Page 80 - Light Dragoons 2022 CREST

Since the 1980s, assorted cavalry regi- ments have descended on the small ski town of Verbier, Switzerland, for Ex White
Knight - the RAC and AAC Alpine Ski Racing Championship. The Light Dragoon team, consisting of Lt Digby, Lt Innes, Cpl Newton, LCpl Newcombe, LCpl Withers, LCpl Lawton, Tpr Greenhalgh and Tpr Stoneman, deployed on 8 December 2021 for a month of training, racing, and gener- ally living our best lives.
We arrived with the snow, alongside ski- ers from the Army Air Corps, the King’s Royal Hussars, the Royal Tank Regiment, the Royal Lancers, the Royal Dragoon Guards, the Household Cavalry and 1st the Queen’s Dragoon Guards. After being greeted by Capt Jack Pullinger (LD), the
exercise director, we had scarcely set out our skis in the chalet before learning that Captain Jack had broken his neck trying to do a backflip off-piste. Thankfully he was largely unharmed (apart from a couple of cracked and fused vertebrae), and won the inaugural ‘Jack Pullinger Bravery Award’ for his efforts.
The novices were split off into a begin- ners’ group, whilst those with previous ski experience were graded into ability-based groups, and everyone began three weeks of lessons. Training each day was from first to last lift, and progressed from free-skiing across the Quatre Vallées to race-specific training down custom-built courses. There were frequent breaks for croque monsieurs, fondues and schnapps, which are essential for keeping energy levels high in tough Alpine conditions. In the evenings, skis were waxed and sharpened and we took turns cooking team meals, ranging from gorgeous vegetable ramens to a five-course meal of nuggets and chips. Sgt Oldham joined the team on 27 December after recovering from an appendix operation.
Ex White Knight complements the train- ing camps of other Corps held in France and Austria. Nearly four decades of train- ing have resulted in extremely close rela- tionships between the town and the British Army; one pub has an LD plaque over the bar and pictures of Light Dragoons on HERRICK on the ceiling. Drinks were heavily discounted, which was welcome, and we found it amusing to get a receipt for ‘5x Army Beers’. Verbier is a fantastic town filled with posh ski bums, family-owned
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businesses, beautiful restaurants and rich Europeans. LCpl Withers remarked at one point, after watching Sir Richard Branson and others getting some lunch, “You know, this time last year I was in the middle of a civil war in Mali. Verbier is honestly more of a culture shock.”
There were multiple extra-curricular activ- ities, including a night-slalom race held by the RDG; a carol concert for the commu- nity held in a local church hosted by the