{Tea diaries}

A young rider competing in the first session
No no no, not me. I haven't even overcome my fear of falling yet, let alone entering myself into a proper dressage competition. Went to Lei Yue Mun Riding School to cheer for my friend T's first competition this morning. Was extremely impressed by how seriously everyone took the competition, with their full set of gear, and careful braiding of the horse's mane and tail with cute little ribbons. Didn't realise there were so many horse buffs in HK. Had an urge to sign up when I saw how satisfied and thrilled everyone looked after competing... although at the same time felt a bit embarrassed by my appalling riding skills... 
Here's a few interesting snapshots I took of the competition~

Transitions are made at the markers located all around the paddock

It was pouring cats and dogs today when I woke up, so I called up the stables to check on the conditions in Fan Ling... as it turned out, lessons were still on, as it will be in the covered home paddock. So i forced myself out of bed, hurriedly packed everything and lugged my backpack off to Fan Ling for my riding lesson... 
When I signed in, I noticed that instead of Speedster, which my instructor loves to put me on and that I always have a hard time controlling, I was on the Star Warrior (A271 星運猛將) today... was actually rather excited about trying a new horse...  here's a pic of the horse on his last race before retiring... very handsome looking and striking! (yes am talking about the horse NOT the jockey)
Everything got off to a swimming start, when Star Warrior responded diligently to all my instructions~ we started trotted up the horses within a short while, using up half the paddock. Because of the weather conditions, instead of spreaded out at the various outdoor and indoor paddocks, there were over 10 horses cramped together within this only indoor paddock. There was this one guy that got on my instructor's nerve since he was galloping round the tiny paddock to show off his horse, ignoring us novices' presence.