Nicky Roncoroni and Watts Burn competing for Britain at The Plains, USA Nations Cup 2017
An Eventful Life filmed all competitors on cross country at
Warwick Hall (3) - view or order videos here
Last weekend An Eventful Life was filming at Warwick Hall and what a lovely event it is. This was our first time at this venue, although we have filmed at the sister event at the 2019 Frenchfield Horse Trials, also run by Lucinda and Douglas Weymouth of Cumbria Horse Trials
As you can see from the footage below, it is a scenic and beautifully green venue at Warwick Hall near Carlisle in Cumbria, with a cross country course that features the Eden River as part of its backdrop
It is ‘An event created specially to provide an ideal venue for modern horse trials’ says Douglas who is also the cross country course designer ‘Combining sandy old turf, fast flowing terrain, open pastures of a traditional parkland setting’
Classes ran from BE80(T) to Open Novice across the two days of competition (read our full report with winner’s interviews here with lots more footage), but one particular horse that wasn’t a winner caught our eye of the first videos that we cut
Fiona Michaelides and Watts Burn were fifth in the BE100 Open at Warwick Hall (3) at their first event together, starting and finishing on their dressage score of 33
The now 15-year-old Irish Sport Horse has stepped down from the top level for a new life with Fiona. He was 12th at Les Etoiles de Pau CCI4* (now 5*) in 2018 with Nicky Roncoroni and represented his country on Nations Cup teams on four occasions. He became a jet setter when Britain contested the Nations Cup at The Plains, USA in 2017 where he and Nicky finished fourth individually and they were part of the British silver medal winning team at Tattersalls two months before when they finished fifth individually
“I am the luckiest girl in the world” says Fiona “He knows his job so well I feel he can just do it on his own”
“Nicky is a really good friend of mine and. over a cocktail or two, she thought that an easier life was what he deserved”
Watts Burn is clearly loving his ‘easier life’ at BE100 level and Fiona’s smile after the big leap at the Cumbria fence says it all!
