Frustrating Times I feel that my season has been one of 'nearly good' results not 'really good' ones. Blenheim was one of those weeks. Sprouty put in a much improved dressage performance for a respectable 54. He was a total machine XC and was absolutely flying around, well up on his minute markers only to have a pesky run out at the second of a very influential double of corners coming out of the water jump. So close was he to jumping it that I really thought we'd gone the correct side of the flag and off we wizzed up the hill to continue, before being flagged down by the judge and sent back for that very expensive second attempt. He cruised home for just 6 time faults despite this time consuming blip. Frustratingly he'd landed on a nasty exposed stoney patch two from home and a bruised foot meant we decided not to show jump him on the last day. I'm sure he'd have been fine, but best not to risk him particularly lying so far down the leader board. He has now joined Luke and Willy on a very well deserved autumn rest in the field and will be back in late november to begin some serious dressage as a winter project. Sprout has had a sort of teenage phase of late with the odd blip both XC and dressage. I will be using 2013 to really consolidate him in all three phases at 3* level before beginning our 2014 world games campagin in earnest. He is an incredibly talented horse and I will take my time to iron out this seasons frustrations, which are realistically the result of my ambition to get to the Games meaning Sprouty's career was a little bit fast tracked, so I will make sure I dot the i's and cross the t's in order to lay all the foundations for a medal in two years time. Gatcombe the following weekend was another case of NEARLY. Gill Watson's lovely Wellshead Munnings did the best test of his career to score 36.9 and hold the lead from his early draw on Friday morning. He then went on to jump an immaculate double clear just one second over the optimum time leaving him on a final score of 37.3 Would you believe that one second left me 0.1 penalties adrift of the mega competitive Kitty King on Persimon and I had missed out on a Spa break for two days at the unbelievably indulgent Whatley Manor!!! How FRUSTRATING! I have since had a trip to Ireland horse shopping and found a really nice one who will hopefully join the team subject to the vetting this week. The girls and I have been out XC and SJ on a few of our resident younger or more wayward ponies. Tomorrow I'm off to Little Downham with Gail Lothian's Latest Chance and then Tuesday before dawn we'll set sail for the last event of 2012 with Wellshead Munnings, Fernhill Rockstar and GT Cruise for Ligniere. No rest for the wicked but it'll be strange with no events to report on for a month or two. I'm aiming to round off the season with a win...fingers crossed.

Beyond Belief...

Wow I have just returned from my first British 4* and am proud to say both my beautiful boys completed.

Willy Do did an excellent test with a few little green mistakes, jumped the round of his life XC for clear with 20 time faults and even more impressively just one down in the show jumping. He has surpassed our wildest dreams finishing in 19th place and a bursary for best first timer. I could not be more thrilled for the Greenlees family his wonderful owners and for our future....eek look out World Games!!

My darling Luke did his best test ever for 41.7 into 7th, he then lived up to his Animo genes by putting in a bit of a naughty stop at the ditch at fence 7 after which he ate up the massive track, and jumped a super round on the last day with an expensive loss of concentration at the second last. I am learning such a huge amount from him, and sentimentally feel he really put me back in the game when i first returned from NZ. I'm sure he has a big win in him when he decides to join in the party on all three days!!!

I can't thank my amazing gang enough, I am lucky enough to be surrounded by the most supportive gang of friends and family and I am convinced I couldn't do it without them. My fabulous owners The Greenlees, The Taylors and Kathy B...THANK YOU FOR THE OPPORTUNITY, to Gill, Andrew Fletcher and Luis your guidance is exemplary, to Mo and D your unwavering support is beyond brilliant. I have the best team of girls backing me up Captain Frantastic, Bec/ Bev, and Bec/ Len...you are all totally ace, and my wee sister and bro are mega stars.

THANK YOU...can't wait for Blenheim now which alarmingly is already 'this week'!!

Photo's to follow!

So congratulations to the logistics manager....we survived, and in fact succeeded!! On the Wednesday Animator was his usual fabulous self to come 4th in the Advanced at Aston as his final run before Burghley, and Rowan made a very competent job of his second Intermediate for a pleasing clear XC. We returned from Aston at 5pm, were unpacked and repacked and back on the road for Hartpury by 6.15pm! By 11pm we had worked the horses at Hartpury unpacked and settled the ponies into bed, ready for a 5am alarm and arena familiarization at 6am!! Sprout Thursday morning test was a great improvement and I look forward to him continuing in this vein for the next few weeks before another winter of dressage training to cement his strength in this phase. On Friday I 'nipped' back to Aston to ride Latest Chance in the novice where he finished on his dressage score for 3rd place and he is now qualified to run at Intermediate. Returning to Hartpury to work Willy once before putting him away and working in for his test was an exercise worth doing when he scored a fabulous 40.6 to lie equal third!! My best score ever! We even made a couple of little errors so hopefully I can pin those down to crack into the 30's at Burghley!! Sprout and Willy's show jumping rounds were a huge high for me. They both did super clear rounds and I couldn't have been more proud of their efforts. Pictures to follow! Sprout was first to run cross country and he really gave me a fantastic spin, all bar pilot error at the second water leaving us with a very frustrating 20 penalties. That experience i put to good use on Willy Do who stormed around with just 3.6 time faults to finish 4th in a very hot section indeed. Willy seems to be going from strength to strength at the moment which is hugely exciting for his future, I was so proud of his efforts at Hartpury and hope we can repeat the process next week! So wagons roll, home we headed followed by a rare few days off the yard with one night in Scotland and two in Ireland, on a horse shopping trip. Sadly I didn't find the horse of my dreams but it was an excellent trip and I cant wait to find a world beating 5yr old in the next few months. So from Ireland I came home to head to Tweseldown for Charlotte to do an immaculate job on Jimmy, his first event for 4 years, which they took by storm with a 31 double clear. We then galloped on Friday, went to dressage training in Nottingham on Saturday, jumping in Wootton Bassett on Sunday and took 4 to Wellington to compete on Monday! The Wellington boys had an unremarkable day as far as rosettes went but all did reasonable test, I had a case of 4 fault-itis each having just one rail, and then 3 happy clears XC for Rowan, Jack and Chance who was a debutante at this Intermediate level. I didn't jump Sprout in the Advanced despite a much better test he is being saved for Blenheim. Another hectic week but all made the more exciting by the arrival of a great, great kiwi mate Nick Brooks. Welcome home Nick! So Tuesday has dawned...and all being well we should be loaded and off to Burghley sometime this morning. Watch this space for the biggest event of the year for Team Jacko. Good Luck Willy, Good Luck Luke

Aston Ribbons

Well, Team Jackson are currently on a mission! The call up for the Olympics didn't happen so we're working doubly hard at home to produce some dazzling results at Hartpury, Burghley and Blenheim!! The final team training in Surrey was a fabulous opportunity to train alongside the best riders in the world, at the top of their game with 2 international mega star trainers. Luis Alvarez for jumping and Stephen Clarke for dressage. The four days 'camp' flew past and I must admit I'd have happily stayed for four weeks!

Bryony Holloway and Paul Wedge's amazing home was all to easy to become accustomed to. We worked the horses in the outstanding facilities, watched our team mates training, analysed video's and we were then fortunate enough to enjoy the tennis courts, the swimming pool, and the gym. I'm convinced I was born to be a squillionaire, this lifestyle suited me well!!

From dream world to reality, we took 5 horses to Aston where the brave Taylor family put on a super event despite the many months of rain. Our gang really put their hands up this weekend and had some great results with Luke and Willy 4th and 5th in the Advanced, Jack 2nd in the OI and Chance 2nd in the Novice. I was delighted too with Master Rowan despite a pesky 20 penalties XC he coped well with his debut at Intermediate level. So I am willing all the kiwi's to their very very best performances at Greenwich, in particular so we can enjoy a huge celebratory party! From there Team Jackson has a slightly bonkers week with Aston on Wednesday Hartpury Thursday, Aston Friday morning and Hartpury Friday pm and Saturday. Phew. Look out logistics manager the wheels will be in over drive! In the mean time we're willing Captain Frantastic a speedy recovery from her fractured hand and longing for her return, and a huge well done to Bec and Becky for coping so admirably in her absence.

AMAZING AACHEN...

Woweeee, the life of the jet set crew. I could quite get carried away with the ritz, glitz and glamour of the World Equestrian Festival in Aachen. To have dressage, show jumping and eventing on such a grand scale, all at one show was mind boggling. For a start Joe Giannamore who owns Jock Paget's stunning horse Bullet Proof was incredibly generous in transporting the team of riders to Germany in his private jet...UNREAL. Obviously we spent the entire trip discussing tactics and work only!

The horses went in two lorries..Jock took his own, Sprout for me and Knockmore Lad for Brazilian rider Renan Guerrio. Mark took his own Grass Valley, Flinstar for him to ride deputizing for injured Jonelle Richards and Nereo for Andrew. Exercising the horses on the Thursday I was blown away to be schooling alongside Ludger Beerbaum, Michael Whittaker and other members of the great and good of international showjumping. Important to concentrate on the job in hand, but a shame to miss the enormity of the occasion. Sprout felt quite at home, and sure enough all the kiwi team flew through the trot up that afternoon. Friday morning dressage for all 40 competitors in the dressage grandstand arena. Sprout was a little on edge but for his stage he performed some good work to score a respectable enough 57. I look forward to him having the strength to contain his loose athletic paces and power, at the moment he very often over revs resulting in tension spoiling the movements and lowering the marks. Make no mistake though in time he'll be very competitive on the flat. We spent Friday afternoon watching the most enormous Grand Prix in the show jumping ring. Mind blowingly ENORMOUS! Then reality check, it was our turn in the main stadium next! The vast arena was deceptive, the distances between fences very long so a normal show jumping speed for us wasn't quite enough to make the time. Sprout jumped his socks off and made us all incredibly proud with a clear round. 4 time faults spoiled the score card but something that is very easy to fix. The main thing was his impeccable behaviour under mega pressure in front of a big crowd...SO PROUD! How to make a good week great...another clear round. On Saturday morning, my darling scrawny little 10year old Irish pony stormed around the most technical of tracks to post another clear round. Again, a few time faults will be easy to erradicate with the benefit of hind sight, but overall i was blown away by his maturity. With Andrew placing 5th and Jock completing in style on Bullet Proof we ended as 4th placed team which was a nice end to an incredible week. The next stop is final team training in Surrey next week. Gutted though I am to be first reserve I am more determined than ever to work my socks off and prove that this seasons good results are no fluke, and get so good at the sport that I can never be left off a team again. In the mean time I'm here ready, willing and able to step in if needed.

Busy Babury

Well a good enough weekend at Nunney followed with 7th in the BE100 for Sammy, 7th in the novice for Rowan, 14th 2* Jack, 7th in the intermediate with Alf, and 15th in the novice for Chance. I had a slight case of damn 4 fault-itis but was very happy with the ponies, and can thoroughly recommend the long drive to this lovely new event. Having thought Bramham was busy with three, we decided to double it and take 6 to Barbury. I couldn't possibly have dreamed that we'd complete the logistical challenge of exercising 6 horses a minimum of twice a day each, and competing them all without so much as a moments hesitation. WELL DONE FRAN and her gang! So grateful to Bec, Becky, Aisling and all the owners for their support.

Firstly Master Rowan completed his last novice competition in style with a decent test, one down show jumping and a super clear XC. He has taken a long time to recover from a nasty trip in the water last year and finally feels to have put that firmly behind him. Next we had Willy Do in the 4* combined training. Unfortunately for him the wind was gale force and he took a strong dislike to the thunderous flapping of flags and didn't do his best test for 56. He is now aiming for Burghley and will compete at Aston le Walls and Hartpury in preparation. I ran Whats it all About (Alf) for Adrian and Maggie Smith and Wellshead Munnings (Jack) for Gill Watson in the 2*. Unfortunately Alf wasn't feeling in great shape and decided that after an amazing test of 46 that showjumping wasn't for him today. Jack did a fabulous test, had a frustrating 4 faults and jumped a superb clear XC to place 8th out of 102! Really, really thrilling result for Gill and some reward for all the incredible hard work she puts in to the whole team.

The final selection trial for the Kiwi's, the Irish and the American's was held in the 3* at Barbury this weekend. Luke lived up to my most ambitious of expectations by coming 9th out of 110! He is getting very consistently good scores on the flat and this was no exception on 46. We then went on to jump a great round in the show jumping, another frustrating 4 faults and a storming xc run for just 5 time to finish in 9th. I feel he has done all in his power to impress the selectors and I'm trying hard to remain philosophical now and think what will be will be! He has had 4 top 10 placings for 5 runs this year, all bar one at 3* level. Who knows?!!? With the incredible honour of being asked to compete in the Nation's Cup at Aachen, I did dressage (a little wild), show jumping (immaculate) and just 10 fences of the XC on Sprout at Barbury, in preparation for his departure to Germany on Wednesday. Never have I found it harder to pull the reins and ask a horse to stop, he felt pretty special indeed around those fences! So Aachen next and we'll have to wait and see what happens after that.....

Brill Bramham

Wow, what a week. Three horses at a three star event posed quite a challenge. Thanks to my amazing team we made it...and in style. Fran and Bec deserve a special mention for the immaculate turn out of the beautiful boys, and Mum and Dad for helping me massively with logistics both human and equine! So we arrived on Tuesday in time to lead them around, graze and put them to bed. We hacked all three every morning at about 6am to give them a leg stretch and chill a little. Willy Do passed his wednesday jog with flying colours, followed by dressage lessons for all three with the wonderful Andrew Fletcher. As 14th to go on Thursday Willy shot into the lead on a fab score of 45. Such a thrill and he was only overtaken by William Fox Pitt on both horses to complete the dressage phase in 3rd YAHOO! Not to be out done, Luke's test later Thursday afternoon put him into the lead in the CIC on 41. I was over the moon to score personal bests when it counts! Gill Watson was on hand to help me warm up and I certainly have her and Andrew to thank for these scores! Sprouty had the worst of the going late on Friday afternoon, but he tried hard, and but for a couple of errors is close to cracking into the 40's. Saturday morning was a great thrill, Willy bounded around the most testing 3* track with relative ease, he took on all the direct routes and bar one slight blip exiting the water he didn't miss a beat. 9 time felt like a decent speed for him, and as he gets stronger he'll certainly get faster. What a buzz. The trouble with having 3 horses is that you don't have long to enjoy 'the moment'. No sooner had we finished Willy's XC then it was time for Luke and Sprout to show jump. This was the only time the ground really held me up. I was really gutted to finish Saturday well down the order with 4 down for Luke and 2 down for Sprout. I was in exalted company mind you, many of the big names on their top horses were having rails. I decided to attempt maturity and put it down in the great book of life under the chapter of experience, i didn't ride awful rounds and whilst there are a couple of things i'll do differently next time, I am trying not to lose too much sleep over it! Sunday was a different story...HOOOOOOORAY. I had two magic rides XC on Luke and Sprout for 6 and 3 time respectively. Whilst i set out to give them a good spin against the clock, i was also aware that we were down the order somewhat and to belt round might be counter productive in the long run. They felt the consummate professionals and that this 3* level was very much within their everyday job. For the CCI show jumping, the ground was much improved thankfully and Willy jumped the round of his life. Apart from going slightly cross eyed into the treble where he caught 2 elements, he flew round and finished proceedings in 8th place. Way beyond our wildest dreams. To cap off a happy week all three traveled home well and pulled up sound on Monday morning...so a litte pause before we have 6 at Nunney, 1 at Salperton and then its Barbury and hopefully Aachen...time to get excited!