Wonderful Weston

I haven't competed at Weston since I did the Pony Club Champs there QUITE some years back. I wonder why I haven't been back, the ground was as perfect as I think we'll see all year, the cross country courses were inviting and educational, and aside from wishing they had more fillers and heavier poles in the show jumping I found it hard not to sing its praises. What made the weekend even better was the chance to stay with great friends, The Kemps only 20 minutes from the event...THANK YOU!

On Saturday Bec took Alderman, I took Alf (Whats it All About), Cher (Gurtera Cher) and Master Rowan for the novice. Bec had a disappointing day in the sticky show jumping ground and decided to withdraw Alderman.

I had a super day at my first event riding for Adrian and Maggie Smith. Their homebred Alf scored 28 and jumped a double clear. It was a lovely way to start on a new horse but is setting the bar fairly high for the rest of the year!

Rowan very much had a day of 'if only'. He did a super test bar one little mistake that scored 31.5. He jumped an impressive clear in the show jumping, and had a frustrating 20 penalties cross country at a tricky sunken road early on the course. He is growing up all the time and when it all clicks he'll be hard to beat!

Cher never ceases to seriously impress me and it was lovely to have her owners The Wishart's there to watch her run. She did a much improved test for a disappointing 35. I think she is so powerful it will take me a while to shift her balance into a more advanced frame. She then jumped beautifully show jumping with an unfortunate 4 faults coming out of the treble, followed by a seriously impressive clear XC. She is well ready to upgrade to 1* at Chatsworth and on to Intermediate after that. I really rate her and think she is an ideal Le Lion candidate at the end of the year. Sadly she is for sale so if any followers are interested in buying a 4* horse, either for me to keep riding (preferable) or for their own jockey to ride (2nd choice!!) do contact us.

Alf would have finished 2nd had we not been H/C, and Cher finished 11th. Willy Do returned the following day to take 7th in the OI. He did a super test for 29, had 2 frustrating poles show jumping but thankfully it was a smooth and professional round from both Willy and I to make up for my Belton head rush in this phase. He was then unbelievably classy cross country. Willy has found several new gears lately and flew around the course.

Overall a very pleasing weekend for my ponies, and a very pesky weekend for Bec who's luck is surely due a turn for the better.

Today we put Fran and Sprouty on their planes for the United States! Hugely exciting times ahead. Fingers crossed for a safe, happy and successful fortnight. Thank you to all my supporters both those coming to Kentucky and in particular those staying behind to man the fort.

Belton, Hartpury, Burnham....

So we've really experienced ever end of the emotional spectrum this week, and despite the inevitable lows that have come with making mistakes, the learning curve is super steep and I hope is setting the foundations for faultless performances in all three phases soon!!

Willy Do performed the test of a lifetime for a personal best score of 45. This left him in 6th place overnight in a ridiculously hot 3* section. The show jumping became our downfall with 4 rails after I rode like a muppet. Willy's new found strength and confidence took me slightly by surprise and I duly did not do enough to correct his exuberance. Putting this behind us he stormed around a very tough track to still finish in 25th place out of 120 starters. He will now have an easy run at Weston Park OI before the Chatsworth World Cup and CCI at Tattersalls.

I was then lucky enough to take Sprout and Luke to Hartpury to be judged by the world renown Steven Clarke. He really was a hard man to please, but the resulting work from the horses was a big improvement.

The proof was in the pudding when I scored personal bests on them both at Burnham Market in the 3* with Sprout getting a very creditable 50.8 and Luke 43. So three good tests in three attempts...long may the improvement continue. I am relieved to report that I put my Show Jumping wobbles firmly behind me with two super clear rounds. It was a tough track out of some deep mud so I was delighted. Luis was there to warm the horses up with us which was a great help.

On the cross country Sprout and I were flying around until a minor mis-communication at the final water gave us a very frustrating 20 penalties, especially as he was running up on the clock which would have seen him complete the day in 4th. Thankfully riding Luke I had the opportunity to ride a better line and finish in 3rd.

So as I reflect on the week I have two rather large 'if only' moments that I intend to learn from and am hugely excited to have three such magic horses more than capable of being highly competitive at the top of our sport. Look out, when I nail all three phases on all three horses in the same weekend we're seriously going to be a team to be reckoned with!

Its off to Weston Park this weekend with Cher, Alf, Alderman, Rowan and Willy Do before Sprouty and Fran board a plane on Tuesday. Here's to hitting the big time...