Lovely day at Gatcombe. Zippi jumped a phenomenal double clear (one of only 3) to lie 4th over night with the second round of jumping tomorrow afternoon.

Bernie did a beautiful, relaxed and confident test for a 31, his best score so far at 3 star level. Could not be more thrilled with him, and so beautifully ridden by Izzy.

 First novice for Heidi at Upton House, only her second event this season due to the weather and being busy with the advanced horses. Super dressage, one rail show jumping and a flawless clear xc to finish 8th and win her first point.

5 year old OJ was competing in his first ever competition, the BE 100. He produced an amazing calm test for a 29, 2 green rails jumping but a lovely round and a beautiful clear xc, although a slight satnav error meant that he missed out fence 7! Oops! He is a very exciting young horse and he impressed us with his attitude and level temperament.

Fantastic few days on the Isle of Wight. No prizes for Baz who totally nailed 2 out of 3 phases but what an amazing event Osborne House is. Stunning venue, great competition, fabulous prize money and the most fantastic hospitality. Thank you Bede Events, can’t wait to come back next year.

 Super fun weekend in the sunshine at the beautiful Haras de Jardy with the Golden Wonder, having his first proper run since Belton after a season of stops and starts. Orange jumped a beautiful double clear to finish 5th in a closely run CIC***. Big thank you to Tammy and Becca for getting him there  safely and looking after him and to Brioney for keeping the ponies going at home ready for their next events.

 Super proud of the two babies today at Upton.   Both of them have taken a bit of a backseat while we have been busy with the Big Boys. 

5 year old OJ was at his first ever event, and first ever competition! He was a total legend producing a lovely test for his first time in the arena for a 29. He had 2 rails show jumping but jumped a great round and an awesome clear XC. We won’t tell him the jockey had a satnav issue and missed out a fence - he thinks he was a champion! 

6 year old Heidi was competing in her first novice class, having had one run at BE100 this season. She was also a total star with a great dressage of 30, one down showjumping and a fantastic clear cross country with a few time to finish 8th winning her first point ⭐️⭐️

 Good day at Stratford Hills for Heidi, Stan and Zippi having their first outing of the season. Super double clears for Stan and Heidi to finish 3rd and 6th, Zippi just out of the placings. Lovely friendly and well run event although it is almost as far away as Luhmuhlen! #worthgettingupattwothirty

Wow, what a fantastic week at Tatts with superstar Bernie. We haven’t been to Tatts for a few years and it didn’t disappoint. A fabulous, well organised, slick running event with beautifully presented tracks and the horses happy in permanent stabling.

Bernie produced a much improved test - his best so far at this level, for a 32.4. Still lots more to come as he gains in confidence and relaxation but super happy with him. There was a huge atmosphere for the show jumping which unsettled him when he went into the arena to applause for the previous horse, but as soon as he saw the first fence he got on with his job and jumped an immaculate clear round.

The Ian Stark cross country track had some strong combinations, including 4 waters and a tricky angled corner off a mound. I thought it was a tough enough question for a relatively inexperienced horse but expertly piloted by Izzy, Bernie made nothing of the course posting an awesome clear inside the time to finish in 5th place in a very high class field. He also won the Godolphin Lifetime Care award for best racehorse.  

Bernie is enjoying some well earned time in the field before aiming for a CCI***. We have a couple of weeks at home so finally some time to concentrate on the baby horses.

 A slightly frustrating week at Houghton Hall in Norfolk. Bernie was along for the ride for a quiet outing in the 3 star combined training class. A lovely test for a 27 and good clear left him in 3rd place.

Orange did not enjoy the heat or the firm ground in the dressage and was not on best form. We had never intended to run him so it wasn’t too disappointing.

Baz so nearly had his big moment. A mistake free obedient test scored a competitive 29 and he followed it up with a stunning clear show jumping. He was flying xc so a silly mistake half way around to pick up 20 penalties was annoying and cost him 3rd place.

Quick turn around and off to Tattersalls CIC*** tomorrow

Last minute trip to Wiesbaden for leg 2 of the Event Rider Masters with Bernie. The event is held in the stunning grounds of Schloss Biebrich, right in the middle of town on the banks of the Rhine. The atmosphere and buzz of this competition make Badminton look like a local show! It was a big ask for a horse who has had one 3 star run!

Dressage takes place in front of the palace on a temporary surface, with a big grandstand and a huge fountain as you go in. There was a large and enthusiastic crowd for Bernie’s test, which seemed to be made up of the entire population of German under 7’s emitting piercing screams! I like to think they were contesting Bernie’s scores!

There were several expensive green mistakes in the test which are costly at this level and with such a high class field but we were delighted with how hard he tried and he will have learned a huge amount. The score of 40 was disappointing but to put this in context, Micheal Jung scored 34.6.

Show jumping took place in a large stadium and was a tough enough track. No children in the warm up, but a tractor driver possibly related to Sebastian Vettel harrowing the arena added an extra dimension. Bernie jumped three quarters of a beautiful clear round before Izzy moved him forward to the third last and he got slightly carried away with himself and had the last 3 fences down. Again, just inexperience of the atmosphere.

The cross country track wasn’t huge but stringed tightly with lots of skinnies off turns. There was an enormous crowd, very close so a lot to look at, finishing in a loop of the main arena. Bernie stormed around for just 1.6 time and finished very pleased with himself. The first event I’ve seen where you walk your horse out through the crowd and back to the stabling down a road but he took it all in his stride.

Hopefully he will have grown up a lot from this run and we are delighted with how well he coped. We all have great belief in this horse and how good he can be. Huge thanks to super groom Anna for getting him there and (with any luck) back safely. Thank you to Event Rider Masters for such an amazing, super friendly and completely crazy competition.

 After Belton it was on to Bicton, and another good outing for Baz in the beautiful sunshine. 28, double clear inside the time for a closely run 4th place #COTB

On to Badminton with Orange feeling on top form. We were all beyond delighted with his dressage score of 25, a personal best for both Izzy and Orange. He tried his hardest and loved the big atmosphere. Unfortunately our luck didn’t hold out for XC. Orange completely failed to read the third log in Huntsmans, picking up an early 20 penalties. There was no point in risking him around such a tough track so Izzy pulled up and he will reroute to Luhmuhlen. Orange has no idea that he didn’t jump a clear round - he never even saw the fence! Big thank you to all the team and sponsors for your help and support.

Our next outing was Aston le Walls. Thrilled with Bernie  - 23 double clear in the OI. We wanted him to have a nice easy run after his first 3 star at Belton and he looked super relaxed and confident in all three phases. Baz had a last minute entry to Floors Castle - a stunning venue. Competing in the the CIC**, he produced a Fantastic double clear inside the time for 9th place #COTB

 Great weekend for the team at Belton International Horse Trials with no rain and near perfect going. Orange and Bernie were both in the very competitive Grantham Cup CIC*** section and both did lovely tests to score 33.9 and 34.2 with the scores very tight down the leaderboard. 

Orange jumped a foot perfect double clear, which may set him up for a big event in 3 weeks time if the weather is kind. 

Bernie was green as this was his first run at 3 star but jumped a brilliant round showjumping, just getting too deep to one fence, followed by a super fast clear xc to finish in 8th place. Thrilled with both of them.

 After the cancellation of the first day of  Gatcombe, we were dubious as to whether Sunday would run but we have glorious sunshine and despite being towed in and out, the ground was amazing.

Basil can be a little over exuberant at his first few events, but was delighted to be out and produced a stunning test to score 27 and head a very hot section.

By his showjumping time, the ground was quite sticky and causing a few problems, but Baz jumped a beautiful round, just touching the middle part of the treble. He stormed around the cross country thoroughly enjoying himself and had no difficulties with the corners at fence 7 that were causing so many problems to take the win. Good start to the season for Baz.

Had to remind myself when the alarm went off at 2.45 and the rain was lashing down that this was the fun part! Fortunately, when we arrived at our first event of the season at Tweseldown the sun was shining, even if it was absolutely freezing. (Thank you to top supporter Becci Berry for bringing breakfast). The going was amazing given the weather that we have had, and huge credit must go to the organising team.

Orange was not that thrilled with an audience of 2 for his dressage but he managed to contain himself for a score of 30. He then had 2 very uncharacteristic rails show jumping to show his displeasure but was very happy to have a spin round the cross country and was in great form.

We are delighted to welcome Jennie Thorn’s super talented Director General to the team to be competed by Izzy. ‘Bernie’ was purchased from Albertine Barker, who has owned him since he was a 4 year old and produced him quietly to advanced level. An American thoroughbred, Bernie shows huge ability in all 3 phases and hopefully will compete at 3 star level this season. 

Bernie was delighted to be out and produced a beautiful test for a 29. This horse is capable of an outstanding test as he gets stronger. He had one rail show jumping and cruised around the cross country for 5th place and the first rosette of the season.

The next event to escape the cancellations was a very worthwhile trip to Great Witchingham with a very jolly Director General, who was certainly in need of a run. We are still all getting to know this horse, so it’s a learning curve for both him and us. 

Bernie produced some beautiful work in the dressage before throwing in a few impressive manoeuvres that somewhat spoilt his score! He show jumped very well, but we were trying a different bit which was too sharp when Izzy needed to steady him for the final two fences. The going cross county was fantastic for the time of year and Bernie thoroughly enjoyed his run. 

Lots to work on but lots of positives as we all really believe in this horse. Hopefully ready for Burnham Market