It’s hard to stay in communication, as we have no cell service what so ever at Barbary. But here’s an update on the competition at Barbury Castle in southwestern England, the final competition before the selection of the U.S. Olympic 3-Day Eventing Team.

This was the second day of the event. Normally cross-country is run on Day Two, but we did show jumping instead.

It was cold and breezy. For the most part, the American riders held their own.

My duties as farrier today consisted of simple shoe repairs, nothing major.

Tomorrow  (Sunday) we start cross-country at mid day.

It was a cold day at Barbary castle in England during 3-Day Eventing competition. Expected rains, however, did not materialize.

The difficulty for me here is a late finish, probablys 5 p.m. or later. Then I have to try to sort through foot problems. Evaluations are on Monday morning and everybody will want their horses to trot up well for the vets and the selectors.

There are also some logistical problems. When we finish cross-country we need to ship horses an hour and a half north to stabling. This is hard on the horses and gives me less time to really look at and assess any hoof or leg problems.

The footing has also been getting harder by the minute. We haven’t gotten the rain we expected. We would complain either way I guess!

Tensions are rising among the riders. Dealing with the simple thing like tightening a loose shoe sends some of them over the edge. They place themselves under a tremendous amount of pressure at this final outing.

Pennsylvania farrier Steve Teichman has helped provide hoof care for the U.S. Olympic Equestrian Team in Sydney and Athens. While in England participating in the evaluation and selection of horses for the 2012 U.S. 3-Day Eventing team, he provided updates as the Olympics progressed. Click here to read more from Olympic Shoeing With Steve Teichman series.