A lot seems to have happened since my last blog. The incessant rain finally stopped for a little while, which meant we have been able to get out eventing. Hooray! It seems that a little break has done no harm and the horses are going well.

We managed to get to Aston le Walls for the Intermediate day where I had the two boys, Tropique (Austin) and Arctic Soul (Spike). They were both super, managing to hang on to their sanity in the dressage, despite having to walk through the cross-country to get to the dressage arenas. Good tests with scores in the 20s, followed by super showjumping and cross-country, resulted in a win for Spike and a third for Austin.

The following weekend was Little Downham, which turned out to be well worth the trek up to Suffolk. The ground was great despite all the rain and it was a well run event with a lovely atmosphere. The two boys were out again, this time in the CIC**, a step up for them both and I also had Chequila (Quila) and Quicklook (Pebbles) in the Novice.

The boys made the move up to two-star feel easy, with spotless performances from them both - I finished third on Spike and fourth on Austin. The two girls were also awesome, both winning their sections. Such an exciting bunch of horses and a great weekend with a bit of sunshine and a great haul of rosettes for team Tattersall.

Almost as exciting as my lovely horses was the fact that I had the following weekend off. I managed to book a four-day break to Portugal for me and my lovely boyfriend, James. Off we went for a bit of relaxation and sunshine. Unbelievably as we were sunning ourselves in the Algarve, the rest of the team were sunning themselves at home as it was a UK heatwave. Typical! Despite the irony of the weather we had a lovely little break and I came back refreshed and ready for action.

Next stop was Eridge, which was due to be a busy one with five horses to ride on the Saturday. I went on the Friday to ride a friend’s horse in the five-year-old class and was shocked by the state of the ground. Only three weeks after events were being cancelled due to excessive rain, I now had to make decisions about running the horses as the ground was too hard. Not only was it very firm but it was also rutted and very uneven. After discussion with the team and owners we made the decision not to run the two boys who were due to run in the Intermediate. It was disappointing as this was their final prep run before their CCI** in Balcarres but we didn't want to risk them.

Chequila went to do the Novice Regional Final (the Gatcombe qualifier) which she won convincingly and so will now be aimed at the Novice Championships in July. Quicklook went for the Novice and was good in the dressage and show jumping but went a bit green across country so I pulled her up. Whether it was the ground or just her inexperience I didn't want to have anincident so called it a day.

Amongst all of this rosette winning we have also had two new arrivals. Chico Bella and Wolfgang Penelope have both had foals (via embryo transfer) that are gorgeous. Both chestnut colts are a delight and absolute timewasters, it is so easy to spend ages just watching them. We have another one due this month (out of Kings Gem) so fingers are crossed for a bay.

Make sure you check out the recent 'How to' videos that I filmed with the H&C team. 

Gemma