Le Lion D'Angers Six Year Old World Championships

I took Ceylor LAN down to Le Lion to do the six year old World Championships. After the wash out of last years championships it was great to be back there with much kinder weather. 

Ceylor LAN and I had a fairly early draw which wasn't ideal but he did a lovely test and didn't get at all wound up or tense in such an impressive arena. He made one little error when he cantered out if a walk transition, but otherwise I was thrilled with his performance. He scored a 44.6 which I was fairly disappointed with as he has nearly always scored in the thirties, this left us in eighth place. Watch our test by following this link:

http://m.youtube.com/watch?v=jZ9-2PxUMXQ

Ceylor LAN was fantastic on cross country day and found the course incredibly easy. He skipped round taking it all in his stride, making it all feel very easy. We finished comfortably inside the time and moved up to sixth place. I was over the moon with easy he found everything. 

Trot up on Sunday morning went smoothly and without a hitch. Ceylor LAN  then jumped fantastically round what was proving to be a very tough track with very few clears. Unfortunately although jumping clear we picked up two time faults, Ceylor LAN is still rather big and gangerly, I was slow between two fences when we were on the wrong leg and didn't manage to get the flying change in. This is was such a shame for the horse as without the two time he would have moved up to second, instead we still moved up to a very creditable fourth. I was over the moon with how he performed and am excited about next year with him. I was just very annoyed and frustrated with myself as I felt I had let him and his fantastic owners down. 

All the horses will now have a short holiday before starting work again at the start of December ready to hopefully come out firing on all cylinders in the spring. 

I just want to take this opportunity to thank all my fantastic owners, sponsor and team for all there support this year and for being particularly understanding when I broke my wrist. Thank you all so much. 

Boekelo CCIO*** and Nations Cup Final

I just had Persimmon competing at Boekelo. He was doing his first CCI*** and stepped up to this level effortlessly. 

When we arrived out there I was very honoured to be asked to be part of the Nations Cup team. It was the final of the series and team GBR were leading by one point so it was all very tight. Persimmon and I were third to go for the team so out test was on the Friday morning. 

It was rather showery on the Friday so we got a little soggy. Persimmon was feeling fantastic and produced a beautiful test, scoring 36.8 and a personal best for us both at this level. This left us in third place going into cross country and the team in second behind the Germans. 

We had a fair bit of rain before cross country day and the ground was quite taxing. The course wasn't huge, but very twisty and turny and fairly technical. Persimmon took the course all in his stride and found it all pretty easy. He got a little green with all the twists and turns so I had to spend a little time setting him up so he understood the questions and where he was going. Doing this we picked up a few time faults which dropped us down to sixth. This was a little annoying, but at only eight this was an outstanding performance. 

On the Sunday persimmon trotted up very well and felt good going into the show jumping. He jumped a really good round and didn't touch a thing until the second last, the final element of the treble. He just tapped it with one foot when I think he got a little stuck in the mud and he was a little tired. It was a real shame as he didn't deserve the fence down as he had tried his heart out and jumped very well. The show jumping caused a lot of trouble, even with the four faults we still moved up a place to fifth, we would have been second if we had gone clear. Watch our round by following this link:

http://m.youtube.com/watch?v=nZmXwjuw_Ow

We finished best of the Brits, the highest placed eight year old and helped the Nations Cup team to finish second and clinch the series!! What a way for Persimmon to end his season, I couldn't be happier with him and am really looking forwards to seeing what next year holds for him. 

Osberton Young Horse Breeding Campionships

Up at Osberton I had three fantastic horses all competing in the age Championship classes. Mo Cuiske was doing the seven year old championships which was held round a CCI** track. 

Caeleste and Ceylor LAN were both doing the six year old championships which was held round a CIC*. 

Mo Cuiske was competing in his first CCI** and was outstanding. He was second to go in his test and went in atrocious conditions. To say it was wet was an understatement!! I'm not sure I have been that wet for a long time, the rain made my saddle extremely slippy and I did feel like I was sliding everywhere. None of this seemed to affect Mo Cuiske though and he produced a very solid test and scored a very competitive 47.6 which left us in equal third. I didn't ride him as forward as perhaps I should have done, but the ground was pretty greasy and I was probably a little more cautious than in normal conditions. I was thrilled with how he coped with the conditions and atmosphere though. Watch our test by following this link:

http://m.youtube.com/watch?v=sutkGiEYBbQ&feature=g-soc

On cross country day the weather had thankfully improved a lot and the ground was perfect. Mo Cuiske skipped round the course like he had been doing two star level all his life and made nothing of it. We unfortunately got held two fences from home and I had to stop my watch. I knew we were well up in the clock and as we were on an equal dressage score with another competitor I knew I had to finish as close to the optimum time as possible. Because I had to stop my watch when I was held, I couldn't be as accurate as I would have liked when I was restarted and unfortunately I was too quick and further from the optimum then the person I was in equal third with. So although I had my best cross country ride this year on Mo Cuiske we dropped to fourth. This was a little disappointing as Mo Cuiske didn't deserve to drop a place after such a foot perfect round. 

On the Sunday Mo Cuiske trotted up really well and felt great in his Show Jumping. He jumped a brilliant clear and found it all pretty easy which was fantastic. His super clear moved us back up to third. This was a brilliant result for his first CCI** and I couldn't have been more thrilled with his performance over the whole week. I was just disappointed that I let him down by being a little quick cross country which prevented him from finishing second. Watch our show jumping by following this link: 

http://m.youtube.com/watch?v=eaDnFZY6tbc

Caeleste was first to go in the six year old class and produced a lovely test to score 46.3 which left us just outside the top ten. I was very pleased with this as going first in a class of eighty plus is never the best draw to have. Watch our test by following this link:

http://m.youtube.com/watch?v=Hgq4TapeO5w

Caeleste then jumped a wonderful clear in the show jumping. It was her best round to date and just skipped round for fun. Watch our round by following this link:

http://m.youtube.com/watch?v=4GwaN_hoc18

Cross country was on Sunday morning and Caeleste was super once again, she jumped a lovely clear but picked up 3.6 time faults which dropped us to 11th place. She just felt a little tired after her run the week before at South of England and I think stabling up at Osberton for the week took quite a lot out of her mentally. I was extremely pleased with how she went though. This is her first season eventing and she has taken everything in her stride and progressed from BE100 to Intermediate effortlessly, quite an achievement for just six years old. 

Ceylor LAN was his usual super self and produced a lovely test, he made one small error where he miss understood an aid and popped in to canter early. But his work was of very good quality. He scored  38.5 which left us in equal first with Ian Wills. Watch our test by following this link:

http://m.youtube.com/watch?v=ywPheSUTCCo

Ceylor LAN like Caeleste jumped a brilliant clear in the show jumping, Ian also jumped clear so the pressure was on going into the cross country. Watch our round here by following this link:

http://m.youtube.com/watch?v=vcgc7sPCGeA

Cross country was run in reverse order so Ceylor LAN and I were last to go. I knew we needed to finish as close to or if possible on the optimum time to give ourselves the best chance of winning. After going too quickly on Mo Cuiske I was damed if I was going to make the same mistake twice!! Ceylor LAN gave me a great ride and we managed to finish bang on the optimum time. This meant we had won the six year old title by the smallest of margin. In doing this Ceylor LAN has now one both the five and six year old titles, now just the seven year old one to go!! 

I couldn't be more delighted with all the horses over the week, all performed to the best of their ability and have finished their seasons on great notes. 

South of England CIC*

I only had Caeleste at South of England, she was doing the CIC*. After not performing at her best at Gatcombe, it was great to be able to have her out again so quickly. 

She was a lot more settled having been to Gatcombe the week before. She did a super test, really concentrating and trying. She scored a very competitive 41.2 which left us in 4th place out of 80 starters. 

She then jumped a lovely clear in the show jumping finding it all very easy, the show jumping caused its fair share of trouble and two horses ahead of us faulted so we moved up to 2nd going into the cross country. 

She flew round the cross county and really enjoyed herself and kept her second place. She is now all set up for Osberton six year old class next week.  

Gatcombe CIC**

After an enforced break from the 23rd July due to breaking my wrist at home Gatcombe was my first run back. It was super to be back eventing and the horses felt on fabulous form thanks to my amazing team who kept them all going whilst I was off.

I had Mo Cuiske and Ceylor LAN in the Intermediate, Caeleste in the CIC* and Persimmon in the CIC**. 

Mo Cuiske was a star and the break from competition seems to have done him the world of good. Having got a little wound up in the dressage at Barbury which was he last run it was fantastic to having him feeling so relaxed. He did his best test to date and scored a 24.6 and led his section, he then jumped a very confident double clear not feeling rusty at all. We picked up a few annoying time faults, I don't think I had quite blown my cobwebs away!! This left us in 2nd place which I was thrilled with. 

        Photo courtesy of MDR Photo

Ceylor LAN at only six was fab, I was worried he might have felt green and forgotten all the things he had learnt, but I needn't have worried. He did a lovely test and led his section on 25.5, he also jumped a very confident double clear. I picked up a handful of time faults as he is rather large round the twists and turns of Gatcombe. Even with these he still finished 4th, which was a perfect final run before Osberton. 

Photo courtesy of Fiona Scott Maxwell

Caeleste warmed up amazingly for her CIC* test, but unfortunately got rather destructed in her test. Her arena was the closest to the cross country and after hearing the whistles and horses thundering past she struggled to settle and concentrate. This was a huge disappointment as she showed so much promise. I didn't take her back to jump on the Sunday as she had an entry for South of England the following weekend and I felt it would be good for her not to go cross country having got wound up about it in the dressage. 

Persimmon was on fantastic form all weekend, he did a brilliant test to lie in 3rd place with a 39.7.
We ran cross country before the show jumping in this class. The cross country although not particularly big was technical and causing a lot of trouble, Persimmon was great though and flew round to take the lead. Watch our round by following this link:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iIKjifdPSUI&feature=c4-overview&list=UUu2ICZ05tRjEVzc9MTtSssw

The show jumping was run in reverse order of merit and we didn't have a fence in hand over the 2nd placed horse. Persimmon was feeling as fresh as a daisy and didn't even breath on a pole, in doing so he retained his CIC** title that he won last year. Watch our round by following this link:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y9KX8FWiETo&feature=c4-overview&list=UUu2ICZ05tRjEVzc9MTtSssw

Photos courtesy of Fiona Scott Maxwell

All I can say is what an amazing first event back and thank you so much to all my owners and sponsors for being so supportive and understanding whilst I was off and for my team at home for keeping the horses in tip top condition. 

Aston Le Walls (2)

I had Caeleste and Ceylor LAN doing the Intermediate at Aston, I also had Persimmon entered in the Advanced, but decided not to run him after his fabulous performance at Barbury and save him for Hartpury CIC***.

Ceylor LAN did a fantastic test, he is finding the intermediate tests easier and easier. He scored a very impressive 23.2.

He then jumped a lovely clear round a twisty and technical show jumping track.

As it was his first Intermediate cross country and although the team at Aston had done a fantastic job with the ground it was still on the firm side, so I chose to run steadily. The track was tougher than I have seen at Aston, but Ceylor LAN jumped brilliantly round and took all the direct routes. With his time faults we finished in 5th place, 0.6 off the winner!! It was tight at the top!!

Caeleste was also a star she did a lovely test to score 31.8, this left her in a very competitive place near the top of the leader board. She is getting stronger all the time and her self carriage has improved hugely.

 

 

She then jumped a lovely round in the show jumping and was unlucky to have one rail down when we lost a bit of balance and canter round a corner.

 

 

 

 

She then pinged round the cross country, making it feel easy although this was her first round at this level. She unfortunately pulled a shoe off round the course so we went fairly steadily. As a result of our time faults we finished just outside the top ten.  

 

 

 

 

 

 

Upton

I just had Bondi Beach in the Novice at Upton. He did a lovely test and is feeling a lot more mature and balanced every time he goes out. He scored a very competitive 30.

He jumped a lovely clear in the show jumping making it feel easy. He was then foot perfect cross country and gave me a great ride. We picked up quite a few time faults as it was pretty firm, but even with these our performance was good enough for 10th place.


Photo courtesy off  Hoofprints-Photography by HR

Tweseldown

I had both my two lovely six year olds Caeleste and Ceylor LAN at Tweseldown doing their first Intermediate. Both were fantastic in the dressage. 

Ceylor LAN scored a 25 and Caeleste scored a 23.2, both led their respective sections after the dressage. They then both jumped fantastic clears in the show jumping. 

I didn't run either horses cross country as the ground was incredibly hard and I didn't feel it was worth risking such lovely young horses. 

As I was leaving to go home I heard Laura Collett had a very nasty fall. My team and I would like to send Laura, her family and her team our best wishes. We hope for a good speedy recovery and we look forwards to seeing you back on the circuit soon. 

Barbury International

I had Persimmon doing the CIC*** and Mo Cuiske doing the CIC** at  Barbury. 

Persimmon was doing his first CIC*** and was outstanding, especially as he is just eight years old. It is lovely to be able to compete at such an amazing venue and it is fabulous for owners to be able to watch the whole cross country course so easily. 

Persimmon had an early draw and did his test on Thursday. It was quite a blustery day, but he coped well and did a very good test with just a few green mistakes. He scored 38.2 which left us in 4th place. 

 

Persimmon didn't show jump until Saturday and he jumped a fabulous clear  and moved up to equal 3rd. 

 

 

The cross country was run in reverse order of merit so we had a long wait on Sunday. Persimmon absolutely flew round the cross country and didn't feel green or notice the step up to three star at all. As he is so young I didn't push him too much for the time and we picked up a few time faults. This dropped us a place to 4th, but I was thrilled with his performance in what was a very competitive section. 

 

Mo Cuiske was doing his first CIC**. He also did his test on the Thursday in the wind. He didn't cope very well in the blustery conditions, he found the flags flapping and atmosphere a bit too much. He scored a 59.7 which was a little disappointing. 

Show jumping didn't quite go to plan either. He jumped well, but was quite fresh and didn't quite concentrate and had a couple down. 

 

As it was firm and we weren't in a competitive position we just ran slowly cross country. He gave me a lovely ride and didn't find any of the tricky combinations hard. 

 

 

Salperton

I had Mo Cuiske in the Intermediate, Persimmon in the Advanced Intermediate, Bondi Beach in the Novice and Caeleste and Ceylor LAN in the Novice Regional Final.

Mo Cuiske was fantastic and managed to win his first ever event!! His dressage was interesting, we scored a 32.3 and in the process scored a 0 and a 9!!! He did some stunning work, but had a slight panic attack when he entered the arena and halted, he got the shakes then struggled to move off!! After that he was fab. 

He then jumped a fantastic round in the show jumping and was very unlucky to have one down. When I came out I thought he had jumped clear until they announced 4 faults. He then jumped clear round the cross country inside the time making it feel like a walk in the park. It was a tough track causing a lot of problems, so I was thrilled with how easy he made it feel. 

Mo Cuiske - photo courtesy of Fiona Scott Maxwell

Persimmon was a little fresh and feisty, he was having his first run back after Tattersalls and was a little full of himself!! He also scored a 32.3. He made up for his freshness in the dressage by jumping a superb double clear and finishing on his dressage for 2nd place. 

Persimmon - photo courtesy of Fiona Scott Maxwell

Bondi Beach did a lovely test, he stayed very relaxed and soft. His balance is improving all the time and I felt it was his best test to date, he led the section on a 26.5.

 

He then jumped a lovely clear in the show jumping.

He then gave me a great ride in the cross country, it was a tough Novice track and we had a very annoying 20 penalties at some angled houses which he miss understood, but he jumped it very well the second time. 

 

Caeleste was very early in the NRF section, she did a very good test, just showing moments of greenness at this higher level. She scored a 30.9.

 

She jumped a nice round in the show jumping, but was quite in season and got a little tight and had an annoying fence down. 

She flew round the cross country making it all feel very straight forward. We picked up 0.4 of a time fault and finished in 10th place and ensured a qualifying spot for Gatcombe Novice Championships.

 

Ceylor LAN is being so consistent this season. He did a very good test and is really not finding the step up to Intermediate to taxing. He scored a super 25 and led the section. 

 

He then jumped a fantastic clear in the show jumping, he jumped really well and felt very mature and grown up.

 

He flew round the cross country inside the time. He to made it feel incredibly easy and took nothing out of himself. He won the section and is also now qualified for the Gatcombe Novice Championships  as well. I am really pleased to have both my super six year old qualified for Gatcombe.  

 

Nunney Internaional

I had Bondi Beach in the BE100, Ceylor LAN and Caeleste in the Intermediate Novice and Mo Cuiske in the Intermediate.

Bondi Beach did a lovely relaxed test, he swung really well in his trot work and just lost a little balance in his canter when he had to go down hill and scored 33. He then jumped two fantastic clears, we just went slowly cross country as it was very firm on the Friday and we were running HC.

 
                               Bondi Beach - Photo courtesy of Tanzy Lee

Ceylor LAN and Caeleste where both doing their first Intermediate Novice and both coped with the step up in the dressage and show jumping really well.

Ceylor LAN did a very gown up test in slippy conditions, his canter work was particularly pleasing. He scored a super 23.6.

He then jumped a foot perfect clear in the show jumping.

As he already has 33 BE points I decided to run him very slowly cross country as I am worried he will up grade to Advanced before he is seven at the rate he is going!! Even with 12.4 time faults he still finished 5th!

Caeleste also did a fantastic test for her age and knowledge, she just nudged ahead of her stable mate and scored 22.7.

She then jumped a lovely round in the show jumping, but didn't quite listen to me running down hill to a double and had her first fence of the year down.

She also has a lot of points for a six year old, so she went slowly cross country as well and picked up 12 time faults for 8th place.

Mo Cuiske was doing his second Intermediate and was rather over top in his dressage, Tattersalls had clearly gone to his head!! He did some lovely trot work, but got silly in his first canter and did a few flying changes as well as a fly leap!! I think he saw the other arenas being packed up and put away whilst he was doing his test and used that a good excuse to have fun. He finished his test well and scored 36.4.

He then made up for his freshness in the dressage with two brilliant jumping rounds. Both the show jumping and cross country were tough tracks and caused their fair share of trouble, but Mo Cuiske made both of them feel very easy. His good jumping rounds and only a few time faults were good enough for 4th place.

Tattersalls CCI* and CCI**

What a difference a week makes!! I had Mo Cuiske in the CCI* and Persimmon in the CCI**. Both were obviously feeling sorry for me after my bad week in France and were on top form all week.

Mo Cuiske was doing his first three day event and behaved like a pro. He did a very grown up test, with only a few baby mistakes, mainly in his halts and scored a competitive 45.4 to leave us in 10th place after the dressage. Watch our test here:

 

He then jumped a brilliant clear cross country inside the time, making it all feel very easy and small and retained his 10th place going into the show jumping.

 

                             

                                               Photo courtesy of Alex Colquhoun

 

The show jumping was a twisty track with a lot of related distances. Mo Cuiske jumped a fab round and was clearly not feeling the effects from the cross county the day before. The show jumping caused a lot of trouble and our clear round moved us up to 5th place.

 

Persimmon was doing his first CCI**, he should he have done Le Lion last year and was laying 2nd after dressage there, but the event was sadly abandoned. So although it was his first CCI** he went with plenty of experience having done a lot of CIC** and a couple of Advanced this spring.

 

He did a superb test showing a lot of expression and suppleness and made very few mistakes. He led the large and competitive section on 37.2. Watch our test here:

 

 

 

On cross country day he flew round Ian Starks big bold track and made it feel like a BE100 and finished comfortably inside the time. I was thrilled with how he felt round the track and how he finished so well within himself.

 

                                             Photo courtesy of Uptown Eventing

 

 

Our clear cross country inside the time left us in the lead, but not with a fence in hand. Oliver Townend was in second and jumped a great clear, so the pressure was on!! Persimmon jumped his socks off and didn't even breath on a pole. He jumped the best he has ever jumped in the ring and was a very deserving winner!!!

 

                                    Jumping the last - Photo courtesy of Lucy Hall

 

Photo courtesy of Alex Colquhoun

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 



 

Saumur CCI***

I just had Zidante out in France, which was very nearly a fantastic trip! She was a star in her test and really strutted her stuff. She scored 41.8 and led the very competitive class. Watch our test here:

 

 

She was amazing cross country round a very twisty and technical track. There were a lot of drops to corners and skinnys, tricky angles and interesting questions. She made mince meat of the track, finding it all very easy and was as straight as an arrow at all the accuracy questions. We were on target to make the time and retain our dressage lead. Unfortunately this wasn't to be and we had a very annoying, uncharacteristic fall at the last. She pecked on landing and that was the end of our Saumur dream. Both she and I were fine except both having a bit of French sand up our noses and in our ears!! 

You should be able to watch our round as well as the rest of the class by following this link. We are about 1hour and 56minutes in. Or follow the YouTube link to watch our cross country. 

 

http://www.dailymotion.com/video/x1082y3_cci_sport

 

 

I am devastated for her, her owners and my fabulous support team. She really didn't deserve the fall as she had tried her heart out for me and really should have finished in the lead. Show jumping day is always another day, but she is very careful and consistent in this phase so I would like to think she would have jumped well. I was however thrilled for Bill Levett though, if anyone could take advantage of our mishap I was glad Bill could!

Rockingham Castle

At Rockingham I had Ceylor LAN, Mo Cuiske, Caeleste and Very Special Z in the CIC* and Persimmon in the CIC**.

Ceylor LAN was his fabulous, consistent self and did a superb test. It was his best to date and he scored a well deserved 38.1 to led the very large section. He then jumped an immaculate clear in the show jumping and flew round the cross county clear and within the time. He finished on his dressage to win his first CIC*!

  


Ceylor LAN - Photo courtesy of

Lulu Kyriacou Media and Photography

Caelese, who only started eventing this year was competing in her first CIC* and was a star, she did a very good test, with just a couple of green mistakes to score a very competitive 43.4. She to jumped a lovely double clear in the time to finish in 6th place. She has come a very long way in a short space of time and I was thrilled with how she coped with this step up in level.

Mo Cuiske was a little tense in his dressage and let the atmosphere of the main arena get to him, he scored 51.6. He made up with his jumping though and posted a great double clear and moved up to 18th place.

Very Special Z also showed a little tension and scored 47.8. He jumped a lovely clear in the show jumping and felt fantastic jumping round. He then had a very annoying 20 penalties cross country, where he miss understood me at a turning fence, but at the minute we are still getting to know one another.

Persimmon showed his absolute consistency at this level. He was a little fresh in the dressage and scored a 43.4. He skipped round both jumping phases and completed on his dressage for 3rd place.


Persimmon jumping the last - Courtesy of Lulu Kyriacou Media and Photography

 

Aston Le Walls (2)

I had Very Special Z doing his second Intermediate and Mo Cuiske doing his first. I had Caeleste in the Novice and Ceylor LAN in the Open Novice.   

Mo Cuiske was a superstar in his first Intermediate. He was a real pro and made it all feel easy! He did a lovely test and just showed some loss of balance at the odd moment to score 31.8. He then jumped a super clear round the show jumping and was fantastic round the cross country. He made it feel as easy as a Novice and finished on his dressage score for 4th place. 

Very Special Z also did a super test showing lots of expression and scored 30.9. He then jumped a beautiful clear round the show jumping and was great cross country. We had a few time faults as I am still getting to know him and didn't want to push him cross country. He finished 10th and would have been 2nd had a gone a but quicker. 

Caeleste went brilliantly again. She did a very nice test and scored 33. She then jumped a fantastic double clear with 0.4 of a time fault. She made both of the jumping phases feel very easy. She finished equal first with Sarah  Bullimore and Mayfair Glory. We did exactly the same time cross country and scored the same mark in the dressage so couldn't be split!

Ceylor LAN went very well again. He did a very polished test to score 27.5 and showed some lovely work. He then jumped a great clear in the show jumping finding it all a bit small! He then gave me a lovely ride cross country again making it feel easy and all a bit simple! We just went slowly cross country as it was quite firm and he doesn't need to prove himself at this level having won to Novices already this spring. 

Moreton Morrell

I had three rides at Moreton Morrell, Bondi Beach and first timer Virtical Line in the BE100 and Togo De Kerser doing his first Novice. 

Togo De Kerser was a star in his first Novice. He did a fantastic test, showing lots of expression and scored a well deserved 23. He jumped a lovely round in the show jumping and was very unlucky to have one down. He then flew round the cross country, making it feel easy and finishing within the time to win his section convincingly. 

Togo De Kerser - photo's courtesy of 1st Class Images. 

Togo De Kerser is now unfortunately for sale. 

Virtical Line was not only doing his first ever British Eventing event, but also his first ever show of any sort!! He coped fantastically, he did a lovely test and was extremely grown up for his first time in white boards. He scored a 32, he then had an unlucky fence down after jumping a little to big into the double. He gave me a great ride round the cross country. He was very bold and straight and really seemed to enjoy himself! He finished 6th and is now looking forwards to his next run at Mount Ballan. 

Virtical Line - photo's courtesy of 1st Class Images. 

Virtical Line is now unfortunately for sale. 

Bondi Beach was doing the BE100 rather than the Novice as I felt although he is more than capable of everything that is required at Novice level he could do with going back a level and be taken more slowly as he is so talented. He has grown a lot recently and is just struggling with his balance. He did a good test to score 34.5 and jumped a fantastic double clear, making it all feel very easy. 

 

Whington Advanced

I had Persimmon and Zidante doing the Advanced and both were fantastic.

 Persimmon was only doing his second Advanced and felt fab, he did a lovely test with only few green mistakes to score 29.5 to sit in second place. He then jumped a super clear round a big track in the show jumping and felt fabulous round the cross country. We picked up a few time faults as he is still green at this level and I wanted him to have a confident giving round. All this was good enough for him to finish 2nd.


                                                 Photo - Courtesy of Dominic Ruane

                                                Photo courtesy of Fiona Scott-Maxwell

Zidante was a super star again, she did a good test to score 31.2, she broke in her first medium trot which was unlike her and was a bit of a shame, but I was pleased with the rest of her test. She then jumped her socks off in the show jumping and felt brilliant cross country, she added just a handful of time faults to her dressage score to win her section convincingly. I couldn't have been more pleased with both the horses and how they went, I feel very lucky to have such wonderful young horses to produce up through the grades.

                                                  Photo courtesy of Fiona Scott-Maxwell


                                                      Photo courtesy of Dominic Ruane

Bicton

At Bicton I had Mo Cuiske and Caeleste doing the Novice and Very Special Z competing in his first Intermediate.

Caeleste didn't perform as well as she can in the dressage, she got a little tight and tense when she could hear horses lunging and lorries arriving behind the hedge, but not see them!! She scored a 39 which was disappointing, but she made up for it with two fantastic jumping rounds. Watch our performance here:

 

 

 

Mo Cuiske did another fantastic test, he is really getting the hang of the dressage now and is far more confident in what he is doing. He scored a 28 and led his section, he then had a very unlucky rail down, it was a real shame as it cost him the win. He sailed round the cross country and made it feel very easy to finish 4th. Watch our performances here:

 

 

 

 

Very Special Z was great in his first Intermediate, he did a very mature test for his inexperience at this level. He scored a 30.9 which left him in 3rd place. He then jumped a lovely clear, round a large show jumping track and was great round a strong cross country track. He was very bold and straight, but we just went slowly as it was quite firm. Watch our performances here: