A Hot and Busy Summer
Well it is safe to say we haven’t had a shortage of hot weather this summer so far…all of us, the horses, dogs and baby are definitely looking forward to a cooler spell, however we shouldn’t complain as we will be back in the depths of winter before we know it! Although a little rain to make the grass grow and the ground a little more favourable wouldn’t go a miss…
Yaz and I welcomed a baby girl into the world at the beginning of May (perfectly timed in my free 10 days off Eventing!), so life has been a little different since then, but definitely not quiet with plenty going on. Evie came to her first event at 4 weeks old at Bicton International and has been to many since, including a few lovely drinks parties, particularly at Bicton and Bramham, that she has very politely slept through. She is definitely getting used to lorry life.
Yaz has been back riding for nearly 6 weeks now so I have had to hand some of her horses back. I was lucky enough to have a great spin round the 4* at Bramham with Canalatto Denfer, which was his spring aim, jumping a great double clear, before I handed back the reins. It was great to have a run round a really tough 4* track and makes me excited to step some of my string up to that level a bit later in the season.
Yaz had her first run back at Farley at the end of June on Cos Me Will, just easing herself back in with a steady intermediate run. She was pleased that she fitted into all her competition kit! She has a few more runs planned before the 4*S at Burgham at the end of July, so is getting stuck back in and enjoying doing the horses alongside being mum to Evie!
It is crazy to think all the horses are over half way through their seasons already. They often tend to have a slightly heavier start to the season while they’re getting going and then taper off through the year when they are feeling more established and less excitable!
We had a great time at Kelsall Hill and Bicton Internationals with some top 10 placings and qualifications ticked off. 7yos One For The Road and Bueno both contested their first three day events and were super, gaining great experience round a longer cross-country track up and down the Devon hills, setting them up well for their futures. It is always an unknown as to how they will jump on the last day after having run cross-country but they were both fantastic. They have both now also stepped up to intermediate and 3* level, with a 2nd for Bueno in the 7yo class at Farley, missing out on the win by 0.1 of a penalty! It is exciting to have ticked off our qualifications for the World Horse Young Championships at the end of the season, so fingers crossed we can have some good results before then and be considered for selection.
We have had some great runs and lots of top 10s, including a win at Little Downham, for King Carisma, DHI Nango Z and Hidalgo, all feeling very established at this level now. They’re an exciting trio for the future. King Carisma and Hidalgo are both stepping up to Advanced in the 8/9yo class at Aston in a couple of weeks so it will be great to see how they take on the next level with Blenheim 8/9yo 4*S in our sights.
In other news, Global Karina, who we had had since a just broken in 5yo, flew off (literally!) to new pastures in America which was very sad as she was extremely consistent and a lovely person, having been to the World Young Horse Championships as a 6 and 7 year old with Yaz. We will miss having her in the yard, but it is a part of what we do, so we will avidly watch her progress!
Lots of exciting things to come for the rest of the season so stay tuned…!
