I'm so lucky to live near the coast, we took Maraca and Henry down to the beach for a bit of fun and they loved it! Maraca was less keen on the waves but got used to it in the end. It's great to give their legs a break from galloping on the current hard ground, as well as a lot of fun! Although on closer inspection Henry does appear to have his eyes closed in 2 of the 3 images! Thanks to www.jayphotos.co.uk for the shots.

Ellie and Mac went to Burnham Market and jumped double clears in the Intermediate and 2* respectively, Ellie coming out with a respectable 9th placing. She then went on to Withington to do he same again and came a creadable 4th place.
Bicton produced a nice 4th place in the novice for Wiz, who is coming along nicely for a youngster and Dantino rolled a few poles in the sj to come 13th.
All in all the placings are at the right end of the scoreboard, just waiting for that ellusive 1st place this season, although I have racked up 32 points in the first 2 months of the season, so not at all bad!
I have 3 running at Aston in the middle of May, just praying for some rain for this solid ground, Ellie will be joining Henry in the Advanced at Chatsworth, her first run at this level, so hoping for a good run. Dantino will run in the Intermediate at Pontispool before we hop across the Irish sea to Tattersall's International for the under 25's with Maraca at the end of the month - make sure you keep tuned in to see the results!

A long trek to South of England in Sussex with three horses paid off for Ellie and Maraca with a 3rd and 7th respectively in the I and OI. Ellie rolled an unfortunate pole in the SJ but a good dressage and clear xc with a few time penalties gave her a strong placing. Mac produced a nice test and clear SJ but I admit I could have put my foot down a bit more on XC as we had quite a few time penalties, sometimes it just takes a few events to get our eye back in on timings. Jack also ran in the OI with a good dressage and an unfortunate pole in the SJ. He set off XC like a train and was jumping really well but got increasingly strong to the point where I felt it was best to retire him for both our sake. It's always a tough call to retire on the course but he was taking such a hold and the combination of fences we were coming up to required complete control, it just wouldn't have been saf to attempt it in that manner. He is a good horse so best to save him for another day when we have assessed his 'brakes' and I can kick on in the normal manner! 
Sapey was to be Whod have though its' second Novice. He was a little green in the dressage which showed for his score of 40.5. He warmed up for the SJ beautifully, receiving some encouraging comments from onlookers but just went a bit flat in the ring to knock two fences. He cruised round the XC so I expect him to do well over his next few events.
Alex had her second run on Stormstay after Portman. He was slightly more chilled in the dressage and rolled a pole SJ but stormed aroing the XC clear. I think once they have had a few more runs they will be very competitive.
I also had a BE100 ride in Castleview Freddie, who got over his SJ demons after Aldon to produce a nice test and double clear, with a few time penalties.
Mac and Jack are off to Burnham Market this weekend, all the way over in Norfolk, and then we roll on to Withington and Hambledon.

 

So, not bad this season so far! Three top 5 places at Somerley, 2nd for Maraca and 3rd for Jack in the ON and 4th for Ellie in the I. A rather soggy Portman saw a few poles role in the SJ but a 5th with Captain in the ON and clear XC's with Dantino and Wiz's first novice. Off to South of England on Sat, Sapey on Tues and Burnham Market on Fri - busy, busy!

Sponsorship is always hard to come by in this sport but I'm very pleased to welcome a new sponsor on board for the 2011 season. Wyvern Equestrian manufacture a range of Bridlework that is made in England by skilled craftsmen, using the Best Quality English Leather and is hand stitched and finished. I'm proud to be supported by a company that is passionate about products tht are "MADE IN ENGLAND" and they are a great local company based nr Exeter in Devon. 
                    We are working on some exciting plans together over the next few weeks so keep your eyes and ears pealed for news...
As well as their fab range of leatherwork they also stock the High Quality ELT Competition Clothing Range from Reitsport Waldhausen in Germany. So I will be proud to be using and wearing their items this season. If you see me at an event and want to ask a question about any items then feel free, otherwise check out their website www.wyvernep.co.uk or give them a call on 01392 881880.

What a good start to the 2011 season! Last weekend we travelled up to Yeovil to Aldon on Friday with Wiz. He produced a great dressage of 32 and finished in 8th place in the BE100 with no jumping or time penalties. Ellie travelled up on the Sunday and produced a great dressage of 35 in the Intermediate section and jumped double clear, picking up a few time penalties on the XC to finish 5th. I have a meeting this week with a potential sponsor so i'll keep the website posted with news of how this goes!

So, all our winter woes are behind us, snow, ice, freezing weather (well I hope anyway!) and it felt good to start making some BE entries again.
We're not starting until Aldon this year, where Whod have thought it will contest the BE100 and Allercombe Ellie the Intermediate. They have both been working well at home and have been out and about Show Jumping and training and are feeling well.
After Aldon we are off to Somerley Park with Madison Jack and Leonardo VIII in the ON and Ellie in the Intermediate. Portman is next up with Captain Hook in the ON at the beginning of April.
I can't wait to get back into the swing of things and see how we all fair this season. I have some exciting horses and great owners again and it'll soon be manic with the lorry out a couple times a week.
I hope to be able to catch up with those eventing friends who I haven't seen over the winter and meet a few new!
Don't forget to pop along to the lorry if you see me at events...

I can't beleive how quick this season has come round! It seems like only yesterday we were all snowed in and the thought of galloping cross country seemed a distant memory!
All the horses are back in work now, at varying levels. It's amazing how they look like hairy ponies incapable of popping a cross pole, with big bellies and long manes when they come in off their holidays only to be transformed with a bit of elbow grease, sweat, (sometimes tears!) and hard work into a string of classy event horses.
2011 is my second season based at Newhall, well it will be my first full seson as I moved mid season 2010. Having such great facilities will really help in my prep for the start of the season, which is only 6 weeks away. I have ten horses in, four with 4* potential and would love another 4* horse, either syndicated or owned. So if you have a suitable horse looking for a new rider for the season give me a call.
Badminton hasn't been ruled out again this year so Henry supporters need to watch this space to see what he's going to be up to and Jack may be heading for one of the bigger events like Burghley, but as you all know the horses will keep us on our toes for the season to come.
My loyal supporters and sponsors from 2010 will all be on board for 2011 and will hopefully be joined by some new and exciting ones this season, if anyone fancies buying me a new horsebox I'd be more than happy to come to an agreement on sponsorship!!! ( I can but try!)
The early part of this season will be taken up doing 'the locals' starting at Moreton in March and I will be holding a few clinics and demo's through the start of the season, so if you like further details on clinics and one-to-one training then drop me a line or email me at aaron@aaronmillar.co.uk

Hope you all had a great Christmas and a Happy New Year. We had record amounts of snow over the Christmas period so I was happy not to have too many into ride. I'm busy planning my campaign for 2011 and will be back soon to update you all on my plan of attack for this season, which beleive it or not starts in just 9 weeks!

All the horses are enjoying their holidays, the cold weather means they are all really well rugged up and have plenty of hay. It's only a matter of weeks before some of them come back to the yard and get clipped and tidied up, it's amazing what a few weeks of roughing off can do to them, they look more like hairy yaks than smart event horses! After a few weeks hacking and roadwork they will start a bit of schooling and jumping training, the youngsters will start going out to a few unaffiliated parties to get some education before the start of their event season.
As much as I enjoy having the time off i always look forward to them coming back, they each have such individual characters it seems quiet without them.
Henry as always will be eager to get on with things, he's a seasoned eventer who knows the ropes, and he will have another busy season in 2011 focussing on some 4* events.
2011 looks like it's set to be an exciting year, with a few new horses and new owners on board, and as always I'll make sure your all updated through this site and of course

So Novembers here and the yard is like a ghost town! All the eventers have either gone home to their owners for a well earn't rest or have been turned out to rough off for a few weeks. Aldon was a great last event for me, I won the CCI* on Captain Hook, my first three day win. We'd been lying second to Astier Nicolas (FRA) but a clear show jumping round promoted us above him as he had a fence down.
I have a 3 year old in for breaking but apart from a few to school I am taking a bit of a break. Staff get a nice break at this time of year also as they have worked so long and hard since the start of the season.
Looking at 2011, I will be sitting down over the next few weeks and drawing up short/medium/long term goals for those horses coming back in December and also looking at ways to make the logistics of a large yard work. The 2010 season was hectic and I'd like to put more planning in place for the 2011 season as like all similar riders the want to ride as many horses is sometimes detrimental to the immediate plans for them. So 2011 will be more about quality not quantity for both me and the horses.
As always we will be welcoming back quite a few of the regular 'stars' of the yard after their break, and no doubt we will see some new faces, so what this space for the horse updates!
Sadly a few of my rides will be looking for new 'homes' over the winter, as much as i hate to loose them, it's the nature of the sport and i'm sure they will go on to do great things for their new owners/riders. So if your in the market for a nice new horse for next season check out the 'for sale' page and give me a call.
I hope that you all had a great season and look forward to seeing everyone out and about next year.