Showing posts with label Larkhill Horse Trials. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Larkhill Horse Trials. Show all posts

Saturday, 7 April 2012

Bright & Breezy At Larkhill

Salisbury Plain, not far from Stonehenge, is one of the UK's largest military exercise grounds, but it's also home to Larkhill Horse Trials, run over a point-to-point course. The open and exposed landscape may not have the hallmarks many associate with eventing venues, but it does attract many of the top riders who use it as a good building block in the education of their younger horses, and today was no exception. Mark Todd, Sam Griffiths, Chris King, Paul Tapner and a host of others were in attendance, all with lorry loads of green horses out for an educational run.

The Charlie Massey Cup Cake Shrine!
I had only intended to drop in briefly to deliver some madeleines for "Charlie The Coffee Man" to sell for charity as it seems there was a charity bake off going on in aid of Spinal Research, Charlie's cause for this year. #JustEatCake day spread from the coffee van all the way over to the secretaries office where a shrine to Charlie and his cause was set up selling cup cakes for the charity fund!

Everyone was talking about it on course, and I overheard several people pledging support, from all corners of the showground. The occasional hold in proceeding as we waited for horses to arrive in the cross country warm up, provided the commentators with plenty of opportunity to give the cause a plug.

Saturday, 9 April 2011

William Fox-Pitt Isn't Retiring - Unofficially

The New Fox-Pitt Luxury Liner
Mark Todd doubted it, and after today I agree! In a recent interview William Fox-Pitt indicated he was giving up after London 2012, soon after that interview Mark Todd said he doubted it would happen having seen William out buying more young horses, and today William turned up to Larkhill Horse Trials in a shiny new horsebox, the cost of which would probably cover the GDP of a small African nation. So I for one will need a little more convincing. Perhaps he's just planning a comeback, without the need to comeback!

I attended Larkhill for a special filming mission which didn't really work out, but it wasn't a completely wasted trip as I hadn't been here for some years, and it's a lovely event for the lower level horses - relatively flat and fabulous ancient turf on an established point-to-point course. A good early season pre-novice and novice event sat in the middle of Salisbury Plain. The drive down from Marlborough takes you through some 'chocolate box' countryside too, but if you're unfortunate enough to be travelling from the south or south west you have the traffic congestion around Stonehenge to contend with in the last few miles.