Can you believe the Narnialympics are nearly over?! Just one day more to go! Ariel_of_Narnia with Azim Balda Broadcasting here to bring you the results of today’s event.
Unlike all the other events this year, we had the pleasure of seeing a team sport: equestrian jumping. The rules of the event dictate that each horse must have a rider; this prevents Talking Horses of Narnia – as well as Unicorns and Centaurs – from competing as a single entity. (For obvious reasons, Winged Horses are not permitted to enter at all.) Some amount of controversy has always surrounded this event regarding dumb horses and Talking Horses, but regardless of whether a horse is Talking or dumb, both horse and rider must learn to read each other.
Today was stormy, driving the event to take place in a covered arena. Such a trivial fact as weather has not appeared in my reports prior to this, but I bring it up as a point of fairness to certain disappointed contestants who would have performed well otherwise. One such contestant was King Caspian X of Narnia, whose horse threw him when it spooked at a clap of thunder. King Caspian X his his head quite hard and medics have expressed the possibility of a concussion.
Taking the bronze this tournament are King Tirian and Jewel the Unicorn of Narnia, both of whom attribute their excellent performance to their long friendship and many experiences on the battlefield. They were serious contenders for gold, but despite Jewel’s natural grace, it was King Tirian’s brief moments of rough riding that brought down their score.
Winning his second medal – again silver – was Prince Cor of Archenland. Though he had proven unwilling to comment on his entry in the swordplay contest, Prince Cor did allow for a brief interview before the contest today, wherein he revealed that nearly all of his riding skill was learned from a Talking Horse – namely, Bree of Narnia – and that he has only recently become comfortable with dumb horses. Well, he certainly had us fooled! Prince Cor was at one with his mount and rode marvellously, even making the difficult jumps appear easy. Archenland now knows that their crown prince will represent them very well in tournaments to come!
Our gold medalists are Queen Lucy and Hwin of Narnia. Their acquaintance has been shorter than one might expect for such an excellent team and indeed, they seem to have been something of an impromptu team, having largely trained separately from what we understand. Queen Lucy is an enthusiastic rider with and excellent seat – in her words, “in part, I’m sure, because of the day Aslan sailed over the battlements of the White Witch’s castle!” Hwin spoke of how she desired to compete after she had spent some time back in Narnia from her long sojourn in Calormen. Before even acquiring a rider, she was already training herself daily to “work off her extra inches from soft Narnian living” and to improve her times and skill.
(An extra tidbit for those in our audience who enjoy a good mystery: earlier today, Bree the Horse, bronze medalist in high jump and gold medalist in the 100-meter dash, visited Hwin to offer her some encouragement, departing with a wink and a reminder to “Think ‘lion’!” We are still no closer to understanding the meaning of Bree’s fascination with – and motivation of – lions, but at least we now know that this secret is shared by Bree, Hwin, Prince Cor of Archenland, and Aravis Tarkheena of Archenland.)
Only one day left to go!
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