Event Owners Blog from Aske

Spike goes Back to School..

After the dramatics at Gatcombe we stepped back down to earth at Aske.
Lack of rain even in the North had certainly firmed the ground up but the organisers had made sure that the surface was ok, and I was surprised walking around on the Sunday how wet the grass
actually was.

NBR had two runners, Arctic Soul in the BE100 and Stonedge in the Novice

Arctic Soul
The loss of Hutton has meant that Arctic Soul had not actually run since his outing at Scone six weeks previously, and to some extent we needed to reacquaint him with eventing.
Having checked the cross country course there were some significant challenges for one so new to eventing, and in particular a left handed skinny after a big log brush going downhill was identified as a fence that was going to cause a number of problems (and so it proved)

Also being aware of the dressage warm up area I anticipated that it might seem a little more compact than some of the more open areas we had seen earlier in the summer, and as at Cumwhinton might bring tension. So it proved, and when he spotted a series of cyclists going past on the main road just as he was readying to go in, that meant he started tensely. The movements were all there but the tension did show. At least there was no repeat of Cumwhinton showing he has made big strides forward and he did improve towards the end, his score of 38 with accompanying comments did show that the potential again was visible to the judge. The grass was much shorter in the dressage area this time than it has been in the past, making it a lot easier to see the feet movements, and a thumbs up to the preparation there.

In the Showjumping he had one fence down. Coming down the hill was slightly confused on the stride pattern and flicked it off behind, and incurred one time fault, but otherwise jumped well.

The Cross Country was causing problems, and given the stiffness of the task for an inexperienced horse he was taken very steadily for the first part of the course certainly up to the skinny.
Both at that fence and the fence before he could have had the opportunity to run out being slightly confused as to where he might be going (angled right at one pair and angled left at the other)
In both cases he adjusted extremely well and was gradually allowed to increase his pace in the final part of the course. His 26 time faults left him 25th, but this was more about confidence building and reminding him about eventing after a prolonged break. Hopefully he can have another run at Witton next week.

Stonedge was running in the Novice which was a first time for him.
His dressage test was a very polished 35.5 on a first outing with only a couple of mistakes.
There seemed to be a some confusion as to the extent of the warm up area for the dressage area for a couple of the riders following, which then seemed to lead to them being ushered back to an area right beside where Nicky’s test was ongoing. I was then simply staggered to hear one rider saying loudly to the official that she was trying to stay out of the way of the test. She chose the moment when she was within three metres of where Nicky was actually doing a movement. Couldn’t have been closer. Outdoes by miles applause for other competitors finishing while a test is ongoing (one of my pet hates). If Freddy had been in the arena he certainly would have reacted dramatically, so top marks to Stonedge.

Showjumping
He did a good round in general but just managed to knock a couple of rails down to head into the Cross Country with eight faults.

Cross Country
He was tackling the Novice fences with aplomb and was having an excellent round up to the time he reached the water. However the entry to the water proved his undoing and he managed to run out three times, to be closely followed by Ruth Edge who ran into the same issue. The lack of any alternative at this level clearly compounded the problem, and was a sad way for the round to end.

This reminds me of the problems suffered by Trig Point at Scone in his third Novice, this time exiting the water with a narrow fence early last year which had no alternative, leading to him being subsequently eliminated (one of many). In his case he actually had put his head on the wrong side of the red flag at the second attempt, but not his body, and suffered a technical elimination as it wasnt immediately clear what had happened.

Others weren’t so fortunate with a number of eliminations. In both cases the horses were relatively new at the level, and were faced with a difficult question that they hadn’t come across before. One hopes that Stonedge responds in the same manner that Trig Point did in subsequent events. At Scone the course was adjusted in time for the next event.

Another well organized event despite the hardish ground and thanks to everyone involved.

Next outing (and final one of the year)
Witton Castle

Event Owners Blog from Little Gatcombe 2

Trig Point comes of age.. A Simply Superb Second in the CIC2* ..and Upgrades

Another action packed three days at Little Gatcombe with plenty of opportunity to watch other riders on the first couple of days with a rather spread out programme.

NBR Runners
Fiddlewood – CIC *
Freddy Curtis, Trig Point – CIC**

Weather – Spectacularly good for the three days, though the lack of rain certainly was evident from the ground, which was much firmer than we have been used to North of the Border this summer (not very difficult). The ground was treated, but any riders coming unstuck received a pretty uncomfortable landing and led to several trips for the mobile ambulances over the three days. Everyone was on hand very quickly in the case of any emergency, but it did lead to a few delays, and in the end one fence being taken out completely in the 2*. But more on that later.
Accommodation on this occasion was not far away, with hosts Edward and Kate Gordon-Lennox providing an excellent base from which to operate, and seemed to bring a similar vein of fortune to the last time that I stayed.

Dressage was completed on the Friday and Saturday for the international classes.
Fiddlewood was first up and did a very creditable 54.5. Last to go in the CIC2* on Day One was Freddy, and with prize giving in the background, he was unable to settle and came in with a 68.8 lying well down the field.
Trig Point’s dressage was an entirely different prospect. Not only did he work in well, but he did an exemplary test, easily his best of the season, to gain a 46.3, to lie a very impressive third.

Sunday brought the Showjumping and Cross Country
Fiddlewood had one rail down in what was a very tidy round otherwise, and later on in the day completed his cross country round with 11.6 time faults to finish a creditable 33rd.
His round was interrupted because of fence repairs and he was held on the course, but he answered every question otherwise, apart from needing a growl at the water.

In the two star Freddy went first, after a long delay caused by a rider fall, and the decision to take out the angled rails was made (17ab). Most riders had handled it comfortably. However the problems that arose when things didn’t go according to plan necessitated that the fence be taken out of action. I had seen Ginny Howe, pictured below, and Ruth Edge, ride the fence comfortably, though Sam Griffiths had had a stop whilst I was there. Freddy and Trig Point both had to pass the obstacle by the time that their turn came.


With Freddy having come unstuck at the Second last in the autumn last year and given his dressage score the decision was made to make sure he got round, and he produced an excellent jumping display, and a real confidence booster, coming back with 25.2 time faults. However he picked up a knock on the way round and was unable to do the Show jumping, though he seems to have recovered quite well.

If anyone wanted to know what 20 time faults look like in pictures it probably can be seen below.
Firstly we have Freddy at the sixth .. just getting into his stride..

Then Trig Point (Jerry really Springing) ..
He simply was eating up the ground by this stage and was able to go round in one of the quicker times of the day with only 4.8 time faults which moved him to second…
One can see even from the still taken from video the different approach

So then to the Showjumping , in reverse order.
The top ten were fairly tight, except for Ruth Edge on Applejack who had a two fence lead over Trig Point in second.
I am afraid I was too tense to take any photos, which was probably just as well, as Trig Point produced a sensational clear round, dispelling any of the uncertainties from earlier in the season in this discipline.
In fact his other clear round at Intermediate level was at ….Gatcombe (1) .. This was seriously impressive. Ruth Edge had one down with Applejack, which was enough to take the spoils.
A double clear in his first CIC2* with a 46.3 dressage, is a fantastic result.. Welcome to the big time..

His season closes as it started with points and prizes at Gatcombe..
Trig Point picked up 14 points with his Second Place , taking him to 35 for the season and to 61 overall moving him to Grade 1
So a real upgrade..

The yard total now moves on to 85 for the year, with Aske to come where Friday, Night Porter and Stonedge could contribute.
Trig Point 35, Freddy Curtis 18, Mistral 12, Night Porter 10, My Man Friday 10
Arctic Soul also is scheduled to have his final outing of the season, as will the blog…

There was also the chance to see a whole range of riding skills on display over the three days with time on ones hands (for once)
One place to see discretion (or valour) was at the fourth/fifth on the Intermediate Track, where Nicky had used discretion with Freddy earlier in the year.
There were some examples of excellent riding, with Gemma Tattersall being a striking example on Nyali Beach, on the way to an excellent Second place in the Open Intermediate..





On the other hand there was someone who went through so fast, and carried on in the same vein, over the next fences that the fence judge and I both looked at eachother, and we simply awaited developments.
It didn’t take long.. Fence 13 ..rider fall. Inevitable.,, Others were not quite so polished, but an early test and an early signal of how the round might go..
Although it didn’t take a huge number of casualties the way the fence was tackled certainly made for fascinating watching.


Last thing to be done before heading home was Prize Giving and it was terrific to see Nicky at the top end of the leader board.
Little Gatcombe delivers a top six place for the third time in a row.. but this one was something really special ..


Roll on 2010 …

Event Owners Blog from Blair

Blair beats Hurricane Bill, Freddy gets Ribbons, and Friday wins the Open Hunter on Thursday..

Another amazing event at Blair, with action all the way and a tremendous finish in all classes.
However on Thursday evening and especially on Friday morning that looked far from the case, and the decision to continue was made in the face of some pretty grim conditions, but more of that in a moment.

NBR had four horses who made the trip.
Freddy Curtis and Trig Point headed for the CCI* , which had been split into different sections, and Night Porter and My Man Friday were entered in the Working Hunter classes on Thursday.
There had been considerable debate as to whether the horses would run in the one or the two star. As it turned out given the conditions, the cautious choice of the One Star proved absolutely correct.

Hurricane Bill
The organisers faced an unenviable challenge as hurricane Bill made its appearance, and it was really touch and go as to whether the event was able to proceed.
However torrential rain came through on Thursday night with the accompanying high winds blowing tents away, as Hurricane Bill made its presence felt.
The decision to proceed was very brave at the time, but as it turned out proved totally the right one as the drying wind helped a huge amount and there was a considerable amount of sunshine.
There were a considerable amount of trade stands, which seemed reasonably busy, although the sponsors area was smaller.
The idea of putting an owners car park beside the lorry park, worked very well and the expansion of the lorry area proved a godsend given the poor conditions underfoot
Last year Owners with the red armbands did have access to the members tent, but for some reason this wasn’t the same this year, although there was access to a general catering tent at the top. Now a four day members pass does bring access to the members enclosure, forward parking, cctv etc etc .. and although limited are available for £60.
Looking at the entry cost for two horses including stabling -- £998.00 . The car parking for owners is an undoubted improvement, but I still feel more can be done for owners as the new management of the Blair event gets into its stride

The picture below indicates just how muddy things became..


I made the trip up to Blair on Thursday, and had time to catch the working Hunter classes before heading off to the Killiecrankie Hotel, where I was to be based for three days (highly recommended and already booked in for next year.. now we just need the horses)..

Friday wins on a Thursday
Night Porter had already come fourth in his class, and My Man Friday delivered a spectacular clear round to win the Open Working Hunter ahead of a quality field, being moved up after he was called in. He then was awarded Reserve Champion, behind the winner of the last three years. A great result for the Milne’s and Nicky.
It was particularly dark by the time they finished and was raining heavily so apologies for the quality of the picture..


Freddy and Jerry
Freddy had already done his Dressage on Wednesday evening and by the close of Thursday was lying eighth.
He was supposed to have been doing cross country on the Friday but that was delayed to give the ground a chance to recover, another excellent decision by the organisers
That meant he had to do his showjumping on the Saturday and then finish with the Cross Country and the trot up on the Sunday.

Trig Point faced a tricky dressage on Friday. Half the class had competed on the Thursday which left the arena fairly chewed up, and although rolling was attempted, all it did was to take up even more ground, so the arena had to be left as it was. This certainly didn’t help the friday group, although it didn’t stop the winner of the class Andrew Hoy delivering a very good test.
Trig Point was more engaged than he has been recently and his 49.9 left him in 15th, but this was a better feel to the test than at Burgie.

Saturday.. Trig point then went excellently cross country with the obstacles proving no problem, and was well inside the time. That wasn’t sufficient to see any change in position as the time proved relatively easy to get, at least for those at the top of the field. His approach to the water looks more measured than that of Freddy below..

Meanwhile in the showjumping arena Freddy was faced with a very large open course, his least favoured type.
Nicky very sensibly took him round as though it was a showjumping jump off with very tight turns and he was extremely unlucky to flip off the last element of the treble after a very good round, and there were literally a handful that went clear.

Sunday..
Trig Point then had his turn showjumping over what looked a slightly easier course. Frustratingly he took down the first elements of both combinations, something he has been doing earlier in the season, marring what otherwise was a good round. That dropped him from a potential eleventh to 20th. Extra work in this particular area is now slated for the autumn, ahead of the final few events of the season.
Freddy was the last to go on the Cross country course, and again this wasn’t an ideal track for him , with heavy ground and a large hill.
He certainly found the drag up the hill tiring, and after a heart stopping moment at the first water regained his composure as he came back down the hill
He did pick up some time faults, but his score was good enough to put him into 10th Place, his best three day result.

He needed to have a final trot up before his position was confirmed and the setting for that remains outstanding..



In terms of points Freddy came back with 2 and Trig Point 1, narrowing the gap between the two.
Freddy is now on 18 for the year and Trig Point 21, with their respective totals being 35 , and 47 ..and getting the Yard total to 71
Freddy also made it into the Prize money with a cheque to follow.

Round up..
All classes were tightly contested and after the variable surface for dressage (unavoidable given the conditions), the showjumping and cross country made a stern but realistic test.
All the cross country hedges had 2 inches taken off them before the competition began, regardless of class, but that didn’t prevent a few problems appearing.
Ronald Alexander’s times also made interesting challenges. The one star was clearly achievable, the two star was just about possible (four ) , and both the three star CCI and CIC had noone inside the time. Problems were spread right round the course rather than being restricted to one or two fences giving a tremendous competition. It was possible if one ran hard enough to see all the fences on the CCI* bar three. However as this necessitated severe hill work there was a limit to how many times this could be done.

The round by Opposition Buzz to win the CIC*** was electric and the final six or seven fences after a fantastic second water showed why this horse had been selected to represent Britain and follows a very string showing at Gatcombe. The showjumping also produced a fitting climax to all the competitions, with William Fox-Pitt and Matthew Wright producing copybook rounds to win the 3* and 2* respectively..


A great performance by the competitors, organisers and volunteers in the face of very testing conditions at times,..
Am booked in already for next year…

Next up for NBR
Burghley Young Event Horse, Hutton, Gatcombe and Aske

Event Owners Blog from Scone

Arctic Soul finds the Podium, as do Night Porter and My Man Friday. Freddy powers to Fourth .. Podiums, Points and Prizes..

This was a very busy event for NBR, with some excellent performances, and only a couple of fences away from being a spectacular one.
There were no fewer than seven entries, with a pretty intense looking five horse schedule on the Sunday.

The weather forecast had been looking pretty ominous for the Friday and so it proved.
We went up as the advance party and were staying in the Meikleour Hotel not far away.
It was very wet late on Friday, and also Saturday morning, but because it was dry on Friday night, the decision was made to proceed, which proved to be the correct one given the rapidly drying nature of the wind.

The course had seen several changes from the Spring meeting, with a moved Showjumping arena, and the BE90 and BE100 tacking the hill for the first time in a while.

NBR Runners
Saturday: Arctic Soul and Stonedge – BE100
Sunday : Fiddlewood, Night Porter and My Man Friday – Novice, Trig Point – Scottish Novice Championship, Freddy Curtis – Intermediate.

Saturday
Arctic Soul embarked on the next part of his eventing education and stepped up the pace in all disciplines.
Yet again he produced an extremely polished dressage test scoring a 21, again leading the class.
His showjumping was also in a different leaguer from Strathallan, with only one down. There was a slight rider horse miscommunication at the fifth but he showed real composure in completing the rest of the round without further problems. This left him still leading the class, but with only three time faults to play with after another horse completed cross country inside the time, victory wasn’t a realistic aim at this stage of his development. The plan was to take him out slowly and then to gradually increase the pace as the round progressed if he proved he could handle the jumps. He seemed to take everything without becoming flustered, and so the throttle was increased for the final third of the course. What an impressive site and he cruised home with 6.8 time faults to take and excellent second place, and bring home £33 in prize money. At such an early stage in his eventing career this was an excellent result. Perhaps not quite so clever was his decision to kick our lead groom Lisa. Fortunately no broken bones.

Stonedge
Dressage was a good 32.5 and after an impressive clear round, he was very much in the hunt.
However unlike Arctic Soul he seemed slightly less comfortable with the actual jumps, and had a sudden run out at a corner which moved him down to 14th, from a possible second.

Both horses took the challenge of the hill reasonably well, unlike a number of the intro horses (and riders) who came back very tired.

Sunday was an entirely different prospect with no fewer than five horses running and some very tight time scheduling especially in the showjumping and cross country which did require some help from the stewards and judges when we came to Freddy’s dressage.

Fiddlewood, My Man Friday, and Night Porter- Novice
In the Novice classes Fiddlewood, was joined by Night porter and My Man Friday. All were in the mix after the dressage, but Night Porter’s 23.8 was a stand out and set him up well.Fiddlewood produced a clear round which enhanced his chances in a very difficult showjumping test. Both the others knocked one down but with so few clears both remained near the top of the leaderboard. All three produced excellent cross country rounds and tackled the difficult course very well. Night Porter incurred 6 time faults but that was enough to hold onto top spot. My Man Friday moved beautifully and came back with only 2.4 time faults which was enough for second. Fiddlewood had been first out and jumped beautifully as well to come back with 3.2 time faults. However with a number of course changes this year, Nicky managed to miss out fence 15 after brilliantly jumping the 14th and so was eliminated. The time would have been slightly higher as a result, but he had performed extremely well, so this was a clear disappointment as it would have been his best result at Novice. As it turned out several other riders were to incur course errors as the day wore on in all classes.

Freddy Curtis – Intermediate
Freddy didn’t have an ideal warm up as the other three novices had had a very compacted timetable, and was only able to be warmed up just before he was due to start.
With four cross country rounds in forty minutes it was always going to be fairly tight, but as soon as trig Point had finished the cross country I headed over to the dressage area, and we were very grateful to the stewards and judges for allowing Nicky and Freddy a little leeway. Nevertheless he was still a little bit tight at the start, but one he got into the test he showed some good movements and came out with a 34.1 to lie 5th. He produced an excellent showjumping round, and only had one element of the treble down. But that stage he had shed a shoe so we were absolutely delighted. He also incurred six time faults in a class where the time limit seemed excessively tight. There are BE points awarded for double clears including showjumping time so a test this rigorous, incorporating time and jumping did seem somewhat harsh. If this was adopted as standard across a number of events then one could get used to combined discipline. It was obviously the same for all competitors, but I think detracted on this occasion from the competition. After a trip to the farrier’s Freddy set out around the cross country and despite not having completed a round since Burgie One Star he performed excellently. He came home with 12 time faults, without any hint of tiredness, which not only was a good warm up for Blair, but turned out to get him Fourth Place, his best result so far.

Trig Point –Scottish Novice Championship -- Intermediate Novice
This was a competition that Trig Point could, and should have won, but it was a case of nearly but not quite.
We discovered on Friday the dressage test was to be the same as the one at Gatcombe, and although he worked in reasonably well he didn’t quite seem quite settled. He didn’t repeat the stumbles of gatcombe but his 35.0 put him around 5th but within 4 points of the leader. The cross country came next and he did a very good cross country round to be inside the time.
It all then rested on the showjumping which went in reverse order. Lying fourth he was jumping extremely well except when he came to the first of the treble and in a repeat of gatcombe had that down. The three ahead of him also had one down, which shows what might have been, and Alan Gilbert was able to take victory.

Points
A good haul this time round – 20 points

Night Porter 6, Freddy Curtis 6, My Man Friday 5 and Trig Point 3
Totals for the year in NBR colours—68 Points
Trig Point 20, Freddy Curtis 16, Mistral de Blondel 12, My Man Friday 10, Night Porter 10,

Prize Money less lucrative..

Eventing Blog from Gatcombe

The Festival of British Eventing - Looking to the Future and in the thick of the action..

From the first dressage to the last cross country this was action packed, with so much to see across all disciplines and classes.
After the rain on Thursday the event was blessed by good weather making it even more enjoyable.

One of British Eventing's youngest members, Iona, also attended her first official meeting, an EGM , and as part owner of Arctic Soul was keenly assessing the Novice course (tho he is unlikely to be seen here until 2011). We also had Trig Point's round in mind and we have her pictured in the middle of the water at the second element.

There wasn’t much time for hanging around and after watching the initial burst of dressage led off by Ruth Edge on Applejack we managed to tour the shops. As ever there was an excellent range of products though the number of stalls, and especially the Sponsored tents area showed the effects of the economic slowdown. It also must be tough especially on the Saturday and the Sunday to find time to shop, as there were so many quality riders on display in what seemed like a pretty relentless stream.

Our sole runner in the Novice Class this year was Trig Point. Mistral had qualified for the Intermediate championships but the injury he picked up doing so, ruled him out for the rest of the season. Both Mistral and Freddy had done the Novice the year before, but both were older at the stage they competed.
The Dressage late on Friday was a case of almost but not quite. Having worked in well, when he came to the actual test he seemed slightly tense and looked a little green at times. An unfortunate stumble on the slightly rutted arena at one point meant that he ended up with a score of 33.2, rather than somewhere around 30 which he could easily have produced otherwise. In the showjumping arena where Mistral had produced an excellent clear round last year, again in unfamiliar big competition surroundings, he knocked two fences down including one of the combination fences, whilst otherwise jumping extremely well.


And so to the cross country, and this proved to be a phase where he showed no signs of inexperience, and completed an excellent clear round with 10.4 time faults to end up in 43rd place. The setting combined with lack of an outing at Intermediate level since early June at Hexham, with a resulting lack of match practice probably both were contributing factors, but there was also much to be encouraged by.

Around and about..
Whilst NBR headed North to Scotland we stayed for the full event, and in addition to the enjoyable drinks, were able to see cracking competition across all classes, and we just happened to be in the right place on a number of occasions to see some of the key moments.
The corners in Advanced classes had been an early signal that this was to become a key element of the course, and jusging the line and pace down the hill proved extremely tricky. There were a number of run outs and falls, but the best paced ride through that I saw was Daisy Dick, and Spring Along who judged it beautifully as they headed to victory. We had seem Boondoggle complete an excellent dressage test earlier in the day which set them up for victory.

On the Sunday Morning there was an absolutely fantastic draw in the dressage which put a whole string of top horses in the first session.
We were able to watch Opposition Buzz (Nicola Wilson), Two Thyme (Ruth Edge), Flint Curtis (Ollie Townend), Apache Sauce (Mary King), Miners Frolic (Tina Cooke), and Westwood Poser (Polly Stockton), all before the first break. As it turned out there were four of the top six within that group.
The showjumping again gave us the opportunity to witness some great clear rounds including Headley Brittania, before she was withdrawn.

The Intermediate cross country provided a dramatic finish as Piggy French’s storming round, was just pipped by 0.1 by Polly Stockton with Andrew Nicolson just creeping into third by 0.1 with the very final ride of the day. By that stage I had invested in a riders cross country watch, and a part from the distracting beeping for others, it did give an indication of how close the competition was going to be.

The Open Championship was every bit as dramatic and there were two key areas where problems appeared. As ever the corners provided a challenge, as did some of the other fences on that loop, and the land Rover fence at the start of the Bowl. It of course went down to the wire though there were some key withdrawls. We were at the Land Rover combination when both William Fox-Pitt and Mary King had their refusals. We were also close to the start and the Bowl to see the key elements of Ruth Edge’s victorious round, in considerable pain, and she so nearly came unstuck at the water. Flint looked magnificent too in the later sections to come second, and there were so many others who could be mentioned. We had also spent a considerable time in athe area of the corners where the Open riders has a slightly different challenge to that of the advanced. Tragically we were on hand to see Cavort (Ginny Howe) break a shoulder as he fell at the second element. The close bond that the rider had with the horse was clearly evident, and was reflected in the touching eulogy on her website.

So Gatcombe provided lots of action and we hope that our horses can revisit next year.

Meanwhile virtually the full yard is due to make its way to Scone at the weekend and there are seven running (though the weather forecast doesn’t look especially favourable.

Event Owners Blog from Strathallan

Stonedge leads the charge to four Podiums, Prizes and Points, My Man Friday features, and Arctic Soul chills out..

A hectic couple of days competition at Strathallan which survived a heavy deluge on friday evening. I was fearing a rerun of the Auchinleck scenario as we headed north on Saturday morning admittedly three hours behind NBR. All proved to be well though, though the ground was soft in places, and competition was well underway by the time we rolled in.
The entries were weighted towards the Saturday and of the six competing, five were entered on the Saturday.
These included Stonedge in the Lycetts 5 year Old, Fiddlewood and Night Porter in The 6 year Old class, My Man Friday in a Novice, and Arctic Soul in a BE100 (after much debate)
Sunday’s Runner was Watts Burn in the Lycetts Four year Old.

Seasoned readers will note a couple of new names to the yard in time for this competition, in My Man Friday and Night Porter.
After Craig Anderson’s leg break at Eglington, NBR was approached by Marshall and Gail Milne to see whether Nicky could take the ride whilst Craig is out of action.
The horses appeared on Monday, and were competing on Saturday after some getting to know you sessions. Night Porter was previously in the yard as a youngster (when he seemed to be smaller). Craig is hobbling around on crutches although repairing well, looks likely to be out for the rest of the season.
The weather was kind, which helped, and there were only a couple of organizational moans.

The cross country map in the programme quite didn’t reflect the actual event especially in the BE100 course as one of the lower water crossings had been taken out, but that was understandable given the weather. The water crossing itself had become a run though, but I assume the sluice couldn’t be opened as it would have made the crossing too deep further down the course.
Viewing the cross country course isnt particularly easy but being strategically placed and with a bit of (rapid) movement one could see about eight to nine of the fences.
The dressage area had considerably more space to warm up in than Cumwhinton, which made preparation of Arctic Soul that much easier.

Showjumping logistics
There were some mutterings about the state of the loos on site even early in the day but the biggest issue appeared in the showjumping warm up area. The white board had again made its appearance but the organisers hadn’t set up a system to cope with multiple riders. The times for NBR had were already tight in the afternoon session with 8 minutes between two horses, but there were severe delays as riders were taken in appearance order not according to times. This became especially tricky when having to cope with dressage being last in the class, and the judge waiting , whilst still in the showjumping arena. A visit to the judge, who was most understanding, helped mollify the situation . Things got no better over in the showjumping for the remainder of Satuday, though I think Sunday proved easier (though we were not there).

I appreciate that many of these events are only held once a year, whilst the riders have considerably more experience, and often have found events where the system works well.
The Aston – Le- Walls system with an open slot for a multiple rider, after every four rounds again was suggested, and I hope to see the system adopted by more events as we go forward.
Of course it can only be a suggestion.
There was also a considerable delay at one stage on the cross country course as we were walking the course. It turned out that one of the jump judges when trying to ascend the step had slipped and managed to dislocate their knee.. ouch .. and we certainly hope for a rapid recovery .

To the event itself.
Dressage
We arrived just in time to see Stonedge do his dressage in a rather sticky arena in the Five year old class. His score of 37 was slightly disappointing though the class itself was actually scored quite highly. That placed him reasonably well in a class that was only going to have two qualifiers. Next up was Arctic Soul, and after the explosive display at Cumwhinton there was considerable doubt as to what genie might appear out of the bottle this time. This was a slightly more complicated test, being his first BE100, but he settled well beforehand, and produced a fabulous test of 28.5 to put him in the lead of the class of 32. That discipline at least seems to be something he is well suited to, if he can be settled.
Next up was My Man Friday and he produced an excellent Novice test of 28.6, his best of the season by some way, which set him up well for later. Fiddlewood had a 34.8 in the 6 uyear old class, just pipped by Night Porter, who came in with a 32.4. All of the tests look well balanced though a couple of scores were affected by rider slip ups. Even so all were well placed after this discipline..

Showjumping
This was undoubtedly a tough discipline in all classes looking at the scores. The slight undulations along with some clever fence positioning led to some fairly high scoring especially in the BE100 classes. Stonedge produced a very good clear round (the only one) in the 5 year old class, which was enough to put him into the lead.

Arctic Soul in his first BE100 had three down, but all were uprights and he flicked all off behind. Perhaps no surprise as an ex racer and certainly something that can be worked on. We were all pleased with his round and that he kept his cool beforehand.


All the others picked up four faults while jumping well. Fiddlewood actually jumped all the fences clear but managed to throw in a nap between the thrird and the fourth. That was enough to earn him four faults, though he didn’t incur any time faults despite his display.

The Cross Country
The Cross Country proved equally testing and the heavier going certainly didn’t permit a huge number horses to get inside the time, although one entrant did manage to get 10 reverse time penalties. Stonedge needed to go clear inside the time, and managed to do so to win the class while looking to have something in hand. Arctic Soul was never going for time as it was his first BE100 competition. He went comfortably clear and looking at the picture below obviously recognized the steeplechase fence. He incurred 16 time penalties, but hadn’t even raised a sweat ant the end. Again a huge amount had been learnt from this competition

My Man Friday and Night Porter, the new rides, went round clear as did Fiddlewood. Friday’s 4 time faults were enough to put him in Second, whilst Night Porters 7.6 put him in third.
Fiddlewood had 17.6 time faults to put him in 6th. The first two were clearly new rides and both performances were very encouraging
Watts Burn competed on the Sunday. Dressage of 38 was enough to make him the joint leader, and he slipped to second after one down in the showjumping, a position he held after the cross country.

Not a bad weekends work.
Four podium finishes out of six entries, with a First, two Seconds and a Third, and Fiddlewood also picked up a rosette.
Arctic Soul showed a much better temperament and his dressage is extremely encouraging. The other phases are also coming on well and Scone is next up for his learning phase.

Points
My Man Friday gets five points to double his score for the season (but only five in the yard) and Night Porter gets four (to take his to 12)
This increases the yards score to 48 for the season
Trig Point 17, Mistral 12, Freddy 10, My Man Friday 5, and Night Porter 4

Qualifications
Stonedge qualifies for the Five year old Finals, and we are still waiting to hear whether Night Porter makes the Six year Old class given the number of entries (which was quite low)

Next outing
Gatcombe – Brtitish Novice championships for Trig Point.
Hendersyde—My Man Friday and Night Porter in the Open novice

Following weekend
Scone – Seven look likely to run
Arctic Soul, Fiddlewood, Freddy Curtis, My Man Friday, Night Porter, Stonedge and Trig Point.

Event owners Blog From Cumwhinton

Arctic Soul sees Red, and Nicky's in Pink - and would do well as a Rodeo Star..

Not perhaps one of the most successful weekends but certainly one will have learnt a lot…(and thanks to the officials for making that possible)

Cumwhinton went ahead this year, after two years of being rained off.
There must have been fears of something similar with the heavy rain on Friday, and apparently there was still water coming off the fields on Saturday morning.
But the event was able to proceed according to plan and by the time we turned up late morning on Sunday the ground seemed absolutely fine, a credit to all involved.
For reasons that will become clear below, I dint have the normal more detailed examination of Show Jumping and Cross Country but both seemed to provide good challenges for the levels involved.

NBR had two runners this time.
Javelot D’Or had his first, and only, outing for NBR before heading off to Mary Grant to act as a schoolmaster.
An encouraging dressage of 30.5 (marred by an error of course) was followed by one down in the showjumping, a flick off behind at an easy fence.
He then went comfortably round the cross country showing lots of class. A good return to the circuit finishing 11th in his class, and lots of potential for Mary going forward.

This was Arctic Soul’s second outing and again we could say that we learnt a lot.
The normal form for NBR is to assess the performance after four events to see what we have.
Burgie was an undoubted success but the preparation for Cumwhinton was entirely different, (not being stabled on site, not being able to lunge near dressage etc)
We obviously cannot expect these at every event, but we learnt considerably more as the Dressage warm up area, with a considerable amount of horses being worked in because of a delay, with loudspeakers nearby, and the cross country within view, was considerable different to that at Burgie. It must have seemed like a return to racing.
He simply wasn’t as composed as at Burgie, and was very unsettled at the start of the warm up. After considerable effort he became calmer and it looked as so we were reasonably composed heading into the test itself. However half way down the centre line his composure broke, and he became crosser and crosser, with pirouettes, rearing and a spectacular jump (without much warning) that would have graced Badminton Cross Country. Quite wisely after 1 minute 20 seconds Nicky sensibly dismounted (when she had an opportunity) and it was clear form the video playback how extraordinarily well she did to stay in the saddle, without giving Spike any excuse to get crosser.


I havent quite mastered the Video to Stills transfer, and I was also slightly more concerned about where the dressage might go next. Fortunately the dismount came immediately after.

Somewhat shaken Nicky headed away, but I must thank the judge and stewards for their help in suggesting and permitting a retest at the close of the competition.
The judge categorically suggested that the horse shouldn’t be permitted to get away with such a display, and suggested to Nicky he be brought back in at the end of the class to redo the test outside of competition. This was agreed both by the stewards and The BE Technical adviser Iain Graham. This proved to be extremely helpful, as he hadn’t really managed to get half way down the centre line before losing his composure, and he was really quite cross by the time he exited the arena.
As it was only his second test and perhaps we had been lulled into a false sense of security as to what he might be able to do, it was important to see what he could do if he allowed us. We are very grateful to all involved for allowing the exercise to be undertaken.

Crash helmet donned Nicky made her way back firstly into the warm up area for a long period of lunging, and the was ridden as per normal preparation, and again with clearance from the stewards and judge Nicky slotted in just after the last competitor had exited, as though in a competition. Although wearing a competitors number it was clear that some of the other dress items may not be appearing on the competitors roster straight away, notably the bright pink fleece, and horse boots.

He looked balanced and composed (thankfully) and the judge was kind enough to score much of the test, and she would have for the rest of the competition.

There was no score given for the halt or the rider or the collective, but the 113 out of the 150 (75.3%) that were awarded was an encouraging improvement on what we had seen at Burgie. It was also invaluable to see how he was able to recover his composure and produce a very good test, after not being able to handle the situation earlier.
A very important extra piece of information that we might otherwise not have had. So thanks again to all who helped.

We now move to Auchinleck a plan to run all of Trig Point, Freddy Curtis and Arctic Soul, though we intend to switch him from the BE100 to BE90. This should give him more time to get used to the event and be worked in more. Hopefully my daughter the joint owner will be able to see slightly more of him in competition in the showjumping and cross country.

A word of congratulation too for Joanna Walton on completing here first BE Event. She only lives a mile down the road, and I was happy to see her flow round the cross country, though she did manage to incur 8 reverse time faults (not a s quick as some considerably more experienced riders clocked up). It is all a learning process and she coped with her first outing very well, and I look forward to seeing her progress further.

Event Owners Blog from Burgie - The Friendly Games.

Trig Point leads the charge..Arctic Soul opens his career.
Prizes Points and Ribbons..

So is this what eventing might have been like.
An amazing friendly atmosphere amidst a pretty intense competition which a number of challenges set by the course designers.
The event has been going in affiliated form for thirty two years, and the years rolled back as Abba was heard blaring across the lorry park on Saturday evening. The clock was also rolled back as Ian Stark returned to the podium in the two star.. but more on that later..

I had wanted to see the event for some time having heard a lot about it, and wasn’t disappointed. It may seem a long way to go but is certainly worth it.
Both horse and rider (as we shall see later) need to be in pretty good shape to tackle this course, and the use of the undulating terrain by the designers meant that a sensible approach on the cross country seemed sensible. The showjumping also proved a stern test and one glance at the course before we had to make and early departure suggested that the bar had been set quite high, with a tight time.

But that gets us well ahead of ourselves,
NBR had five horses at the event
Trig Point and Freddy Curtis were in the CCI*, Skye Rhode in the CIC*, Fiddlewood in the Novice, and Arctic Soul opening his eventing career in the BE90.
The support crew was also in attendance sporting the team colours..

We headed North on the Thursday but were too late to see Trig point’s dressage, and had to leave on Sunday morning, but quite a lot was fitted in the intervening period.
We were staying at a charming B&B run by Lucy Mackenzie , who made us feel totally at home, and this looks to be on the regular return visit calendar going forward, and it was comfortably within striking distance of the event. The evenings entertainments also seemed something for the riders to enjoy before the thrills and spills of the actual event..
We were able to get acclimatized on Thursday afternoon ahead of the very well attended owner/rider drinks which had to be held in the wonderful Burgie House

Entertainment a feature..
There were plenty of other events laid on during the other evenings but we chose to try to eat elsewhere.
Team NBR tried to utilize the local hostelry, and one of the event sponsors, on Friday evening, with some difficulty.
The Kimberley Arms has a restricted childrens license as we discovered applying to children under 14 after 8, which meant we had to eat outside in the covered smokers snug. (stopping others from smoking)
Then the table was given away before the rest arrived, and to cap it all the organizers party and team NBR discovered when they wanted to order desserts (around 20) the kitchens had closed 10 minutes earlier.
Sounds like a missed opportunity for the pub concerned and there was no connection with the well organized event.

Organisation
The increasing numbers of riders wearing the inflatable protection vests was thoughtfully catered for with a big sign after the finish saying “Don’t Forget to unplug yourself”
It is fast becoming a new sport to see how many riders one can spot leaping off without remembering to unplug themselves, and we got a big prize as Emily Lochore came unstuck with the family in attendance. Much mirth all round. On a more serious note it is very encouraging to see as many riders taking up the use of this device and I hope many more will.

The lay out of the event also appealed with the cross country course having fantastic viewing and one was able to see a high percentage of of the jumps without having to move too much
It was unfortunate that I had to leave before seeing much of the show-jumping in the main arena but the setting looked good, and was surrounded by a significant number of stalls,
The Burgie Shirts with all the horses entered for the event, again was a good idea, and certainly found their way into team NBR’s hands.
The dressage arena in front of the main house provided another good setting though the very earlier damp weather did mean that the ground chewed up a little under the trees on one side .
The other dressage and showjumping were held nearby and were easily reachable.
The scoring was also very prompt and was in fact, one of the fastest this year, with two computers handy as well to view the scores.

Parking
The owners were permitted in the lorry park and despite the mud the one way traffic system seemed to work pretty well, and there seemed to be plenty of places for the traffic to be directed to.

The range of events seemed very popular with raised numbers across the board, a big plus in the current environment.
I didn’t manage to see any of the tater events and was focusing mainly on the three days events looking at border riders.

Dressage
NBR had a pretty satisfactory outing in the dressage across all the classes.
Trig Point in his first three day test came in with a 50.5, which I was sad to have missed.
Freddy wasn’t on until the next day, but stunned us all with a 48.9, which left him in 15th and Jerry in 21st, and Sharon Lindop most amused.
I had intended to see the better of the two tests and so it turned out.
The others were all first timers at their various levels..
In the CIC* Skye Rhode did an impressive 54.1 leaving him 6th , Fiddlewood a 37.5 in his first Novice putting him 4th and Arctic Soul got a 32 in his first BE90 test putting him third.
He looked as though he had been doing dressage all his life (or at least a lot longer than a month). In the background there were bird scarers, the showjumping arena loudspeakers, and bells, and he even had swallows swooping around his feet. Very attractive movements too, even at an early stage, so very pleased. It was also an opportunity to see Ruth Edge doing a superb test on Applejack, and Emily Galbraith producing Timing’s best test of the season so far.

The events took a slightly different order after the dressage so we will take the CCI competitors first with the dramatic events on the cross-country, and follow up with the completion on Sunday,,

By Saturday the ground was perfect and Trig Point was one of the first to go. It became clear fairly early on that the time was doable, and there were also only three refusals in the first thirty horses.
The course still needed to be paced sensibly though and very encouragingly for future outings, Jerry had few worries and never really needed to stretch. Having taken been behind after the first minute with a very steady start, it was no problem to crank up the pace and he came home comfortably inside the time with plenty more in the tank.
Whether the early successes instilled a degree of misplaced confidence in the riders it isnt clear, but the casualties gradually mounted and out of the 73 starters 16 came in over the time with four eliminated and two retiring, including Zara who had been third, and the leader after dressage Pebbly Aga Khan. Freddy was one of the last and as ever he tried his heart out, but the sever hills were not ideal, (Houghton is much more his sort of track) and although he came inside the time there was a lack of petrol by the time he reached the top of the hill.
It was enough for both of them to move up the order slightly and Freddy finished the day in 12th with Jerry on 18th

Jerry seen cooling down after his exertions and Freddy heading for the water.

Where the one star had seemed a slightly friendly course the two star cross country clearly wasn’t and set a huge challenge for riders and horses.
The course was cleverly designed and if a horse lost concentration and failed to lock on to a jump it found itself shooting past.
The duck just after the water claimed Emily Galbraith and Zara, amongst others, and of the first 15 only five went clear. By the end four out of fifty nine had managed to get inside the tough optimum time, with 21 clear jumping, and everywhere one looked there seemed to be action. It is much easier to visualise the challenge having been there.

Sunday..
The weather on Sunday was good but we had to leave before each of the events reached their climax and one was left checking the blackberry for the latest scores
We had managed to see Arctic Soul do his dressage but the rest of the days action had yet to unfold.
Skye Rhode became very unsettled in the CIC* ahead of the show-jumping and it wasn’t possible to get him to concentrate. He managed to get 55 faults which was actually more than his dressage score and was withdrawn from the cross country. Ruth Edge who had already been in considerable pain after a fall at Luhmuhlen, had a further fall on Elite Opposition at the 3rd from the elad which was to have ramifications later.

CCI*
In the CCI* Trig Point was to jump out of order, given the closeness of the two in position terms and Colin Hexley’s course had set a stiff challenge.
After the first 25 horses (in reverse order ) not one had gone clear, and Trig Point was the first, producing by all reports a sensational round. He was watched by Peter Murphy, and Andrew Hamilton who both seemed pleased. Freddy adopted a more cavalier approach, wanting to prove he was in charge, though was concentrating a little more than at Hexham, and had one down. The time was also difficult to get which set a further challenge, but Ruth Edge was left to defend her position on Applejack without a fence in hand. It was clear after the first that she was in no position to continue and was forced to withdraw.
In the final shake-up Freddy remained 12th, his best one star results and got two points. Trig Point rose from 18th to finish 5th, a very creditable result in his first one star and gets prize money, and 6 points to add to his total.

Fiddlewood and Arctic Soul
Fiddlewood handled the Novice extremely well. After a good dressage he had knocked a couple of poles in the showjumping but completed an excellent clear cross country to finish ninth.
Arctic Soul had an excellent baptism to Eventing. After his good dressage he went claear showjumping and was guided round the cross country very successfully though with some time faults.
He finished eleventh but his whole performance was excellent considering his recent arrival in the yard.

It was great to see so may good performances acrsoo the classes and to see Ian Stark back on the podium after a stylish cross country round showing how the obstacles should be tackled.

Points for the yard
Trig Point 6 and Freddy 2

Total for the year to date
Trig Point 16, Mistral 12, Freddy 10
And Trig Point now moves to 42 points in total making him the yard leader..

The next event for the horses will be Aske, which I am sad to be missing as we are on holiday, with Trig Point doing a Novice regional final, and Fiddlewood, Freddy, and Sky Rhode all entered
Not sure what happens thereafter or when the blog will return but there will be no shortage of opportunities..

Event Owners Blog from Hexham

Trig Point joins Fiddlewood on the Podium.
Points, Ribbons and prizes..

NBR had six runners over two days at Hexham though I was only in attendance for the major part of the Saturday.
We had had a busy week with the well attended yard opening on Thursday evening encompassing a trot up followed by a display by Trig Point in the arena.
We were extremely lucky with the weather as the photos show, and the whole evening was extremely enjoyable.

Hexham
I avoided the heavy rain which affected the very start of the event, but by mid morning it had dried, and unlike other events which fell victim to the weather this survived.
The runners on Saturday were Bally Cassidy (on what was to be his last run for NBR) and Skye Rhode in the Novice, Freddy Curtis and Trig Point in the Intermediate, and on Sunday Fiddlewood (though dressage late Saturday) and Stonedge in the BE100
I had fears about the ground given how dry it was, but need not have worried, as the going seemed excellent.
There seemed a reasonable number of trade stands to last year, and attendance seemed about the same.
The scores being published were simply painfully slow, but the major operational issues appeared in the showjumping, and this is one of the first times this season I have felt the need to express some concern.

Showjumping – The issues
Before getting into the results I do have to comment on the lack of structure within the showjumping organization which allowed the warm up area to degenerate into a virtual scrum.
The times issued seemed to have no relevance, and horses were being taken in order of appearance, which might have been fine for a series of single riders, but soon completely fell down when multiple riders were appearing have done other disciplines and were trying to adhere to the timetable given to them. Other events seem to cope with this fairly well, but clearly not here, and the stewards were called in, to try and unravel the situation. I do feel sympathy for the volunteers attempting to work an unworkable system, but less for the local stewards who seemed unable to take on constructive suggestions where offered (including some made at the start of the day when it was clear from early on what was going to happen). One excuse for not changing it seemed to be that “eventing is for amateurs and everyone must take their turn”. Not quite sure about that. Can one suggest (and I know the BE Regional Stewards do make suggestions on a regular basis) the adoption of best in class suggestions from various events, as to what works effectively at other events and makes things easier to manage. Riders (and owners) attend heaps of events each year and should have a pretty good idea of initiatives that work well, and spot things that don’t.
Many events are only run once or twice a year, and in many cases don’t have the opportunity to take on board some of the good ideas being used elsewhere.
In the showjumping the Aston-Le-Walls system seemed to get very good airtime, (one event that I have missed so far) where riders are taken in blocks of four as they arrive and then a slot is left for a multiple rider, followed by another block of four and then a multiple and so on. That might then alleviate some of the extremes that seemed to happen at this event.
I also must thank the Stewards involved in both the cross country and dressage, who were very understanding as the situation started to develop. Fortunately I was able to go to both areas well ahead of the scheduled timings to explain that the showjumping was going to have a knock on effect, and we might need some flexibility. In the end Nicky had to spend 50 minutes at the show jumping with one horse and actually was only allowed to ride 35 minutes after her scheduled slot on Trig Point. Doesn’t seem quite right somehow.

The Competition
So far this season dressage has perhaps been the lagging discipline, certainly not helped by the lack of arena until mid march.
It had been pointed out in previous blogs that it might take a couple of months to get up to full speed, both in the showjumping and the dressage.
Showjumping has actually proved very good up to now, but on this occasion all the horses seemed to pull out the stops in the dressage arena.
Showjumping on the whole was trickier with distractions getting the better of some of the horses, but all seemed to perform very well cross country, and Trig Point’s round was very impressive to watch.

BE100Fiddlewood and Stonedge were the competitors in this class.
I had the opportunity to see the new BE100 test in action for the first time and was interested to see how complex and long it seemed to be compared with the previous version.
It didn’t seem to hold any qualms for Fiddlewood who did an excellent test and was awarded a 26 to go into the Sunday part of the competition in joint first.
He then proceeded to do a double clear, winning his section by 5.2 marks. Two outings this year and two wins and the tenth event in a row he has been in the top six
He is now being aimed for the Novice at Burgie so an upgrade in class.
Stonedge also had a good dressage of 27 but was amongst a number of low scorers. He rolled a pole in the showjumping and had 0.8 of a time fault to come in tenth.
He is only five and caught the eye again. He heads off to Bramham Young Event Horse 5 year old on Friday, with Watts Burn doing the 4yo.

Novices.
In the Novice class Bally and Skye Rhode both came in under 40 and with a 35.8 this was Bally’s best dressage since he arrived in the yard.
He rolled a couple showjumping but with a reasonably sprightly Cross Country did enough to get in the Ribbons in 10th Place. He has now been sold by the owner Sharon Lindop and left the event with Matthew Wright. We will be watching his career with interest.
Skye Rhode looked very unsettled entering the showjumping and had three down and was very distracted. Despite a reasonable cross country he finished outside the placings. He now heads for a CIC1* at Burgie

Intermediates
Almost an inversion of the norm for Freddy who seemed remarkably calm for the Dressage and his 35.8 putting him in fourth. However he seemed very distracted in the showjumping not concentrating either in the warm up or going into the ring. (More time would have been much better, but he came right at the end of the class and there still was cross country to do on both). He had three fences down in the first six and how he cleared the rest I am not sure, but improved towards the end. We know what he can do so this was a bit frustrating and actually out of character this year. He went impressively round the cross country picking up just over 10 time faults putting him in 10th place and getting a ribbon.
Pride of place on this occasion goes to Trig Point who, in a similar pattern to last year, hit a different gear as he entered June. The indications had been there at Floors, and we moved forward a stage here.
His dressage of 30 put him at the business end of the competition, and he finally seems to be conquering test 117. Apart from one minor glitch this was a lovely test.

In the showjumping he was unlucky to roll a pole at the treble (again one down at a combination).
This then left the cross country where he was clearly in the mix. He produced a superb cross country round coming in with only two time faults, certainly his best outing at this level and a good preparation for his first three day event. He just missed out on victory by 0.5 of a mark (2 seconds) and came in an impressive third. This combination of scores (70% dressage, one down showjumping, and in the top three) is one of the two qualifications he needs automatically to stay on the Pathway, with the other being achieved within a six month period. The potential is clearly there and seeing him blaze a trail flowing impressively was well worth seeing. He still is only seven.
Next outing for both Freddy and Trig Point is at the CIC1* at Burgie. This will be Freddy’s first three day since the 2* at Necarne and it will be interesting to see how he copes with the hilly course. Burgie will be a first time for me too.

Summary
Six entries led to Five rosettes.
Two visits to the podium, for Fiddlewood and Trig Point, and some prize money.

Points
Freddy had been closing in, but the giant awakens and Trig Point get 8 points for finishing third.
He moves onto 10 for this year and brings the yard total to 30. Mistral 12, Trig Point 10 and Freddy Curtis 8.
Trig Points overall total moves to 36.

Next up
Nicky heads off to Bramham Young event horse followed by the trip the week after to Burgie, when we will be following on.
There may even be an outing for Arctic Soul (Spike) for a bit of training and the experience.

Max hits the Podium, Trig Point gets a Ribbon and more points for Freddy, More horses arrive..

Before getting to our local event at Floors, a bit of tidying up from Aston-Le Walls..
Three horses went down to compete, with Freddy in the Intermediate, and Bally Cassidy and Sky Rhode in the Novice.
Sky Rhode came 16th, and Bally 28th, but Freddy produced an impressive Double Clear to come 5th and take home 4 points. Made the yard points total 20, with Mistral 12, Freddy 6 and Trig Point 2..
Freddy Curtis was also upgraded to a Grade 2, the first upgrade of the season.

Floors Castle
Its all about Caroline’s Butt
The local event for us with roughly a 30 minute drive to cope with
NBR had agreed to sponsor fences in all classes (the NBR Eventing Seat in the Novice) which allowed the commentators Tim Finch, Andrew Spalding and James Oakden some latitude, though the “jumping Caroline Powell’s Butt” seemed to give the greatest opportunity.

The Programme
Minor glitch within the programme as the advert for NBR Eventing was excluded, which did cause a bit of a stir.
The organizer too was rather perturbed when he discovered, and was able to extract the final proof of the programme where our advert was on page six.
Somehow this had managed to be replaced by an advert for rooster potatoes. My focus has now shifted to the printers Meigle, and this isn’t the first time they can be criticised.
To his credit Jamie was suitably apologetic and we did find ourselves with extra lunch tickets, and the advert on the Notice Board. The final proof sheet certainly helped to apportion blame.
Otherwise the setting remains excellent with a normal number of trade stands and the view from the bank allows excellent viewing of both dressage and more importantly cross country where a large percentage of the course can be seen. Still sense a lot more could and should be done with this event though the point about the ground being too hard in August because of its gravel base seems a valid one.

We attended on both days
Weather lovely on Sunday, but a couple of hours of driving rain on Saturday afternoon certainly made the going a little slippy.

Runners
Saturday - Stonedge – BE100, Bally Cassidy – Novice
Sunday – Sky Rhode – Novice, Trig Point- Novice Regional Final, Freddy Curtis- Intermediate
Sharon Lindop also came down to see Bally compete, and there were a steady stream of local visitors to the lorry.
Stonedge takes pride of place, with a better show-jumping round to match a good dressage, and a very impressive clear round inside the time.
As a result he achieved his best BE 100 result with a second place, just behind Emily Galbraith. The Parkyn’s came to see him at Scone, and this show jumping display was the bit that was missing there. A good result.

Bally was less cooperative though I had been expecting a lot worse in the dressage, and thought his 41 was a little harsh.
He had two fences down showjumping, both uprights (similar to Stonedge at Scone..lack of concentration), but clearly showed his scope doing the cross country, where although he incurred 15.2 time faults he had plenty more in the tank and never looked in any difficulty. There were only 15 clear out of 36 runners in his particular Novice class on the Saturday evening. Bally is pictured at the Trakener which caused a number of problems.

Sunday
The Novices on the Sunday clearly paid some attention as the attrition rate was less, but it was also drier.
Sky Rhode was first up, and again I thought the marking was a trifle harsh as he came in with 40.5 in the dressage, without looking as though he had done anything much wrong.
He was unlucky to roll one pole in the showjumping and came home with 7.6 time faults to finish 18th in a tight field.

Trig Point having had four weeks off, with a lack of an ideal warm up, was entered in the Novice Regional Final, the first of two bites at it, with the second option being Aske.
There were only sixteen starters, but some serious competition for the four places. Trig Point’s dressage was much better than his previous attempts and he didn’t put in the flying changes.
Unfortunately he spooked in his final approach to halt, which marred what otherwise was a much better test though may not have felt so at the time. His 30.9 even after a 4 for the last part, showed a welcome return towards the right form. There were five score under 30 (two very good ones from Ruth Edge), and a clear was probably going to be needed in the showjumping. He jumped very well but clipped the first element of the treble which ended up making the difference between fourth and eighth. The cross country round , as one would have expected form this calibre of field, had many inside the time, and there wasn’t the scope to catch up. As one can see below he wasn’t hanging around as he neared the finish. Nevertheless this is beginning to look a repeat of last season where he took four events to settle after the winter, and then really clicked into action in June. We also haven’t had an arena till mid march and I think that still has a some bearing, though is working its way out of the system. Definitely signs of life from the big man.
Next stop Hexham, then his first one star at Burgie, with the NRF at Aske to follow (when I will be on holiday).

Freddy Curtis was the last up in the Intermediate, and this wasn’t one of his best dressage tests. The wind and the flowers had unsettled him, and despite best efforts it was difficult to get him back. His 38.6 seemed slightly generous and there were no polos for him on his return to the lorry. But Freddy is a trier (maybe that was the case for dressage) and he produced an unbelievable show jumping round to go clear without ever looking like he would hit anything at all. He was one of 10 clears in a field of 32 and his third clear out of the last four outings.
In the cross country he also jumped well to come home with 5.6 time faults, similar to that at Aston and a level that Nicky is working to. Again he is pictured nearing the finish.


He ended in 14th, and still claims a couple of points to boost his total to 25. He is up for sale as this seems the right level for him, from the experience we have had so far.. It just remains to see whether we can translate his excellent flatwork at home into the dressage arena in competition day.

Points
So the yard total reaches 22 with Freddy now up to 8 for the year, Mistral remaining on 12 and Trig Point 2.
Next events will be Hexham, followed by Burgie, and the Young Event Horse starts to loom.

New Arrivals
The yard has seen a new arrival sourced via the Parkyn’s again.
An interesting six year old out of Luso, Artic Soul promises a fascinating 18 months of education as he is an ex racehorse.
After three days traveling he didn’t look his best on arrival, but work is already underway. First outing might well be an intro at Strathallen
As Iona will be part owner she has now joined the ranks of BE Members and may prove to be Nicky’s most demanding owner yet.
Fiddlewood, owned by Mary Grant, has come back to the yard too for some more work, and it boosts the total in the yard technically to 12, with 10/11 stables
There has been a bit of jiggling and one or two of the horses are on the for sale list so the numbers look set to reduce again quite quickly. Nevertheless its great to see the yard in full use.