Thanks to Henry Bucklow of www.lazy-photography.co.uk

Henry stormed round the XC in his normal amazing manner. Unfortunately we weren't 100% happy with him on the Sunday morning so sadly decided to withdraw him from the final phase. It's always a hard blow for us as a team as we all work so hard to keep the horses fit, healthy and happy but sometimes there is only so much you can do. So Henry is home for a little break before we decide how he will finish the 2010 season which only has 7 weeks left! I have 2 horses running at West Wilts on Friday and 10 running at Pontispool on Sunday as well as an extra 2 horses that are coming in for schooling whilst their owner is on holiday. They are pictured below:

 

Henry passes the first trot up and scores 74 for current 15th place.

Well we set off yesterday for Burghley with Henry who is feeling in fine form after his placing at Gatcombe earlier on in the month. I had an unfortunate fall last week which resulted in me cracking a rib and having to withdraw from my local event Bicton and Highclere to be fit enough to ride at Burghley.
For those of you who can't make it up here to watch check out http://www.burghley.tv/?BH where you can watch the same day coverage of every individual dressage, xc and sj, available from midday on Thurs Sept 2nd.
Or why not have a look at the course http://vimeo.com/14195288 to see what Henry and I will be up against on the cross country. Wish me luck!

Having only had 3 days to settle in the new yard, I was packing up to set off for Martinvast Horse Trials in France with one of the Newhall horses and Ellie.  The horses travelled well and it was a mixed bag of competition. Ellie proved herself to be a potential 4* horse and gave me a great ride XC, with an unfortunate pole down SJ leaving us mid-way placed down the board. She really will be a horse for the future and i have high hopes for her. Unfortunately I didn't run Captain Hook XC as he had not been himself in the SJ - so we decided to save him for another day.
Henry was a bit put out to be staying at home when the lorry left - his preparation for Burghley was kept on track by Alex whilst I was away and it's all systems go for the CCI4* at the beginning of September. We're off to Highclere on Saturday with 3 Intermediates running, so fingers crossed for good weather as this rain will have really made a difference to the going.

I'm now based at Newhall Equestrian, Broadclyst near Exeter www.newhallequestrian.co.uk

Henry is his new stable.

The yard is set around a court yard.

The 6 horse Kylix walker

The indoor school

The outdoor school

In the school

One event I love in the eventing calender is Gatcombe. The lovely park setting and natural terrain make the xc second to none. The atmosphere is amazing and I was really looking forward to getting Henry out on the xc.
Henry produced a nice dressage test with little tension which left us midway down the field of top class combinations on 39.5, he felt really good and i was pleased with the test - although i could have ridden it a little more accurately.
The sj arena is set on a slight natural slope but the course was nicely built and inviting. An unfortunate pole set us up to go xc on 43.5
Henry was eager to get on the course and i was really looking forward to going xc with him as it had been some time since he had run. He set out of the start box like a rocket and stormed round clear with a few time penalties leavig us very competitively placed in 6th.

A - Section A

It clearly paid off to rest up after my injury last week as i had several running at Wilton, a lovely event in Wiltshire. Ellie did a fab job winning her Intermediate section, with a good dressage and an unfortunate pole in the SJ. Butterfly was also well placed in her Intermediate section in 8th place and Shiriff shone again in his Intermediate section to take 9th place, not bad considering he had not done muct XC before he came to me! Captain Hook was 8th in  the Open Novice and Henry had a little trip out in the Open Intermediate where he completed the dressage and SJ well but was withdrawn before XC to save him for Gatcombe this coming week. He is entered for the Advanced and is number 112 in section A for anyone who wants to come along and support! Gatcombe is a great event, with excellent viewing so a great day out www.gatcombe-horse.co.uk