Chapter 312 Two-day match

  The time has come to the end of October, and the two-day competition is coming soon.

  As of yesterday's pre-selection of qualifications, there are more than forty contestants who meet the requirements. The competition requires that the horse's level cannot exceed one star, but there is no limit. Professionals will judge before participating in the test, and those who cheat at a high level are not allowed.

  The prize money set for the competition is too high and generous. Even if there is no deliberate publicity, the attractive news has already spread, and both newspapers and the Internet have reported it. There are quite a few qualified contestants, the only thing is that there is not enough time, otherwise more people will sign up this time.

The overall evaluation of the contestants is a group of amateur riders with 20 to 30 years of equestrian experience and a group of professional riders competing on the same stage. Joanna, as a contestant, is under a lot of pressure. Although she is very talented, her opponent's level On par with her, and even stronger.

  An Feng said to her before the game: "How about we set up podiums for the top ten?"

   "No!" Joanna shook her head, "I want to compete with my own strength, and I will come in second. I just want to express myself on the field!"

   "I will always support you!" An Feng said.

  A few days before the start of the race, the participants arrived at SLO one after another, and the Blue Sky Racecourse provided training grounds and professional horse care. Many contestants came with their teams. They are professional riders. Their goal is to compete for the generous rewards of the top three, and their attitude is very serious.

  Bazel's team arrived three days ago, and they also brought their own strong cheerleaders. Members of the Sinclair family came, and Christina couldn't sit still, and came to watch the game with her stomach upright. An Feng specially prepared a room in the winery for her, but she is in good condition, she is more than five months pregnant and can move around very easily.

  The airports in several nearby cities are already full of private jets, the hotel rooms are facing full capacity, and Anfeng’s winery is also full. The guests are all important friends, rushing to cheer Joanna and Bazel. The big bosses of the consortium participated in the battle in person, and many of them came uninvited.

Bazel's reputation in the circle is not so high, as can be seen from the luxury business jets parked at several nearby airports, and even brought too many bodyguards, and groups of black suits can often be seen in the hotel , and currently they have taken over the security work at the racetrack.

  In addition, some members of the Blueline family, An Feng's consortium partners and friends were present. There are also some friends who are engaged in the media industry. They mentioned the event in newspapers or on the Internet, and the publicity effect was extremely strong. They even invited a professional filming team, and the overall level continued to rise.

   Until the day of the game, the event has become the focus of the industry.

   Part of this was influenced by An Feng, and the other part was promoted by friends in the industry. As a result, it spread widely, and in a short period of time, a group of real upper class people gathered. To save An Feng and Bazel's face, they came to cheer in person, and all the VIP seats had been reserved.

  The dressage arena is indoors, not too big, and the auditorium can only accommodate 3,000 people. All the seats have been booked out, and most of them are nearby residents. Because it is a free ticket, it is not cheap. The remaining small group of people, men in uniform formal attire, women in bright morning gowns, wearing hats with various characteristics and shapes, looked at the VIP auditorium, very similar to the grand occasion of the Royal Ascot.

   It can be said that anyone selected at the VIP seats may be an influential capitalist, an authentic upper-class person, and the live cameras gave them and their wives a lot of shots. Although the TV station that got the special invitation didn't know the situation, when they saw the clear-cut group of bodyguards around the VIP, they had a keen sense of smell and knew that these people were either rich or expensive, otherwise there wouldn't be so many black suits maintaining order.

   Therefore, the focus of the camera and eyes is on the VIP auditorium, and being able to show your face is success.

  An Feng was among them, surrounded by Joanna's parents and friends, all of whom came to cheer her on. Beside them are members of the Sinclair and Blulane families, talking in low voices, very particular about quality. The referees and other staff on the arena are ready. The referees have the referee qualifications recognized by the FEI. The design of the arena and the first two designated movements of dressage are also professionally designed.

  The dressage arena is a standard 60×20-meter square sand field, with ABCD and other points set up with letters, and everything is undertaken according to the standard. Before the start of the race, the racers first undergo a veterinary inspection, mainly to check the condition of the horses to prevent accidents.

  The competition started in anticipation. The individual competition was divided into three rounds. The first two rounds were designated movements, set by the International Equestrian Federation, and the last round was a free interpretation of the soundtrack. The rider and the horse performed their own music and self-choreographed dance steps. The first player to play is from a local in California, and he completed it quite well.

  In fact, the competition is a performance of "people in costumes and horses dancing". Every instruction of the rider, the horse must take every walking step with agility and ease.

  When the various combinations of canter, trot and canter are displayed, it is like a horse dancing in the field.

  Looking at the roster, Joanna is placed in the middle, giving time to prepare and not consuming patience. Everyone watched quietly. Because it was a one-star competition, the players and horses were very professional, and they performed the art of "horse ballet" exquisitely and elegantly, winning rounds of applause.

  After more than a dozen players continued, Joanna appeared on the broadcast.

   Followed by a standard black and white riding suit, Joanna, who is driving a racehorse, appears on the stage. She wears a safety helmet, reveals a small portion of her blond hair, and has a straight waist. The gentlemen at the scene cheered uncharacteristically, and the previously dull VIP seats suddenly broke out, and the surrounding audience were very curious.

  Joanna, who has won so much applause, has multiple cameras pointed at her, attracting everyone's attention.

  The older cheerleaders were in charge of applauding and cheering, and Luo Jie and Wang Le had already started to wave the custom-made flags in their hands. The competition hadn't started yet, and everyone seemed to have decided that the contestants were the champions. This overflowing enthusiasm was simply irresistible.

  Joanna calmly drove the horse into the arena from point A. Angelina came to the center of the arena with regular slow steps and stopped quietly. Joanna facing the camera is very confident, but her expression is a little serious. It can be seen from the big screen that she nodded towards the camera and started the game.

This movement stipulated by the FEI cannot be played freely, so it can be compared with the performance of the previous dozen or so players. She steered Angelina to continue to walk in regular small steps, from the center point to the side length point, Turn to walk along the border with high forelimbs and a slow, rhythmic walk.

  The footwork of dressage is different from that of ordinary riding. It is rhythmic like ballet, with large range of motion and high hoofs, showing confidence. And to be coherent, the horse has a fast reaction speed and a vigorous pace, which is very demanding on the horse itself.

  After passing two points at a trot, Joanna controlled Angelina to take a side step, which was wonderful, keeping the horse's head straight ahead, moving forward and sideways at the same time. It tests the judgment of distance and the pace of the horse. Points will be deducted for making mistakes or not approaching the specified point when arriving.

   Everyone watched with bated breath. Although Angelina is not a million-dollar horse, she has been with Joanna for three years, and they have a good understanding in training. She completed the movements obediently. After a round of performances, he walked around the field with a brisk walk, suddenly changed to a slow walk, and then followed a diagonal walk.

  Dressage scoring depends on the skill of the rider and the horse. Technical Joanna naturally passed the test. She was very calm, with a straight waist and a solemn expression, but the horse was not good enough. Tens of thousands and hundreds of thousands of horses usually have little riding experience, but in dressage, the rider’s legs convey complex instructions. If the horse is not smart enough, it will not be able to understand it, causing wrong steps, or simply refusing to execute.

  Joanna and Angelina were both in good condition, and they completed the required actions with very few mistakes when their opponents were not weak. Regardless of the results, she won the warmest applause and cheers from the most excited fans. An Feng and his parents-in-law all stood up and waved the flag.

  The camera gave close-ups of this group of rich and expensive audiences, with smiles on their faces.

  Joanna smiled and raised her right hand as a signal, then patted Angelina on the neck to encourage her, and rode a racehorse around the field, very victorious. Regardless of other things, this confidence alone won the applause of many people. Of course, ladies are always easy to get applause.

  Joanna drives away, the next player enters the field, and the game continues.

   There were only two contestants who could get the collective cheers from the VIPs and regardless of their image. The first one was Joanna, and the second one was Bazel. He rode a prized black Hanoverian horse, a 12-year-old in excellent condition. Of course, he himself is also skilled.

   Bazel, who was riding on the back of a racehorse, was expressionless. He was usually serious, but at this time he had the decisiveness and majesty of an officer giving orders on the battlefield. The tall horse under him is like a war horse, performing every movement accurately... After three games, he scored third.

  Joanna’s subsequent game was not as eye-catching as Bazel’s. She hesitated about the route during the second performance, but she quickly adjusted. In the free performance, she used her superb footsteps to perform a wonderful hoof ballet, and then raised her legs at a slow speed, winning cheers from the audience.

  The last free play was unrestrained, and Joanna's performance was also perfect.

  Dressage competitions are numerous and take up a day. Before the curtain closed at 4:30 in the afternoon, Joanna ranked eighth in points. Among many competitors, especially women, she was good enough. It's a pity that the horses are not good enough, if "Gina" trains for another two years, the results will be even better.

   Bazel is really good. He finished fourth in the final points and is not far from the previous one. If he maintains a good condition in tomorrow's show jumping show, he is very likely to enter the top three. Back that night, everyone held a celebration for the two of them in the winery.

Due to the large number of guests this time, not only Sinclair, but also Blu Lain and other friends, if An Feng and his wife are here to deal with it... just close the door, but Wu Qian still designed the reception work and gave the guests Provides a comfortable environment and is qualified as a housekeeper.

  At the dinner table, they discussed tomorrow's game.

Bazel is naturally a hot topic. Whether he can be in the top three or not depends on the state of the horse. As a rider who has achieved a professional one-star level in his twenties, although he has not continued to develop professionally, but with the love of equestrianism among British nobles , he naturally did not work hard, the level is very high.

For Joanna, everyone’s praise is no less than that of Bazel, for no other reason. She is only twenty-five years old, and she can finish eighth in a field full of strong players at a young age. The horses are not a good breed. Relying on one's own skills to reverse the disadvantages, this skill is admirable.

  The lively and active Catherine raised her glass and said to everyone: "In addition to Bazel winning the top three, we wish Joanna to break into the top seven and win the bonus!"

   "Cheers!" Everyone toasted to bless Joanna.

  (end of this chapter)