A lot has happened since we last blogged. We have got new sponsorship, Badminton ran a fantastic horse trials and the FEI have come up with another ludicrous rule for stewards to lose sleep over.
We are very excited to have signed with Schockemohle Sports as our principal sponsor. Schockemohle Sports have very kindly provided me with a whole new range of fantastic clothing and tack. It seems the distinct orange on the sponsored rider kit has created some confusion. Please make a hilarious joke about me riding for the Dutch team because for some reason absolutely nobody has done this yet! The Australian team vet is still laughing at his own jokes.
We had a very exciting trip to Germany to meet with Schockemohle. While we were there we were given a tour of the warehouse and Paul Schockemohle's yard where we saw the very first horse walker (above). A real highlight was their unbelievable store, Reitsport Schockemohle in Muehlen. I had to leave Bek in the car otherwise we may have been stuck eating budget frozen meals for the next two months! It really is an amazing tack shop and has lots of great stuff
Schockemohle is a fantastic sponsor to have on board and we really believe their range of clothing and tack will become a very popular choice amongst riders of all levels and disciplines. If you haven't heard of this brand before you must check out their online store - you don't want to be the last one seen in the latest stuff! (Come back soon to our blog as we'll have an advert that clicks through to the online store)
Despite kidding myself in the lead up to Badminton that it's just another event, it's hard to not get butterflies when you walk through the bell tower arch to be ‘met’ by Badminton House. It really is the premier three day event in the world and this year was no exception. The ground was prefect, the weather was great and the field was truly an international class and looked more like a championship class that you would expect to see at WEG or the Olympics.
The whole event was made even more exciting by the fact that the two big kids, Fox-Pitt and Nicholson, were fighting it out for the elusive Rolex Grand Slam. A very unique situation! While watching Nicholson's convincing win at Kentucky, Jock and I were joking about how ironic it would be to see someone come in between the two of them and cost them quarter of a million. And blow me down me if it wasn’t the brickie's labourer from Rooty Hill that snatched first place right out from under their noses.
Holstein Park Leilani, the horse that has been better for my career than any other, was her usual consistent self and some. She showed this by finishing in the top ten. She did her CCI personal best with a score 43 to lead the dressage on the first day. She made light work of the cross country course and show jumped better than she ever has at a three day event. The mare was jumping so well that I thought I might be able to squeeze a clear round out of her at a three day. She is like fine wine and just seems to get better with age. I felt very privileged to have been able to ride that beautiful mare at the show we have always felt she was born for. Thanks once again to Jade and Jean Findlay for their continued support.
Now it's a known fact that the Brits are traditionalists. It's for this reason that we have (begrudgingly) toned down the amount of brass on our bridles to appease the Brits taste for shockingly plain leather bridles. It now seems that somewhere along the lines this has become an FEI rule. We discovered this at a local one day event where a very polite steward pointed out that my new traditional English brass clincher browband is not allowed as it is too distracting to the dressage judge. Can the FEI please get a grip. For example, why don't they crack down on people who can't sit the trot. Surely this is much more distracting!
On that note, I had better go and throw out all my brass polishing kit. I would hate to be responsible for ruining some poor dressage judge's eyesight.
