"After our disappointing trip to the Winter Championships, we were hoping to really be able to get stuck into qualifying everyone for their relevant summer championships. Unfortunately a rather sizeable spanner was thrown into the works as I got my leg squashed when the biggest horse on the yard shot forward and squashed my leg between him and the wall of the school. Following a few x-rays and plenty of frozen peas, I was just about able to get back in the saddle a few days after. However, this meant that we missed our trip to Oldencraig with Tantoni Sir Socrates (Socs) and Headmore Delegate (Del), so we had to go to Keysoe Premier League somewhat cold!

It was still very much up in the air as to whether we would be able to make it to Keysoe with my leg, and all week it was changing from taking all four that we had entered - Socs, Del, Bracks (Headmore Boadicia) and Mischief (Tantoni White Mischief) - to not going at all. Eventually we settled on withdrawing the two advanced horse, Bracks and Del, and just taking the two young horses, Socs and Mischief, as the tests were a lot easier.

We eventually left on Friday lunchtime, although I was still slightly apprehensive that it may be a bit ambitious. We thought we had left plenty of time but the traffic was horrendous, so when we arrived at Keysoe it was a bit of a mad rush to get Mischief ready for her potential international dressage horse class. Luckily we had just about enough time and I was thrilled with her. She was much more confident, but at times I had a bit too much energy and this led to a few losses of balance in the test. This proved to be expensive, but it was a vast improvement on Pachesham.

The following day was the national young horse qualifiers. Mischief was first to go in the 5-year-old class and I was thrilled with her once again, she is really improving very quickly. The judges still felt she was green for the test however, but they also commented that she had potential for the future when she is more established. She also had plenty of admirers from people watching as well, not only for her paces but also her very pretty face - she could be a model. It was then Socs’ turn in the 6-year-olds and I was also thrilled with him. It was only the third test I had done on him and he felt really impressive. The judges also thought so too as he won the class with the highest mark they gave out of the five- and six-year-old classes, qualifying him for the final at Hickstead.

The final day was the International young horse qualifiers. Mischief was very tired after the previous two days so we withdrew her, but Socs was still full of running. He warmed up superbly, feeling better than the previous day so I was feeling very confident going into the ring. I was thrilled with the test, as it is quite difficult including half passes and flying changes, but Socs showed his class by completing a mistake free test. I was very disappointed when he scored less than the previous day and only finished 3rd, which was still good enough to qualify for the final, but I felt he was hard done by. Socs is now qualified for all of the six-year-old classes, so it was worth the trip, even with my dodgy leg!"

Alice

Related links: Dressage

"With all of our preparation complete, we left for the Winter Championships at Hartpury hoping for a couple of good results. Unfortunately, we had to withdraw Roxy (Headmore Roxanne) from the Albion Medium Open Championship as she was suffering from a tooth abscess and then had an adverse reaction to the antibiotics, so it was just down to Bracks (Headmore Boadicia). We hadn’t had the best build up with her either as we had had to SOS Liz from Jenny Hadland and Company (the physio), as she had got cast a couple of days before we left. What is it about horses!

We arrived on the Thursday evening and settled Bracks into her stable following the vet check before we went to dinner with one of my sponsors, Sheila Noble from Nupafeed. We had a lovely evening and Sheila served us up a delicious meal, especially considering we were only in her horsebox! She was mortified the following morning when she realised she had forgotten pudding, but it meant we able to enjoy it with Bob Walker and his wife Jackie from Clean Round shampoo!

We had the PSG freestyle championship on the Friday evening and I wasn’t competing until 21.55, so it meant we had all day to chill and shop. It also meant I was able to do an interview with H&C’s Jenny Rudall in our horsebox, which was a good laugh as always. Make sure you all check it out in the upcoming episode of 'Rudall's Round Up'. I also got to watch the first half of the class, as well as John and Char Lasseter’s hilarious display. It doesn’t matter how many times you see two pantomime horses doing dressage, it is still hysterical.

Bracks was looking very beautiful for her gala evening performance but, unfortunately, she was a bit tricky to warm up and then we had a bit of a miscommunication in a canter pirouette. This proved very costly as we dropped out of the placings, but based on our other marks throughout the test we would have finished in the top three. Mum and I were unsure of why we had had the mistake, but after discussing it with Charlotte Dujardin (who trains me and saw the class) we thought that Bracks must have been in season. Mares always have stronger seasons at this time of year, which would explain why she was a bit tricky - as she is not normally a hormonal mare. We were hoping that she would be better in the Advanced Medium the following day as we weren’t sure when she had come into season, but unfortunately she seemed even worse, which led to loads of mistakes in the test. It is very unlike Bracks to be like that and it was very unfortunate timing - but that is mares after all! Next year we will put all of our mares on Regumate at the beginning of spring for their worst seasons, as all of us girls know what it is like... I think Bracks just wanted to curl up with a duvet and a bar of chocolate!"

Alice

Related links: Dressage

"With the Winter Championships , we took Bracks (Headmore Boadicia) and Roxy (Headmore Roxanne) out for a couple of outings to try and fine tune everything.

We started off by taking Bracks to Sparsholt on a very wet and windy day for the Prix St Georges. Luckily, we managed to stay dry in the warm-up until it started to hail about 5min before I was due to go in. I was first in and the judge was already seated, so I decided to wimp out a bit early from the outdoor warm-up so I could go inside for my test. Overall I was pleased with her way of going, although there were a few little mistakes, and she scored just short of 69% which was good enough to win.

We then took the girls to Crofton. Both of them had unfortunately missed a bit of work beforehand due to some bad luck, but we decided to take them anyway as it was our final chance for a run through before the finals. Roxy was doing her first Advanced Medium and I was thrilled with how she went. Her trot work was super, all of the changes came off and it was good enough to win with 69%, not bad for her first go at that level!

Bracks then had another run through the PSG. Aside from the start, where she was a bit too fresh, I was thrilled with the test and thought that her pirouettes and changes were much more secure. Unfortunately, the judge didn’t agree and scored us 67.5%, which I was a bit disappointed with.

We also took a couple of young horses out for their first show of the year to Pacesham EC for a Shearwater Potential International Dressage Horse Qualifier. The first one was Robin (Headmore Dirubinio), our four-year-old stallion by Dimaggio and out of Rubinsteena (Rubinstein/ Donnerhall). It was his first show and he is still quite green but he was absolutely fantastic. He is such a head turner and it was amazing how many people had to stop to look at him! We are very proud and think he is the best horse we have bred and were thrilled that he won and has already qualified for the Nationals in September at his first outing.

I also took Mischief (Tantoni White Mischief) out for the first time since she returned to us at Headmore. She is now owned by Becky Hulme and has been with her over the winter but I now have her back for the season. I was thrilled with how she went; she just needs to strengthen up a bit now as she looked like a little four-year-old in amongst all of the five year olds! She still finished sixth in a big class however, and she will continue to get better and better.

Now we're looking forward to the Winters, fingers crossed for a good show there."

Alice

Related links: Dressage

Now that the Regionals are over, we are starting to look towards the summer season and getting the young horses out competing again after a winter of training.

We took Roxy (Headmore Roxanne) and Socs (Tantoni Sir Soccrates) to Crofton on 9 March for a bit of a run at Medium. It was the first time I had taken Socs out, so I just wanted to get a feel of him in the arena before we started the young horse classes. He is still very green at this level and needs to build up a bit more strength for the collection, but he was very well behaved and we were thrilled with him as he scored nearly 71%. Not too shabby for our first outing together.

I then jumped on Roxy, who displayed the collection that Socs can’t quite manage yet. She scored over 74%, despite a dodgy first shoulder-in (my fault as usual!), which was good enough to win the class, while Socs came second.

Roxy then did the more difficult qualifier test, which she also won with nearly 68% despite a few wobbles, so it was a very good day.

We also journeyed down to Windmill Farm for the first young horse qualifier of the season. Tank (Headmore Wimoweh) was first on in the five-year-olds. He hadn’t competed since the Nationals last September so I wasn’t sure how he would be, although I was hoping that the training over the winter would have paid off.

Unsurprisingly, he was a little bit ring rusty (we did leave the arena at one point!) but the quality of his work was good enough to ensure that he scored 7.9 to finish second in a large class and qualify for the final. I was thrilled that the judges thought he had improved over the winter as much as I did.

Next, back on Socs for the Six-Year-Old class. I was pleased that I had taken him to Crofton the week before as it was snowing and quite windy when I got on him. However, he settled well and felt amazing in the arena and we were awarded with 8.44 for the win and qualification. It was also the highest score of the day, so all in all it was a very worthwhile trip and a relief to get two youngsters qualified for Hartpury so early on.

Aside from the horses, I also had a very enjoyable trip to Wembley Arena for Madagascar Live! I had organised the tickets as a welcome home present for my friend Kerri, who had been in New Zealand all winter working as a polo groom. We were joined by my sister Kate and also a friend of ours, Gina, who also appreciates the brilliance of Madagascar.

We had a fantastic evening and we weren’t the only people there without children, although we did behave like them when we were eating candy floss and ice cream. It was a fabulous show, there were plenty of laughs and the actors were fab, they even sounded like the characters from the film, particularly Skipper the penguin and King Julian. They also did ‘I like to move it move it’ a couple of times, which really encouraged the audience to get involved. It was definitely worth the visit and it’s good to know that the four of us are still children at heart!

Alice

Related links: Dressage

"After our rather last minute and panicked preparation for the regionals, we set off with Roxy (Headmore Roxanne) for the first of my classes, the medium open, at Kingston Maurward. It was an early start as we wanted to get there in time to do an arena walk to give Roxy a chance to have a look at everything. Luckily it was a pleasant day so we could sit and watch the rest of the class, since we were the penultimate combination to go.

Roxy warmed up fantastically and felt super in the outdoor arena, but she just backed off me a little where she is still quite green when we went into the indoor arena for the test so we lost a bit of expression. Nevertheless, both Mum and I were very pleased with her test and thrilled when her score of 70% was announced. This was good enough for third place and a direct qualification to the Winters, so mission accomplished!

The following week we took Bracks (Headmore Boadicia) to Merrist Wood for the first of her classes. It is the first time that they have held a regional which is very handy for us. After her rather over the top performances the previous couple of weeks I gave her some of my trusty Nupafeed, which really worked. We were first to go in a fairly large class, so I opted for the ‘all or nothing’ approach and really took the handbrake off. Bracks was awesome and produced a superb test, although there was a little mistake in the walk which was completely my fault. We were awarded with a tremendous score of 71.32%, meaning that we sat out the rest of the class on tenterhooks waiting to see where we would finish.

Despite having to lead from the front, we ended up winning the class by nearly 5% and qualifying for the final, so both Bracks and Roxy and they will both be going to Hartpury. We then took Bracks back to Merrist Wood for the PSG freestyle to music regional the following day. It was a very strong class and it was the first time I had used my new music, put together by Sara Green, in competition. I was just hoping for a ‘clear round’ as she is still quite green at this level, but she surpassed all my expectations to produce a very powerful expressive test. All of my changes came off and we managed both pirouettes. We were thrilled with our score of 75.04% and though there were some strong and established combinations still to go, we managed to hold on, winning by over 2% and also qualifying for the final at the winters.

So, out of three regional finals we came away with two wins and a third place, and three direct qualifications to the championships - not a bad day at the office!"

Alice

Related links: Dressage

"With the winter Semis suddenly upon us, we had a bit of a panic that none of the horses had been out to a party since they qualified! Luckily, we did manage to fit in a couple of competitions around the awkward weather, although when it snowed all day on Monday we weren’t sure it we would make it to Quob on Wednesday.

Thankfully, enough of the annoying white stuff disappeared so we were able to take Roxy (Headmore Roxanne) and Bracks (Headmore Boadicia) out for a bit of a practice. Roxy was on first in the Medium and she was super. Even though she hadn’t competed for months she was very level and rideable and produced some lovely work. There were a couple of little wobbles and mistakes but she still finished second with nearly 69%, a good start.

Bracks was not so calm about being at a party! She is always a bit excitable and over the top when she hasn’t been out for a while, and, as a result, I got piaffe, passage and all sorts of weird and wonderful things that you’re not supposed to do in an advanced medium test! She did still manage to finish third however, so there were some lovely moments in amongst all the excitement. Luckily, she was also entered in the Prix St Georges so we could do another test, although I was rather hoping that we would be able to wimp out as it had started to precipitate a mixture of snow and freezing rain, so it was rather chilly in the outdoor warm up. Luckily she was much more settled in the second test, but was just a bit green and wobbly where she still hasn’t done many tests at that level, but it was a good outing nonetheless.

We followed up Quob with a busy visit to Sparsholt on the Sunday. Roxy and Bracks were joined by Del (Headmore Delegate) and Finn (Glen Ken), a horse I have been riding for Lisa Hobkirk. Roxy was first to go again in the Medium and, as we were running through the regional test, I used it as a chance to iron out any possible problem areas. She was super however and, despite some little blips, she produced some amazing work and won, so a good pre-Regionals test.

It was then Finn’s turn in the first Elementary and, although he is very green and hasn’t done much competing, he also produced some lovely work. I then jumped on Bracks for her Prix St Georges and, thankfully, she was much more settled to produce what I thought was her best PSG test to date. Unfortunately the judge didn’t agree, but she still finished second.

It was then another quick change to jump back onto Finn for his second Elementary; it was like a military operation! Again he had some lovely bits in amongst all of the wobbles, and got some 8’s and plenty of 7’s. Overall we were very pleased as they were two difficult Elementaries and he hasn’t done much competing so after a few outings he should be well away.

It was then Del’s’ turn in the Grand Prix, which was only his second attempt at the level. We didn’t have the most straightforward of warm-ups as, for some unknown reason, a problem appeared with his double bridle just before we went in so we had to quickly change it to a snaffle bridle. We didn’t have Del’s snaffle bridle with us so he had to borrow Roxy’s, which wasn’t ideal. Luckily he’s not fussy about bits so after a quick five minute trot round, we went in. There were some amazing parts in his test, and also quite a few green mistakes, so his marks ranged between 8 and 4! It was also very tricky to see where I was going as the sun was very low so it was a bit of a miracle that the test was accurate at all. Despite all of this Del won, on only his second attempt at the level, and both judges commented on how he is going to be amazing when he is established!

I then had to swap back onto Bracks for her Advanced Medium. She did one of the best tests she has done in a long time to score just under 70% and finish second, so overall we had two firsts, two seconds and two H/C tests, so not bad at all. I was spent at the end however, but I managed to remember all of the tests without having to look at them, which is either very useful or a little bit worrying! Hopefully Bracks and Roxy will now be ready for their Regionals, fingers crossed!"

Alice

Related links: Dressage

"The arrival of February bought with it our very long awaited trip to Germany, organised by James Crawford at Elite Stallions, in which we were going to get to see lots of potential horsey husbands. We had been looking forward to this trip since we were first invited in November, although we weren’t looking forward to our 3.30a.m. wake up call in order to make our flight on Friday morning.

At the airport, we met up with Nicky Callam of High Hoes Stud, who I’m very pleased to say has just bought Evie (Elvedina) - our accidental Brightwells purchase. I’m thrilled for both of them as Evie will get the lovely home that she deserves and Nicky will be able to have lots of fun with her, as well as hopefully have some embryo transfer babies at the same time.

We landed at Bremen (to the hideous Ryanair fanfare) and were shocked when we walked into the terminal, which can only be described as an aircraft hanger, before we realised the non-budget end of the airport was more than adequate. This was a great relief as we had to wait there for a few horse until our driver, Sandra Tinker, had made the trip from where she landed. When she arrived, we then went to the first stallion station, Sosath. Everyone managed to make it there on time, despite Georgie (Socs’ breeder) accidently bringing her daughter's passport. The most worrying thing however was that it wasn’t noticed until she arrived in Germany!

Here we were shown round all of the youngstock barns and stables before getting to meet the stallions. These include greats such as Ampere and Stedinger as well as some new exciting young prospects. They also provided us with tea and cake, and I was thrilled when one of the few German words I remembered from school was needed, stachelberre (gooseberry). We went out for a lovely meal that evening where there was plenty of alcohol consumed and Peregrine, Georgie’s husband, made me eat a caper and an onion, weird! It was nice to start to get to know everyone else who we had only met that day.

The following morning we went to Böckmanns for a private stallion show, and Alice Collins and Kevin Sparrow made it just in time. Here we got to see some of their new up and coming stallions, one of which had only been under saddle for a couple of weeks, as well as their most established dressage stallion, Fidertanz. We also saw a potential husband for a friend who would like to breed and eventer, although I don’t really know anything about jumpers. In addition we got to see Dimaggio, which was lovely, and he was looking healthy and happy.

They also showed us round their youngstock barns and they had the option to just open the doors onto turnout pens so they could all be turned out some of the time. We then had a bite of lunch at a lovely restaurant before we went in search of the Schockemöhle tack shop which, after some rather aimless driving round, we eventually found. It is like a toyshop and there is everything you could possibly want, and some things which we didn’t have a clue what they were! We came out with some new bandages and a pair of ear covers for Bracks, as well as some noseband pads.

That evening we went to the Sprehe stallion show at the hall in Vechta. It is just like one big party with plenty of alcohol and lots of noise. We saw some lovely stallions, although it was a bit ironic when Self Control escaped, and it got a bit hairy when first Lloyd George stood up and boxed his handler, causing him to run out clutching his face, and then a member of the crowd fainted under the heaters. Thankfully no one was seriously injured and the show was able to continue.

We saw a selection of lovely stallions, even though it took until after the stallion show for Alice (Collins) to realise the catalogue was in alphabetical order! There was a very exciting young stallion called Dujardin, and we also got to see Diamond Hit paraded round in a very sparkly rug to the song Diamonds are forever. The evening finished with Desperados, who had really come on since the Olympics and looked amazing.

We then had a currywurst for dinner (well, we were in Germany) before drinking till gone midnight (we had to wait for Mum’s birthday).

The following morning Alice, Kevin and I went in search for a birthday cake for my Mum. We were told we would be unlikely to get one as it was a Sunday and not many places were open. However, having wondered around Vechta for a bit we came across a cafe with cakes in the window. They were very surprised when I asked for a whole cake, the original reply was nein, but we only wanted one! In the end we settled on a raspberry cake, after I had got to use stachelberre again (twice in one trip).

That afternoon we went back to the hall at Vechta for the Schockemöhle stallion show. It was run like clockwork and the stallion handlers were second to none. There was an amazing collection of jumping and dressage stallions, both new and well known, and we got to see the likes of Sandro Hit and Sir Donnerhall, as well as some younger stallions. We saw Don Frederic, who Mum’s mare Ruby is in foal to this year, and we also saw the three-year-old Danciano for the first time, everyone fell in love. Unfortunately we didn’t get to see Totilas, but we saw plenty of other amazing stallions.

In the evening we went out to dinner for my Mum’s birthday where again there was plenty of alcohol consumed, concluding with James and I doing these funky German shots that I couldn’t quite work out. The cake went down well, which I was very relieved about, and the restaurant even managed to improvise some tea lights as candles! I was gutted to see Monday morning as we had had such a fab time, but Nicky managed to organise for us to go to Schockemöhle’s stallion station to meet the stallions in their stables. Danciano was gorgeous and so cuddly and we also got to meet Don Frederic and Furstenball. Mum has decided on her horse 'husbands' for this year, Danciano and Furstenball. We made it home in one piece and had an absolutely amazing trip, I would definitely go again."

Alice

Related links: Dressage | Breeding & Futurity

"January is always a bit all over the place with all of the celebrations from the previous year still going on, and the weather normally has a bit of a part to play as well!

We had a lovely evening at the British Breeder’s awards dinner at the Grange City Hotel in London, despite it being rather chilly and there being the threat of snow. Thankfully, the snow held off so we didn’t have to panic about getting there and back, but I did get a few comments about me having my legs out, a bit different from wearing breeches!

We had a lovely chat with Alice (Collins, who used to work for H&C and now works for Horse & Hound) about all of my exciting young horses before dinner. We sat on a table with Bev Brown, whose daughter Sam went to the Europeans when I went and who had won an award for a pony they bred, and also Tank’s (Headmore Wimoweh, who had won the award) Dad’s owner. It was lovely to meet Deborah and hear a bit more about Woiwode and we had a very enjoyable evening. Mum and I managed to go and collect Tank’s award together (despite having a discussion about who was going up on to the stage before deciding we would both go) without falling over and making a fool of ourselves. It was a shame that Tank’s owner, Joanne Graham Whelan, wasn’t able to make it and she us collect his award, but she has now seen it as a picture went on Facebook so she could see it.

The weather did wreak havoc for one week however, and it just happened to be the week that we were hoping to take Del (Headmore Delegate) to Addington for the High Profile show. Unfortunately, they ended up having to cancel the show, which was a shame as Del has really improved over the winter and I was hoping to get a good score, but we will now have to wait a bit longer for that.

We also had to rearrange the weekend that Charlotte (Dujardin) was due to come down due to the snow, but luckily we just had to put it back a week. We had an amazing weekend which included Char, Kate (my sister), Amy (my best friend) and I going up to London to see Shrek the musical. It was my birthday present to Amy and, despite spending an hour changing the tickets due to the snow, we had a fantastic time. Luckily I didn’t have to use the double Olympic gold medallist card when changing the tickets, it was enough that Kate is a vet and Amy is a vet nurse and they struggle to get time off easily. The musical was marvellous, they had done a really good job of it and there was plenty of adult humour, despite children also being able to enjoy it, which is fab for us four as we are really just big kids at heart!

Hopefully we are now over the worst of the weather and can crack on with a bit more competing now, but we still managed to have a lot of fun in amongst all of the hard work and snow last month!"

Alice

Related links: Dressage

"It’s been very busy the last few weeks with all of the trips and festivities. I started off with a couple of trips to Olympia to watch the action and do some shopping. I was lucky enough to get a ticket for the dressage to music evening as a friend ended up not being able to go and offered me her ticket. I had a lovely day in London as we went shopping on Oxford Street first, and for most of the day I only bought things for myself as opposed to Christmas presents, but I managed to get all my shopping done in the end.

Amy, my best friend, her Mum and I then got to watch Charlotte win the Kur on Valegro, and I though the overall standard was much higher this year and it was a really enjoyable class, and there are some really exciting new British combinations to watch out for.

I then went back to Olympia on the Thursday as my sister had got me a ticket for Christmas. We went to watch the Puissance, which is always a very exciting class, and a speed class. We were amazed as Laura Renwick was second in both classes on the same horse, talk about versatile! We also got to see another British winner as well, which is always something to cheer about, and got to see the finale, although one of the girls we had gone with has a fear of clowns, so it wasn’t so great for her.

Christmas then came around and we had a bit of a nasty shock in the middle of the night as there was a massive thunderstorm, my Dad tried to tell my sister and I that it was Santa breaking the sound barrier, but we are too old to fall for that. We had a pleasant day, despite the pouring rain, but I think everyone must think I smell as I got loads of bath stuff for Christmas. We got the yard done in plenty of time as we had loads of helpers again this year, so it meant that we could spend a lot of the day just relaxing, drinking and eating.

We have also welcomed in 2013, which doesn’t seem to really roll off the tongue but that’s probably as we heard 2012 for so long in the build up to the Olympics that we didn’t realise that there was a year beyond that! It is also the first year since 1987 where the year comprises of four different digits, pointless fact.

I had a very enjoyable new year, I went round my best friend’s parent’s pub and we had a really good evening. I didn’t have too much to drink as I had to drive home early on New Year’s Day, but I had enough to enjoy the evening. We welcomed in the New Year and then carried on dancing until we went to bed at about 3.30am, but that’s what you do at New Year after all! It did mean that I struggled a bit on New Year’s Day, but it was worth it.

Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year to everyone, and fingers crossed that 2013 proves to be a good one."

Alice  

Related links: Dressage

"Despite having had my fun filled birthday weekend a fortnight ago, I celebrated my actual birthday this week. I had some lessons with Erik in the morning before Bury Farm, and Erik also saw Tank (Headmore Wimoweh) for the first time, as she is now strong enough to cope with a lesson. Despite it being freezing cold I had three really good lessons to start off my birthday.

My best friend Amy and I then went to the cinema in the afternoon and saw Seven Psychopaths. It's not a bad film, a bit odd but very funny in places. I then had a lovely meal in the evening with my family and Amy.

Regarding the horses, it was Bury Farm High Profile show this week and we took Wiz (Wurlizer) and Del (Headmore Delegate) for the Grand Prix. The weather was absolutely vile and we had a very stressful time trying to get there. Firstly, the lorry wouldn’t start and we ended up leaving half an hour later than planned. We then had to take a massive detour due to flooding on roads and then got held up in traffic on all three motorways we had to take. It was definitely not boding well for the day.

We arrived with just enough time to tack Del up for his test in the pouring rain and blowing wind and we were very relieved to get into the indoor warm up. It was Del’s first Grand Prix and we were thrilled with him. He was just a bit nervous and had some babyish mistakes in the trot work. We got all of the canter work, which we were very pleased with, as it is not easy to string together, but unfortunately the mistakes kept the mark down at 64.1% to finish eighth.

We also had our yard Christmas party at the weekend. It was the first time we had been organised enough to arrange something, and with 25 of us going we took up most of the pub. It was great to have so many people there including staff and clients past and present, and one of my sponsors, Jenny Hadland.  We had an absolutely amazing time with lots of drinking and laughing, it is safe to say we were quite raucous, it was lucky we had most of the pub! I think everyone enjoyed themselves and we will hopefully make it an annual event."

Alice

Related links: Dressage