Gao, Naew's youngest sister, started taking horse riding lessons when the family lived in Vienna, and has taken it up again recently at the local stables in Nonthaburi. Today she was competing in the Preliminary-Level Dressage Competition of the Thai Equestrian Association along with 23 others. The test / performance consisted of a 5 minute choreographed routine of walking / trotting / cantering around the field in prescribed circles and diagonals, starting and finishing in front of the judges at a perfect standstill. Most of the competitors were girls in their early teens on ponies; a few were on horses (including Gao); and there was just one man. Gao performed satisfactorily but too 'hollowly' for the judges' liking and she didn't 'impel' her steed sufficiently, and scored average on the twelve or so competencies. She's doing this for fun, and is more concerned with riding in such a way that she and Grazia (that's her horse) have a nice relaxed time together.
Gao's friend Jeet from the stables was there too, and we chatted away while Mr Keshagupta captured Gao's whole performance -- from warm-up to warm-down -- on video. Jeet lived in the UK for two years, studying in Birmingham and London, and we shared our reflections on the English vs Americans vs Thais. She said riding affords her a bit of nature in the city, as well as a social circle. She's 45 and single, and (as is common here for the unmarried) lives with her parents.
We were at the military base watching all 23 riders for the whole afternoon, from 1pm till 5pm. Once home we watched Mr Keshagupta's video.
In the evening I skyped with Huub for this birthday (hartelijk gefeliciteerd Huub!), and had a nice conversation with Jim but only caught Paul for a minute before he was heading out the door. Shin and Shain came to say hello too; it was their first time on skype! Afterwards, I helped Naew and Shin set up and test their new skype accounts.
These pictures (throughout the whole blog now) add so much to the account
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