shawan preparations

It’s that most shawanderful time of the year again, when my local riding club the MDCTA starts gearing up for their annual recognized USEA Horse Trials at Shawan Downs!

Phillip Dutton & Fernhill Singapore jumping around prelim circa 2015

I love this event so much — for honestly a lot of reasons. It’s inexorably connected to my eventing history, as home of my earliest volunteer and competitor experiences. And it’s super local for me!

my third ever horse trial, with Isabel in 2015

Shawan Downs is an iconic venue, independent from just eventing too — they host a variety of timber and steeplechase races throughout the season. 

what Shawan Downs is really famous for: the Legacy Chase

Mostly, tho, my interests center on the eventing aspect. Especially bc it’s super easy to get involved with the club too! Their current competition calendar just uses Shawan Downs for the big recognized event and a follow-up unrecognized starter trial. So it’s always a big push for club members and volunteers to get everything set up!

trying to make sense of the annual jumble

All the portable cross country jumps are piled in an adjacent field for storage throughout the rest of the year, so it’s always a bit of a mystery puzzle sorting everything out — seeing what maybe got a bit broken in the transport, or perhaps succumbed to nature over the winter, vs what’s ready to go for the new year.

making a plan!

Generally it’s a multi-day job for the builder to move jumps from storage out onto approximate locations on course ahead of the final set with the designers. 

and from the woods emerge…. jompies!!!

Presumably this is the same just about anywhere, although at Shawan the storage field is a bit far so there’s a lot of time spent driving back and forth with the trailers and loaders. This year fortunately we had two trailers, so it went a little faster maybe.

however long you think it takes to move all the jumps from storage to the course, double triple it

It’s super satisfying seeing everything take shape tho. And for whatever reason, things are well ahead of schedule this year too! All tracks are officially set out with just some building (repairs / blocking / staking), mowing, painting, decorating, flagging, roping, etc, left to do.

and voila! a combination is born!

I mean, obvi that’s still a lot of work left LOL! Tho generally that’s how most members knock out their year-end awards eligibility hours, so it always ends up getting done.

next steps: painting + decorating + flagging!!
sign up here if you wanna join the fun!

I personally love getting to see more behind the scenes “how the sausage is made” eventing activities. It’s not that it’s all that complicated or unexpected, but it is A LOT. A lot of time, a lot of work, a lot of hands involved. Especially activities like mowing or flagging or painting, it all just takes the time it takes, ya know?

But it’s such a nice change of pace from my normal desk job haha. Honestly not a terrible way to spend a day! 

So ya know, if you need me, that’s where I’ll be for the next few weeks LOL! And if you’re local and interested in getting involved, come join us and sign up to slap some paint on a jump!