I came here on Tuesday. Casall La Silla feels happy and fresh here; it’s been a month since his last show which was in Paris. There have not been any indoor shows since, so he has stayed at home. He’s been jumping once a week, and as we’ve been getting closer to the final we’ve increased it to twice. When I jump him at home like that I do a little mixed work with him; some exercises and some course jumping. I did some warm-up jumping in the arena on Casall on Tuesday evening. The most important part was to let him jump in this environment and without any stress connected – it’s all about letting him pop around.
I rode Casall this morning as well. I didn’t do too much with him, just a little flat work – I try to save some of his energy and use my time on checking that everything works as it should.
I’m number 29 in today’s first round of the World Cup, so that means I will get to see a few of those before me. Tonight I for sure need to give some gas, but at the same time I can’t go crazy fast. A small advantage of going a bit later in the class it that you get to see some of the other riders do the course, and take a look at what different alternatives there are.
I also have Camillo Ls La Silla with me, which will jump the last class tonight. In the meantime I’ve been getting some sleep and watching the 1.40 class. The show here is really nice, with good facilities!
Many riders look dangerous for this final; Pius has Ulysse and Carlina with him, then there is Christian and Taloubet Z – not to forget Marco, Ludger and Marcus. And the two French riders – Patrice and Kevin need to be watched out for as well.
Keep your fingers crossed for me.
Best wishes
Rolf
