The first weeks in Calgary

After the exhausting bus ride, I finally arrived in Calgary at 6 in the morning and had to wait for my ride. I decided to doze off for 2 hours on a bench at the bus station. Then I was picked up and we headed towards a camp with RVs. Because I work here in Calgary for the Horse Show Service Company, which is actually based in Quebec, Eastern Canada, and now provides its services here at the Spruce Meadows equestrian complex.

At first, I was shocked by the condition of the RVs, but the others have only been here for a day as well, so it was our job to get the camp and the RVs back in shape. We worked on this task for the entire first week after work. This included cleaning, connecting electricity/propane and water. The camp itself was also prepared, and a tent and walkway boards were set up.

Initially, there were 10 of us, all around my age. And for the summer season, there will be around 25-30 crew members. Gradually, it became more livable, although everything was limited to the essentials, but I managed.

The actual work for one of the largest equestrian facilities, Spruce Meadows, also initially involved preparing everything for the season. Here we prepared the stables, cleaned the horse wash area, prepared obstacles for show jumping, or did other tasks such as digging holes for power cables.

During the weekend, the opening tournament took place, which we were actually working for. We set up the courses and changed them during the tournament. This job requires endurance, strength, and concentration, because while the tournament was taking place, we had to even out the take-off area and the area behind the obstacle with a rake. We had to be careful not to enter the path of the show jumper. Compared to the workdays during the week, the intensity here was much higher, as quick work was required under pressure. This was new to me, so some mistakes were unavoidable. These were discussed and analyzed again in the evening to improve for the next time.

I looked at the next tournament with mixed feelings, as I felt a bit uncomfortable in the ring....

But the colleagues/crew members were all very nice and understanding. They helped me daily and explained things to me. They all came from Quebec, near Montreal, and had been there for 2-3 years. They spoke English and French. I found this job offer in a hostel in Quebec and applied for it.

Overall, the two tournament days were long and exhausting. Also, on Sunday, it was rainy and cold, making the work in the ring unbearable. It was the first day that the weather was bad, as otherwise, it was sunny and pleasantly warm almost every day.

The following Monday was a day off and it was meant to be enjoyed in good weather. The evening before, we celebrated, and I also contributed my part, as the "newcomer" in the group, by buying a case of beer for the group.

The second week also passed by quickly, as we had to set up horse boxes in a hall over 1000 square meters. First, a film was laid out and then heavy rubber mats were laid out. Then the walls and doors of the mobile boxes were placed piece by piece by hand. This took several days, so we weren't finished by Thursday and had to set up the courses again in the afternoon for the next tournament. After that, there was a kind of first aid course, in case a horse gets injured and how to handle it so that the horse can be safely transported.

This time the tournament lasted for 3 days, and I was assigned to the larger Orchard Ring. It's not as crowded here, and the risk of crossing the path is lower, but the obstacles are heavier and bigger, so more endurance was required. However, the initial concerns quickly disappeared, and almost everything went well for us as jump crew members. Unfortunately, there were two horse riding accidents on two days, but these injuries didn't seem to be too serious.

On the last evening, everyone was happy to have completed the tournament. Again, except for a short hail shower, we were lucky with the weather.

In addition to work in the last 2 weeks, there were also plenty of opportunities to keep busy. There was a N64 console where we played Mario Kart and Smash Bros, and sometimes friendships were destroyed. One of the crew members also had the board game Warhammer, which is similar to the video game World of Warcraft, and it involves exploring rooms as a team with different heroes and defeating different enemies. Some of the game figurines were painted by ourselves, and it had its charm.

On Monday and Tuesday, we continued to set up the horse boxes, and now they had to be cleaned. On Tuesday after work, I was supposed to be pranked with a radio announcement simulating a nuclear accident. But together with other colleagues, we staged a kitchen accident using the colors for the board game figurines and turned the tables. The face of the other person who came up with the prank was indescribable and as white as snow.

Thursday was the so-called rock-picking day, where all the employees were divided into different groups to perform various tasks. I was assigned to the warehouse team and we cleaned and reorganized a few halls. On this special day, lunch was provided by the cafeteria at Spruce Meadows, and I was advised to bring some Tupperware containers, as otherwise, the leftovers would be thrown away. Even the cafeteria staff welcomed the idea of bringing such containers.

That day, my acquaintance from Vancouver was also there to work, as he also applied for the job based on my recommendation. He will arrive with the others in about 10 days, and we have decided to live together in one of the RVs. We spent the day talking about our plans and experiences in the past weeks. I am curious about what awaits us during the summer season, and I am excited to embark on this "adventure at the equestrian center" with a familiar face ( #Bibi and Tina).