It's true I can be grumpy
I knew it has been far too long since my last blog but as I have just sat down to write this I have realised just how long it has been … a long long time! I do have an excuse so please feel sorry for me – since my decadent holiday in Mallorca - I have had two days off! I have been absolutely flat out and if I do not take a day away occasionally I get incredibly grumpy. As you can imagine I am foul at the moment. You know you are grumpy when your staff start pleading with you to take a day off. I will try and fill you in on all the happenings of Team McLeod whilst leaving out the boring bits.
I bought a horse! Winnetou M (affectionately known as Winnie) impressed me so much at Aston I started to think of him as a serious prospect for the future. I need more horses at this level and I think if I play my cards right he could have an outside chance of going to the WEG in 2014 so after much deliberation and a big loan from the bank I bought him. A little bit crazy and a big risk but fortune favours the bold so they say and this sport is all about taking risks after all. I am not sure what it is that makes me love this horse so much – it may have something to do with the fact that Chris Burton thought I was riding a clone of Frederick Hunter at Gatcombe last week. It is uncanny how similar they are and just as naughty! So now I am desperate to find some lovely people to buy shares in him and have fun eventing with us!
Sometimes you just get on a roll and you have to go with it because it does not happen very often. This happened to me the weekend of Wellington where everything just seemed to fall into place. On the Friday I had three BE100 (or pre novice) horses competing. Jane Murfett and Frank Inns own two lovely French bred five year olds that I think will be serious horses for the future. Toledo de Kerser led from start to finish to finish on a fantastic score of 26 so that started the day off perfectly. Togo also did a great test to score 29 and a double clear to finish third. The last horse I was riding that day was Susie Pragnell’s Sceptre de Moreton – yet another French bred – and he did a lovely double clear and finished second. So I finished the day with a 1st,2nd and a 3rd and left thinking I probably should not come back the next day as I must have used up all my luck!
I came away from Wellington with a smile on my face
On the Saturday I had three Intermediate horses. Dunbeggin Royal Imp was a little green cross country and had a run-out and Winnie was unlucky to have a rail but was super cross country although I was still not happy with my ‘bitting’. The real excitement of the day came when L G Wellington – affectionately known as Boots – who has to be the sweetest and most genuine horse in the whole world – did a great test, show jumped clear around a tricky track and breezed around the cross country course under time to win by a clear five marks. It has been a long time coming with that horse and I could not have been more thrilled.
Now I really thought I had used up all my luck and it crossed my mind that maybe I should stay home the next day. Nevertheless Hels and I had yet another 4am start and left for the final day of Wellington with Lotty and Bag for the intermediate. Lotty is getting to a point where she is now quite experienced and now I have finally found a bit that I can hold her in, she is starting to be more competitive at one day events. She performed a seriously classy double clear with only a few time faults to finish 8th in a competitive Open Intermediate. Now you all know that I am preparing Bag (Shannondale Santiago) very carefully for the Rio Olympics and because of this I am a little precious with him and do not run him fast very often. He did a super test and jumped like a stag in the show jumping and I knew I was not going to be able to get out of kicking him today. He was awesome cross country and I even kicked him so much he made the time to win! What an amazing weekend. Up until that point I had had two intermediate wins the whole time I had been in England and I had just won two intermediate classes in one weekend. It started to feel like the last seven years had been worth it.
It was a little wet at Boekelo
When I first moved to England I imagined I would be competing in Europe every second weekend and living the high life. Alas this was not to be due to a lack of funds but mainly horsepower – in fact any horsepower. So when I realised I was going to have a horse for Boekelo and Le Lion D’angers in October and spend a whole two weeks in Europe competing I thought all my Christmases had come at once – this is the stuff dreams are made of! To make things even better Ed was taking some time off work and coming as well!
The trip to Boekelo went as well as could be expected. I managed to remember to drive on the right (wrong) side of the road but we did discover that boys are not so good at reading maps as they pretend to be! Both horses travelled well and settled in nicely. The Tuesday night at Boekelo is renowned for being epic and this year was to be no exception. It is the only event in the world where they seem to encourage people to dance on the tables. I have had a little experience with Boekelo Tuesday nights – this was actually my 5th – so I knew to pace myself. Unfortunately for Ed this was his first time and one that I won’t forget for a long time. Lets just say there was a lot of dancing on and off the tables and a lot of falling over – the last fall out of the luton was the final straw and had me in stitches. Needless to say he had a very sore head the next day made worse by the fact that Bill, Catherine and I decided to make him Chef d’equipe and attend very boring horsey meetings!
Lotty performed to her best in the dressage. She was relaxed and swinging and I thought a little harshly marked in the trot but I was pleased with her overall, and her mark of 47. The cross country course was not hugely big apart from the waters, but technical enough and the time was quite difficult especially when the heavens opened and the ground deteriorated. She could not have been better cross country and gave me the most fantastic ride. I was a little slow and took one option at the end so finished with twelve time faults, which was annoying but she felt pure class and I was thrilled. She is a very clean jumper so no bashes or scrapes meant she flew through the trot up without any problems. We had had even more rain Saturday night, which left the show jumping ring on Sunday morning resembling a very large swimming pool! I was surprised at the size of the fences considering the conditions but they had tried to place them out of the worst of the wet. Lotty is a great jumper but very spooky and I was concerned how she would cope in such an atmospheric arena. I should not have worried – she jumped her socks off and was very unlucky to have one down in the middle of the treble. I could not believe it – I had a three star horse – finally! I worked out that I had not completed (or started) a three star for four years. Clever Lotty.
I had decided to send Lotty home with Catherine Burrell and travel direct to Le Lion D’angers with Bag on the Monday. It was some 1000 kilometres and was always going to be a big drive but getting stuck in two hours of standstill traffic around Antwerp did not help our cause. It ended up taking us 14 hours and Hels and Ed did a great job keeping me going but I have to admit to being a little grumpy when we was eventually arrived. Bag travelled well and was ‘full of the joys’ on Tuesday morning as I took him for a hack around the beautiful Le Lion D’angers – this is my favourite event in the world!
Doing dressage at Lion before the event fizzled out
Tuesday afternoon consisted of drinking beautiful French wine in the glorious sunshine – I really love this event. I think that was the last time I thought that because as of Wednesday morning it started to rain … and rain … and rain … and rain … and rain. By the time I did my dressage on Friday lunchtime it had become ridiculous. Bag was amazing (as always) in knee deep mud and did a lovely test to score 45 and at least I know that if it is muddy in Rio he will cope fine! Less than an hour later we got word that the river had burst its banks, the course was flooded and the event had been cancelled. It was such a shame but half the course was completely underwater and there is absolutely no way they could have run.
So the season ended with a fizzle rather than a bang. I have had the best season yet and I start next season with four advanced horses – this is the stuff dreams are made of! Roll on 2013.
Photos with thanks to Libby Law Photography NZL
