Page 42 - QARANC Vol 14 No 7 2013

40 QARANC THE GAZETTE
Army Medical Services at The Royal Tournament 2013, Melton Mowbray
With The Royal Windsor Horse Show and The Royal Tournament at Melton Mowbray in view for 2013; two training days were held at the Royal Military Academy, Sandhurst in April. The top show jumping coach Fred Bergendorff was on hand to select the teams alongside the Captain of the AMS show jumping team, Captain Nicola Rush (RAMC). After two hard days of training they selected one team to be entered for Windsor and two teams for The Royal Tournament.
The training days were a big success; I had purchased an ex-racehorse called Patrick straight off the track in June 2012 for peanuts and he had came on leaps and bounds over the two days. However, Patrick wasn’t quite ready for the dizzy heights of Windsor, but we were very pleased to have been selected to represent the AMS at the Royal Tournament.
I had joined the military to fund my love
of horses. Knowing I was going to ride
in uniform at the Royal tournament on
my own horse, which I had personally
remodelled from a racehorse to a
competition horse, was a pretty big deal. Juggling shift patterns and military commitments around having lessons on Patrick was a challenge in itself but worth every moment, even if it did involve 04:30 am starts before a 07:00 shift on the ward.
I travelled up to Melton with Corporal of Horse Powell who was the stables manager for Brunei stables at the RMAS. Settled the horses in and walked the course for the following day where I would jump as an individual and the only junior
rank representing the AMS. Patrick performed better than expected, making it round the two courses, given that it was his third competition and was still classed as ‘green’ and inexperienced I was over the moon. The rest of the team had a successful day too, made up of Colonel Hartington (RAMC), MDHU Portsmouth, Captain Toole (QARANC), 16 med Regt, Captain Smith (RAMC), Headley, Captain Davies (RAMC), RCDM, Major Whitlle (RAVC), TA based in Surrey and myself.
The team competition next day saw only one team complete a clear round out of all the regiments and corps. It was a demanding course with boggy ground from heavy rain the night before. Patrick decided he wasn’t playing on this day along with a few other members of the team. However, everyone was very supportive and waiting around for the ‘big competitors’ to make
their mark.
Team bonding occurred when Captain
Rush arrived and we had a little trip to pizza express to discuss the day’s events and future competitions.
The following day was an individual effort for the derby which involved show jumps and cross country fences, including ditches and a bank whilst divided in
junior and senior classes.
I had an amazing time and I think I speak on behalf of all the
members of the team when saying the funding from the AMS is greatly appreciated for team training and competitions. It was an honour, not only to ride in uniform but to represent my Corps.
Cpl C Pearson, MDHU Frimley Park
Army Sport Climbing
The 22nd-23rd May saw myself and Pte Robinson represent MDHU(N) at the Army Sport Climbing Championships at Awesome Walls in Liverpool and saw competitors from right across the Army battle it out in the Elite, Open and Novice categories.
The unique setting for this excellent event was a converted Church that dates back to 1849, but whilst I might have been secretly hoping for a little supernatural assistance after a recent-ish finger operation (you always need an excuse!), the super confident Pte Robinson needed look no further than her own grit, determination and skill.
To qualify on the first day and establish your category, climbers were faced with 8 routes of increasing difficulty. As the results came pouring in it was shaping up to be an exciting next 24 hours. Having started well, my supernatural assistance must have got bored with me as I was sandwiched between 2 climbers on route 6 and almost knocked off the wall by a falling climber on route 7 (3 excuses up my sleeve and counting!). The real excitement though was watching the developing battle between the ladies finalists, who were climbing just as well if not better than most men. This saw Pte Robinson finish top of her class by 768 points to 766 but not before a nail biting display of tricky footwork to get her to the top of route 7. “She’s strong!” shouted one spectator and “where the hell did she come from?” enquired another.
The following day witnessed an intense final in all 3 categories. The elite