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HTM in Belfast It was way back in March when I received a phone call asking if I was available do a Heelwork To Music display at the Northern Ireland International Horse Show in Belfast , October 23 rd to 28 th . I knew of the show as Kath had performed there the year before but this year Kath and Karen were going to be in Denmark and Belgium on those dates.
Kath had told me about the surface I would be working on, about a foot deep mixture of sand, fibre and Vaseline, very hard to dance on and I must admit that our first rehearsal did not go well, and was not helped by Hamish giving Roger the slip and coming into the arena to join in the performance! The organisers were very nice and understanding and told me not to worry, to get my breath back and have another go. Hamish was firmly held this time and the second rehearsal went well, lighting and timing officials were happy, so fortunately a third round was not needed. It was at this point that I was beginning to ask myself why I had chosen such an energetic piece of music! 4 minutes of The Farmer and The Cowman plus a further 20 seconds of reprieve was beginning to feel like hard work on that surface! When we returned to our dressing room we had lots of visitors, most of them remembered Kath and Spice from last year, and some of them thought that Angus was Spice!
Thursday was an evening performance only so we took the opportunity to do a bit of sightseeing around Belfast city and out as far as Bangor . We arrived about an hour before the show opened to get settled into our dressing room (yes our own dressing room). The show opened and the arena was a magnificent sight with the coloured spotlights making patterns on the floor and a huge audience waiting expectantly. The show opened with "Traditions Meet", a display of Scottish and Irish dancing, followed by the first of the Show jumping Competitions. Riders from all over the world were there, giving a wonderful display of horsemanship on magnificent horses. After the competitions came the entertainments, the fast and furious 'Devil's Horsemen', excellent stunt riders, the graceful 'News Letter Pas de Deux' Dressage Display, the exciting Pony Club Games, one more display from the 'Devil's Horsemen' and then it was our turn. My knees were shaking as I walked out into the arena, I was trying to remember all I had been asked to do, "walk to the centre of the arena (in the pitch dark) face the VIP seats, listen to the introduction, spotlight on me and off we go. Try to use as much of the arena as possible, and at the end leave by the exit I came out of (again in the dark), don't get in the way of the lads and lasses who will be bringing in the jumps for the next act.....oh and watch out for the two tractors coming into the arena......." I don't know whose knees were shaking the most, mine or Angus's but we got to the middle of the arena, listened to a very nice introduction (Crufts Freestyle Winner, Crufts International Champion, so lucky to have her here etc. with a sinking heart - could we live up to this accolade?) Then the music started and we were off. All went well, the audience "ooohed" at some moves, "aahed" when Angus hid his head and joined in with the clapping enthusiastically - we had done it!
I remembered how to exit the arena and caught my breath as I watched the last act before the next jumping competition. This was the Metropolitan Mounted Police Activity Ride who performed synchronised jumping over hurdles and through rings of fire. What a show! We arrived back at the Travelodge tired but happy. Friday was our first matinee performance, it was supported by the NSPCC so all the local schools had been invited. The audience consisted of about 2,000 children all determined to have a good time clapping and cheering, the noise was deafening! After the performance we tried to take Angus and Hamish for a walk around the edge of the Odyssey arena area but we were mobbed by children all wanting to stroke the dogs. Angus took it all gracefully and Hamish just loved all the fuss and attention! By now we were getting into the routine; what bliss to be able to wake up at a respectable hour in the morning, take time to shower and bath Angus (all that Vaseline was not going to shift!), have breakfast and a stroll with the dogs before setting off for the Odyssey around lunchtime. Perform 2:30 ish, eat, rest the dogs (we found that taking them back to the car for a couple of hours snooze worked well for both dogs and us) then perform again around 8:45 pm and home by 11 ish, sleep about 1.30 am when the Pub and Nightclub next door closed (ah showbiz - the roar of the greasepaint, the smell of the crowd).
On Saturday afternoon, after the performance, some of our sponsors, The Commerce Centre, called into the dressing room with some of their children. Could the children meet the dogs? Could they have a photo if they brought a photographer? Well of course they could, so we spent about 30 minutes taking pictures with the children taking turns to "walk" Angus and Hamish up and down the passageway. By Sunday, Angus was in high spirits for our matinee performance - he pinched my cowboy hat at the end of the routine which, of course, the audience loved, but behaved impeccably for our last dance.
So, plusses and minuses for Belfast: Plus Minus So the plusses far outweigh the minuses - would I do it again? You bet I would!
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