Equestrian Show Jumping! Gran Premio "Sol de Mayo"

Hi there everyone!
Today I went to an equestrian event I read about on another blog, it was a Show Jumping competition. I went to the last event which was the Grand Premier of the whole Sol de Mayo competition and it was a World Cup Qualifying competition. Aka really good horses & riders were in this competition. This event usually is held in May but there was some kind of equine virus going around in May and the event was suspended until now. Lucky me right?!

So, I decided to go to this event but really didn't have much of a clue where it was or what to expect. I hopped on my ever trusty bus (ha) and took it close to the River Plate stadium, I knew it was near there and knew what street it was on but not exactly where it was. So after walking around a bit I saw a horse trailer and figured it had to be close. When I found it I wasn't exactly sure where the entrance was because most people were arriving in cars. (This should have been my fist clue as to the type of people attending the event.) Well I saw a group of people walking in through a car entrance so I just followed, the guard asked a question but the other people I was walking with dealt with him...I definitely felt like I was sneaking in, even though I knew the event was free. When I got there there was some kind of band playing, they were fun but I was trying to figure out what I was doing and where I was first. I'm so glad I wore my boots & my collard shirt because otherwise I would have felt more out of place than I was. Think of ritzy equine people back in the states...pretty much the same group of people here in BsAs. Lots of people were wearing real riding boots but there were others wearing fashion ones as well. There were lots of little kids, babies, & pregnant women...I always take note when there are a lot of pregnant women around, I don't know why but it seems to say something about the people I'm around. So yah, at first I felt like I sneaked in to some rich club but as the afternoon wore on I realized some of the families were just there to enjoy the sport, but most of them were rich.

After the band played a Vaulting group came out as an exhibition group. Vaulting, if you don't know, is like gymnastics on horseback. I've done some of this at Cedars but only at a walk/trot and nothing as difficult as what these girls did. It was a lot of fun to watch. I took a video & some other pics which are up on my Photobucket account.

After watching the vaulting I walked around a bit and realized not only was there a restaurant but there were also wine samplings and and a VW car expo. There were also a few booths selling food...but I'll get to that a bit later. I went to the warm up ring and watched the horses and riders get ready for the event and then found a seat. My camera only lasted through the first jumping course but I think I got some decent pictures, given the type of camera I have. I moved around some too and didn't stay in one spot. I also took a couple of videos of a few horses running the course. Those are on my Photobucket account as well. I wish my camera had lasted to the second jumping course because they used more of the jumps that were along the rail. I was super close to two jumps and it was and amazing thing to be so close to!

Not all the riders were perfect so there were a few horses that practically ran straight though the jumps and a lot that made contact/knocked a bar off the jump, but no one was hurt thankfully. During the first course there were 8 or 9 out of the 15-20 or so that made it through the course with out a fault. The second course was much different! Only one rider made it through the course cleanly, he did the same in the first course and was the winner of the whole sha-bang. Funny thing, when a rider finished the course cleanly they would play Bonanza-esk song.

There was a break after everyone ran the first course so they could get the second course ready & by that point I was ready for a snack. So, I looked at some of the little food tents that were there and realized one was making crepes! They were making some that were sandwich-like but they also had the every plentiful dulce de leche and for the first time nutella! I thought about getting a nutella one but it seemed wrong seeing that I'm in the land of Dulce de Leche. Dulce de Leche y Bananas por favor! It was sooo good but SOOO sweet! I couldn't eat the last few bits of it because it was a.) so sweet and b.) it was getting everywhere: my hair, hands, purse.....it had to go! lol

Like I mentioned before, the second round was really cool because the horses and riders were jumping so much closer to us!

After all the riding was done I stuck around for the awards and ended up standing next to an older couple from New York that live in  Buenos Aires half the time. The gentleman loved talking to me....just to talk I guess. He told me that the guy who won was actually coming back from an injuring in his Achilles tendon and this was his second win since coming back to the sport. I hung around a little longer while they handed out awards to the riders so I could watch some of the very attractive guys there....I couldn't help but notice! Eventually I headed back home but all in all it was a GREAT day! I can't wait to go to a Polo match now!

Check out my Photobucket account to see all my pictures and the videos I took from today! There's a link to it at the top of the side bar on the right.

<3 Amy