Onward, Upward

What an exciting weekend at Burghley! I must say after watching the course walk preview with Alice Fox-Pitt and Mark Phillips a few weeks ago I was slightly concerned about some of the horse and rider combinations attempting to tackle the course. I was pleasantly surprised to see so many bold horses and riders taking on what William Fox-Pitt said was one of the biggest Burghley’s in a long time.

William Fox-Pitt and Parklane Hawk

The amazing tall guy did indeed secure the title for a record 6th Burghley on one of the most amazing event horses, Parklane Hawk (Parker). For me it is very fulfilling to have seen this very special horse progress from when it first arrived from New Zealand in the winter of 2009/2010. When William started riding Parker there was lots to live up too, as the horse had won his first three star in New Zealand before shipping over.
His initial record wasn’t stellar when he first started competing in England with a few run-outs and rails, but William worked his magic and formed a strong partnership with him by the end of last year to win Blenheim and now Burghley. Watching Parker gallop across country is something very special to watch and I recommend all of you going to watch his round on http://burghley.tv/ You can also see almost everyone’s Burghley rounds including Sinead Halpin, a good friend of mine, who had a stellar week!

Rule number one don’t make plans with horses. Rule number two, definitely don’t make plans with chestnut mares. Case in point . . . my little chestnut mare realized a week before Hartpury three day this past weekend that she wasn’t overly excited to go run around a two star. The best way out of it would be to develop a quick abscess in her foot. And, even after we managed to get the abscess out, she had too much bruising to trot up sound on the hard ground. The second horse that I was planning on taking to Hartpury as a catch ride also managed to develop an abscess and couldn’t go either! Clearly someone didn’t want me to go to Hartpury!

Question: when is it acceptable/worth it to push a horse to get to a three day when their soundness is in question? Is it ever acceptable? What if you know what is causing their discomfort, like bruising, and you just want to keep them happy enough to get through the weekend? I’ve never had to think about this question before now. Although this weekend was an easy answer because what was the point in making my lovely mare do a bad dressage test because she hasn’t been schooled in a week; a slow cross-country because her fitness was in question; and possibly have a rail because she hasn’t jumped in a week and a half? All for what, a two star that neither of us need as a qualifying run? Maybe if the event was somewhere warm and I could escape the English weather I might have thought about going! But seriously, to go down the rode to run a CCI2* that neither my horse nor I need as a qualifying run? No, not for me. But I find it interesting to think about how many riders have gone into a three day knowing that their horse may not be a hundred percent but decided to carry on because it was an important competition. For example, maybe in a team situation, when your score is vital to the team’s success, you would do everything you could to get your horse through the trot up and ask questions later? I find it difficult to think about forcing a horse to compete when its condition is in question but it does seem to occur in the sport of eventing.

It’s embarrassing to admit, but my bags from the test event are still on the floor of my bedroom, waiting to be unpacked! Since I got home it has been non-stop.  I got home Wednesday night and when I arrived at the yard Thursday morning everyone had left to go to Barbury International, leaving a list of around 10-12 horses to ride.  I can’t complain though because I love it!  Getting paid to ride nice horses everyday will always be a privilege.

Anyways, back to the test event.  I just want to say that I am so proud of my little mare’s performance.  The results don’t do her justice!  She did a lovely dressage test with only a few green mistakes but unfortunately she had her tongue sticking out the entire time and therefore received quite a harsh mark.  The cross country was a breeze except coming down to the water where tons of little kids and dogs came running up to the string screaming “horsey!”  She got a bit distracted and had a hesitation at the drop in and got 20 penalties.  (Because tickets to the test event were scarce, the majority of the fans were completely non-horsey people who lived local to Greenwich Park. They were invited to attend the event as a sort of peace treaty to try to get the local community to be more supportive.)  Another reason my mare may have hesitated at the water could have been do to the fact that she fell in the water just the weekend before the test event!  At Salperton Horse Trials she hung a leg at the fence in the water and fell properly. We were both okay but it was definitely not ideal as a last run.  And, to make matters worse, or at least comical, the fence where Bree had her fall at Salperton, was the exact fence that they put in the water at the test event!  They literally moved the thing from Salperton to the water at Greenwich!  While walking the course with Captain Mark Phillips and the rest of the team USA gang, I casually explained to my good friend Sinead Halpin the situation and then asked if it was appropriate to make a joke about it!  She laughed and said it was not appropriate so no joke was made to the Captain.  Luckily Bree picked up her feet this time so now we can all laugh about it.  Phew!  Finally, Bree jumped well in the show jumping and we just had one down, which was my fault.

Some of the signs from the not-so-happy Greenwich protesters outside the park entrance.

It was an amazing experience to be apart of the team at the test event and I feel that it was very educational for both Bree and me.  For the first time since Bree landed in January, I felt like we were on the same page, which is what’s most important for us right now.  I’d like to say a big thank you to my wonder groom and dear friend Alex Van Tuyll and all the new friends that I met that were supportive and fun to spend the week with at Greenwich.  Oh and Toddy of course for saving me from almost elimination in the cross country warm-up when he realized that I had the wrong spurs on and lent me his!

Goofing off and probably embarrassing Princess Bree during grazing time.

It wasn’t perfect but it was definitely a great experience for Bree and I.  Her are some photos with lots of comments to follow!

Life across the pond has been complete madness!  Today went something like this:  Rode my young horse, jumped two young horses for Laura Collett, took one of Laura’s to the gallops, came back and took Bree to the gallops, jumped yet another young one for Laura and then, oh wait, can’t forget about getting Harvey to the pool for his swimming workout!  It’s all getting a bit crazy but don’t worry too much, we have Laura’s mom forcing tea down our throats at least every half an hour.  Too be honest, I’m surprised we don’t spend the entire day in the loo with all of the tea that we drink!  I couldn’t be happier.  The horses are on top form, the Collets have been amazing to work with and I am at my best when working long days with nice horses and that’s exactly what I’m doing.

Harvey, my advance horse, relaxing in the spa. He goes in the spa everyday except on days when he has to do his swimming workouts!

Thank goodness the worm has turned!  This past week has brought some serious changes. After a few days of feeling sad about my perfect little advanced horse being injured I quickly realized that I now had to figure out how I was going to pay for his vet bills.  I also had to come to grips with the fact that my little operation of three horses competing was not paying for itself.   With these two motivating factors I did what I thought was the only option . . . call everyone I know asking for riding work!  Luckily my prayers were answered and my friend Laura Collet offered me a job producing her young horses.  And, even better, she has now said I can move my horses to her amazing yard just up the road so that all of the horses I need to ride will all be in one place . . . at one of the best facilities in England, complete with a massive indoor and a spa for Harvey!

Like I said in my previous post: “when it rains it pours!”  Luckily for me, a little rain can be a good thing.  With a new job, nice horses to ride, and Harvey starting to heal I felt like things were really looking up.  Little did I know, this happy story was about to get even better!  On Friday night I got a late night call from Sara Ike, managing director of the USEF, to let me know that I have been selected to ride in the Olympic Test Event.  I really tried to play it cool and pretend like I wasn’t completely surprised but I don’t think I did a very good job!  She told me that they had reserved the hotel rooms and I said “for who?”  At which point Sara had to say . . . “um for you!”  Ya so I didn’t play it that cool but I was very excited!

With the Olympic Test event only a few short weeks away there isn’t a moment to lose!

In horses you know you need to be careful when everything seems to be going quite well.  With all three of my horses going well, great house, great boyfriend, great weather, things were bound to have a turn for the worse.   I had my two top horses, Bree and Harvey, entered at Hambleden in the open intermediate a few weekends ago.  Harvey was a little machine with an amazing 27 in the dressage and no jump penalties in the show jumping or the cross country.  If you knew Harvey personally, you would understand that achieving a 27 in the dressage is verging on miracle status.  I had people coming up to me the rest of the day and sending me messages . . . “How did you get Harvey to start playing the game on the flat?!”  I am not entirely sure why my little superstar advance horse has decided at the young age of 15 to embrace dressage, but I am not about to start asking questions!  With Harvey on great form and a text message from William Fox-Pitt saying “Go Harvey!” I was already beginning to finalize my last big gallops before Bramham CCI 3*.  This elated feeling soon left me when poor Harvey didn’t trot up sound and the vet got out the ultrasound machine.  To make a sad story at least a bit short, Harvey and I will not be able to compete at Bramham in a few weeks and my days are now resigned to hand grazing, icing, and rolling bandages.  As the Brits say: “I’m gutted!”

Poor Harvey is all clipped and ready for a party!

As if things weren’t bad enough, my car broke down and I was forced to drive Roberta, my trustee lorry, back and forth from the yard for the better half of a week.  Thank goodness for Roberta and my good friends Katherine and Giovanni for managing to get me out to the yard everyday!

Getting back to Miss Bree . . . while Harvey was class at Hambleden, she was not on form! Her Australian, beauty- queen self quickly decided that she hated the sticky ground, which in her mind gave her permission to stop at the last fence in the show jumping!  So, to tally up the week: I had an injured Harvey, a broken car, and a sassy mare on my hands. Yet there is a little silver lining brought graciously by the Badminton winner Mark Todd.  When I explained to him about Bree’s sudden disobedience he told me to bring her over for a lesson to “sort her out.”  In just a quick assessment, he explained that I needed to stop looking so pretty and to put his spurs on!  Good old Toddy!  His theory worked and she did a solid double clear the very next day in another intermediate.  I’m hoping this week will be a bit of a turnaround . . . I will keep you posted!

After a fairly anticlimactic result for the Americans and the Canadians at Badminton, I am so excited for some of the horse and rider combinations from Rolex last weekend.  Most notably for me are the performances from Rebecca Howard (CAN) and Sinead Halpin (USA).  Both Rebecca and Sinead have been good friends and mentors of mine for almost ten years and you couldn’t meet two riders that work harder or enjoy their horses more.

I started working for Rebecca and Sinead when I was 17 years old in Middleburg, Virginia when they were partners in running Dunlavin Eventing.  Immediately, I was captivated by their riding ability, fun loving nature, and professional drive.  They worked hard, played hard, and kept their chins up no matter what the setback.  And, even though I was some random kid from California with very little eventing experience, they never once looked down on me or made me feel excluded.  Not only did they give me a job and a place to live, they supported me through thick and thin.  Leading by example, they taught me that when things get tough, you just work harder.

Those that know Sinead and Rebecca will agree with me when I say that no one deserves this success more.  I am so proud of them and their continued dedication to becoming the best riders and horsemen that they can be.  Their journeys’ to success in this heartbreaking sport are nothing short than an inspiration to me.  It just proves that with very hard work and devotion to your dreams, you can make your way to the top.

Sinead on the victory gallop- please note the tall guy in the background. He came in fourth (behind Sinead)!

Rebecca with Rupert- looking gorgeous!

All I can do is apologize for my extreme tardiness as it is now Sunday . . . almost a week after the prize giving at Badminton! It was over Monday afternoon, I then had an event on a young one Wednesday, lessons Friday afternoon and then a flight out Saturday. I am actually writing from sunny California! After having a good run at the CIC *** at Burnham Market a few weeks ago, I decided it was now or never if I wanted to go check up on my family before the season gets even more hectic!

Badminton was nothing short than a dream come true for die-hard Mark Todd fans! (To be honest, I am becoming one of them!)

At the start of cross country day, with good old Andrew Nicholson having an immaculate clear round inside the time, it was starting to look like Badminton would end up to be a dressage competition. Although after about the first five runs, problems started to occur all over the course, with many rider and horse combinations having issues at the sunken road. Possibly the most significant dilemma was how tired the horses were getting by the end of the course, localized around the quarry. This is where Oli’s horse fell and even Mark’s horse “Ben” (“Landvision) left both hind legs, only barely dragging them over the log with immense difficulty. These two horses were probably at similar levels of exhaustion but, quite frankly, one kept jumping and the other didn’t. After “Ben” barely got over the log going into the quarry, some people may have pulled up but not Toddy. He must have known that “Ben” would have pulled out all the stops to get over the last few fences to finish, which he did. This kind of trust coupled with Mark’s bravery is to me what eventing is all about.

After a clear show jumping round with some more flawless riding by Mark, we had our 2011 Badminton winner! We had a big party for him when he got back to yard, which, under other circumstances may have evolved into a bit of a crazy night, but poor Toddy had to catch a plane at 6am to get over to see you guys at Rolex!

Harvey and I at the first of two open corners on the CIC 3* course at Burnham Market. I'm sorry but look how sweet his expression is!

This past weekend was quite an important weekend for me. I’m not actually sure if I mentioned this in an earlier blog but I had a bad fall at the end of last year in the three star up at Blair Castle in Scotland. Long story short my amazing little Harvey and I were three fences from home after having a great run and we ended up crashing through a ditch and palisade. To this day I have no idea what happened. Some people say that Harvey didn’t see the ditch because it was going from light to dark out of the woods and the light was in his eyes. Some say that he didn’t see the ditch and tried to put another stride down, only at the last minute to realize that the ditch was there and hurl himself through the fence to get to the other side. Others say he misgauged it and just jumped through it. William and Alice seem to think that he didn’t see the ditch and tried to put another stride down . . . I would think they would be right because Alice saw it. Anyways, all I remember is coming up to it; seeing that his ears were onto the fence and that I was at a good speed and on a good distance. Then the jump came along and my little Harvey just jumped through it. We are not talking he left a leg and flipped, we are talking he did not jump the fence and smashed through it. Maybe this happens to some horse but not to Harvey. Harvey is not the kind of horse that makes mistakes. If you place him wrong at the fence and he doesn’t think he will make it, he is not stupid, he is not going to try to jump it! At the time I really wanted to be able to say that I came up to the fence, didn’t see a distance and royally missed him. Things are much less complicated when it is blatantly the rider’s fault. I still don’t understand what happened but I tell myself that if I had forced Harvey to look at the ditch and be a bit more onto it that he wouldn’t have jumped through it. It makes me feel better to think that there is more that I could do but at the end of the day we all make mistakes and you just have to get over it and move on. Thank God Harvey came out of it without a scratch! I ended up at the hospital with a shattered collarbone and went into surgery to get a nice plate and some screws but all in all I was very lucky as well. If you fancy seeing the fall I’m sure it’s still up on U-Tube . . . at least I still have people coming up to me saying: “Holy shit I saw your fall!”

Starting off on your own after having a bad fall as your last run was not ideal but I am lucky that I have a great string of horses and to be honest I haven’t thought about it much until after this weekend.

Right, so this weekend Harvey and I had our second attempt at completing a CIC 3* and I am thrilled to report that he was immaculate!!! I know that I say this quite a bit, but I am telling you, Harvey might be one of the coolest horses to ride on cross-country. He nips around the course like a fiery little pony! He is straight, honest, and loves his job. I absolutely adore him and I’m so proud of us for having a great run and he ended up finishing 14th . . . not bad at all for being over here! His next big run will be Bramham CCI 3* in June, which is arguably the toughest three star around. Go Harvey go!!