Andy Beale, Kendall McDonald, Richard Cripps and John Hainsworth spent their entire Saturday pegging the sections. A chance encounter with the landowner, who just happened to be passing mentioned that the top section of the property did not belong to him. This came as a big surprise to the section setters, as no-one realised this. The landowner was kind enough to give the contact details of the other land owner,but the lack of phone reception meant it could not be arranged. Undeterred the guys worked their magic and found lines that would suit everyone with what was available. Revisiting areas of the property not used for some years.
Waking up and looking out the window on Trial day, it looked like we were going to get cold and wet. The forecast for the rest of the day was not promising. By the time we got to Purau the rain had turned into a very light drizzle and just before the start horn was pressed the sky turned blue! and 11 eager faces that turned up for the event were ready to go! Not the best turn out of the year – was it the weather? or perhaps daylight savings keeping people in bed?. They missed a brilliant day. Looking on the bright side there was no queues, every section had a challenge for every rider and most would even get a placing!.
The recent club experts rose to the challenge, and after a daunting start got right into it by the final lap. It was great to see Derek, Shane and Stefanie toughing it out. The intermediates and A grades also had a great day. A lonely novice rider managed to get a first placing and score didn’t matter Andy gives Richard the credit for the perfection of the novice (b) line. Kendall and Andy dusted off the side chair for a rare but enjoyable change in mount.
Sandra even got up the extra hour earlier to be our organiser, where would we be without her? A huge thanks for her usual dedication with the cards and results. She also made sure there were plenty of sausage cooked for everyone.
The tradition of stopping at a pub on the way home continued, with a much larger than usual turn out at the Wheatsheaf Tavern. For a first timer at this venue, It was like walking back in time, onto the set of the movie “Deliverance”. The fire was blazing and some crazy lunatic who must have been high on something was acting all weird dancing in front of the TV that was tuned into the Samoa vs Fiji pool game. Everyone ignored the village idiot and continued in their conversation. A relaxing end to another magical day on the peninsular. PERFECT.
Shirley McDonald