 |
| Hampton Court Maze |
Just in case you thought we weren't going to see a more tradition hedge, here's one of the most famous hedges of all. The UK and in particular, London, is a huge draw for tourism, the vast majority of which revolves around the British Monarchy. Probably the most famous of the monarchs is Henry VIII who's favourite haunt was Hampton Court Palace in West London, home to probably the most famous maze "in the world". So with this in mind and taking in to consideration mazes are designed to be confusing, here's the next next installment in my 'Volunteer Course Design Portfolio'.
Hampton Court Maze:
 |
| The Maze Fence | Requires Pinpoint Accuracy |
This fence is designed to be a little confusing, and if you don't take the right lines you could be in stuuck, and end up wasting loads of time. The advice to riders is walk every inch of it in detail, then walk it again, and commit to memory. A mistake here will be costly with time faults, stay on the fast route through here and it's as easy as riding grid work. The fast route is intended to require pin point accuracy, but there are plenty of ways to right this complex depending on the length of your horse's stride and it's commitment to corners.
I've purposefully not drawn routes, so that you have to study it carefully, I mean why would I give you the answer to a maze! I will, however, explain numbering and striding. This isn't the first fence on the course (1 = 1st element), remember you are not allowed to circle between elements flagged as a,b,c, etc. The distance between 1A&B is 1 stride, between 1C&D it's 1 stride or a bounce, depending on how you jump D. Like wise at E. The are 2 black flag alternatives (d & e), these are provided should a rider have an issue at D. Riders going the fast route will conserve energy with only 6 jumps needed with little turning, otherwise they'll be performing 8 jumps and turning a lot. Three non jumpable items of decoration are strategically placed in and around the complex, a garden wall and 2 benches. The rest I'll leave to you to work out, what the real problems here are. It's position on the course will be revealed soon....
More fences to come.....
If you're wondering what this post is all about see:
Love it, reminds me of that row of white corners...I can't remember what video I saw it on or what horse trials it was, but it reminds me of that. I think it will wean out the pros from the wannabes.
ReplyDelete