Caroline Harris galloping through the bluebell forest
Since I last wrote a blog, the first lot of Aussies have arrived! Seumas Marwood and his mare Wild Oats have arrived and settled in. Seumas has bought Wild Oats over to compete at Badminton next week. His wife Dani, son, groom and farrier arrived so it will be a really great family experience. We have also been out and about to events and squad clinics. A few weeks back we attended Hambledon Horse Trials, situated right by Henley on Thames. This is a stunning spot with the cross country winding around a bluebell forest.
As I write we are now just days away from Badminton. The last gallops have been done and with just one last squad day of dressage lessons to go it is now time to pack and hope you don’t forget anything!! This will hopefully be one of many highlights of the year. With 85 competitors in the 4*, over 250 trade stands and a crowd expected of 200,000 plus for cross country day you can’t help but get excited.
With Lani at Badminton 2013
Last year was my first trip to Badminton and I was a little overwhelmed by the size of the whole event. I had a great week looking after HP Leilani who finished 10th. Lani’s owner Jade Findlay made the trip from Australia. It was also great to have Sophie Adams come along and join in the fun and excitement of our first Badminton!
Sitting beside the lake or in front of Badminton house drinking pimms at the end of the day were some fond memories. We also spent some time idolising (and sometimes stalking) top riders such as Michael Jung, Andrew Nicholson, Mark Todd and William Fox-Pitt. Badminton 2013 also turned out to be a catch up with many friends who I hadn’t seen in years, my childhood coach Jo Brady made the trip over with the Lamperd team.
The Walsh family, who were good friends through pony club, were also over from home for a family wedding in London. This year it will be great to catch up with and meet some of Jamaimo’s owners that are making the trip from Australia and owners living in the UK. With 11 different owners I am sure James will be one spoilt horse!!
Tempranillo has been withdrawn off the wait list; she has been freshened up and will now be prepared for Luhmulen 4* at the end of June. TS Jamaimo has drawn number 105 and when the reserve listed riders are taken out of the draw he will be around 13th last to run.
Which will means a long wait till dressage on Friday afternoon. There are theories that dressage judges are usually in good moods by this time and like throwing a few cheeky marks in the riders favour but the crowds are also bigger and more excited by this time so there is more atmosphere and potentially more distractions.
This can also work for or against you in the running order for cross country, going later in the day gives riders the opportunity to watch others go through and see how each fence are riding but it also means going later the ground might be more turned up if it is wet affecting the take off and landings.
Stalking last year's favourite - Michael Jung
At last year's event there was the excitement of the first ever battle between two riders, Nicholson and Fox-Pitt, vying for the Rolex Grand Slam and a rather large bonus cash prize.
Jung was another hot favourite after an Olympic team and individual gold medal domination at the London Olympics only to lose the Badminton title at the last show jump fence to Jock Paget. This year it is a WEG year so top horses and riders will be out to prove their fitness and ability to convince selectors to put them on the team. The competition will be fierce and everyone will be trying to take home the trophy. Let’s hope James puts in another performance that resembles Adelaide and he finish towards the top of the leader board.
Looking beyond Badminton May will be quite busy with Aston Le Walls the week after followed by Saumur three day event, in France, which is also a selection event for WEG later in the year. Hopefully next month I will be writing about some prizes collected at the big events to come.
