"Well, I’ve had a great couple of weeks in Europe – spent some serious hours behind the wheel though! I left two weeks ago, heading for Lignieres (France) with Kenny (Kenny) and Camilla Shepherd's two horses. The journey was not too bad, although we did end up travelling around Paris at 3pm which was not ideal! So the trip took 12 hours door to door. It was slightly longer due to me forgetting the Health Papers and my poor mother was abruptly woken at 4.30am to meet me with them. We arrived just before dark at the racecourse, rather tired.

The weather was superb all week, glorious sunshine – warm enough for shorts. There were quite a few British riders there – word has got around that it's a good event. I think next year will be very full as the lengths they went to were fantastic. We had all weather surfaces for dressage and show jumping and a watered XC course that couldn't have been better – an enormous amount of effort had obviously gone in as it hadn't rained for two months there. The 2* course was good – there were questions but it was not too hard. Good for a first timer. The CIC 1* was quite strong but educational – good for something that’s done a few intermediates.

I had Kenny in the 2 *. He did a good test and was very settled but only scored a 54, which I was disappointed with. This could've been beacuse it was early on Thursday.! I walked the course and decided it was a little soft for him and my judgment was correct as lots went clear around the track on Saturday – I think I would never have pulled enough places for a good finish and so when I heard I was in at Boekelo I re-routed. My poor mother had lots to sort out for me as did the girls, Becky and Gemma, who were at home on their own for another week. I enjoyed my days off at Lignieres, they have good parties in the evenings and it really was a lovely event. I wished I’d had Beanie (Breeze IV) in the 2* (he is looking brighter, thank goodness) as it would've been perfect for him. Julie Tew very kindly took Mils (Camilla Shepherd) home for me and I stayed Sunday night and was ready to go straight to Boekelo, after a cross country school once they'd finished.

Sarah Cohen was heading straight on as well – riders went backwards and forwards across the Channel. I left at 11.30pm and drove through the night – the traffic is so much better at that time and it only took me 20-minutes and not an hour and a half hour to get around Paris. I did arrive thoroughly exhausted at Boekelo at 10.30am – it's a very long way. Kenny travelled well on his own, I was worried he'd not be good by himself but he was quite happy. I caught up on sleep while I could and by Tuesday I felt rested again. The weather was completely different to France – cold and raining, which took a little adjusting to. There was a party on Tuesday night before it all began. I’d heard about these but never experienced them until now. It has got to be the best party I’ve been to in a while at an event and everybody had a great time; it is the only night we can all let our hair down and some people did so more than others and nearly missed the trot up in the morning!

We walked the course which looked a good 3 *, the ground would cut up a little but the track was nice, nothing too difficult but places where you could have a run out. A good first 3 *.

Ken was drawn quite late so I had a Friday afternoon dressage – he had already worked for a week on his dressage so I tried to keep it varied for him as it can also make them sore to drill them too much. He thought it was all quite exciting and in his test again added more changes, which rather spoilt it and the judges were incredibly harsh on him. The standard was very high, lots of horses that had been at other 3 or 4 * events and not completed, so Kenny being a first timer was in the minority. The hospitality never stopped – we had a great night for sponsors with a band and lots of dancing and then an owners’ afternoon on Friday and I must admit it was superb for all involved. It was fantastic for our support crew to be so well looked after – everybody appreciated it.

The rain fell on Friday night which was a shame as the ground was then on the soft side. The course rode well – again with such a high standard this was reflected in the results. The time was hard to get which made it a good competition. I warmed Kenny up – he felt good but quite tense, although this can be normal. When I started the XC he felt great and jumped very confidently, as we got to about five minutes he still felt good but I had to push him, which is unusual but he jumped the difficult combinations with ease. At seven minutes there was a combination – log roll to corner on four strides with a slight curve – he jumped right at the corner and ran out, which was a real shame. He finished well but wasn't himself on Saturday night and had to be withdrawn from the show jumping. We left on Sunday morning to get him back home – I think it was a week too long. Still he would've learned lots and got used to the crowds and next year he should have a competitive campaign at 3 * level. Exciting! It took us 12 hours to get home and it was my birthday – I could think of better ways of spending it but well worth the trip! I do hope to go back to Boekelo next year."