After a distinct leave of absence, the diary is back with a brief catch up of ongoings at NBR Eventing. I cant help but feel that this year is a bit of a slow starter.Where do I start…?
It was a late start to the season, with the first run for Jerry OI, Max, N (HC) and Noel in the N, at a superbly run Belton Horse Trials. We had been working quite hard on our show jumping with Mark Smith throughout Feb and March, which really paid off when all three horses jumped lovely double clears. Max would have won the novice had he not been HC, Noel despite not having been to an event for over 10 months felt like he had never been away, and Jerry, though his jumping was great, was decidedly on his toes for his test which left him less than competitive!
Following this prep run, we had the most fantastic result with Jerry at Burnham Market in April when he won the advanced, beating some seriously big names… this was a thoroughly unexpected result but the whole team were delighted and it was a welcome spring boost after what had been another very tough winter. 
Noel did a great dressage and showjumping but was withdrawn due to the hard enough ground. Wattie was very fresh in the dressage, had an unlucky rail, and then was a little distracted on the xc to have 20 pens.. a bit of homework to do there… At the same time though, as with horses you are up one min and down the next, and the down was our lovely horse Arctic Soul having a slight issue which meant that he was to be out of action for a few months.
On from Burnham to Scone, and our best result came with Mary Grant’s Fiddlewood pulling out the stops to finish 2nd in a Novice class, thereby qualifying him for a NRF.Max had a good run in the ON to finish 5th and set him up for his first intermediate at Auchinleck the following weekend. Watts Burn had a good double clear in his last PN, to finish 4th.
Auchinleck provided the best going of the season so far, so it was lovely to allow Max a free rein and he simply ate up the xc feeling very classy. A slightly green test and one down left him a bit down the order in 9th but Mum (his owner) and I were delighted with his step up. Noel was good in both his test and the SJ, but was over the top for the 
xc having flown round the previous week, added to loosing a shoe on course, he ran through the bridle a bit resulting in a couple of mistakes. Wattie coped well with the novice test, but was a bit flat in the sj for 2 off, and then was going superbly across the country until the pilot decided the stride into the corner was a bit open and tried to add another, Wattie sensibly took his own decision and ran out, but on representation jumped it beautifully and finished full of confidence.
We had a weekend off from eventing after Auchinleck, and took out the young horses to our local PC show. This is more exciting than most events as there are lots of horses, but mostly 12.2hh ponies galloping about causing chaos and getting up to general mischief. Winger, who was aiming for the YEH class at Bramham, coped admirably, andthough getting eliminated from the first round of showjumping, regained his composure to then jump 3 clear rounds after that. It was excellent education, learning to stand, have patience, and be on the lorry etc . He is maturing into a really classy young horse, and though a touch smaller than most of the horses here , he is beautifully athletic and has a fantastic jump.
So on to Floors, where we had 5 running. The Elliot’s Cherry Law and Jerry in the OI, Max NRF, Wattie and Noel in the Novice. We had 2 on Saturday, Noel and Wattie. Noel warmed up a little head strong for his dressage, and was the same throughout his test, so I was particularly delighted to score the first sub 20 score of the season at 19.5. Wattie had also come on alot and scored a brilliant 27.5. Wattie jumped an excellent clear in the show jumping, as was Noel until the last combination when he took exception to something and ran out at the last second, which was beyond frustrating. Noel ran 1st on the xc, and although jumping a little high at times, was going well until the trakenher when he ducked out again, sending me crashing into the bottom of the ditch.
Thank goodness for airbags as I was absolutely fine, barring my ankle which had obviously stopped me from going over the fence. Despite my best efforts to convince everyone that I was ok.. as I had other horses to ride… I ended up in A and E having x rays which confirmed a fracture to the fibula.
So here we are, 3 weeks on and in plaster from the knee down. We missed Bramham which was gutting, Jerry had been on wicked form leading up to it and I really believe he could have been right up there with them. After a week down south catching up with friends, I managed to hitch a lift up to Bramham, and watched a fantastic competition unfold. Ian Stark’s course rewarded bold and forward thinking horses and riders, surprisingly the U25 section having much fewer problems than the seniors, perhaps due to the experience of the horses they were on or maybe due to the confidence of youth..!There were some class rounds, Sarah Cohen on Treason, Caroline Powell on Grace Macrae’s Porthill Rusty Nail, a partnership of only a few weeks, and also Olivia Haddow’s Cool Dancer, who she has taken up through the grades and is now relishing the big time… Max has sadly missed all his opportunities for qualifying for the Novice Championships at Gatcombe, but as Scone runs the same weekend, and is much closer, hopefully we will manage a lorry full for the young horse and senior classes there.
I am back to the Orthopedic Consultant a week today, and meantime am working hard on the exercises my Physio at Borders Physiotherapy Clinic has given me. I cant wait to get back to taking some serious exercise again…
The team here have been fantastic keeping everything going for me. Mum is doing everything from Mucking out to being a taxi service. Ginny Scott has been doing a great job at bringing Spike back into work and keeping the lid on a very exuberant 4yo, Carine Gevart has been twice a week to keep the dressage work going,Jannika is doing sterling work in the yard, and above all my owner’s have been amazingly supportive and patient. A huge thank you to all of my support team, its time like this when you value loyalty beyond anything else. Roll on a much better and consistent second half of the season.