The waiting game....

We feel like we've been here for weeks already - we want the excitement to begin, but we have to be patient. Dressage today for everyone in a ring - getting the cobwebs out from a week away from "the box." The horses didn't have many to dust off - so we have left the morning feeling pretty good. Becky, Amy and Karen all had a quick jump today as well - horses are coping with the heat better than expected.
Tomorrow will be a good test as we are having a bit of a gallop on the race course - misting tents have been set up all over the venue to ensure we can help the horses whenever we need to - Dougie Hannom, our stable manager and go-to guy, has brought with him the "Ice Horse" cooling system - the ice water gets pumped out of a bucket and onto the horses through a hose that is attached to a sweat scraper with holes - so the water is getting scraped off before it has time to heat up. And it's much quieter for the horses than having people with sponges flying all over them. We'll give it a test run tomorrow....
Weather is HOT today - Level 1 typhoon warning (they go up to 12) which apparently means some winds with high humidity... yuck, very sticky air.
The US jumpers arrive Wednesday with the rest of the remaining incoming horses - so the venue will be booked by then. Horses and riders continue to work in the early morning and the late night - the barns are closed from 12pm to 3pm, meaning the horses are not allowed out of the barn - great time for naps and adventures.
Wednesday brings us more dressage in the morning and then each country is allowed 10 minutes in the evening in the big ring under the lights with some jumps. The show jumping will be at night for both the individual and the team competition. Thursday night we are allowed the same with the dressage ring set up. Friday is the jog at 4pm - HOT - and dressage begins early Saturday AM.
It will all be here soon and be gone even sooner - taking a deep breath and letting it all soak in.
more soon