Watching elephants was a great way to finish off 2013!
In January 2013 I finished working at Bimbadeen Park after six years of employment. I had sold my horse Duncan and decided it would be a good time to investigate the UK and European eventing circuit. I packed my bags and passport and ended up in Dorset, England at Griffiths Team Event yard where Chris Burton was based.
After a month or so, Chris found a new yard ‘Grubbins Farm’ just outside of Guildford, Surrey and this is now where the team and the horses call home. There are currently 15 horses and I manage the yard and horses and travel to all the major competitions.
I also work with Glen and Jade who both live locally. They both have their own horses that are kept outside of the property and they have a keen interest in improving and competing. Glen has worked at show hacking yards and riding schools in the past and we are now trying to convert him into an eventer. Jade has worked at Brinsbury College, an equine college and likes to take her mare out competing whenever she can. Bek, Chris’ girlfriend looks after the office side of the business, while Kat takes care of the entries and some marketing.
Arriving at Badminton with Leinani
The 2013 season started off with an Australian team clinic held over three days at Unicorn Trust Equine Centre. This was a great opportunity to meet all the Australian riders, grooms and veterinary team based in England.
The events kicked off in early March, with only a few weekends free between then and the end of October. The main highlights for the year were taking HP Leinani to Badminton and of course her last ever event the CIC*** at Aachen in Germany.
This was a very special event for the owners Jean and Jade Findlay as not only did the mare finish her career at this event but she finished on such a high by winning the class. Lani is now enjoying retirement as a broodmare in Australia. Graf Liberty finished fourth at WEG test event in Normandy, France and also placed second at the 8 & 9 year old champs at Blenheim. Tempranillo strutted her stuff with a win at Hartpury in the CIC*** before heading to Pau 4*. There are plenty of amazing events to talk about.
It was a change to be feeding giraffes rather than horses when I went on holiday
It would be fair to say that eventing in England is slightly different to the Australian scene. English events are run over four or five days but each day has a different level competing, for example: Thursday all prelim level, Friday pre novice, Saturday novice and Sunday intermediate and advanced. English one day events are ideal for the people who like to get in, do their competition and get home. You can do your dressage, then 45 minutes later you can show jump and after another 45 minutes you can go cross country.
Not a lot of socialising goes at these kind of events because as you will not be travelling over two hours to get to an event you will be staying at home and you need to get home, re pack the truck and swap horses ready for the next day.
However if you like staying up til four in the morning drinking at the Gundy pub or dancing all night in front of the live band at the Camden hotel before stumbling back to the truck then events like the Boekelo Three Day event are for you!
Boekelo in the Netherlands, is situated next the Grolsch factory and every night there is a different party involving grooms, owners, riders, volunteers, organisers and sponsors. The stable party is on the first night and for one euro you can buy a gin and tonic (half glass of gin with a splash of tonic). The CIC and CCI events attract a larger number of horses than they do in Australia with a three star three day event attracting over a hundred horses.
Balloting is a big issue in English eventing as they have far too many entries to fit in a day, so random ballots happen at pretty much every event. Luckily there are a lot more events over here so if you do get balloted you can get into another event the following week or that weekend. Badminton has a point system where all entries are ranked and there are several are placed on the wait list.
In England the horses are left standing on the truck for most of the day and you can certainly spot the Aussie trucks as their horses will be tied up to the side of a truck! Other ways to spot an Aussie are by looking for tail plaits, they are few and far between and bridles with silver or bronze chains on the browbands are definitely not an English tradition.
After seeing the lions of Kenya I really didn't want to leave
It has been great moving overseas and experiencing new things. I have learnt a lot and met some great people and new contacts. I still find it amazing that we can drive for a few hours, jump on a ferry and end up in France and drive through five countries to get to an event in Germany. However I do miss competing, having my own horses and having those goals to aim towards and it goes without saying that I miss my friends and family.
However I must make the most out of my time over here, although I admit I can’t wait to get back to catch up with everyone, watch some footy (hopefully the Bombers will be smashing it) and listen to Hamish and Andy.
Seeing rhino's close up was amazing and I can't wait to do it all again
Last year ended on a massive high with me taking a month off while my sister and I went traveling through France, Spain, Kenya and Egypt. We started with three nights in Paris and a visit to the Eiffel tower. We even stumbled across an Australian bar that sold Bundaberg rum. Spain proved to be a beautiful place, with San Sebastian being my favourite, located on the beach with great views and even better tapas bars and sangria. We then drove across Spain due to a cancelled flight and celebrated Christmas in Barcelona.
When agreeing to the trip I had one rule, we had to go somewhere warm for at least a week!! We decided on safari around Kenya and what a good choice it was! We flew into Nairobi to start our 9 day camping safari encompassing the Samburu, Lake Nakuru and Masai Mara national parks. The country side was stunning with every direction you look another fabulous view. We saw nearly every animal possible from many types of Antelopes and birds to crocs, hippos, leopards, cheetahs, giraffe, zebras, elephants, lions and white and black rhino. I really didn’t want to leave Kenya but tickets were booked so we jumped on a flight to Cairo to visit the pyramids and temples. The month went by far too quickly so now it is time to save a lot of dollars (or pounds) so it can be all done again.
2014 should be a busy and fun filled year, I am looking forward to the competition season kicking off in March and hopefully by then spring will be in the air. I will be getting out and about to see more of England and catch up with some friends. But in the mean time we will make the most of the fireplaces at the local pub to escape the cold and wet English winter.
