#lihs

“what’s the matter, Li? didn’t ya miss me?”

this started out as a thing based on that one scene from CC, but it kinda became it’s own thing and? i rlly like how it turned out (click for better quality)

What a weekend Hopey and I had - the #Liverpool international #horse show.

Hopey, as you may have gathered, is slightly horse obsessed ! So for part of her Christmas present I got tickets for the two of us to go the Liverpool International Horse show which was being held for the first time at the echo arena in Liverpool . I’ve been to the Echo loads of times to see pop concerts and was interested to see how they could hold a horse show in the same arena - I can’t say I was filled with enthusiasm for what lay ahead but boy talk about a u turn !

The three day event ran from the afternoon of January 1st to Sunday 3rd January.There were 6 sessions in total and we were lucky enough to attend 3 of them - the Saturday afternoon and evening session and the Sunday evening (which was a delightful and unexpected bonus as I actually won that set !) The format of each session was much the same.. An official show opening including songs from the “Bootleg Beatles” , a show jumping class, a demonstration by Clemence Faivre a French stunt rider which was beautiful, (the Shetland pony grand national (brilliant and Hopeys favourite part!) interval , The Horseman team which is a basically a troupe of thee French men jumping Grand Prix-height jumps in their underpants (sounds random but you couldn’t help but be amazed show they hurdled over jumps of 1.70m!) then another Show jumping class then the finale .

Next to the arena, the convention centre had been turned into a shopping village and there was also the warm up arena where you got to see the horses and riders in close quarters - Hope loved this part - identifying all the riders and admiring the beautiful animals as they warmed up for action. The shopping village had a good range of stalls, mostly equestrian related and Hopey managed to pick up a range of goodies including a blingy sparkly whip, bargain riding boots, discounted jodhpurs, a fly veil and treats for her horse Daisy and off course the massive stuffed Liverpool Horse Show horse which almost needed a stall of his own!

The organisation at the event was a masterclass of how an event should be run! Everything was clearly marked and exceptionally well organised and the Echo arena staff friendly and helpful as usual.

The show jumping classes were brilliant . The ones before the interval seemed to have a more “fun vibe” to them .. On the Saturday evening it was the mini major fancy dress relay which was brilliant - young riders being teamed up with world class riders racing around the arena in fancy dress - not sure who took it more seriously to be honest .. The children or the professionals 😂. the Sunday evening it was the professionals competing against other in pairs in the knockout - brilliant and nail biting stuff ! The standard of the showjumping in the Abbey road speed stakes and the Grand Prix were amazing - the course designs were fantastic - all amazing to look at and testing for the riders and the horses. The whole events just “flowed” and massive credit has to be given to the people down on the arena who so efficiently changed the course and kept things flowing . massive massive credit to Geoff Billington and his team for the informative and humorous commentary through out - they kept the crowd entertained and and even explained things in easy terms to those of not au fait with show jumping ,

We loved being able to wander round the arena, to see the horses and riders at close quarters to feel the vibe, to feel the tension and competitiveness of the competition. It was a fun, entertaining and awe inspiring couple of days and even for (previously) none horse addicted people like me there was something for everyone .. The only slight criticism was the lack of food outlets - they could do with something in the actual shopping village where you can eat as you wander as there is so much to do! It was a brilliant weekend, I’m desperately hoping it becomes a yearly event - we will certainly be coming back and are now booking for the sister event at Bolesworth in June .

For more info go to www.liverpoolhorseshow.com

BELO HORIZONTE 26 de abril de 2012 (quinta) + informações: https://www.facebook.com/events/398916353470445/ RIO DE JANEIRO 14 de maio de 2012 (segunda) + informações: https://www.facebook.com/events/367994129886906/