Page 55 - Light Dragoons 2023 CREST

The Regimental Journal of The Light Dragoons
Christmas Day
Verbier Chic
ingly more direct fire from fireworks. The ‘five D’s of dodgeball’ certainly apply to surviving Plaice Central unscathed.
After the New Year celebrations arrive the sponsors. These VIPs who donate generously to the exercise, are hosted by the teams in their chalets. Whilst some regiments seemed to not be allocated any VIPs, the LD chalet was allocated three. Entrusted with this task after no doubt years of excellent hosting. The soldiers took this challenge in their stride and whilst Lt Riall and I were trying to resus- citate some stodgy risotto, all three of our VIPs were in deep conversation ranging from mounting Brimstone missiles on the HMTV, to the fairer sex of Verbier. After drinking the chalet dry, the team and our VIPs descended on the Pub Mon Fort where the boys were thanked for their efforts with a generous corporate credit card.
The racing competitions soon began, with skiers eager to be tested peer on peer. The first event is the Giant Slalom seeding. This dictates the running order for the upcom-
Cpl Neighbour regretting the previous night
ing races. Team LD started well with two skiers placed in the top 10 and two more in the top 20. The remainder placed in com- petitive positions for their novice seasons. To have all four members of our A team in the top 20 put us in a strong position to compete for silverware. Sadly, this wasn’t to be. With Cpl Newton returned to the UK to teach PWO and Capt Jefferis shoul- der deciding to rearrange itself thanks to a particularly sharp pair of slalom skis, the A team lost half of its skiers in quick suc- cession. Cpl Newcombe and LCpl Clayton- Reid (in his novice season no less) received a field promotion. Despite lightning times from Lt Riall and Cpl Neighbour, our A team fell short but still managed a respect- able 5th place overall. The B Team, now also down two skiers, adopted the lone Cpl Sunday (RDG) to make up numbers. Some exceptional novice skiing saw the team fin- ish as the 2nd fastest B team. This only left us wondering what might have been with a full-strength team.
The LDs recorded some impressive results in the individual events. Most notably was Lt Riall who came second by only
two hundredths of a second in the Super G. Just missing out on retaining the tro- phy and maintaining the LDs dominance in RAC speed events. Nonetheless, Riall also finished as the 3rd best skier overall in his first racing season. LCpl Clayton-Reid was another stand out performer. Through a sheer lack of fear, he produced excep- tional times and recorded a Slalom finish of 23rd. He was by far the quickest nov- ice and only missed out on being crowned as such through a disqualification in one race making him ineligible. An impressive skier and one to watch in the future.
Representing the Regiment in Alpine Skiing is an unforgettable experience. From the fastest through to complete nov- ice, every skier is fighting to gain a place over their peers and for their regiment. The Light Dragoons are in a good position to build for next year and should represent the Regiment well at both the Divisional and the Army level.
DOWJ
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