Page 60 - The Royal Lancers Chapka 2017
P. 60

  58 REGIMENTAL JOURNAL OF THE ROYAL LANCERS (QUEEN ELIZABETHS’ OWN)
 Exercise SHUTTLECOCK LANCER
Shuttlecock wasted no time in greeting the three new Lancers; Lieutenant (George) Marriott insisted on making several vis- its to the straw and snow cocktail on his first day! After a short
period of instruction from their guru they were free to face the run on their own and set about building their confidence and mastering their toboggans. Whilst the run was relatively quiet during the first week, varying riding conditions made progress and continuity difficult to find. However, the Lancer beginners joined Captain White in fighting the weather and ultimately building their experience on the run ahead of race day.
Trooper Fletcher and Captain Wythe joined the team a few days before the Army Championships. Trooper Fletcher showed significantly greater control of his toboggan than Lieutenant Marriott and soon saw huge progress in reducing his run times. Captain Wythe produced ‘steady first rides’ from both Junction and Top that the majority of the Army riders can only dream of, setting the tone for a successful season. The arrival of Cap- tain Wythe, an accomplished Army rider and member of the St. Moritz Toboggan Club, came of great help to the team. His ex- perience and understanding of the run added significant value to the development of all Lancers.
Achtung Lancers! It was race day. The run was hard, icy and fast. All knew the course would be quick and Shuttlecock would therefore be hungry. Three courses and total times would con- tribute to three competitions: The Army Pairs (17/21L Cup); The Novice Open (for riders in their first ever season); and, the Army Junction Handicap. For the last few years I have ended this article with cries of, “more time on the ice will equal more prizes,” and this year we were given the opportunity to test out my theory. A fall would result in disqualification, but Captain White’s threats of AGAI action would hopefully be enough to see all riders round safely.
In The Novice Open, Trooper Fletcher placed in the middle of the pack with respectable times given his short time in St. Moritz. Lieutenant Gray placed fifth, winning a kiss, and Lieu- tenant Marriott received not only a kiss, but a bottle of fizz and photo frame after finishing third.
Despite a shaky start to his season, Lieutenant Marriott contin- ued to impress on race day and placed sixth in The Army Junc- tion Handicap race. He could be accused of cooking the books for a generous handicap given his early falls, but only he will know if that were his master plan all along.
Arguably, the biggest race of the Inter-Regimental competition is the Army Pairs. As the trophy was the 17/21L Cup, the in- centive to win was even greater. Captain Wythe was riding ex- tremely well and Captain White had finally achieved some good times, whilst crucially avoiding the snowy bank of Shuttlecock. Looking at the field they were the favourites, but impressive sea- sons from the Household Cavalry and Grenadier Guards’ riders would make for an exciting race. Captain Wythe did all that was asked of him and produced three times all in the low forties and Captain White had hung on with good times for courses one and two. Tower called, “White to the box.” Our closest rivals waited at the finish having completed their three courses, hop- ing to hear the ding of the bell to announce a fall, or the call of, “Achtung schlitten,” where a toboggan would arrive at the finish less its rider. Fully aware of this, Captain White held on with a slightly slower time than expected, but enough to win the race.
 Trooper Fletcher listening to the wise words of his Guru

























































































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