Page 63 - The Royal Lancers Chapka 2017
P. 63

 REGIMENTAL JOURNAL OF THE ROYAL LANCERS (QUEEN ELIZABETHS’ OWN) 61
  Italian Cavalry Championships
“Lento, lento, LENTO!” – accompanied by animated hand gestures – the Italian riding instructor tried his best to convince Captain Kellard that show jumps required a rather more considered and careful approach than the chase fences at
Sandown.
After a frantic search for a team-mate, Captain Kellard made the trip to the Centro Militare Di Equitazione in Montelibretti accompanied by Second Lieutenant Amy Cooper (Royal Artil- lery). They were to follow in the footsteps of the intrepid trio of Captains Monckton and Purbrick, and Lance Corporal Wil- liams-Tanton, and compete in the Italian Cavalry Champion- ships. After hearing tales of being abandoned at Rome airport, bonkers horses and complicated competitions, Captain Kellard and Second Lieutenant Cooper were slightly worried about what would await them. However, after a warm welcome by a bunch of Italian Cavalry Subalterns, their fears quickly faded.
The Centro Militare Di Equitazione is slightly different to our own Defence Animal Centre at Melton. The Italians have a strong history of producing world class military riders, often sending representatives to Olympic games; many of these riders train at the Centre in Montelibretti. Set in the beautiful Tuscan countryside, we found ourselves using facilities that would rival those found in any professional equestrian yard. The horses we were given for the competition were brilliant, giving us a fair and competitive chance throughout the event.
The first morning would allow the team to practice on their mounts, under the guidance of Colonel Giganti, a senior riding instructor who we were sure lived a double life as an interna- tional playboy. Second Lieutenant Cooper was certainly more qualified for the job in hand, having evented to a high level. She was given a handsome but sensitive gelding with instructions to be very gentle and calm. Very sensibly the Colonel identified that as a jockey, Captain Kellard would be more suited to the stocky mare that needed a certain amount of oomph applied to get her over her fences. Second Lieutenant Cooper’s impressive ability prompted much hand waving and cries of “Bravo!” from Colonel Giganti. C aptain Kellard, having only jumped at a gal- lop for the past few years, started seeing long strides and pushing for them. Apparently, you’re not meant to do this whilst show jumping... Nevertheless, the Colonel was happy and told us to
take the afternoon to travel to Rome and enjoy the unseasonably warm weather.
The first day of competition consisted of a single round against the clock, and the fastest clear round would win it. Before any of this could take place, each team would take part in a parade past the grandstand. Instruction was given to walk past calmly and bang up a salute to the Commandant in the stands. As the only British representatives present, the Italians kindly gave us the honour of leading the parade. It was at this point that suspicions were aroused over whether Colonel Giganti had given our horses rocket fuel overnight – the pair went mad in front of the stands, cantering on the spot and generally making a total hash of the walk past. Suddenly the nerves were kicking in again!
Captain Kellard was first up and set out into the ring, trying his best to keep a lid on the by now over excited mare. The pair be- gan well, but it all went a bit wrong at the fifth where the brakes were slammed on, almost ending up in an unplanned dismount. Luckily, Captain Kellard was able to cling on and complete the round, albeit with a vast number of faults. Second Lieutenant Cooper managed to restore some pride by putting in a very neat first round with only one pole down.
The second day saw the second and third rounds of show jump- ing, and luckily with no parade to complete, two far calmer horses for the British team! After some lazy mistakes, Captain Kellard finished the initial round with three poles down, but was able to follow this up with a clear round against the clock. Second Lieutenant Cooper went clear in the initial round and then after a disastrous warm up for the final round, miraculously managed to jump around against the clock and only have one pole knocked down.
Given the chaos surrounding the preparation for the competi- tion, Captain Kellard and Second Lieutenant Cooper were ec- static with a mid-division finish overall. We were hosted mag- nificently by the Italians and the Regiment will endeavour to continue the association in years to come. My thanks to the Regimental Association for their support, without which trips like this would not happen.
WAOK






















































































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