12th October 2009 - Weston Park CCI**

Last week I was at Weston Park CCI** with General Opposition, it was his last run of the year. He went superbly he scored a good dressage mark of 49.9 to put us in 6th position. The cross country was a good track with plenty of questions, all of which Herbie answered beautifully and flew round easily inside the time, which moved us up into 3rd place.

He trotted up well on sunday morning and then went on to jump a great clear show jumping to really put the pressure on the leading pair. They to jumped clear, so Herbie stayed in third and finished the season with another great result.

Herbie has been so consistant this year, only finishing out of the top four once. What a star!

4th October 2009 - Dauntsy

Since Burghley I haven't had any rides across country as I damaged my ankle when I fell off. Dauntsy I.N was my first ride back. I had Starlight and Boundless Flight there, Starlight did a bit of a flat test for her, then show jumped nicely, but unfortunately had the last down. She then had an unusual run out cross country. She wasn't feeling quite herself so we have decided to finish her season there. She has had a busy year and has gone very well and just feels like she needs a break.

Murphy on the other hand went superbly to score a 29 in the dressage then jumped a lovely double clear to to win the class well. His final outting will be at the 6yr old young horse championships.

12th September 2009 - A lot to report on. Sorry for my very bad diary updating!!

An awful lot has been happing since my last dairy update at the end of May. I have some fantastic highs, but as you always seem to get with horses the lows haven’t too far around the corner.

As I haven’t been keeping my diary very up to date recently I will give you a quick over view as to how all the horses have been going over the summer.

Boondoggle had his first run after Badminton at Longleat and put up a very polished performance to finish 5th. He then headed to Barbury Castle which didn’t quite go to plan. Nugget gallops at Barbury and the excitement of being at the gallops was a little much for him to cope with and he didn’t perform to usual high standard in this phase. He then could only think about the gallops when we show jumped and jumped disappointingly. I then withdrew him and re-routed to Tweseldown.

Tweseldown went well enough, but we only ran slowly cross country as Nugget was a little full of himself! This slow run then set him up beautifully for Aston Le Walls Advanced, where we finished 8th.

Next stop was Gatcombe Championships. Nugget was a star all weekend and won the Advanced section convincingly with a good dressage and double clear. We then had two more runs before Burghley. One at Hartpury CIC*** where he got a little upset doing his dressage in an indoor school, I think he was feeling claustrophobic. He then did the show jumping well, but I withdrew before the cross country as he had only just run at Gatcombe. We then went to Hatherliegh where Nugget did a great test to lead the dressage; again we didn’t run cross country as Burghley was fast approaching.

Burghley didn’t quite go as I had hoped. Nugget was amazing and did a fabulous test to be in 10th place going into the cross country, with room for improvement still, I am hoping we can go even better at Badminton in the spring! The course was big and technical but knowing how great Nugget is across the country I didn’t have a too much of a sleepless night. Nugget was super cross country and gave me a great ride, making it feel like a pony club track!! Unfortunately only three fences from home when we were on target to make the time Nugget left a leg at the arena fence, screwing badly I was unseated which was just gutting. We only had straight forward fences left and I am sure we would have been on the time, so we would have been going into show jumping in equal 2nd. This was not the Burghley debut I was dreaming of, but I guess you put it down to character building and most importantly Nugget is all in one piece. He is a true four star cross country machine and I can’t wait to have another crack next year!!

General Opposition has been having a super season, he has only been out the top four once, which is quite an achievement. Herbie performed beautifully at Longleat to win the CIC**, with a very polished performance in all three phases. This was his biggest win to date and was very much deserved as he is such a consistent little chap. Herbie then headed to Barbury where he did a nice test and went clear show jumping, but we didn’t run cross country as it was very firm and I was looking ay the bigger picture.

Herbies next run was at Aston Le Walls where he was contesting in his first Advanced. He was a little naughty in the dressage, but more than made up for it with two great jumping rounds, which left us in 4th place. We were then back at Aston again a few weeks later to do the O.I. Herbie did a nice test then had his first show jump of the season down, he then did a nice confident cross country round, to finish a little down the order.

Herbie was then a super star at Highclere, winning a very competitive advanced section. Herbs went as well as he possibly can at this stage in his dressage then jumped well, to be unlucky to have one down. He was a little tiger cross country, giving me a great ride.

Bee Animas is a new ride; he is owned by Cathy Butler and was previously ridden by William Fox-Pitt. He is a lovely horse and it’s a fantastic opportunity to be given such a talented horse to ride. We started of by doing some novice events so we could get to know one another and get Bee to settle in the dressage as last year he got a little wound up, so we have been working on chilling him out.

Our first ‘proper’ run was in the O.I at Wilton where Bee went very well to finish 5th. Our next outing was then the O.I at Aston Le Walls, we went one better, finishing 4th. Again with a lovely double clear.

Bee then excelled himself at Highclere, he did his best test to date with me, then jumped a lovely show jumping round and flew round the cross country, to finish 2nd. We hope to improve on this again at Gatcombe CIC**.

Boundless Flight has been going very consistently, picking up a 2nd place in the novice at both Great Tew and Longleat, both with double clears. He was then 4th at Shipton Moyne and then went very well at his first I.N doing a very good test, but was a little green in the show jumping and had two down. His next I.N was at Aston le Walls where he went brilliantly to finish 2nd.

Starlight has been another very consistent campaigner, winning at Great Tew, then finishing 4th at Longleat. She then went superbly in her first I.N to finish 2nd, this qualified her for the novice championships at Gatcombe. She did the best test she has done and then tried exceptionally hard in the show jumping, but had two down through greenness. I didn’t run her cross country as I felt she wasn’t quite ready at this stage in her training. Her last run was at Aston Le Walls in the I.N where she jumped a great double clear to finish 4th, just behind Murphy.

Zidante has been performing very well, completing her first three novices very confidently and picking up two points along the way. She has done lovely tests and jumped brilliantly, feeling very grown up across country. She was 8th at Aston le Walls novice; otherwise she has been unplaced at this level due to me running her slowly as I don’t want her picking up too many points already. She then had an easy run at Highclere in the open P.N where she went very well to finish 2nd.

Owt For Nowt has been going very well at P.N level picking up good constant placing’s. Daz was 9th at West Wilts, 7th at Shipton Moyne, 10th at Cheltenham and 5th at Highclere.

31st May 2009 - Pontispool

I was at Pontispool with Zidante, Owt For Nowt and General Oppostion.

Herbie was doing the Open Intermediate and was a super star again!! He did an even better test than at Aston Le Walls and scored a 25 then once again did an imaculate clear show jumping and cross country in the time. This was all good enough to take the top spot in style! This was Herbies fith event this season and in all his starts this year he hasn't been out the top three, quite an achievment.

Daz unfortunately wasn't in quite such good form in the B.E 100. He did a nice test, then unfotunately had one down show jumping. He was a little naughty cross country and had to have a couple of reminders, but finished the course well.

Zidante was competing in the B.E 100 plus class and finished the weekend as Herbie begun it, with a win. She did a lovely test to lead at this stage followed by two great jumping rounds. She felt very mature and confident for her young age and after this, her third win on the trot fells ready to go novice at her next outing, which will be West Wilts.

22nd May 2009 - Mattingley

Today I was at Mattingley with Murphy and Starlight, both competing in the Novice 6yr old qualifier.

Both of these horses have been getting very similar results throughout the year but have never been in the same section to compete 'head to head' so it was going to be very interesting to see who came out on top as they were in the same section for the first time.

They both did lovely tests and both scored 29.1, the best in the section, then they both show jumped clear and both gave me fabulous rides cross country to be clear in the time. Murphy ended up just pipping Starlight to the post by vertue of a slightly slower cross country time, which left him closer to the optimin time.

This was a great result as they both went so consistantly and picked up the top two prizes as well as qualifing for the Lycetts Breeding Championships in October.

17th May 2009 - Aston le Walls

Over the last couple of days I have been at Aston Le Walls with Boundless Flight, Starlight and General Opposition.

Murphy and Starlight were both competing in the Novice. They Both did good tests, with Murphy leading his section on a 29 and Starlight being up amoungst the leaders with a 33. They both went on to produce lovely clears Show Jumping and lovely confident clears cross country. As the ground was very hard and both the horses are young with an exciting future ahead of them I only went slowly and picked up quite a few time faults. Which left Starlight just out the top ten and Murphy in 7th.

Herbie was competing in the Open Intermediate and put up another very strong and consistant performance. Herbie did a great test to score 29 then did a brilliant clear show jumping and superb clear cross country in the time to finish 2nd just behind Mark Todd and his Olympic mount Gandalf.

11th May 2009 - Badminton

Last week I was at Badminton with Boondoggle. We had a fantastic week with Nugget performing like a star. We had an early draw so had our dressage on Thursday morning. He went extremley well to finish the day in 5th place, by the end of Fridays dressage we moved down to 14th, but still a very respectable position to be in.

On cross country morning, again I was early to start so didn't get chance to see how the course was ridding. Nugget set out in great form and gave me a fantastic ride taking all the straight routes apart from Huntsmans Close where I went long. This cost me my time faults which was a shame, but I just felt that he had gone brilliantly up untill that point and as the fence there last year caused a lot problems I decided to play safe. We finished the day in 26th place.

Nugget trotted up beautifully on sunday morning and then went on to show jump very well. He had an unfortunate two down, one was at fence three which he had behind, he was just a little tight in his back after all his cross country. He then had the last down which was a real shame as he had done a great job.

As this time last year Nugget was only doing a two star at Houghton Hall, he really has come on a long way. Myself and his owners were thrilled with him and we are now looking forwards to doing another four star in the Atumn.

27th April 2009 - Hambelden

This weekend I was at Hambelden horse trials with Boondoggle, Starlight, Boundless Flight, Owt For Nowt and Zidante. Boondoggle was competing in the O.I, having his last run before Badminton.

He did a fabulous test to lead the dressage on 27, then did a beautiful clear show jumping, which I was really pleased with. He is really coming on in this phase and is becoming more confident with every outing. Unfortunately we were not so copy book across country.

As the ground was hard and with badminton in mind I set out to have a jolly round and not to be too competitive, I was busy enjoying my ride through the bluebells and took it for granted that nugget would pop the skinny bullfinch. I was half asleep and we had a very stupid run out, which cost us the class!! As annoying as this was, it wont have done as any harm before Badminton and will really have woken us up. I wont be taking anything for granted!!

The Babies all went brilliantly, with Zidante topping the B.E100 class, that incorporated the Lycetts sponsored young horse qualifier on a score of 23. Blacky is now qulified for the championships in october which is great.

Boundless Flight was having his first run of the season and was a bit fresh in the dressage, but still scored a 31, he then did a good double clear to finish 5th.

Owt for Nowt did a 32 dressage and also jumped a lovely confident double clear to finsh 5th as well.

Starlight was competing in the novice and went extremly well to do another double clear and finish a well earned 2nd.

This weekend I am at Bickenhall with the babies, then I am off to Badminton with Nugget, so fingers crossed!!

20th April 2009 - Powderham Castle

This weekend I was at Powderham with both Boondoggle and General Opposition.

Herbie was doing the O.I and went brilliantly again. He is becoming so consistant at this level and is trying so hard. He did a lovely test but was marked quite hard to score 34, which was a shame as I felt it was the best test he has produced so far.

He then did a lovely show jumping round to go clear and then proceded to fly around the cross country to finish 3rd.

Nugget was competing in the Advanced class. He produced a brilliant test in very testing circumstances, a loose horse galloped, bucking and kicking through our arena twice! On both occasions I had to pull him up into halt so as not to crash with the loose horse in the middle of movements. Nugget carried on regardless and behaved impecably to score a slightly disaponiting 32.

He then produced a fabulous clear show jumping around an up to height track with a lot of atmosphere outside the arena.

Nugget stormed around the cross country to finish 4th, feeling very straight and accurate.

7th April 2009 - Portman

I only had Starlight at Portman today, she was competing in the novice and went very promisingly in all three phases.

She did a very accurate test to score 24, just a couple of marks of the leaders, then jumped a lovely clear show jumping.

She was brilliant cross country, but due to some poor navigation on my part ( I some how ended up on the wrong side of some string!) we came back with a few time faults which dropped her down to 5th place.

5th April 2009 - Weston Park

Today I was at Weston doing the Advanced with Boondoggle. We were doing the new CCI**** test which was great pratice before Badminton, Nugget did a very pleasing test, but made a couple of errors in the changes which was a shame, but he still scored very well to be in the top few after this phase. This was really promising as I know we can both produce a better test than this.

He tried hard in a very up to hieght Show Jumping, but unfortunately had three down. He was a little bit flat, but I really can't blame him as this was his third event of the week!! This is probably not how you would prepare most horses for Badminton, but Nugget seems to improve for his runs.

He was fabulous cross country and seems to be much more setteled for all his runs!

Nugget heads to Powderham Castle next.

1st April 2009 - Somerley

Today I was at Somerley with both General Opposition and Boondoggle, both running in the O.I.

General Opposition was a star again, he scored a 31 in his dressage then jumped a brilliant double clear. He gave me a great ride and finished on his dressage score to finish 2nd, which was great.

Boondoggle was out again, as I felt he could do with another cross country round before running at Weston Park advanced. He did a great test to score 25.5, just 0.5 behind Toytown. He then did a good job in the show jumping, but unfortunately had the last down, which was a real shame. He was much better cross country and was much more setteled, we only went slowly, so finished just out the placings.

29th March 2009 - Gatcombe

At the weekend I was at Gatcombe with Starlight and Frenhill T Scarlett doing the novice and Boondoggle the O.I. Frenhill T Scarlett who is owned and based with Sally Johnson went very well to score a 30 in the dressage and post a double clear. I was delighted with her as I only ride her occasionaly and she couldn't have gone better. As she was running 'H.C' she didn't get placed.

Starlight also went nicely, she did a good test then jumped a lovely clear show jumping and gave me a great ride cross country, but we had a little miss understanding jumping into a wood, she is still on the green side, but will have learnt a lot form her run.

Boondoggle did a very nice test to score a 32 then show jumped well, but was unlucky to have a fence down coming out of a double. He then was rather fresh cross country. As he is being aimed at Badminton he is rather fit for this time of the year and was definately feeling a little full of himself!

15th March 2009 - Tweseldown Day Two

Yesterday I was back at Tweseldown with Zidante, Starlight and Owt For Nowt. They were all competing in the B.E 100 Class (P.N)

Owt for Nowt went very well to finish 3rd, with a 31 dressage, one down show jumping and a great cross country clear.

Starlight went well again to jump a lovely double clear and finished 5th. This time the dressage judge was more on the same wave lengh as me this week and gave us a 27. Much better than at Stilemans!

Zidante went very nicely again this time scoring a 28 in the dressage, she had an unfortunate one down in the show jumping and then flew round the cross country to finish 6th.

13th March 2009 - First Win of The New Season

Yesterday I was at Tweseldown Open Intermediate with both Boondoggle and General Opposition. They both went fantasticly for the first run of the year. General Opposition really got of to a flying start with a good dressage of 33 and a double clear, winning his section by 7 marks.

Boondoggle also went very well finishing 6th in his section. He gained the best mark in his arena, a 29. Beating Olympic bronze medalist Miners Frolic. He had an unfortunate two fences down, jumping in the worst of the ground as he was late in the day. He then flew round the croos country.

I am back at Tweseldown on saturday with three B.E 100 horses.

9th March 2009 - The season gets under way at Stilemans

This weekend I was at Stilemans with three horses. The weather couldn't have been better and the ground was fantastic. My first ride of the new season was on my own Zidante round the Pre Novice or as its called now B.E 100. She went beautifully to finish 6th with a great double clear. She is a lovely young five year old who I am trying to sell some shares in, if anyone is interested please get intouch.

My second ride was on Starlight. She was competing in the open B.E 100 class. She also jumped a lovely double clear and did a good test, but the judge didn't seem to agree. She finished just out the top ten, but i was very happy with her performance and am looking forwards to Gatcombe Novice with her.

My third ride was on Owt for Nowt, a new ride for the season, owned by David and Alex Beever. Daz as he is known at home did a good test in the B.E 100 class to score 25, which was brilliant as this was his first ever event. He then had a few faults in the show jumping as he was a little shocked and green, but this will have bought him on a lot. He then finished with a lovely clear cross country.

Next weekend I am at Twesledown with Boundless Flight, Zidante, Owt for Nowt, General Opposition and Boondoggle.

30th October 2008 - Pau CCI****

Boondoggle competed in the CCI*** at Pau, France last weekend.

He excelled himself in the dressage to score a mark of 46 that left us in 9th position, ahead of Pippa Funnell and William Fox-Pitt, I was thrilled with his performance.

The cross-country course was tough and caused a lot of problems. Boondoggle was going brilliantly, when about half way round, he slipped up on the flat, and although he was not actually anywhere near a fence, and therefore technically should not have been penalised, the French officials eliminated us. Although this was terribly disappointing, I was thrilled the way he was jumping the course, where he had been spot on all the way round, until his mishap.

Pau was my last event of the season, which like a number of riders, has been with its ups and downs.

The horses are now having a well-earnt res, and I am looking forward to next season.

I would like to thank all my owners for their support, and over the winter months, I will be bringing on a few 4 yr olds and with a number of horses that I have in for sale, will be pretty busy.

14th October 2008 - Young Event Horse Championships - Tweseldown

I had three horses competing at Tweseldown in the Young Event Horse Championships.

Zindante was in the 4 year old class. I was a little disappointed with the dressage mark she was given, as it was a lovely test, she had one pole down show jumping, and went brilliantly cross-country to finish 9th.

Starlight and Boundless Flight were competing in the 5 year old class.

Boundless Flight did a lovely test for a mark of 27, and then unfortunately rolled a pole in the show jumping, only the second time he has had 4 faults this season, and went super cross -country to finish in 3rd place.

Starlight went very nicely in the dressage phase to score a mark of 31, had two down in the show jumping, which was causing problems, and went super cross-country to finish in 15th place.

I am at Mount Ballen this weekend where Boundless Flight, Brookfields Joey Perhaps and Springleaze Rhapsody run in the Novice competition.

My last competition of this season is Pau CCI**** with Boondoggle, which takes place next weekend.

1st October 2008 - Berkshire College

I took Starlight, Brookfields Joey Perhaps and Springleaze Rhapsody to Berkshire College to compete in the Novice competition.

Starlight performed a dressage test that earnt her a mark of 33, and then jumped a super double clear to finish in 4th place.

Springleaze Rhapsody score a personal best in the dressage fora score of 31, which was very pleasing, marred a very nice show jumping round by a rolled pole, and decided not to run in the cross-country phase, as she has competed quite a few times at Novice level and the course wasn't that educational. Her next outing will be at Mount Ballan.

Brookfields Joey Perhaps did a nice dressage test, although a rather excited one to score 34, unfortunately had 3 poles down in the show jumping, but jumped a very nice cross-country round.

My next outing is on Sunday where I am taking Zindante to compete in the Aston le Walls unaffiliated PN competition, as preparation for her BE Young Horse Championships run at Tweseldown in a couple of weeks.

28th September 2008 - South of England

Boondoggle ran in the OI, where he scored a personal best in the dressage fo a mark of 24, he then jumped a super round in the show jumping, having only 1 pole dopwn, and then jumped a clear cross-country to finish 3rd.

His next outing will be the CCI**** at Pau

General Opposition also ran in the OI class, where he scored a mark of 34 in the dressage, he too rolled a pole, and jumped a lovely cross-country round to finish just outside the top 10.

Opposition Hercules was having his first run since April 30, also in the OI class. He did a nice dressage test, with one down show jumping, and was slightly rusty cross-country. The plan is to get a couple more runs into him before the end of the season.


I rode Fernhill Scarlett, owned by Mrs Sally Johnson in the Intermediate class, who went extremely well. A dressage mark of 27 and a double clear round, won us the class, it was extremely pleasing as it was the first time at this level for the horse.

My next outing is at Berkshire College with Brookfields Joey Perhaps, Springleaze Rhapsody and Starlight who compete in the Novice class.

21st September 2008 - West Wilts

I took Springleaze Rhapsody, Boundless Flight and Starlight to compete in the Novice competition.

Springleaze Rhapsody scored a personal best in the dressage with a mark of 33.0, and then jumped a clear show jumping and also cross-country, albeit with a few time faults, as the course was quite twisty, but finished in 8th place.

Boundless Flight excelled in the dressage for a mark of 24, show jumped clear and also cross-country. I didn't push him for the time on the cross-country phase, as he is only a 5 year old. He finished in 4th place.

Starlight produced a nice dressage test, knocked a pole in the show jumping for 4 faults and again went clear cross-country in a confident manner.

I have 4 rides at South of England this weekend.

General Opposition, Opposition Hercules and Boondoggle in the OI, and a new ride, Fernhill Scarlett, owned by Mrs Sally Johnson in the Intermediate.

13th September 2008 - Pontispool

Both Starlight and Boundless Flight were competing in their first Novice competitions at Pontispool.

Boundless Flight went extremely well, performing a very nice dressage test and jumping a lovely show jumping round. As I didn't rush him cross-country, he picked up a few time penalties, and just finished outside the top 10.

Starlight also performed a very nice dressage test. In her show jumping round, she knocked a pole out over the first two show jumps, more out of greeness at this level, but then went clear around the rest of the course. I also took her steadily cross-country and she jumped a super clear, again just finishing out of the top ten.

This weekend I am at West Wilts, competing in the Novice class with Springleaze Rhapsody, Starlight and Boundless Flight.

31st August 2008 - Gatcombe International Horse Trials

I had Springleaze Rhapsody and Brookfields Joey Perhaps competing in the Novice and General Opposition in the CIC**

Brookfield Joey Perhaps performed a lovely dressae test for a mark of 28. He was unfortunate in the show jumping, as he jumped a super round, but just touched two rails behind for eight penalties. He then jumped a super cross-country round to finish in 10th place. I felt he has really come on since Burnham Beeches.

Springleaze Rhapsody did a much improved dressage test from her previous one at Burnham Beeches, which unfortunately was harsgly marked by the judges. However, she jumped a lovely double clear, to finish just outside the top ten.

General Opposition earnt a personal best score in the dressage phase to leave him in 6th place. He show jumped beautifully and was really trying, even though the ground conditions were very wet, and was ufortunate to roll a pole. He then jumped a fabulous clear round cross-contry with six time faults to finish in 5th place

My next outing is the BYEH finals at Burghley with Zindante in the 4 year old class.

24th August 2008 - Blair Castle International

I took Boondoggle to compete in the CCI*** class. The wet weather made the conditions very testing in all three phases.

I was thrilled the way he went in the dressage phase, as he performed his test in the worst of the going, but with a mark of 55, this left him in 3rd place after the 1st day, but eventually went down to 8th after the 2nd day competitors - it was in a very handy position going into the cross-country phase.

He was fantastic cross-country, and although he was held on the cross-country course, which took him out of his rhythm, he finished with only a few time penalties to lie 3rd going into the show jumping phase.

As we know, show jumping is his weakest phase, but he only had 3 fences down, and a few time penalties - it was the best round he had jumped in the final phase at a CCI***. He finished in 4th place and I was delighed how he went over the 3 days. He has now qualified to compete in a CCI****, having never before had a qualifying score to do so.

16th August 2008 - Burnham Beeches

I took four horses to Burnham Beeches - Starlight and Boundless Flight in the PN and Springleaze Rhapsody and Brookfields Joey Perhaps were competing in the Novice.

Boundless Flight was in the 5 year old section and he performed a lovely dressage test to earn a mark of 26, and then jumped a lovely double clear to in his section and has now qualified for the PAVO Finals at Tweseldown in October.

Starlight again did a very nice dressage test to score a mark of 30, and also jumped a double clear to finish 4th in her section.

I was very pleased with the dressage test that Brookfield Joey Perhaps did, which he was awarded a mark of 29, he then show jumped clear, and was giving me a great ride across country until a slight misunderstanding at a double of corners that resulted in 20 penalties.

Springleaze Rhapsody earnt a mark of 35 for her dressage test, who also show jumped clear, but unfortunately was unable to go cross-country due to her not being quite level after the farrier had to take her shoe off beforehand, although she is absolutely fine now.

10th August 2008 - Hartpury International

Following the tragic accident to Emma Jonathan at Hartpury, I would like to convey my thoughts and prayers to her family.

With the cross-country phase of the CCI** competition being abandoned, this was run as a combined training class.
King's Cross had performed a very nice dressage test to leave him in 9th position, and then show jumped clear to finish in 2nd place.

With the wishes of Emma's parents, the CCI*** competition did run the following day.

Boondoggle scored a personal best dressage at this level to score a mark of 50, he was unfortunately tight and tense in the show jumping incurring 16 penalties, but again was brilliant cross-country.

We now head off to Blair CCI***

5th August 2008 - Smiths Lawn

I had Brookfields Joey Perhaps and Springleaze Rhapsody in the Novice class.

Springleaze Rhapsody performed a nice dressage, but unfortunately broke in her medium trot, which earnt her a mark of 34. With one show jump down and clear cross-country this left her in 9th place.

Brookfields Joey Perhaps did a very nice test and also rolled a pole, but the decision was made not to run him cross-country as the ground wasn't all that great and he didn't need the experience.

3rd August 2008 - Berrington Hall

I took Work of Art, Boundless Flight and Starlight to Berrington Hall.

Work Of Art was competing in the Intro class, where he performed a lovely dressage test to score a mark of 20, and jumped clear show jumping. His cross-country round was marred by his reluctance to go into the water at the first time of asking, but after some persuading he did go through it. I will work on his water phobia before next time out.

Boundless Flight was in the 5 year old PN class, where he did a really nice dressage test to score a mark of 33, and jumped double clear to finish 5th.

Starlight also ran in the PN class, but in a different section. A lovely dressage earnt her a mark of 30, a clear show jumping round followed and was jumping very well cross-country until we had a silly glance off at a narrow fence, which she will learn from, and at this stage it is a learning curve for her.

2nd August 2008 - Gatcombe Festival of Eventing

Boondoggle ran in the Advanced class. I was thrilled with his calm and relaxed dressage test, as there was quite an atmosphere, and he was given a score of 33. Unfortunately the atmosphere didn't help in the show jumping, as he became a little distracted, having 3 poles down and incurring some time penalties. However,he gave me a super ride cross-country.

1st August 2008 - Gatcombe Festival of Eventing

I had 3 horses in the BYEH qualifying classes - Zindante, Boundless Flight and Work of Art.

Zindante was entered in the 4 year old class, where she excelled herself by winning it, I was thrilled with her as there were alot of horses in the 4 year old section. The prize giving was in the main arena, which Zindante found quite exciting.

Work of Art and Boundless Flight were in the 5 year old class, unfortunately both horses didn't get through to the final judging, as Work of Art had 2 fences down, and an overfresh Boundless Flight didn't show himself of to his best - this was due to him having a quite time of late due to cutting himself.

27th July 2008 - Wilton

King's Cross and General Opposition ran in the OI class. General Opposition performed a really nice dressage test, but I was disappointed with the dressage mark I was given of 35.7. He then jumped a lovely double clear to finish 3rd. King's Cross also performed a lovely test to receive a mark of 26. He unfortunately rolled a pole in the show jumping for 4 penalties, but was super cross-country to finish 5th.

My next outing is at Gatcombe this weekend, where I have Boundless Flight, Zindante and Work of Art competing in the BYEH classes, and Boondoggle who runs in the Advanced.

25th July 2008 - Mattingley

I took three horses to Mattingley to compete; Brookfield Joey Perhaps and Starlight ran in the PNP class, which consists of a Novice dressage test, show jumping at 1.10m and a PN cross-country course.

They ran in different sections and both horses recorded a dressage mark of 30 and double clear rounds, which left Starlight 3rd in her section and Brookfields Joey Perhaps 5th in his section. I was really pleased with how both horses performed.

My other ride at Mattingely was Springleaze Raphsody, a chestnut mare, who is a new ride for me, and was running in the OPN class.

Her dressage score of 25 was the best mark that she has ever received, which is very pleasing as all the hard work over the last couple of months is starting to pay off. After jumping a clear round show jumping, we just has a slight misunderstanding on the cross-country course, which was down to a new partnership not quite knowing each other.

19th July 2008 - Aston-le-Walls

Boondoggle excelled himself in the Advanced, producing a very nice dressage test, and lovely clears in both the show jumping round cross-country to win his section. I was thrilled with his show jumping as all the hard work that we have put in is paying off, as this was his first ever clear show jumping round. He will be now aimed at Blair CCI***

Brookfields Joey Perhaps is a new ride for me having only arrived at the yard the previous Sunday. He did a very nice dressage test for a score of 31, although he rolled a couple of poles in the show jumping, it was a very good round, once we get to know each other a little better it will improve, and he was super cross-country.

I have a Lottery-funded squad training session on Tuesday and will be competing at Mattingley and Wilton over the weekend.

12th July 2008 - Ascott Under Wychwood

Both Starlight and Boundless Flight were due to compete in the PN class, unfortunately Boundless Flight had to be left at home, due to him having pus in his foot.

Starlight performed a very nice dressage test for a mark of 30, rolled 2 poles in the show jumping, which I think was down to her being a little tired, but she was super cross-country and finished in 10th place.

Aston-le-Walls in my next event.

8th July 2008 - Upton House

Zindante ran in the 4 year old class. She did a very nice dressage test for a mark of 31, was clear show jumping, and was going very well over a very tricky cross-country course, until coming to the Bullfinch fence, where she had 2 stops, due to the fact that she didn't understand what was required of her and having never seen a bullfinch, how to negogiate it, but on the 3rd attempt she did jump it - this was very much a baby mistake and will learn from it.

This weekend I am at Ascott under Wychwood with the baby horses and then at Aston-le-Walls with Boondoggle and a new novice horse, Brookfield Joey Perhaps.

7th July 2008 - Tweseldown

General Opposistion hasn't been out for a while and I ran him in the OI class.

He did a very nice dressage for a mark of 33, he rolled a couple of poles in the show jumping, but was fantastic cross-country, finishing in 3rd place, 1 mark behind the winner.

5th July 2008 - Barbury Castle

I had King's Cross and Boondoggle competing at Barbury Castle International event. King's Cross ran in the CIC**, where he did a lovely dressage test for a mark of 45, which left him in 3rd position, he then jumped a lovely show jumping round and was unfortunate to roll a pole, he was fantastic around the cross-country course incurring only 0.4 time penalties to finish in 3rd place.

Boondoggle ran in the CIC***. He performed his dressage on Saturday afternoon and got quite upset by the windy conditions, and therefore didn't get a particuarly good mark. Although he had 4 show jumps down, he in fact jumped quite well. He went very well cross-country, taking all the direct routes, and finishing very confidently and full of running. He finished 1/2 way down the order of this very large class.

4th July 2008 - 1/07/08 Shipton Moyne

I rode a number of young horses at Shipton Moyne.

Boundless Flight and Starlight were in the PN class and they both produced nice dressage tests and jumped super double clear rounds to finish 7th and 6th respectively. I am really thrilled by the way these two horses are coming along, they felt very grown up on the cross-country phase, and they move up to Novice level, before the end of the season.

I rode Zindante in the 4 year old class, where she performed a lovely dressage to score a mark of 23, and then jumped a double clear to win the class. This super little mare is owned by myself, and is for sale to an owner, or alternatively is available for lease by an individual or company with me retaining the ride.

I also rode Work of Art, a coloured stallion owned by John Masden in the Intro class. He did a very nice dressage to score 26 and jumped a double clear, we had to compete HC, due to me riding at Advanced level. As he combines stud duties with him competing at the moment, I only ride him two or three times a week, and he will only compete at a few events throughout this season, but he may do more next year.

This weekend I am at Barbury International, where I ride King's Cross in the CIC** and Boondoggle in the CIC***

22nd June 2008 - Salperton Horse Trials

I rode three horses at Salperton - Boundless Flight and Starlight in the PN section and Boondoggle in the OI section.

Boundless Flight and Starlight both performed very nice and smooth dressage tests, and jumped double clears to finish 5th and 6th in their respective sections. I am very pleased with how they are both progressing.

Boondoogle also did a good dressage for a mark of 36, he unfortunately reverted to his old 'form' in the show jumping, having 2 fences down, and although went very well cross-country, he incurred 20 penalties, when he missed a 'skinny' which was the 3rd element of a step fence, when he tripped up at the last step.

This week I am attending Lottery training with a few horses, and my next competition is Shipton Moyne, with the PN horses.

15th June 2008 - Longleat International

I rode both Boondoggle and King's Cross in the CIC**. Boondoggle excelled himself in the dressage to score a mark of 42, he then jumped clear, which I was thrilled with and feel the penny is finally dropping with this phase, and he then jumped a lovely cross-country round to finish in 2nd place.

King's Cross, he did a very nice dressage to score a mark of 45, had a pole down show jumping for 4 faults, and then jumped a superb cross-country round to finish in 6th place.

This weekend I am at Salperton where I have Boondoggle and General Opposition in the OI class and Boundless Flight and Starlight in the PN class.

10th June 2008 - West Wilts

I rode Zidante in the 4 year old class, where she performed a very nice dressage test for a mark of 35 and jumped a double clear to finish 4th. I had both Boundless Flight and Starlight in the PN class.

Boundless Flight scored a mark of 28 in his dressage test, which was very pleasing, had 4 faults in the show jumping, but jumped clear cross-country to finish 7th.

Starlight had a score of 31 in the dressage, jumped a lovely clear round, but picked up 20 penalties on the cross-country with a green mistake, which she will have learnt from.

29th May 2008 - Houghton Hall

I took three horses to Houghton Hall - Walk On Fire was entered in the CCI* and General Opposition and Boondoggle in the CCI**

Walk on Fire performed a dressage test that earnt him a mark of 49. He jumped a lovely clear cross-country round, which was a step up in class for him, so was really pleased with him. The following day he had two show jumps down, which I put down to a combination of greeness and a little tiredness. He will now have a short break, with the aim of him contesting a few Intermediates later on in the Summer.

General Opposition trotted up sound at the trot up, but must have knocked himself in his stable overnight, even though his legs were bandaged, as the following morning, when I went to work him, I found him to be unsound - he is fine now, so just very annoying.

I had originally hoped to take Boondoggle to Bramham CCI***, but found that he wasn't qualified, so he was competing at Houghton to obtain a qualifying score for a 3 star event later on this year.

His dressage earnt him a mark of 50, and was super cross-country, clear inside the time. The following day in the show jumping, although he had 2 fences down, it was a massive improvement, and I felt he was very rideable in the ring, which hasn't always been the case.

He is now entered for Longleat CIC** and Barbury CIC***

All the best, Kitty