Purston was my first proper event with George and having owned him for only a week I wasn't expecting any miracles but just wanted a good day. It didn't go quite to plan but it's all there I just haven't quite learnt how to harness it just yet.

His trot work in the dressage was very nice, a couple of resisting moments but they were very minor. His leg yields were both good as was his medium trot. The canter work wasn't so good as I haven't quite grasped the knack of containing him in this pace in the arena. I had been aiming for a mark in the 30's but thought we would probably get a 40/low 40's. I was very shocked to find out we got a 47...! We all felt this was unduly harsh and that the marking had a lot to be desired, it was all very strange. 

Onwards and upwards to the Show Jumping , the course was causing a fair amount of problems and I was feeling very nervous for some reason. He warmed up well and in we went. Jumped one, two and three really well. Then came round to four and we saw a very positive stride in and then he tanked off with my rather and we jumped the following double and upright at break neck speed. Consequently he had the second part of the upright down behind. I reorganised the canter and came round to the big plank parallel, we met this in a good rhythm and on a good stride but unfortunately George hit that behind as well and then tanked off again and had the next upright down behind too. We then jumped through the treble combination and last upright clear. So a disappointing three down, however it was a very fluid round and much improved on Salperton. I just need to find a happy medium between too much and too little canter. I think I will try Show Jumping him in the Neue Schule universal gag.

Finally the XC! I was a little bit concerned about my brakes after the SJ and considered putting the gag in for XC but then realised I didn't bring it so that wasn't an option! I was again quite nervous seeing as this was my first proper XC on him but needn't have been. He gave me a fab ride and the brakes weren't too bad. I don't think we had any dodgy moments and he jumped through all the combinations in foot perfect style to finish four seconds inside the time!

So all in all a bit disappointing but we are still getting to know each other and he really is a very talented little horse and I know we can do it! Practise makes perfect and all that! I am going to go Show Jumping at Summerhouse on Sunday to do the 1m10 and 1m15 and play around with bits etc.

Primarily I was going to Associates camp to use it as my Residential section for my Gold Duke of Edinburgh but it actually came at a very useful time to cement my partnership with George!

On the first day we had lessons with either Jonty Evans or Sophie Martindale. I had Sophie and we did grid work in the school. This was incredibly fun - NINE bounces in a row! George was, as Hannah described him, like a Ballet dancer on acid! He is such an athletic little horse!

Next up was a Show Jumping session with Kenneth Clawson. This was very interesting and highlighted how little attention most of us paid to what we were doing. He told us to ride a square in canter and then proceeded to ask us how many strides we got on each side and none of us had a clue. Once this had been highlighted we all rode accurate squares with 9-11 strides on each side depending on the horse in question. Kenneth then said that immediately our riding and the horses way of going improved dramatically because we were riding determinedly and accurately. When we started jumping we worked on control and so had to get five strides in  a four stride distance. This highlighted how I was being very fixed in my elbow which was causing George to run against my hand into the base of the fence, once I softened my arms this was much improved.

We then went on a little trip to Talland to ride some schoolmaster horses. I ended up with a little grey pony that I had to literally drag out from the yard....everyone was in hysterics! However he turned out to be the best one in our group and a very cool little dude! He was an FEI team pony and trained up to Grand Prix level! Our lesson was with Charlie Hutton and unlike the other groups we didn't play around with the advanced level movements but Charlie took our stirrups away and worked on our positions. This was fairly useful I guess but not hugely fun or beneficial to the others in my group who wanted to ride some changes and half pass etc. I wasn't overly fussed as have been lucky enough to have had a schoolmaster of my own (Jack!!).

On Wednesday we had a session riding in the morning and in the afternoon.
In the morning we ran through a dressage test of our choice which was marked by Islay Auty. We then went through the test with Islay to try and improve on various aspects. George did a reasonably calm test, it was much improved on Salperton but still lots to work on - especially in the canter. Islay gave us all 6's and 7's for a mark of 35.5 (64.5%). We then worked on getting him to accept the contact more readily and relax into it in canter. He was better on the left rein than the right because on the right rein he is more stiff and I find it hard to keep him bent around my inside leg. So Islay had me on a circle bending his neck to the right until he softened and then when he did I then patted his neck and gave him the rein. This encouraged him to loosen his neck, bend to the inside and have a softer more relaxed frame.

In the afternoon we had a simulated XC session with Yogi Breisner. This was the first time I jumped George over XC style fences and I really enjoyed it! To start with Yogi just had us cantering around the field to assess our position and the main point he made from that was that we all needed to make sure that our lower leg remained forwards on the girth and didn't creep back as we started kicking our horses! After a few warm up fences we jumped some turning combinations to assess control and also a set of open kick on fences. We then came back to the technical fences and Yogi had us jumping a very tricky combination of three skinny brushes. We had to jump one skinny brush then do a 90 degree turn on 4/5 strides to another skinny brush, then a 90 degree turn in the another direction again on 4/5 strides to a third skinny brush! We jumped this up and down hill and the message Yogi got across was that XC riding isn't about looking pretty, it's about getting the horse clear! All in all it was very successful and Yogi also said that my position was excellent and that I had a very secure lower leg. So now I am really looking forward to doing proper XC with George at Purston on Sunday!

Finally on the last day we had either Jonty or Sophie again. This time I had Jonty and like with Islay the day before, we ran through a dressage test and then worked on what we could improve. We then jumped a course of Show Jumps. George improved yet again on his dressage which was very consistent in trot and much improved in the canter. We then worked on my presentation of the test and my setting up of (or lack of) the movements to ensure that we remained as balanced as possible.

The course of Show Jumps was pretty difficult considering it was the last day and the horses were all pretty tired! It was a very long course of 14 jumps with 17 jumping efforts on terrain that was very up and down and with very light plastic poles! I jumped a 1m10 track on George and we had two down which although not brilliant wasn't too bad and all the other 15  fences we hit on near perfect strides!!

George is now having a well earned day off in the field with my old retired bean that is Supplejack! Jack was SO excited to gain a playmate that he didn't know what to do with himself and just leapt around waving his legs and squealing!

George was entered for Salperton with his previous rider who was also riding another in the AI. So instead of withdrawing & us having to drive all the way over to Lincolnshire to pick him up, she brought him to Salperton and we did a change of rider so that I could compete him! However because I had only ridden him once I decided only to do the Dressage and Show Jumping!

Overall I was very pleased with his dressage! He doesn't have a good track record in this phase and is very hot headed. He was warming up very well but then got spooked by something and unfortunately blew up just before I went in. Considering this I was very pleased as nothing went horrifically wrong in the test and we came out with a score of 40. The marks ranged from 4-7 with both George and I picking up a 7 each. Him for his paces and me for my riding. At the end of the test the judge very sweetly got out the car to say well managed, very quietly ridden and what a shame that he hadn't been more relaxed. I am confident that as I get to know him more we will get some scores in the 30's.

Next up was the show jumping. The course at Salperton is always big and cleverly designed and causes lots of problems. True to form poles were flying down left right and centre. However even though I had only ridden him once I wasn't worried as he is awesome to jump and we successfully negotiated a 1m20 track when I tried him! He warmed up brilliantly but unfortunately our round didn't go quite to plan because I focused too much on not letting him run and take out strides, that I did the polar opposite and we had no canter and he couldn't make the distances and got buried at the base of a number of fences. Thus resulting in a bit of a cricket score. But I am not concerned as it is a mistake I won't make again and everyone needs a bit of a kick up the backside sometimes! It was a big ask considering we don't know each other from adam, and he jumped the triple bar to treble combination to upright absolutely foot perfectly! Next time out I am confident that we will perform in a way that reflects our true ability!

So onwards & upwards! I have one exam left on Monday and then I am at Associates camp with him for four days where we will receive training from Kenneth Clawson and Yogi Breisner before heading to Purston for the ON.

Today was a very very sad day for me as Belvedere went to his new hunting home down in Kent. We never ever planned on selling Belv but eventing can be a harsh world and the black and white reality of it was if I wanted to keep eventing, he had to go.

On a much happier note, I have found a new horse! His name is Gorgeous George IV (George) and I will be campaigning him at Intermediate/2* this season and aiming to upgrade to Advanced in 2012. Watch this space!!

His previous rider had him entered for the Intermediate at Salperton on Saturday, so I am going to take over the ride there so as not to waste his entry fee. The following weekend I will do the ON on him at Purston and then crack on with some OIU21's, hoping to finish the season with the CCIYR** at Weston Park.

Please follow this link to view my first ride on George (1m20 SJ track).

On the weekend I did my first Advanced at Chatsworth International Horse Trials! What an amazing experience that was, it didn't go quite to plan but I learnt a lot and Jack was absolutely fantastic!

Walking the course

The Dressage was never going to be spectacular as it is by far our weakest phase. However it didn't go too badly and we didn't make an horrific errors and ended up with 44.1 - Clearly not brilliant, but sub 45 so I was reasonably happy.

The Show Jumping was in a very impressive arena with a grandstand and it was a very long and up to height course so I was a little bit nervous! However Jack jumped out of his skin! He jumped all bar one of the fences in foot perfect fashion & clear. Unfortunately I made a mistake at fence 6 and we had it down and I had to circle before the next fence to organise ourselves again so picked up a few jumping penalties & a lot of time faults. So although it doesn't look very good on paper, he actually jumped incredibly well and it was almost a clear round!

Surprisingly I wasn't actually very nervous for the Cross Country. I think because I had already messed up the show jumping somewhat and so I just wanted to get on with it! I didn't wear my watch because I wasn't concerned with how quickly or not I was going as I just wanted to get round! After having a bit of a chit chat with Oli Townend in the warm up it was time to go! 
Jack jumped fences 1 & 2 very well, but unfortunately he was being unusually strong and I just didn't have him where I wanted coming to fence 3 and we came up the bank, turned for the fence and just met it on a completely duff stride. Lucky totally deserted us and he just couldn't jump it. We re-presented and jumped it fine. It was just one of those galling & really unlucky things. However we put it behind us and proceeded to jump clear around the rest of the course over all the direct routes in exemplary fashion! Although slightly disappointed with the 20 penalties I couldn't have been more thrilled with Jack coming through the finish! He isn't experienced at this level having only done one advanced in the UK a few years ago, yet he took everything in his stride and sailed round!

So all in all a very good first Advanced! Although it didn't go quite as I had planned or hoped, we successfully completed arguably the biggest Advanced in the country and so I can't really complain. I made a few mistakes and paid for them, but Jack was an absolute superstar and didn't put a foot wrong so overall I am thrilled and really want to get back out there and continue competing at this level. So if anyone has any ideas of suitable horses/owners then please please please get in touch.

Due to a very unfortunate series of events I am about to find myself totally horseless. Belvedere is being sold out of the eventing scene and Supplejack is retiring imminently. 

This unfortunately leaves me in a bit of a predicament especially due to the fact that I have already applied to & been accepted into Cardiff uni on a deferred placement. I.e. My course starts in 2012 so that I can have a gap year. The plan was that I was going to concentrate on horses and young riders in that year and then go to uni in October 2012. I now have no horses with which to fill that year & fulfil my dreams of Young Riders, Badminton & beyond. Unfortunately, even with some money from selling Belvedere (hopefully!!) we will still be a very long way off from buying a decent YR horse and although we could probably afford a good youngster, a year would not be long enough to produce it to the required level. Therefore I am having to do some serious thinking. And unless I can somehow find a ride on an intermediate + horse then I will have to quit eventing for now. And hopefully get transferred onto the 2011 course at Cardiff so that I don't have to have an unnecessary year out....

This is where I desperately need your help if I could get together a team of owners, together with our funds to jointly purchase & own a YR prospect horse then I would be able to continue eventing, aim for YR's in my gap year and continue my dream of eventing to the highest level - with you alongside me, being directly involved. 

What a horse! Not much more to say really! He was such a superstar once again! He did a very sweet correct Dressage test for the most part. But unfortunately his tension got the better of him at a number of different occasions and so amongst the 6's and 7's were also 5's and 3's and we ended up with a disappointing 42.3 which I thought was rather harsh. But such is life!

Onto the best bit! Jumping time! The course was up to height but not the biggest track I have jumped. However it was very twisty with a lot of fairly technical dog legs and the two people that jumped before me did not have good rounds to say the least so it didn't fill me with confidence!! However not to worry - Jack jumped another superb clear round! 

Finally the Cross Country! It was a lovely course, as it always is at Withington. Nice and big & bold but also good and technical at times! I wasn't really worried about anything except possibly the water as the fence in wasn't very inviting. But Jacked popped around everything very sweetly and even though I went quite steadily, especially over the first half of the course, we only picked up 8.4 time faults. So another double clear - 3rd one in a row! What a super horse!

Next event - Chatsworth Advanced! Exciting stuff!

Well well well...I never thought I'd see the day! After years of longing to have a go at P2P-ing I finally got the chance! Mum lent me her team-chasing/hunt ride horse (Cloons Master Plan/Ross) to enter into the Tim Carter Hunt Memorial Challenge.  It was run as the last race of the day, over just one lap of the course omitting the open ditch, and restricted to people who have never held a P2P licence.

My friend from Eventing and work at Venetia William's kindly lent me all the kit and also came with her mum to help, support, watch and take photos! Below are some photos of me & Ross all kitted up back at the lorry before I had to put the ghastly number bib on!

Finally after a bit of hanging around & getting increasingly more nervous it was time to head to the paddock and parade!

Mum paraded Ross in her snazzy new boots that she bought at Badminton whilst I chatted to Beth who was going to leg me up, posed for a few photos (to be seen below!!!) and got even more nervous & exctied!!

After fifteen minutes or so it was time to be legged up and make our way down to the start! Ross was surprisingly very well behaved whilst I was legged up but once the master who was leading us to the start blew the hunting horn he got considerably more excited and was very strong cantering to the start line!

Once down at the start we had our girths checked and a briefing where basically they just reminded us to go around the open ditch! And then finally...WE WERE OFF!!!! Perfect stride over fence one which was a relief! We got a bit close to fence 2 and Ross pinged me out of the saddle slightly...unfortunately this is where all the photographs were taken! What was more worrying was the person next to me flying through the air and landing very hard at my horses feet! Rather scary! There was a long gallop to fence 3 because we had to go around the open ditch! The leading horse took a dislike to the fence and ran around it but Ross flew it brilliantly, we really stood off it and it was an amazing feeling!

Unfortunately fence 4 was where it all went a bit pair shaped! We jumped it well, but on the landing/getaway stride Ross tripped and did the most spectacular nose dive (he had a very green grass stained nose) and went arse over tit (muddy saddle) face-planting me into the ground in the process! Not ideal & such a shame as it was going really well and I was really enjoying it! Very annoying to have not finished the race but it hasn't put me off! I just really want to get out there and have another go....possibly on a proper Point to Point horse & in a proper race.....!!

Well, I am afraid this isn't much of a report! Jack had been going well on the flat leading up to the event so I was hoping that we could improve on Somerley 2* and try and get a late 50's double clear. However it was not meant to be! Early Friday morning we drove (well mum drove) the 4.5 hours all the way to the coast! (Norfolk). Unfortunately when we got there we were very unimpressed by the state of the ground, particularly the Dressage and the Cross Country. And as Jack is an old boy who had stiffened up quite a lot on the journey anyway we decided it was prudent to withdraw rather than to hammer him round on some rough hard ground. 

We stayed the night to give Jack some time to rest before setting off home again on Saturday morning. Albeit a slightly delayed departure because the lorry decided it didn't wish to start and we had to get the help of a local mechanic! All in all not our most successful weekend!

Firstly I am very sorry for the rather lengthy delay in writing this report! But things all got a bit hectic with organising everything for Burnham Market 2* which turned out to be a rather non-event anyway. But I will explain what happened there in my next report!

I went to Sapey with high hopes that Belvedere would continue to put in another very respectable & very correct performance like he has done at all his other BE100's this season. 
He didn't warm up brilliantly for the Dressage so I hastily got Mum to run and fetch Tor to give me a hand warming up. We got him going a bit better and went in to do our test. It was very correct with very few errors and thankfully the judge liked him as a horse and we ended up with a very respectable mark of 32. Actually one of his best marks with BE!

Onto the Show Jumping, I wasn't worried as am very happy jumping him at this height and thought that although the course was cleverly built with some downhill related distances that we would be fine - I was mistaken! We didn't have the best prep because the person before me had a very nasty fall and so we ended up hanging by the entrance for quite some time. Something which Belv doesn't really like doing, but in we went and quickly into a nice forwards bouncy canter. Jumped the first really well and then I'm not really sure what happened. We got deep to a couple, but nothing horrific and we maintained a nice rhythm and energy all the way round but came away with a very very disappointing 12 faults. I have not had more than one fence down on this horse since 2009! Not ideal and so I was in two minds whether to run him XC or not because we were now not in contention for a placing and the ground was quite hard.

In the end Mum and Tor persuaded me to run which probably was the right thing to do seeing as this may have been my last event on him. Anyway he flew round in his usual Belv style coming very comfortably inside the time!