LUSITANOS AT THE 'WHITE SISTERS' P & O LAUNCH
SOUTHAMPTON DOCKS - MAY 21st 2003
Jardineiro and Numerario, the two grey Lusitano stallions at Sussex
Lusitanos performed at the inaugural ceremony of the two new sister cruise
superliners of the P & O fleet – ‘Aurora’ and ‘Adonia’. The event
was billed as the ‘Launch of the White Sisters’. The lead came through
dressage instructors John & Char Lassetter, who suggested that Jardineiro
& Numerario fill the role. There would be 2,000 invited guests including
Princess Anne & Zara Phillips who would smash the bottles at the end of the
ceremony. For Zara Phillips this was to be first Royal engagement, hence the
increased level of press interest.
We received the phone call on Sunday 17th May, just 3 days
before the event. The launch was to be staged on the dockside, at night, with
the hulls of the two huge ships forming the backdrop to the stage. The ceremony
would be compered by Matthew Pinsent and James Cracknell, the rowing Olympic
gold medallists; they would be flanked either side by huge video screens. The 45
minute show was directed by the same people who had organized the Royal Jubilee
celebrations last year, and comprised of short ‘numbers’ depicting
well-known partnerships…..duets…..2 skaters in the form of Torvill &
Dean …Morecombe & Wise on the video screens – in their famous sailor
sketch singing ‘There ain’t nothing like a dame’. There were hundreds of
dancers and singers, and then there were the two grey horses ridden by a mother
& daughter partnership.....Matthew Pinsent introduced the two Lusitanos and
mentioned the equestrian interests of the Royal guests.… so that was the
link……
The stage set up, lighting, music etc. was out of this world - a
production level that you just do not associate with equestrian events.
Jardineiro opened the Horse of the Year Show at Wembley in 2001, but this set
topped that. For Numerario this was to be his first big event – he never
batted an eyelid. Warm up was on the concrete by the dockside….we then took up
a holding position in front of the steps that led from one of the ships, along
the red carpet to the stands. As the 2,000 guests emerged from the ship after
dinner, we used the narrow stretch of concrete to show the horses off to the
guests. People stopped to talk to us and soon a crowd gathered … we could have
been at Bar Convivio (on the corner of the central square at Golega Fair.) The
‘big event’ atmosphere had set in . Princess Anne & her daughter finally
emerged from the ship to take their places in the stand and everyone stood
silently to attention - that included Jardineiro and Numerario.
Our
spot was a mere 3 minutes long - a pas de deux
to ‘Tubular Bells’….all trot, no canter as the surface was uneven
concrete which sloped away towards the water’s edge. Strips of red carpet
& metal railway tracks criss-crossed the ground and the army assault course
was made complete with an ice skating platform which moved on castors in the
same area as we were riding…….it was, all in all, quite like Golega Fair!
Cameramen on the ground (who stood directly in front of us as we entered, and
then shot sideways very quickly) provided the footage which appeared on the huge
video screens – Jardineiro and Numerario in giant form appearing from every
angle. Then it was down the red carpet in front of the Royal Box to the final
salute…… the applause prompted piaffe and passage from Jardineiro……Numerario
all the while stayed cool as a cucumber…….
The launch ceremony was shown on local TV and broadcast live on the P
& O website – it was an amazing experience. Suffice to say that we rode
out of our skins and the horses were brilliant. Unfortunately we never got to
see the bottle smashing at the end ; the organizers advised us to leave the
vicinity as soon as possible after our ‘spot’ as the grand final would be
fireworks display to light up and deafen the whole of Southampton!
Our thanks are due to directors Sheelagh Bernard and Alan Jacobi of
Unusual Services and to Kay Davidson at P & O for her assistance.
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