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Diary Archive
October Weeks 3 & 4
Following the pond massacre when a visit from a local Heron saw the untimely death of our goldfish and after several days of no fish to feed and fish withdrawl we took a trip to the local fish shop and not of the chip variety either. I picked out 2 yellow golden Koi and 2 bog standard goldfish and was really concerned as to whether or not they would get on or not while Michael was moaning about the cost! With instruction from the Fish shop I went about aclimatising the newly named "Fish & Chips" & "Salt & Vinegar" into their new homes by sitting the plastic bags on the pond for half an hour. They got on like a house on fire once in the water...but suddenly I counted 7 fish!! The old fish were obviously hiding having been traumatised by the heron, we did lose a few but our fish family is even bigger and I've Heron proofed the pond with a net.
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 | Our last outing with Maddy was Holdenby. I don't think I've ever been there although Sally Carson swears I have and I wouldn't have recognised it anyway as there was a blanket of fog over the event when we arrived. Having fitted Mad with fog lamps to do dressage it then lifted. Maddox did another good test scoring 28.6 despite having to do his final halt down hill and landing on his head for about the 5th time this season! We had a big gap before showjumping so walked the course and after the previous course at Dauntsey Prenovice Advanced track this was like an intro course. It was a little dated but a nice end of season run for Mad although he was probably ready for a Novice. |
He popped around the showjumping clear and then headed off to the cross country in a very competitive position - he was third out on the PN
track and with the first two failing to negotiate the ditch I suddenly had an attack of mummy nerves. I needn't have bothered as Michael rode him
brilliantly and looked dead pro all the way round finishing well within the optimum time. He finished on his dressage score in 4th place and I'm
thrilled with my little Irish boy. He's not having a rest quite yet as he had quite a big gap in the middle of the season and I've taken advantage of
the British Dressage Eventers offer and have entered my first affiliated competition on him!!
 | I received a last minute phone call from Horse & Hound asking if I would cover Lion D'angers for them. So after some quick travel arrangements we were booked on the overnight to St Malo. I'd received a text from Nicky Roncoroni asking if she could come with us so after a marathon journey down from the North we hooked up at Portsmouth. We had a blast - Nicky is not only a fantastic rider, she's great company and we laughed so much all week. She's officially become part of the wynnfield armchair event expert club as of course we're experts from the ground!! Nicky was also on a fact finding mission as she's hoping to bring her lovely 6yr old Trig Point there next year. Madonnas, the local and only restaurant in Lion D'angers was a regular haunt, and we also frequented a local french pub which was really odd as there seemed to be a distinct lack of women! |
| We stayed on Sunday night as I had to write my article for the H&H and Nicky travelled home with her friend Lucy Jackson but I hear it turned out to be a bit of a journey from hell when they sprung a diesel leak at Calais and had to wait 6 hours to get it fixed. We had dinner with Clayton Fredericks and family and yep you guessed it - at Madonnas! which was packed with all the riders heading on to Pau. |  |
The only way home on Monday was back on the St Malo boat - not my idea of fun 10.00am - 6.30pm on a ferry feeling pretty green. Won't be doing
that crossing again!! Hacked Mad out for a couple of days, had the washing machine going non stop and then packed again for Pau.
 | Janette Chinn & her boyfriend Derek Nolan drove down from Cheshire on the Wednesday evening and after mickey taking about the fact that I've never cooked for them I headed down to the supermarket and rustled up a little Thai number all with my own fair saucepan! The 03.00am start wasn't funny but it's the best time to drive around the M25 to Stansted where we hooked up with Brian Hyslop and Kate Maitland for the 6.20am flight to Pau. There were several other event bound horsey people - you can spot them a mile off. And after a quick flight to Pau we collected our hire cars and were at the event by 09.00am. If the brits hadn't have been there I think there would have been about 10 competitors in the CCI****. We had a hilarious dinner on the first night with event organisers & secretary Jill & Peter Lamont & H&H journalist Pippa Cuckson. If you ever go to Pau this little hotel where we stay is an absolute find rooms are cheap and the restaurant is absolutely excellent - Ginny Elliot was there for dinner two nights too - it's called La Terrasse in Lescar! Brian & Kate were staying in the centre of Pau so we ate out there too and ended up in some very dodgey bar/disco which I was far too old for. |
Janette's horse Call Again Cavalier also owned by her mother & step father Sue & Eddie Davies was competing and was first in on Friday morning. He did a stunning test but probably didnt fair well with the judges being the first in but that's the name of the game and someone has to be first. We also watched the horses in the French Horse Sale - these were a little disappointing but I enjoyed watching Andrew Nicholson trying them all out. It was great to see Laurence Hunt too we had great fun watching the cross country from the bank (if you were there you know where I mean!) with him and he went really well on his young 7yr old in the CIC**. Cavvy was brilliant despite a small miscommunication with Mary half way around where she picked up 20 penalties - there was doom and gloom for several minutes until the next 5 or 6 riders either fell off or picked up more stops than Mary and suddenly her round was looking superb. It wasn't a pretty 4 star to watch and to finish in 12th place after cross country was brilliant. Cav then jumped a stunning clear round and moved into final 8th place. The weather was absolutely fantastic and we all now look like we've been skiing with our sunglasses marks - even Kenneth said we looked like the holidaymakers!
| ![chateaux_pau_[320x200]_1.jpg](images/chateaux_pau_[320x200]_1.jpg "chateaux_pau_[320x200]_1.jpg") |
 | On Monday we flew back from Biarritz as all the Pau flights were sold out. It's about 1 1/2 hours from Pau, right on the coast and a very smart sea side town so we had lunch and then caught our flight back. |
Mad was pleased to see us and seemed to have turned into a fluffy bear in the 4 days we were away and the fish are all now in hiding!
Until next time....
October Weeks 1 & 2
| We arrived at South of England to bright sunshine, it's been years since I did day before dressage - it's like arriving at a party and which hasn't quite got started. The going in the dressage arena was a little on the hard side but Maddox did a very nice test despite this and scored a very respectable 34.3 for his first time at this level. When we trundled off to walk the course and fence 3 was the same at the Intermediates (as were several others) we decided it was a little too strong a course for him at this stage and he was entered at BCA 4 days later so we withdrew him and fought our way back through the friday nigh M25 traffic nightmare. |  |
| This left ample time on Saturday morning to preen myself and get ready for Bryony Holloway's Wedding. Suzie did my makeup (she's a pro), I even wore false eyelashes which was a first which I was hoping wouldn't drop off in my starter. The wedding was a spectacle, she wore a Vera Wang dress (same as posh), the Marquee was gopping complete with fairground bumpercars. We had an excellent table with Venetia Chamberlain, Stuart Harvey, Tom Monaghan, Bella Tschaikowsky, Julie Davies (now married but can't remember her married name). The speeches were excellent especially Bryony's sisters speech I think she summed her and Paul up to a T. This was followed by a surprise for Paul of Rhydian (2007 X Factor runner up) singing. He was fabulous but 5 songs wasn't long enough I was hoping for at least an hour... I had to drag Michael away from the Bumper Cars and finally there was a spectacular firework display which went on for ages. Anyway it was a great do and now they're on their honeymoon in Barbados lucky things.
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The day after the night before, yep I was feeling the after effects of too much champagne, we returned to South of England in the Lorry. We were
picking up Flora Harris's Law Choice as we were looking after him while she went to Ligniere in France. We also did some horse spotting which was
quite interesting.....
Maddox thought he got off lightly at South of England but not when we dropped the ramp in the yard on Wednesday morning to take him to BCA this
time to do the Pre Novice. The going was excellent everywhere and they've moved the showjumping since I last was there and it seemed to work
much better. He did an excellent dressage test and I thought he might have finally broken the 30 barrier, even the judge said on his sheet "I love
this horse". So why on earth did he get a 34.5 beats me...stupid judge. Don't know why he knocked the first fence the smallest fence on the course
in the showjumping and then jumped clear. He then whizzed around the cross country looking like a real pro. Yay another rossy he finished 8th.
| On the way home from the yard (we don't keep the lorry at the yard) I was just driving through the village to drop the lorry off when suddenly there were flashing blue lights everywhere so I pulled over thinking I must have been speeding. I got out of the lorry and the Police officer immediately realised he might have made a mistake but had to carry on with the procedure. He asked to look in the back of the lorry as there have been lots of small machinery thefts recently where horse boxes are used as they just drop the ramp and drive the machines (like mini diggers) straight in. But realising I wasn't the Pikey bloke they first thought and having had a tour of the lorry (he was impressed) we were on our way again - that'll give the neighbours something to gossip about eh? |  |
 | Before we could blink we were back in the truck again off to Dauntsey Park. I last competed there many moons ago and did the advanced (yes I'm that old!!) there but can't really remember too much about it apart from ditches and rivers. After a trundle round the course we decided that Michael should ride him. I haven't really ridden since before my hand op and felt a bit rusty riding such a bloody strong Pre Novice like that one so we swopped riders. Finally Mad broke the 30 dressage barrier scoring 28 and he jumped a lovely clear showjumping round. It was almost dark when Mad set off on the cross country and it was raining poor lad. Anyway Michael gave him a super ride and just picked up just 0.4 penalties on the cross country and he finished 3rd!!!!
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I've been on the hunt for a new bed and while we were on a recent shopping day in Guildford we popped into the Bed shop. Sad but true I have been glued to Katie & Peter The Next Chapter on ITV2 and while Michael was trialling the bed that Peter Andre wanted I tested the bed that Katie Price eventually bought. I have to add that I am definately not a Jordon wanna be or will I be having a boob job but she definately knows how to pick a good mattress.
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Until next time.....
September Weeks 3 & 4
| The week after the cancelled Blenheim and a competition looming Maddox looked alittle less balloon shaped as we boxed him up and headed to Tweseldown for a bit of practice. It was still very very wet everywhere even in the sandy going at Tweseldown but this didn't stop Maddox from having a really good school around with Michael. He jumped everything like a real pro and he even jumped some intermediate fences without batting an eyelid. Michael gave his new hat from Charles Owen a test run which was very comfy dumfy. |  |
 | Dad had been banging on about 'War Horse' which was a production at the National Theatre in London for ages. So as the rentals are avid theatre goers they managed to get tickets in advance of the general public - that was about 6 months ago. If you get the chance to go do it's brilliant. The puppets of the horses are amazing and they've captured their mannerisms amazingly. We took our friend Paul & Lesley Sweeney and Les was crying even before it started. It is quite sad but it's a true story and I would definately recommend anyone to go and see it next time it comes around.
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| On Blenheim weekend with a gap to fill after its cancellation we spent the weekend doing house things including erecting a new shed and knocking down a wall for our new electric gates. I had another trip to the garden centre which is worryingly becoming a favourite place and bought several new plants they even know my name now! We also went to Tracey Abbot Darbyshire's birthday - for sunday lunch - unheard of to sit at the table during a sunday afternoon and consume loads of wine - so was the trampoline & swings in Tracey's garden!! Very sore head the next day! |  |
 | I received a phone call the night before West Wilts from my friend Keith Grimbleby so I invited him to come along to watch at the event the next day with a work colleague Karl. Keith & Karl both work at the Royal Mews so it was a bit of a busmans day out. They'd given us very decent times and everything happened after 3pm which was fantastic as it's a 2 hour drive to West Wilts. Maddox was very excited to be out and about and despite his dressage arena being right next to the road and a fire engine flashing past as he went up the centre line he did an excellent test scoring 30.5. I was a little disappointed that they had to jump in the indoor school but I understand that the ground was too wet to jump all those horses and Mad was gobsmacked when he went into the arena and had an unlucky rail down. He was like a machine cross country and never looked at anything jumping clear inside the time. He finished 6th - the rail cost him the section - but I'm not bothered about that he finished in one piece and that's all that matters. (Pics courtesy of Karl - thank you)
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We did talk about catching the ferry across to Deauville on Saturday night in the lorry on the way back from West Wilts but when we finally walked
through the door at 9.00pm I couldn't get motivated to rush down to Portsmouth to catch the 11.30 overnight ferry to watch just 20 rounds of
showjumping.
Due to the wedding of the century (Bryony Holloways) we've had to change Maddox's entry at South of England to do the Novice as that was the
only class running day before dressage. We can still compete on Saturday morning and get to the Church for 3pm but we'll walk the track on Friday
after the dressage and then make a decision whether to run him or not. It's all about the planning!! Will keep you posted.......
Until next time......
August Week 4, September Weeks 1 & 2
| Who ever had the idea to book a 5.40am flight to Mallorca was really stupid - that'll be me then. While I thought it would be great to arrive at 9.00am in the morning I completely forgot about the 3.40am check in, parking the car and the journey to the airport! The 2.00am walking out the house wasn't memorable but once we arrived at the Villa in Canyamel on the east coast of Mallorca it was all soon forgotten. We'd very kindly been lent a Villa for our holiday it was quite lonely for the first 5 days as Michael and I were rattling around in the 7 bedroom villa to start off with - we definately weren't complaining though it was fabulous. |  |
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 | We were joined by Brian Hislop, Kate Maitland & Sally Carson for the rest of the hols and this livened it up no end as I'm sure Michael would have had to have been surgically removed from his sunbed if they hadn't arrived. We also had the luxury of a tennis court, now Kournakova I'm not and haven't played tennis since school but blow me down I was out on court every morning before breakfast and at the end of the hols the evening too - I was completely bitten by the tennis bug we even talked about playing when we got home! Brian was excellent, we even managed proper sets and Sally & Kate improved immensely despite Sally playing in flip flops. We laughed so much and it was fabulous to have some proper sun for a change. I won't bore you with my holiday tales as you had to be there really!! |
We made sure we were home in time for Burghley and after a quick turn around on Thursday we headed up the A1 to meet Janette Chinn (owner of Imperial Cavalier) in the competitor's lorry park. I really do have the most impracticle car and thankfully I managed to get it in before they turned it into a ploughing match site. We were there in plenty of time to get to see Mary's test and Janette was ooober excited after 'Archie' produced a top 10 dressage test. We had supper on Friday night with Gilly Robinson, Mary King, Brian Hislop and Nick Turner in the Competitor's tent - we couldn't be bothered to fight our way out to get to The George.
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We walked the course with Mary at 8am on cross country day and then sat on a chair for the rest of the day infront of a TV screen. Those mushrooms should
have been taken out, they caused fall after fall so when it was finally Mary's turn to go, Janette and her mother Sue Davies were beside themselves
especially after Badminton when they fell 2 from home. They were both brilliant and having all finished safely it was then time to party!!! The Landrover
Party was excellent, Janette was napping a little but after I talked her into going 'just for an hour and if it's rubbish we'll just leave' as soon as we walked
through the door I knew it was going to be a goodun! Free Champagne, Cocktails, Canapes and a classy DJ. I'd had one too many mohitos by 10pm and
deciding that my new Dubarry Boots were just starting to give me jip - I've never been to a party in wellies before but we weren't alone - thought I'd find
Janette and trudge back through the mud. I almost had to drag her off the dancefloor at midnight she'd danced pretty much from the minute we got there
and luckily the lights came when the party finished so much for not really wanting to go!! I don't know why I got so nervous as Archie isn't even my horse
but my heart nearly pumped out of my chest when he showjumped - what a great result for everyone involved with him - he's such a cool horse.
Maddox thought we'd thoroughly abandoned him and now resembling a Show Cob he's on a strick fitness & diet regime. Dare I say it we've entered a few
horse trials so he's jumped a couple of times and seems to be firing on all four cylinders and will cross country school a couple of times next week just to
make sure he hasn't completely forgotten how to jump rustic fences.
Also we've kindly been sent a couple of new cross country hats (The Wellington Professional) from Charles Owen to wear - they do them in pink & gold but
we opted for a black & a silver ones and they may send us some funky new boots to trial as well www.charlesowen.com - so watch this space!!!
Until next time...
August Weeks 1, 2 & 3
 | We headed off for Gatcombe early on the Sunday morning as Michael was helping Flora Harris warm up for the showjumping phase and she was in the main arena at 9.30. Somehow Gatcombe felt a bit empty without all the big names and with only 30 in the British Open it was over all too quickly. It was great to catch up with various people though and very sociable. I didn't realise quite how much the anaethestic from my hand operation had knocked me out and I was competely worn out for a couple of days after that. We did scoot over to Smiths Lawn to have a look at some novice horses competing which was handy as it's just 10 minutes down the road from us but made a quick exit before the heavens opened.
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| Michael has quickly jumped into my boots riding Maddox - he's been brilliant and Maddox is going great guns. I was off games and haven't been allowed to ride for a couple of weeks until my hand is back together so Michael took him for a school at Vicarage Farm where he was a little rusty having not left the floor for about 6 weeks. We also made the brave move of entering a dressage competition at Oldencraig although I was hoping to compete on the grass the test I wanted to ride at was in the indoor school. The facilities are great and the entries secretary Jayne is sooooo helpful and accommodating unlike some I have come across in my time especially as I only rang on the Monday to see if we could get in. Despite the shock of being in a scary indoor school Maddox was brilliant he did Prelim 17 which he won on 68% and then did Novice 22 which he amazingly also won with 66% especially as this was his first time at this level. I have to credit my other half as I only rode him for 20 mins two days before and then at the competition as I still had my stitches in. |  |
The next day we headed to Smiths Lawn again this time to Showjump and Michael in the plate - Mad jumped a super round and was 6th in the Discovery -
Michael really wanted to jump him in a bigger class but unbelievably the ground was on the hard side so we quit while we were ahead and took our £12
winnings home!
Michael also volunteered us to judge the dressage at the local Pony Club Bisley Hunt - of which I was a member many moons ago. It was hilarious as
neither of us have judged before - Michael judged and I was his writer - there is an art to it I'm sure and by the end of it I felt like we were judging a 4 star
test not the Pony Club Eventing test. It really made me think where I've come from to where I am now - a bloody long way!
The Olympics were fantastic, Michael and I got our body clocks in sync with HK time and my place on the sofa was where I was glued for 4 days
(sorry nights) solid. I was on the text to Sue Davis, Brian Hislop & Janette Chinn the whole night - the ups and downs and thrills, expectation and
disappointment. They brought home a bronze medal which was fantastic. That was just a warm up for london where we are going to win a gold.
![muffin_[320x200].jpg](images/muffin_[320x200].jpg "muffin_[320x200].jpg") |
We've also been on Muffin watch, the last of our puppies who is waiting to go to her new home has come to stay while mum & dad have gone to Martinvast to watch the event - I have to say I'm not bothered if they don't come and pick her up she's a love!! |
Until next time..........
July Weeks 3 & 4
 | Martha's been busy now her puppies are on the move, they are soooo cute and now ready to leave their mum. Ella, Muffin (my fave) Penny and Daisy all have homes now and Mum had no reason to worry about finding homes for the last 2 puppies as we ended up with a queue for them. Michael & I have been on "puppy watch" duty several times and they are complete time wasters!
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| As Maddox is still off games - he's working but not competing yet I decided that I needed to do some fitness work on myself. Michael offered to come running with me - he who has not an inch of fat on his body - so we headed off for a run around Virginia Water lake by the entrance to Smiths Lawn Horse Trials. I forgot to mention it was 4 and a half miles round the lake and we ran it in good time - he's not offered to come again surprise surprise! |  |
In addition to running I upped my fitness by offering to do a week working for Flora Harris (Young Rider) who needed cover while her groom Mark was
helping out at the Fredericks. Mark & Elodie Frost were looking after Alex Hua Tian's 3 Olympic horses in Quarantine there so we heard all the gossip from
there which was interesting. I can't remember the last time I mucked out 6 horses a day - I decided it was character building!! It was great fun and Flora
has a lovely bunch of horses to work with - she's one to watch out for.
 | I broke my hand 3 years ago and had a plate & 6 screws inserted. It has just been aching a little so after a trip to the specialist he booked me into have it all removed several days later which didn't really give me much time to think about it which was good. You forget how much you need to use your hands so I've had Nurse Michael helping me out and he's pretty good I must say and Millie has been my constant companion. |
Dad was helping at Aston Le Walls in the showjumping control box for 3 days - do say hello to him if you're passing next time, and Michael & I drove up to
watch the advanced horses which was interesting as many off them were doing their first advanced. We also scooted down to Wilton to watch the
Intermediate in the scorching sun and fried watching the showjumping. We've also been busy running around the countryside with clients showing horses
and have found some really good horses for people.
Off to Gatcombe next & I've booked my sofa space for the Olympics.
Until next time.......
June Weeks 3 & 4 - July Weeks 1 & 2
| As per usual I've been slacking on the diary front. But normal excuse busy busy infact I'm becoming slightly horse blind I've looked at that many horses they're all blending into one. Having finally got the office at home in some sort of order Millie has found the best place not to miss anything - on my desk!! For some bizarre reason she loves watching the screen and anything that might resemble a mouse, rat or cat is very exciting. |  |
Poor Maddox has been off games - he's had a cough which we've finally got to the bottom of but this meant not running at all the 5yr old qualifiers I had
pencilled in for him which has been disappointing. He's been in work so hopefully we may get going soon - just have to do some more entries! The good
news is Bomber has been spot free for the last week. With noone being able to pin point exactly what he was allergic too he might actually be winging his
way back to Michael if he can remain clear for the next few weeks. Poor Janette was almost pulling her hair out as to what it was.
So fingers crossed for Bombsie.
 | With the event season in full swing and with a huge demand for horses we went to Rolleston, Salperton, Tweseldown, Barbury in fact I feel like a complete anorak. It's been fabulous to watch some of the combinations we've matched up out competing really successfully. The other good news is we've seen lots of new horses and I now know every service station in the UK!! |
At Barbury we'd been invited to the ERA dinner on Dan Jocelyn's table along with Brian Hislop, Kate Maitland, Georgea Blakey, Joe & Deborah Meyer, Ruy Fonseca & Olympic team dressage rider Laura Bechtolsheimer. Eddie Stibbe was presented with an award and Toddy (Mark Todd) gave an excellent and amusing speech about Eddie. Then Georgea had written a song which the band kindly let her sing. It was excellent and basically took the mickey out of the eventing scene including having David Green's baby and marrying Harry Meade - Harry spoke to me at Tweseldown the next day and asked about the song word - gets round fast! I'm going to try and get Georgia to record it and play it on our website it was really funny. She sang 2 more one about Viagara's a girls best friend & the other about plastic surgery - all very very funny - yep you had to be there really. This was one of the best ERA dinners so far although the price of the tickets put everyone off but they should have told everyone who didn't want to eat to just come and have a drink - the caterers haven't worked out yet that they take the most money in the bar!!
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 | We drove home on Barbury's Saturday night to go to my old friend Sally Norris's 40th Birthday party - which according to her husband's speech she has been planning for the last 18 years. They had the most funky marquee with purple carpet and white dance floor, top DJ and the big surprise of the night for Sally was Ben Mills (yep who?) he was 3rd place to Leona Lewis in X-Factor last year. His website is www.benmillsofficial.com just incase you need to jog your memory. He was actually fairly fantastic and sang live on piano and guitar.
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Martha's puppies are now walking their eyes are open & tails wagging. We have homes for 3 so if you'd like a Norfolk Terrier puppy bitch there's one left so
email me.....they are incredibly cute.
Well done to Austin O'Connor on Hobby du Mee & Mary King on Call Again Cavalier... and shame for Sacha Pemble with Hyanie d'aubrie (Irish reserve) I
thought she'd done enough but you never know still 29 days to go and loads can happen between now and then....
Until next time..........
June Weeks 1 & 2
| Back on the road again! We headed up to Cheshire as we'd been invited to Nina Barbour's Boleworth Classic Showjumping drinks do and as it was their first show thought we'd make the effort to support them along with our buddies Janette Chinn (looking very slimline) & Derek Nolan. What a fabulous event, the castle is amazing, the arena's looked stunning and Geoff Billington was hilarious giving his speech telling some very cheeky stories (pretty flithy really)which had everyone in stitches - only he could get away with it. Sorry shite piccy but shows the lovely lake and the showjumping rings that were the other side looking up onto the castle (see pic below). | ![bolesworth_do_[320x200].jpg](images/bolesworth_do_[320x200].jpg "bolesworth_do_[320x200].jpg") |
 | The following morning feeling slightly bleary eyed we set off early to watch the first showjumping class at Bolesworth which started at 8.30! as we were watching a horse that was competing there that has just come on the market. It was like a who's who of showjumping including all the Whittakers and Janette's in-house jockey Anthony Condon who's deputising for Billy Twomey and Geoff Billington. Well done to Nina & her team it was a pleasure to be invited. |
From there we scooted up to Bramham to watch the Friday afternoon's dressage. I don't know why but I thought it was just down the road from Janette's
but it took over 2 hours. I love Bramham, it was a very successful event for me when I rode there with Uptown so Maddox is going to have to buck his ideas
up! I also bumped into my friends from Scotland Jane & David Reid which was great - David at the bar of course and Jane busy with her Young Rider Selector
duties. Dan Jocelyn supplied the Pimms while we watched the dressage, he was on a bit of a high after his fabulous dressage result on Mr Pracatan - it was
obviously all my hard work in snowy January!! Then back to Surrey that night - another 4 hours in the car!
| They're here!! Yep Martha's pups have arrived. All 4 of them and all girls - Martha & the Muffins!! She was a week early but we knew something was up as her stomach was dragging along the floor and she resembled a balloon about to pop. Anyway they are soooooooooooo cute. Martha has yet to inform George (the father) of the addition to their ever increasing family - she's now had 12 pups in total by him - he's a proper posh Kennel Club registered Norfolk. As anyone who breeds Norfolks will know they have the sex drive of a Gnat and normally have a litter of 2, bitches are like gold dust so we're dead chuffed. Martha has now divorced George as that's her last lot of pups we've promised her. Anyway she's a fantastic mum and I can't wait till they're a bit older. |  |
 | Now Millie on the other hand whilst being a great Auntie has been banished from my mothers house and has moved into Weaver's Cottage with us - well she's here most of the time anyway. So not to be outdone by Martha on the attention stakes Millie fell into the pond! She thought no one was looking but both Michael & I saw her in action - infact she was leaning over trying to eat the fish food on tip toes when she toppled into the pond - it was like a "You've been framed" moment. When we moved in I was all for filling our pond in but we inherited 9 goldfish, a newt, 2 adult frogs and about 1,000 frogsporn which has turned into about 10 tiny frogs and is really fascinating so it's staying - luckily they're all intact after the unexpected dog shaped swimmer! |
Michael's been busy teaching, Maddox is swinging along nicely and we're planning some showjumping with him shortly - there's no rush with him he's only
5 which is difficult to remember when you're as impatient as I am!
With another spare weekend we decided we'd go and watch at Longleat to see if there was anything that might be saleable. I was quite disappointed
really these super stars are very few and far between but I did spot several I'll keep an eye on and it's always good to see what's happening!! We've also
been on the road with clients looking at horses all over the place. Michael has put the gag on me so I don't drive flat out everywhere seeing as petrol is
now a fortune and in my car I just watch the dial drop. I'm not sure it's going to make any difference but that'll be me in the Merc in the slow lane from now
on!!
Also big excitement - our planning permission has been approved on our house so I may be kissing goodbye to the yummy Anaglyptine wallpaper fairly soon!!
Until next time...........
May Weeks 3 & 4
| We met Gilly Robinson & the Winnie down at Portsmouth and caught the overnight to Saint Malo. This was a great crossing as Brynley Powell was also on the boat so he joined us for dinner and helped us chose several bottles of wine followed by cocktails at the bar after. I'm not sure who was swaying most Gilly & I or the boat as we staggered off to bed at stupid o'clock. The great thing about that crossing is you do actually get a decent nights sleep. | |
![saumur_chateaux_[320x200].jpg](images/saumur_chateaux_[320x200].jpg "View from the Chateaux") | With Michael driving most of the way down we arrived just in time for the trot up and caught up with everyone. Saumur is an excellent event for socialising, and the first night out it seemed everyone from the event was in the same restaurant including Mr Todd & Co. The Todds were also at the Chateaux on the Friday night when we dined out with Mary King and her family - I almost felt like his stalker or him mine! Marie Odile (the Saumur wine seller) hosted a fabulous eventing at her Vineyard for 100 people including a tour of the vineyard which was great. I also checked out the local Kareoke Bar with Nick Turner and Brian Hislop so by Saturday night I was pooped and went to bed at 10.00pm - I had a job to do for Horse & Hound and had wanted to give it 100% attention.
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We walked the course with Laurence Hunt and although it didn't seem too big I just thought there was no let up from fence 3 and the huge corner at fence 8 would have seen me putting my brown pants on! I've ridden at Saumur and it's always a very long way round. It wasn't nice to see horse after horse struggle to get a clear round. I was delighted for Sam Griffiths although I think he would've liked to win with a better showjumping round but he won none the less.
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We jumped off the ferry on Monday morning knowing I had to get my report emailed across and a client
arriving at heathrow for 2 days looking at horses all around the country. We travelled about 500 miles
in 2 days and it was great to stay overnight with Sally Carson in Leicestershire - she was on great form.
On the Wednesday I didn't know if I was Arthur or Martha - I was on another planet I was so knackered.
I rode Maddox (I think) he was pleased to see me (I think).
On Houghton friday we galloped up there for 10.30 so Michael could ride in the invitational Eventers
Grand Prix. Ollie Townend very kindly lent him a horse but he was a bit green for that class and had a
run out and a couple down - it was a bit of fun. Michael Brett also hosted a fabulous lunch which was
scrummy, he's such an enthusiastic supporter of eventing and puts a huge amount of money into the
sport which sometimes goes unnoticed. Who thinks that travelling straight through London at 5pm on
a Friday night is a good idea - yes we did!! Suddenly we were zooming around Trafalgar Square and
past Buck Palace - we are mad. Funnily enough the traffic did move and it was better than crawling
around the M25.
![mad_at_ascott_sj_[320x200].jpg](images/mad_at_ascott_sj_[320x200].jpg "Mad at Ascott with the old girl on board!") | Maddox had some strict training in preparation for Ascott Under Wychwood - his third PN run. We had a quick cross country school and everything seemed to be in order and I hadn't forgotten too much! He was much more relaxed in his dressage and scored well lying 5th, showjumping he just ran away from me through the related distance double (ok I took a crap line to it!) and we had a rail down on the oxer out otherwise he was very good. Cross country I was determined to rectify my Milton Keynes & Aston blips both fences of which were in the Ascott course - lucky me!! |
I was trying out new brakes too we've upgraded the biting system to a slightly stronger snaffle which
worked a treat and he cruised around like an old pro - even JP Sheffied commented on what a fab horse
he was. I was Simon slowcoach and picked up 6 time penalties but who cares he's got his whole career
ahead of him to go fast and he is only 5 - so 15th very pleased!
We also popped over to Ireland for a day with Sarah & Mary Melville to try and find a horse for Mary
although we did find one it had a dreaded Sarcoid so that was the end of that but hopefully we have
found another one - fingers crossed!
Martha (my Norfolk) has expanded hugely - she's only got 2 weeks to go until her pups are born -
contact me via email if anyone is interested a pup. And very worryingly I've been spotted at the
garden centre again!
Until next time......
April Week 4 & May Weeks 1 & 2
 | I wondered if we were ever going to have a summer at all when on the Tuesday before Badminton the heavens literally opened and Maddox & I got completely drenched yet again I was even about to supply Mandrelli in the field with a snorkel. I think Maddox thought I had some kind of vendetta against him as every time we left the yard to go out hacking at the furthest point from home it would chuck it down and I could feel the rain on the inside of my chaps as well as my knickers - not a good look. Anyway the new neighbours must wonder what on earth has landed next door when I've returned homed looking like a drowned rat on more than one occasion recently! |
Badminton was a real hoot! We stayed in the owners park with Janette Chinn, boyfriend Derek and Sue Davies (Janette's mum). Apart from the mud and the usual getting the lorry stuck etc, I really thought the competition was one of the best I'd been to in a long time the standard was so high. The ERA dinner was disappointing - yet again expensive for what you got. Although the company was fantastic, we had a great table along with Mary King, Gill Robinson, Brian Hyslop, Sarah & daughter Mary Melville and Seumas Marwood from Australia they took the biscuit when the electricity cut out and nobody bothered to put the lights back on. Despite Mary & Austin's fall Janette and Co were still in good spirits and we'd been invited to Sally Johnson's pad for supper on Saturday night.
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My great friend Keith Grimbleby joined us too and as always it was fabulous to see him and he came to
Sals with us. This was a real treat as Sally lives in the most stunning house very close to Highgrove. It
was a shame for both Archie (Imperial Cavalier) and Hobby (du Mee) that both riders tipped off as
they were both going really well. Neither horse was injured and I think both could be heading for Beijing
which is mega!
Filled with Badminton passion we headed off to Vicarage Farm so Maddox could have a little practice in
the ring again before Aston Le Walls. What's happened to me? I won!!! I've really found the key of how
to showjump him and he was fabulous - I even had praise from my showjumping boyfriend which
doesn't happen too often! Ok Ok it was only the British Novice but even so he was a little star. So with
that under my belt Aston Le Walls here I come!
 | We got up to Aston in record time and had plenty of time to walk the course, catch up with everyone and overheat - The summer has finally arrived. The ground was already on the hard side - 5 minutes ago everything was being cancelled and now it'll be like the road. Without a long and boring story Maddox didn't enjoy doing dressage in a downhill arena - it was a bit like being on ski sunday when he skidded into his final halt at the bottom of the hill!. Showjumping - what a breeze - clear!! Cross country was all going swimmingly until the water (excuse the pun!) of course he had to notice the camera man sat ontop of a scaffold stage dead opposite the entrance to the water and screeched to a halt. He then jumped in fine second time and hardly mustered up a trot to the b element and managed to stop there to. He then got going over the next few fences and as I headed to the next water I thought if he stops here we're in trouble and he's got a water issue but no he didn't even blink an eye and just cantered straight through - he is a funny old thing and michael was delighted with him although he is still very green. |
I'm slightly worried as I've been to the local garden centre on more than one occasion recently .... I've
inherited a rockery yep lucky me, an overgrown one at that but not anymore....you're looking at the next
Charlie Dimmock well almost I'm not sure my tits sag like hers yet. We've put up new fencing and we're
just about to tackle the electric gates and parking spaces next. We're also prowd owners of 7 gold fish
in the pond - yep that was overgrown too ohh and the toad and tons of frogsporn which is fascinating
and reminds me of school trips to the river!
 | Lucy Overhill's given birth. Well Indie her horse has. She had a lovely filly by Mill Law and she is dead cute. It's only the 2nd coloured foal that Mill Law has produced and her markings are lovely. Lucy keeps telling Michael she's his Badminton horse so we'll keep you updated on progress of how she's doing too. She's called her Wot A Mill and this was taken when she was less than 24hours old - ahhhhhh. |
| Poor Bombsie he's still not right and even his anti allergic rug (Boette) hasn't done the trick to get rid of his reaction. He's going to Leighurst Veterinary Hospital at Liverpool as a case study so they can keep an eye on him - no one seems to know what he's allergic to. So I hope they all look after him really well and they get to the bottom of it. Get well soon Bombie. xx | |
I was due to be at Mattingley with Mad but I've been asked to report at Saumur for H&H so with the
chance to watch Mark Todd in his final bid to qualify for Beijing I didn't want to turn it down so we're
heading over with Gilly Robinson in the Winnebago taking the Saint Mar Lo overnight ferry which will be
a blast. Check back regularly as Michael is planning to get video uploaded
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![saumur_bri_nick_[320x200]_[320x200].jpg](images/saumur_bri_nick_[320x200]_[320x200].jpg "Nick, Moi et Brian")
![course_walk_[320x200].jpg](images/course_walk_[320x200].jpg "Course walk with Laurence")
