Taz looking rather pleased with himself after his dressage test at Hartpury!
August has flown by and we don’t seem to be slowing down just yet! The grass is getting greener now with the heat wave over and we have had some much needed rain, but I have found myself complaining of being a little bit cold again and wearing jeans and a jumper feels slightly odd! We have had trips to Gatcombe, Hartpury, Homme House, West Wilts, Somerford Park and lots of training sessions with not much sleep in between!
We took five young horses to Homme House for the 5yr old class. They all went very well with a 1st, 3rd, 7th, 8th and 9th. It is so rewarding seeing them progress so well and exciting for the future. A rather good day at the office!
From the young ones to the advanced two who were entered at Hartpury. Away Cruising was having his final run before Burghley doing just the 3* Dr and SJ. He doesn’t need to run XC again as went well at Burgham and will just have a XC school before Burghley. He went well although was feeling rather fresh in his dressage test and dare I say it was probably a little bit naughty, but he still produced some beautiful work and we were pleased with him. He is usually a very laid back horse, so actually we didn’t mind him being fresh and we now can probably work him for longer before hand and cut back his food a little.
We also had Tenareze in the 3*. He produced a lovely relaxed test and jumped a lovely round show jumping and was super XC. His second 3* completed and all very happy… including him! He will head to Gatcombe and Belgium at the end of September for his final CIC 3* run and then all being well will have an early holiday.
Tenareze jumping a lovely round at Hartpury.
West Wilts was next on our list with seven young horses going. As my alarm went off to start at 3.15am I did wonder how many of my friends were staggering in from a wild night out! I tried not to think about it too much and I do really love my job!
The beautiful setting of Somerford Park – early evening graze on arrival with Brookfield Quality (Norris)
The horses were all good and we managed to get seven horses finished and all packed up by 1.30pm. I reckon that might be a record! We were ready to head home for what felt like a separate day with a few more to ride at home and a visit from Pol Roger with a few photos taken.
On Thursday afternoon we made the long trip to Cheshire to Somerford Park with three intermediate horses and one in the novice. It’s amazing the amount of kit you still need to stable for one night! The horses settled in quickly after the long trip and were pleased to be in such lovely big stables! It’s a beautiful place and the ground was excellent. The horses went very well and it was nice to be back there. We look forward to coming back next year.
I am lucky enough to ride the wonderful Tenareze in beautiful surroundings!
Somerford will be our last event until Burghley which seems to be approaching rapidly! It’s important for Harry and I to be fresh and ready for the big week coming up. A chance for me to catch up on various tasks at home and re organise whilst we can now both concentrate on Away Cruising and put the final touches together. He is continuing to look and feel great. He is galloping well and feeling great in all three phases. You never know what is going to happen, but I’m feeling optimistic and he is going as well as he has ever gone.
A lovely surprise to see Spot on the wall whilst walking through the trade stands at Gatcombe!
He has had the best preparation he could have and Harry and I have given 110%, so let’s hope Spot can do the same and we don’t let each other down in any way! It’s exciting/nerve racking but we are feeling positive and shall give it our best shot! It’s always such a massive team effort with everyone at home and as always I am very grateful for all their hard work and support. Fingers crossed for a good week and I look forward to sharing my Burghley story with you in my next blog!
