Well, with 11 riders still to go and a break for lunch the 3 star dressage is underway.

At the moment its Chris Burton on Newsprint with Heath Ryan and Mystery Whisper both sitting on equal first. These riders have a real shot at winning this event and they will be pushing hard to put pressure on the rest of the class. Chris seems to have been working on the Dressage phase, and has gone the extra mile to try and outdo the crafty Heath Ryan. Heath was in the lead after Dressage at the last Sydney 3DE and it will be very difficult to better these performances today. Both riders are sitting on 46.3 penalties right now.

Georgina Clifford on It’s Monty is sitting on 50.4 penalties, however with more riders to yet come the competition is sure to heat up.

[Georgina Clifford riding It’s Monty]

EFA NSW CCI**

1. Ben Stokes - BML Blueprint - 49.8

2. Emma Mason - Kitara Diamond Addition - 51.7

3. Sam Lyle - Scribbly Park Sorcerer - 51.9

The venue looks fantastic thanks to all the volunteers who have worked tirelessly in an effort to make SIEC shine.

The ISS Showjumping is being run concurrently and horses are everywhere you look. The weather is so far behaving itself with just a sprinkling of rain on and off but sunny patches in between. The cross country course is greener than we have ever seen it and it makes for a change from the normal dry outlook we are used to here in Australia.

The punters have flocked to the trade stands which are offering all the best in horse and rider accessories, I am told that most stand owners have put stock on special low prices to entice the very horse savvy crown into picking up a bargain while they are out here enjoying the dressage.

The event is great fun for the whole family and if your staying away for fear of rain I should let you know that seating in the main arena is covered for spectators.

If your not traditionally ‘into’ eventing, and want to pick up the rules while you watch, the great commentary from Matt Hill (Sky Racing) is keeping everyone well informed of all the action.

Yesterday The Age ran Olympic eventing trials back on track and interviewed local rider Shane Rose about his thoughts on the coming Olympic team selection for Eventing. The final Olympic team is to be chosen on July 4th.

Australian Eventing riders have taken out Gold in four out of five of the last Olympics (having missed out in Athens) and are keen for the world to know that they are back with force after the time out last year due to EI.

This year Australia has qualified a team in all three Olympic events - eventing, show jumping and dressage.

Shane has said “I think we will have one of our strongest teams at these Games that we’ve had for many, many years.”

Starting today eventing riders will perform Dressage in the Horseland CCI*** class at SIEC.

Its really Olympic fever at the moment and as Australia prepares to hastily host the Olympic flame on its journey through Canberra (the route has already been shortened because of the threat of disruption by the Pro-Tibet protesters) the media coverage for China is looking far from positive.

Olympic news isn’t all glum and the guys over at On The Bit have a interesting post about the Olympic Stables that have just been completed. The whole thing looks impressive with eco friendly construction and waste management while horses can enjoy aircon set to a comfy 23° C, rubber flooring, ice machines, 24-hour CCTV and even sensors on doors!

The Hong Kong Jockey Club, has invested a cool $US150 million to make sure these are the best Equestrian Olympics yet.

Our favorite eventing coach Sharmayne Spencer has given us all a few much needed Three Day Event Tips so just incase your not sure of the best way to approach 4 days of full on competitive riding we thought we would summarise.

Did you know…

• You need your EFA papers for the vet check?
• You can meet the ground jury and get all those questions answered at your Briefing
• You have to look good (shake it!) at the vet check
• Horses get bored being in a stable all event so make sure you let yours out for grass as often as possible
• You must have a bridle number for dressage
• Getting around a cross country course is HARD - make sure you know where your going!
• Get your pit crew prepped (mum? dad?) so by the time you come of the XC course they are ready with water and sweat scraper so you can get that fighting fit filly back down to an acceptable temperature
• Gear should be all clean and horses well rested by the final day so you and your steed can jump a clear round of showjumping fences

Sharmayne wishes all riders the best of luck and offers her support as do we!

The spectator timetable is up and you can find out all about it.

If you want to know the highlights then let me give you a heads up:

Thursday

• Showjumping will be running on each of the four days in the main arena
• Catch the Fairfield City Council CCN PreNovice doing Dressage which kicks off in Arena 9 from 8.30am
• The EFA NSW CCI** class will be flaunting its stuff in Arena 4
• Don’t miss the Cocktail Party (invitation only) from 7pm that night

Friday

• The Dressage will continue thanks to our great sponsors Mitavite the CCI* will be underway from early morning
• Horseland are also getting on the band wagon by supporting the CCI*** which will run in Arena 4 concurrently
• You can grab a ticket for a cross country walk and learn a bit about what the riders are facing on their way round the course and see for yourself just how big those CC fences really are. Tours leave at 10.15am and 2pm.
• Showjumping is again to be run in the main arena with class 6 through 9 to be held throughout the day, don’t miss the ISS Senior Australian Championship.

Saturday

• Cross Country day has arrived! Thanks to the folks over at the Fairfield City Council the CCN PreNovice will get things started, followed by the Mitavite CCI*, and the EFA NSW
  CCI** finally don’t miss the Horseland CCI*** which is sure to be action packed!
• If you didn’t get to walk the course yesterday you can make your way around it today, but if walking is not your style hop a Buggy Tour (grab a ticket first!) at 10.45am, 12.15pm or 1.45pm from the Start gate of the XC course
• After the riders have made it round in one piece (hopefully) and horses have been tucked up in their stables you can bet everyone will be enjoying a nice cool beverage at the XC Riders Party in the Mess Hall from 7pm

Sunday

• Pull your hangover out of bed for the Final Horse Inspections, getting underway from 7am (ouch!)
• Riders will now get horses back into action and limbered up ready for the Showjumping rounds to begin at 8.30am in the main arena. This is a great chance to catch some jumping as the day will mix up the ISS Showjumping Grand Prix and the Eventing Jumping Classes