Sometimes you really should listen to that voice telling you that you don’t need to get up, that a day in bed is way better than getting up at 3.45 and driving for two hours to do the last discipline of an event. I did however not listen to that voice Sunday morning, and how do I regret that.
I will spare you the long tale of the weekend in Kalundborg. Saturday I brought Faraday for a 100 cm class. He did an ok dressage, a little over excited in the jumping, and a fantastic cross country. Finished 5th and won both money and chocolate.
Aristocrat was too tense (Surprise…!) in the dressage, amazing in the cross and seems so grown up this year compared to the past season. Overall an ok start before the final discipline Sunday morning: Showjumping.
Let us put it short – In showjumping you need to canter for the horse to be able to jump the fences. Aristocrat had somehow calmed down since Sopot, he had just forgotten to tell his rider that this time she needed to actually keep him cantering. For some reason the rider, did not see that coming and managed to put in extra strides everywhere, giving the horse no chance to do his job. No need to say that the result was less than satisfying.
Getting up early to ride poorly is just annoying and not enough to ruin my day. I was annoyed enough however that I forgot my passport at the show. Luckily I discovered it 15 minutes after leaving, turned around, picked up the passport and went on my way again.
This time I drove for about 20 min before realizing that something was wrong. When looking in the mirror my trailer seemed awfully dirty and the lights on the side very dim. I decided to pull over as soon as possible. The first possible spot was already occupied and since the car sounded normal and no lights were on I figured I could drive to the next spot.
I pulled over and turned off the engine. Walked around the car to have a look at what was wrong. It didn’t take me long to realize that I would not be driving away from there in my own car.
While trying to figure out everything one of the other riders, Hanne Wind, passed me, after passing, she called and asked if I needed help. She offered to at least save Aristocrat from waiting all night and bring him to her place. The kindness of fellow riders in these situations is always surprising. Of course I know Hanne and all, but I am sure she would have stopped and helped me even if I didn’t.
With Aristocrat out of harms way we transported the car and the trailer to the shop. My dad picked me and the trailer up there. Then I went and picked up Aristocrat and finally I hit the bed at 9.30. The engine is dead and we are waiting for a call to see if the dealer will pay for the replacement. We bought the car less than two years ago and according to European costumer laws the dealer has to fix any issues that was present before I bought it. The hard part here is to prove that it was an issue that was present, but it seems to be a well know problem with this engine and hopefully everything will be sorted soon.