Friday, May 15th

Today has been a long day.  We had to be on the bus by 9:45 to get to the airport for an 11:20 flight to Oslo.  The flight was only about 45 minutes long.  Oslo is on the Eastern side of Norway.  We then hopped on a bus for 2 hour bus ride to Biri Racetrack.  We stopped around 1:00 for lunch at a little hotel.  Buffet style lunched was served, which has been the case a few times on this trip.  We then got back on the bus and headed to the track.  Biri racetrack is quite nice.  We were taken into the clubhouse where we had a great view of the track and the surrounding scenery.  The area around the track was quite different from Bergen.  There is a lot of farm land and farms near Biri. 

I then went over to the stable area where I tagged along with Jason while he talked to the different trainers about what to expect from the horses.   He was given an interpreter to help him communicate with them.  Jason lucked out because the gentleman he was with has raced in the US and understands our race “jargon” and was able to put what the trainers told him in terms Jason would understand.   Jason was also able to talk with one of the drivers from Norway and he gave him a lot of insight on his horses, as well as, the others in the race.

It was then time for the presentation of the drivers again.  The drivers were brought out in a horse drawn carriage in front of the crowd while holding their countries’ flag.  Jason thought he had a good shot with his first two.  As it turned out though, the first one made a break around the last turn and was disqualified.  Like I mentioned before, they have very strict breaking rules.  If you make a break in the stretch you are automatically disqualified. So it was on to the next race….Jason had another chance and this time he came out on top!!!  It was a great feeling to get the first one under his belt.  Not to mention that we needed to pick up some points.  They do a winner’s circle presentation to the driver after each race.  We received a bouquet of roses and a beautiful glass plate with the name of the track on it.

Jason’s third race of the day was a tricky one; he was driving a coldblooded horse.  They look like a smaller version of a Clydesdale.  Trotting is not their natural gate and sometimes it is rather hard to keep them trotting.   Everyone Jason talked to before the race said that his Coldblood was not very good, and as it turned out he made a break leaving the first turn and was disqualified also.  Some said though, that just getting that one away from the gait trotting was good thing.

After the races the drivers were able to grab a quick bite to eat and then we had to get on a bus for a 2 hr bus ride into the city of Oslo.  We got here about midnight. We just ran down to the local 7 Eleven to get some snacks and now we going to hit the sack.    

Jason ranks 8th out of 10 drivers going into the third day of competition.  He has a total of 42 points.  The leader Peter Ferguson of New Zealand has 71 points.  There are still a lot of points up for grabs.  A couple of good place finishes could bring us closer to the top.  Wish us luck…GO USA!!!!