"After a quiet week to recover from our Portugal trip we were back into action getting ready for one day events at Somerley Park, Portman and we had an interview with H&C at my first teaching clinic.

Results

Despite raining all the way to Somerley, things brightened up on arrival and we had a good day. Greenstone jumped a super double clear in the intermediate to finish third and Dinky Inky followed suit to come fifth in the Novice. Kings Gem was having her final pre-Badminton run which was nerve-wracking but all went well and fingers crossed it will stand us in good stead.

A win for Chico Bella

Portman was an early start and again a wet day but the horses were great with the highlight of the day being Chico Bella who won the Novice on a dressage of 25 and a double clear. She is such a lovely horse and I am really excited about her future.

Cotton wool for Gem please!

The following weekend saw us heading to our local event South of England. I just had one horse running which was Tropique in his first Intermediate. I also took Kings Gem to do a dressage test as we need to keep practising. Gem was on early and was very relaxed so I was really pleased with her and wrapped her up in her cotton wool and put her back on the lorry; we are not taking any chances.

Tropique was also really relaxed in his test which was great as he had a bit of a break after Portugal and I thought he might be tense. He was a bit keen in the show jumping but went clear which I was pleased about, as it seemed to be causing a few problems.

He pulled my arms out cross country (which I hope was a result of the gap since his last run) but he was bold and straight and we came home clear just with a fair few time faults due to him being slightly unruly! He finished seventh and overall I was pleased with his first outing at this level.

Next weekend sees us heading up to Burnham Market in Norfolk and then the week after we head to the big B. Keep everything crossed and I will keep you all up to date with my progress on the H&C Badminton page."