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...