the pathways in the stabling area.

Late this afternoon, the riders took the horses out for a hack around the venue, letting them see the sights and stretch their legs. Tomorrow, they will do some dressage work and get a chance to see the arena in which they will compete in just a few days.

Lindsey

Tuesday, July 24, 2012

Olympic Eventing Schedule

Here's a brief rundown of the equestrian competition. Times given are London local time. Schedule source: FEI.
Eventing
July 27: First horse inspection, 11:00 a.m.-1:00 p.m.
July 28: Team and individual dressage, 10:00 a.m.-4:45 p.m.
July 29: Team and individual dressage, 10:00 a.m.-4:45 p.m.
July 30: Cross-country, 12:30 p.m.-5:40 p.m.
July 31: Second horse inspection, 8:15 a.m.-9:30 a.m.
Team final jumping: 10:30 a.m.-1:10 p.m.
Individual final jumping: 2:30 p.m.-3:35 p.m.

Photos of Otis

Hand Grazing at Lavender Hill

Watching Silva School Otis

Jump School

Silva on Otis

Final Training Preparations for the London Olympic Games

The Whole Crew - It Takes a Village!

Well guys, after five grueling weeks of training here at Eddie Stibbe's beautiful Lavender Hill Farm it's time to let the games begin. It has been a great experience that has very much improved the horses.

Celebrating

I must admit, I have been taking full advantage of Silva being here. She has schooled Otis on the flat for me the last few days, really tuning him up for the test. He has been looking better and better in every session, and even received a few 'here we go' comments from Captain Mark Phillips.

Final Jump School (on Remi)

I had the final jump school yesterday with Lauren Hough. We set up a few combinations with 'V' poles, encouraging the horses to use their technique. All of the horses jumped well and look in prime form for the show jumping.

Preparing for our final gallop - Otis (with Will Coleman at left)

We then went on to the gallop and blasted the horses up the hill. Mark has been very concerned by the steep hills that we will face in Greenwich, so he has put a massive emphasis on the fitness of all of the horses.

Final Trot-Up

The final stage of the camp was the vet check of the horses early this morning to make sure that they are all in good health after the gallop. All of the horses looked in good shape, so the team will stay the same.

Otis and Twizzel

It's a great feeling knowing that we are going to this major event fully prepared!

Boyd

Remington XXV

Monday, July 23, 2012

Thank You to SmartPak Equine

We would like to send a huge Thank You to SmartPak Equine for taking care of all of our supplement and horse apparel needs leading up to the Olympic Games.

SmartPak's customer care is literally second to none and never has that been more evident than in the last month. Their customer care representatives have contacted me several times, just checking in, to make sure that we have everything we need to prepare for and compete next week at the Games.

All of our horses that have been with us in England. (Neville, Otis and Remington) are on smartpaks designed by the supplement experts at SmartPak Equine. Each smartpak has been tailored to the horses' nutritional needs based on discussions that we have had with Casey Fleming, our Senior Customer Development Specialist. Otis, the horse chosen for the Olympic team, is thriving on the smartpaks that he receives twice a day. They include a combination of supplements which assure that Otis is at his best to put in a winning dressage test, run fast on the cross-country and still have something left to jump a clean course on the last day. His supplements cater to his physical and mental needs and he depends on them for his wellbeing, both at home and on the road.

I was also very impressed with SmartPak's service lately when I ordered new stable rugs with custom embroidery a week before the horses flew to England, knowing that I was putting a bit of pressure on Smartpak to get them embroidered and shipped quickly so that the horses could wear them in England. I was blown away when they arrived at the doorstep of our barn in Pennsylvania the very next day, several days ahead of when I had expected them, beautifully embroidered and personalized. This service was so far above and beyond anything I had thought possible.

SmartPak Equine has an unprecedented quality to their products and service and everyone on our team has been incredibly thankful for our relationship with their company. Thanks again!!

Lindsey

Dutch Dressage Team Joins US Eventers at Lavender Hill

Boyd on Remi and Edward Gal on Glock's Undercover

The Dutch dressage team has moved into Lavender Hill Farm in preparing for the Olympic Games. We are lucky enough to be sharing the stable with some of the greatest dressage riders in the world. The Dutch team consists of Edward Gal riding Glock's Undercover, Anky Van Grunsven on the great Salinero, and Adeline Cornelissen on Parzival. They are a very friendly group of people that were very interesting to meet. It was awesome watching them train their horses today.

Neville getting a little love from Anky

Tomorrow Team USA leaves this wonderful stable that we have been lucky enough to call home for the last five weeks . All of the horses jumped and galloped today, and look to be on fire for the Olmpic Games.

Boyd