Aston-le-Walls - Summer is Back!

Pippa Funnell & Redesigned Makes A Splash To Win Mulberry Insurance Advanced Section K

This time last year Aston-le-Walls came to the rescue by running extra days when the UK eventing circuit was essentially rained off. Weather wise the tables are completely turned this year. Much of the ground was baked so dry it had cracked, yet all of the tracks had been well watered and the going was perfect - truly amazing!

Tour De Force: Andrew Nicholson - Winner of Advanced Sections J & L

Mid-season, with a fist full of Advanced sections including a special 8/9-y-old section, Aston-le-Walls entries were littered with 3 & 4 star horses continuing a comeback from injury or falls plus a healthy dose of those stepping up to this level for the first time. Not forgetting the 'tour de force' that is Andrew Nicholson. He won on Qwanza and had numerous other placings. I'd tell you more but he barely put a foot wrong, so there's very little new to say.

Badminton 2013: In The Shadows Of The 3 Kings Of Cool

$350,000 Rolex Grand Slam Contenders Andrew Nicholson & William Fox-Pitt

The sport of eventing is made up of three 'tests' covering three very different disciplines, and requires a horse and rider to perform in perfect harmony in order to win at this level, and as we all know where horses are concerned there are no guarantees, so can we really dismiss 90% of the field going forward for the Mitsubishi Motors Badminton Horse Trials Trophy?

Michael Jung - Grand Slam Spoiler?

There is no doubt the "three kings" (Andrew Nicholson, William Fox-Pitt & Michael Jung) are in the very best form of their careers. They've all won medals at the last World & Olympic Games, They've all won 4 star events in the last 2 years. All three are the coolest characters under pressure and nothing short of Murhpy's Law could possibly predict an alternative outcome other than one of these three lifting the trophy in a week's time. But we've seen major upset and the unexpected at championships & 4 star level before - The Germans at WEG 2010, The Brits at the Europeans, and Andrew Nicholson has had 32 attempts at Badminton without luck before. Pippa Funnell, currently, the only winner of the Rolex Grand Slam seemed invincible and then saw her hopes dashed of a follow up win at Badminton one year, falling from both her entries. So anything that can happen, could happen.

The Many Faces Of Cross Country

Happy & Relaxed On Cross Country

As any eventing fanatic can tell you cross country is the phase that stirs the endorphins, gets the adrenaline pumping, and brings out all sorts of emotions depending on how your cross country ride goes. Searching through my photos recently for a winter project, I came across a number of photos of riders with the full range of  facial expressions captured, many of which you expect but several of which are quite surprising, and sometimes unintentionally comical.

Pippa Funnel - Expressive Rider

I've alway found Pippa Funnel one of the best to watch on cross country, not only because of her experience, but she is also a very expressive rider, which illustrates the talent needed to tackle some of these courses. At the other end of scale watch Andrew Nicholson or Andrew Hoy, and they barely use any of the 52 muscles in their face out on cross country, they're just fixed and focused from start box to finish line. In between you'll find a full compliment of emotional displays from frustration to elation.

Still photos capture a mere fraction in time of these emotions, but allow you to study those in more detail and I always find are more dramatic, more so than watching video (eg. watch the sequence of William Fox-Pitt at the 2011 European Championships) This can often leave you thinking "I wonder how that felt?" or "I wonder what was going through their mind at that point"

Here are a few photos to illustrate my point (I'll leave you to think up your own captions):

Badminton 2012 – Just Who Is "Leading The Field"?

Andrew Nicholson & Mr. Cruise Control | My Favourite For Badminton 2012

The entry list for the 2012 Mitsubishi Motors Badminton Horse Trials was released a few days ago, and ever since almost every headline I’ve read has gone with “So-And-So Leads A Strong Field For Badminton, or words to that effect.

Michael Jung | Current World Champion

Personally, I think it would be very hard to call who is leading the field. Is it last year’s winner Toddy with Grass Valley, Former World Champion & Paparazzi favourite Zara Phillips, or current World Champion and Badminton virgin, Michael Jung?

So many on the entry list have a rightful claim to ‘lead’, and no doubt Hugh Thomas will once again tell us this is the strongest field he’s ever seen at Badminton – actually this year, he wouldn’t be far wrong.

Although this is something of a jinx event for Andrew Nicholson I think he really could have a live chance of grabbing the Mitsubishi Motors Trophy for the first time. Mr. Cruise Control is a horse I have followed closely ever since I saw the him stood in his stable at Andrew’s yard in February last year. This horse just oozes presence, has lovely paces and sailed around Pau CCI**** like a feather in a breeze. I go as far as saying this horse is as good as any on the circuit.



Here’s a quick run down of combinations I’ll be watching closely:

Gatcombe | A Fond Farewell To The British Summer

Gatcombe | Great For Practicing My Photographic Skills

The Whatley Manor International Horse Trials [or "Gatcombe (2)" as it is often referred to] often signals the last of the good weather events in the UK. By mid September it really is a case of "if it's not raining, wait 5 minutes" [it will], so you might as well flip a coin before deciding what to wear and setting off for this event, and I did spot a few horses that had already been clipped, so the great British autumn really has arrived......brrr!

Autumn colours were breaking through everywhere, and the varying terrain of Gatcombe provided some great opportunities for practicing my photographic skills in a variety of settings. I've still a way to go on the photography front, and I will have to go on a few photography courses this winter to get more of a handle on my camera, but I think I came away from Gatcombe with at least a couple of nice photos.

Blenheim | A Change In Nations Fortunes

Piggy French Warms Up To Win Blenheim CCI***

A change of venue, from the grand surroundings of Burghley, to the even grander surroundings of Blenheim Palace, gave many a change of fortune, expect perhaps the British, who excelled at both. William Fox-Pitt added 1st & 3rd in the CIC*** (split by Sarah Cohen) to his historic Burghley win, and finished 10th in the CCI*** won by Piggy French aboard the horse she won the Olympic test event on.

The fate of nations in eventing is so often cyclical, dependent on bringing enough elite horsepower together at the same time. British & New Zealand are currently the super powers with riders having invested heavily in breeding and selective purchasing like no other nation except perhaps Germany, in a bid to break the cycle. The Australians who, not too long ago, could boast triple Olympic medalists on their team with elite 4 star horses, are currently climbing out of 'recession' with fresh talent like Paul Tapner & Sam Griffiths, and may perhaps not make up an all conquering team in time for London 2012, having failed to qualify so far, plus two of Paul Tapner's elite list horses are currently on the injury list.  None of this would prevent them from fielding some pretty strong individuals.

WEG 2010: Eventing - The Dressage | The Most Important Phase

Team GBR Selections Reflect The Importance Of Dressage 

The formalities of the World Equestrian Games Eventing trot-up are now over, so it's time to draw a line in the sand between each nation, and get on with the serious business of winning. Team GBR's Nicola Wilson will be the first to kick off the competition tomorrow morning at 9:00AM sharp, on her wonder horse, Opposition Buzz. I've said it before and I'll say it again, this is one fabulous horse to watch go cross country, and Nicola has spent the last year improving her dressage, with much success. Her win at Barbury CIC*** sealed the decision for her inclusion in this WEG team.

Both this WEG and the last one, at Aachen, have very large arenas, more reminiscent of a sandy baseball field than a horse stadium, but judging by how well the pure dressage has gone over the last few days, I don't think this will phase the horses much more they get phased at any of the big 4 star competitions.

All the teams, and individuals have now been announced and looking through the list I don't really see any serious surprises in any of the teams. The only shock being the sad withdrawal of Kim Severson's grey due to infection, being replaced with Karen O'Connor. Reading between the lines, listening to The Captain in an audio interview, you could tell this was just one of many headaches Mark has faced in the run-up to tomorrow's competition.

Gatcombe CIC**

Pippa Funnell | Running Right Up To WEG

Gatcombe's September event when they run a CIC* and CIC** is one of my favourite events, and whilst my own horse wasn't ready for this event, I was asked by a friend to help walk a few lines on the 2* cross country, which meant a final opportunity to watch one or two top riders competing some of their up and coming horses.

For those of you unfamiliar with this event, it runs over completely different ground to the 'main' Gatcombe Festival, but is undulating nevertheless. Unfortunately I didn't take any photos, and only a few short video clips at the water fence (below). I wouldn't say either course was "massive", but they are both very technical, and there are quite a few long steep descents and climbs to contend with.

On the  CIC** course there was almost no let up with real thought provoking fences all the way through from the 4th fence right on to the second last. Halfway through the course in the woods, there was a very deep but small natural bowl with an upright on entry, a drop fence in the bottom (yes!), then a steep climb out over another upright at the top. This was where the majority of those that didn't go clear, had problems, including Matt Ryan.

Blenheim Horse Trials | The Cross Country Photos

Here's a selection of photos from Blenheim Horse Trials 2010 CCI*** cross country day. Video footage follows shortly....

Barbury Castle Horse Trials 2010 - A weekend of hot competition to match the weather

With a high of 27 degrees and no shade this was one very hot and dry event. How Barbury manages to battle these conditions is with the old established turf, that at least muffles the rock hard ground on this chalk down land. 

Since it started 5 years ago, I've been to Barbury as a competitor, spectator, guest of a sponsor and even a supplier, and each time I've found myself wanting to call Nigel Bunter [Barbury's Owner] and say "well done but have you thought about..."

There's so much to love about this event, and considering it's relatively new you have to be a little forgiving over the things to dislike about the event.  Running this event here proves that you don't need a grand stately home setting to host a great event that draws in the public.

Hambleden Horse Trials 2010, firm ground but still a great event.

I'm sorry if you were hoping to find some detailed wordy event report full of superlatives and mentions for owners, the breeding of horses, and other uninteresting facts, because you won't find it here. For that you'll need to try the Horse & Hound or Eventing Magazine.

Hambleden doesn't normally feature in my blog as it's usually on my own calendar of events, but this year I visited in a supporting role, which meant a little spare time to take a few photos and video, and chat to a few old faces I would otherwise not have time to talk too.

If you've never been to Hambleden (as a competitor) then I highly recommend giving it a try, if only for the bluebells! It runs a decent Pre-Novice & Novice as well as a really nice Intermediate that's not too strong, just challenging enough not to put off those rising from Novice, and bearing in mind it runs early in the season (well early for me anyway).

This year the ground was good-firm, the firmest I've ever seen it here, but this really only affects the show jumping, as a good deal of the cross country is through woodland, littered with bluebells.   The lorry park was busier than I've ever seen it, to the point where one poor competitor trying to leave got on the wrong side of Pippa Funnell's frustration at being parked on the end of a busy thoroughfare as her horse shy'd whilst having studs inserted.

Ringside at the show jumping arena was 2 or 3 cars deep with spectators and the picnic brigade, and judging by the constant warnings about how narrow the track was through the woods there were plenty of people out on the course too. Fun for all ages is probably what the brochure would say.

I suppose running after Badminton (it's usually run earlier) meant attracting more big names and therefore crowds, but quite honestly the vista from this showground nestled in the surrounding hills with Red Kites flying high and the woodlands sporting a carpet of bluebells should be enough to attract anyone at a loose end on a Sunday with mild interest in horses.

I have no idea who came where, but you should be able to find out all of that on bdwp.co.uk. What I can tell you is the top flight of eventing's elite were out en mass. I spotted William Fox-Pitt, Andrew Nicholson, Badminton winner Paul Tapner, Mark Todd, Zara Phillips, Pippa Funnell, Daisy Berkeley and host of others fresh out of the Badminton line-up, all in good spirits, and all none the worse for wear.

I did manage to spot the most fantastic appaloosa too (see video). This lovely energetic horse proved lively in the Dressage warm up and then in the show jumping, unfortunately home time came before its cross country so I'd didn't manage to capture that.

You wouldn't call it a particularly undulating course, but with a few twists and turns, and a 'quarry' to go through, making the time really does mean stepping on the gas.

Anyway I hope you enjoy the video clips and make a note to look this event up early next season.