“Welcome back to your daily coverage of the Equestria Games as they happen, live from Manehattan and on partnership with Good Morning Equestria,” Tempest welcomed every creature back, “Joining me today is Gabby as we are in the Manehattan Equestrian Arena for the jumping part of the equestrian dressage sports.”
“Funny really, since all you ponies are horsing around in this part,” Gabby joked lightly, causing Tempest to chuckle at that, “But anyway, this is going to be an interesting competition as a large crowd has gathered to watch the jumping happen. Why don’t you talk us through the rules of this pony sport, Tempest?”
“Thank you,” Tempest nodded, “The rules are simple to understand for a newcomer. Each runner is given a timed to perform as many jumps over the hurdles as possible in the arena. They must be in the correct order as all of them are numbered and scattered around the stadium centre. A missed hurdle or a knocked down one will be a time penalty of added seconds. A final score is given at the end included which is judged by the execution of the jumps, with any penalties taken into account, which will cause a reduction in scores.”
“Thank you for that simple explanation,” Gabby thanked, “And now we move onto the list of competitors hoping to win a medal.” Tempest got a scroll from a table to the side of her and gave it to Gabby, who unrolled it to reveal the list of competitors.
1. Appleloosa
2. Fillydelphia
3. Stratusberg
4. Cloudsdale
5. Las Pegasus
6. Califoalnia
“We have quite a strong list of competitors today, consisting of earthponies, pegasi and unicorns hoping to claim that gold,” Tempest looked down at the list of competing cities, “For equality, unicorns aren’t allowed to use magic to help with self-levitation when jumping and pegasi aren’t allowed to use their wings for balance either. They have both been given cancelling spells to disable their wings and magic.”
“Appleloosa is expected to do well here, with this being very similar to rodeo jumping, though if there is one team that knows something about speed and agility, it’s the pegasus from Cloudsdale. They may be known for flying, but pegasi are strong on the ground as well,” Tempest warned.
“And now, let’s turn our attention to the arena down below us to watch how these competitors will do for this event of games, and we wish everypony in this event the best of luck,” Gabby announced was she and Tempest turned their attention down onto the centre of the stadium.
“First up is the hopeful from Appleloosa, and as we discussed before, she will be one of the jumpers to watch out for. At the sound of the whistle, she will begin,” Tempest said as she focused on the mare when the whistle blew.
“And she’s off, down around the edge of the arena as she approaches the first hurdle, and she jumps over it with ease. She goes into a sharp right as she nears and second hurdle now. She’s making it look so easy as she successful handles the second one,” Gabby watched with clear attention, “She comes round the end as she jumps gracefully over the third and fourth now! She’s making a light-hoof of it as she rounds the final bend for the last two hurdles. She jumps over the fifth and makes her way to the final sixth hurdle, and jumps over it effortlessly!”
“That was a clean run from the athlete from Appleloosa,” Tempest clapped her hooves together, “We are waiting for the scores now, and it’s a good strong start. 38.752 is the score to beat, with no penalties. Truly an outstanding performance.”
“Alright,” Gabby turned her attention to the next jumper, “Let’s see what the hopeful from Fillydelphia has to offer.” All eyes were now on the Fillydelphia jumper as she prepared herself before the whistle blows. At the sound of it, she ran as fast as her hooves could take her.
“She crosses the first hurdle, though the landing is quite heavy with a slight stumble. She rounds the first corner and jumps over the second and third hurdle easily,” Tempest watched in unabated attention, “Oh no! The knocked over the fourth hurdle, which is be penalised badly. She now has to keep her focus as she rounds the final corner and takes care of the fifth and sixth hurdle.”
“The final score is in, and it’s 34.743,” Gabby felt her heart go out for her, “That’s not what she was hoping for, and it is a score that will be beaten without a doubt. Just goes to show that anything can happen in sports like this.”
“Next up to take on the hurdles is Stratusberg. She is a unicorn, so with the disabling spell, she can’t use magic on herself or her hurdles. We wish her the best of luck as she approaches the start of the obstacles,” Tempest said as she watched the mare take position.
“And off she goes, clearly the first hurdle with ease and tackles the second like it’s no ponies’ business,” Gabby watched, “She rounds the corner and makes it through the third. Her hoof just brushed the fourth hurdle, using a magic-sensitivity detector which will be scrutinised.”
“She turns onto the final two hurdles now, crossing them with ease,” Tempest clapped her hooves together as she finished the hurdles, “That will do well. It won’t be much due to the slight brush with a hurdle there. The scores are in, and it’s 35.873. So far, it’s second place for Stratusberg.”
“Now then, time for another bookies favourite of this course from Cloudsdale. Remember, every listener, wings are disabled to give a equal chances. She is taking her place right now at the start and we wish her the best of luck,” Tempest watched.
“And off she goes, jumping over the first and second hurdles like it was nothing,” Gabby was right on the edge of her seat, “She clears the bend and goes over the third and fourth hurdles with outstanding leaps. She turns into the final corner now as she prepares herself for the final jumps. With the fifth and final sixth hurdle cleared, she makes a new Equestria Games record!”
“38.805, you couldn’t ask for anything better than that!” Tempest cheered along with the crowd, “That was sensational from start to finish!”
“Now onto Las Pegasus, another pegasus taking to the hurdles now,” Gabby watched on as the cheering died down to let the penultimate runner take her place.
“And she’s off, slight off-balance on the first hurdle, clears the second as she approached the sharp right corner and over the third corner, slight brush on the fourth which will be penalised,” Tempest commentated next, “She clears the bend and onto the final two, and she finished them to the best of her capabilities.”
“The scores are in, and it’s 36.073, taking her to third place,” Gabby announced the score, “It all comes down to the final runner from Califoalnia now.”
“She takes her place, the whistle blows and she’s off,” Tempest watched with rapt attention, “She clears the first and second hurdles, little unsteady on the landing,” She noted, “She rounds the sharp bend and over the third and fourth hurdles, her momentum strong now.”
“She clears the final corner and approaches the last two jumps, tackling them easily!” Gabby finished the final leg of the mare’s run.
“It’s 37.576 for Califoalnia, meaning it’s gold of Cloudsdale, a silver for Appleloosa and a bronze for Califoalnia. What a day of obstacles that was!” Tempest clapped for the athletes.
“We hope you enjoyed this jumping contest and we will be back for more coverage of the Games as they happen!” Gabby rounded off.