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We are currently in Spain, have been driving for 7 hours and nearly at Valladolid, only another 8 hours driving until we get to our stabling in Southern France! We walked them at 3.30 am this morning before going on the lorry and will again in an hour.
We had a fantastic day yesterday; they all trotted well and look great after their XC exuberance! Sadly the weather was horrendous first thing and flooded everywhere. However the show jumping ring held up amazingly, warm up wasn’t quite so good but still ok. The courses were better than last week in that they were bigger so would suit mine more.
Amber jumped a beautiful clear round which I was delighted with as finished 5th. Harry jumped superbly too, he is becoming quite a champion, he was clear too and won. Very proud of them both as are their owners, John Huntridge (Amber) and David and Sue Howard (Harry) and not forgetting my parents… A great result and bodes well for the year. Amber will now be aimed at Saumur or Bramham and Harry does his first advanced at Burnham Market, exciting times!!
Bertie was rather fresh still! He jumped very well but had 1 down, which was unlucky as he hardly touched it. He still moved up to 15th though, winning some money and points. He has really grown up this week and definitely ready for his intermediates soon. He is also qualified for Le Lion D’angers so will apply for that..
Sophie was impressed at how much the horses have come on this winter which is great to know as she’s not seen them for four months. Everything is heading in the right direction!!
I have had a great time, I thoroughly recommend Barroca to all, good fun, great weather mostly and the drive really isn’t that bad. I can’t imagine why I wouldn’t go back next year, I’ve Denise and Sophie already booked in! They too enjoyed it and I can’t thank Denise enough, she has been superb!!
I still am carrying this revolting cold but getting bit better, hope it is gone by the time I’m fully back to work Wednesday morning!!
I am currently looking for staff, temporary and permanent. Must be experienced and able to ride to a reasonable standard. Fantastic opportunity available!! Please contact me asap… info@sharonhunteventing.com
After a couple of days off for both myself and the horses we are all now back in full swing competition mode. Sadly someone brought a horrid germ with them and I have finally caught it! This is an incredibly sore throat, sickness and flu type symptoms. Nice!!
I did however manage to have a good night Monday which was carnival night here. I wish I had my camera as the night was ‘disguise’, well I had no idea who was who, except Bruno Bouvier who was dressed up in a blond wig and dress, he was fairly distinctive!! The night ended with a lot of late night dancing…
The cold has slightly dampened my spirits but was lovely to see Sophie again who has come out to help us. As we have three horses in the CCI’s we need extra help and she is the perfect person! Denise has been/ is superb but she can only be in one place at one time…
The 2* dressage was yesterday, Amber did a very nice test, better than last week and scored 52.5 which was ok, I had hoped for under 50 but the judges are a little stingy.. Harry did a lovely test and the judges agreed, he was in the lead with 46.6, the only horse under 50 and Amber in 10th place.
Bertie improved no end from last week, much more relaxed and did some lovely work. The first counter canter was the only mistake, I couldn’t keep I’m straight and he broke but the 2nd he managed the whole half circle, I was delighted with him! He scored 55.3 which left me in 24th place out of about 80.
I have just gone XC on Bertie, he was superb! Rather keen in places and needs bigger fences to back him off but jumped superbly. He was excellent into the waters (three!) And finished about 12 seconds inside the time. Hopefully we shall move up a few places!
Continued….
Well now I’m writing this all is great!! Bert is now 16th, and Amber 8th and Harry in the lead still!
Amber was superb xc but quite strong, especially over the 2nd part of the course which was twisty and smaller than the first half. She had 6 time faults so I was pleased as I still need more breaks!
Harry was brilliant, clear inside the time so still holds his lead, I have 4 penalties in hand so hope that I won’t need it but nice to have some breathing room!
All trotted well tonight so here’s hoping!!
Saturday here was XC day as usual. I was really excited to be going XC again, it makes such a difference having sunshine and warm weather to inspire you, rather than sometimes feeling that March is way too early to start eventing, usually horribly cold and/ or raining with deep going. Not my idea of a favourite day out eventing!
So far here has been very kind to us. There was a little rain overnight Friday to soften the ground which rode quite well.
Amber was first of mine in the 2*, she was very keen! Very strong the first few fences but settled by about fence 9. The 2nd half of the course she was much easier to ride and she was fantastic. There was a reasonably large log into water which she ballooned! Feels good for next week.
Harry was later on, he too was very keen! Likewise took a few fences to settle but went really well. I took them both a little steadier as was their first run and really only a warm up for next week. He finished really well, felt like he had hardly done anything at all so bodes well for next week’s CCI.
Bertie 
was in the 1*, the course wasn’t very big and he could do with a bit more of a challenge but was superb. Especially into the water where he too ballooned, which is very encouraging after our fall a few weeks ago as this doesn’t seem to have affected him thank goodness! I went quite positively but had 4 time faults, but delighted with how they all went. You are never too sure how they will come out from year to year but this year they seem great.
They all trotted well and SJ too. Amber jumped a lovely clear; Harry was a little over bold at 1 and had it down in front. Jumped really nice rounds though, very encouraging… Bertie also jumped well, was rather keen still! We had 1 down, I think they all needed slightly bigger fences to back them off.
Harry finished 18th with at least ten ahead of him 3 or 4* horses, Amber was 28th and Bert 28th. The placings were very close, nothing between them.
We have a couple of days off now waiting for the CCI’s this week. This will be spent schooling and working on parts of the tests that need improving.
Also time is spent relaxing, we went to the most amazing place last night which served King prawns with bacon that had been barbecued and steak you cooked yourself on a hot plate. Unbelievably good!!
Have time for a bit of shopping today and tomorrow as there is a massive Freeport here! I just hope the weather stays as good!
I’ve now been in Portugal for five days; everyday has been sunny and warm, heaven! I hear the weather is very cold back home and am not sorry I’ve missed that!
The horses travelled really well and have been very fresh since arriving! The place is lovely, great hacking, good working in areas for dressage and jumps to practise over…
It is pretty laid back here too, with a few days off before we started it’s great to work the horses a couple of times a day to help them relax. It’s their first time out and are 3 day fit so need quite a bit of ‘relaxation’.
Amber performed her dressage test yesterday, she probably did her best test so far, no mistakes and very settled so was disappointed to get a 55, one judge had me 10% lower than another so this influenced her mark greatly. Harry did a good test with 1 small mistake, changed in his counter canter but scored 50 which is about 16th. Not too bad for the first ones, there are also 4* horses in their section so highly competitive!
Bertie tried his hardest in the 1* but finds the counter canter circle too hard still! The rest of his test was very promising, his dressage needs more time but has huge potential.
Walking the courses they are lovely first runs, not too big but enough questions, the ground is slightly firm in places but the forecast is showers so this could sort that… Hopefully it will just rain at night though and not ruin our sunny days!
There are also great restaurants too at very reasonable prices, so far I can’t see why I wouldn’t be spending the 1st two weeks in March here in the future!!!
Good luck at Isleham!
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