Woodside Cross Country Day | California Dreaming

A Full Day of Cross Country At Woodside's Spring Event

 With just under 400 entries, cross country day at Woodside was pretty busy, running classes right across the spectrum. Sadly I missed the Advanced class at Woodside this morning, waylaid by the day job, and turned up half way through the training level classes, so spent a good deal of time at the cross country warm up which unlike back home is hosted in a surfaced arena.

Cross Country Warm Up On An All Weather Surface

Welcome To Woodside | "The Silicon Valley Horse Trials"

Woodside Horse Trials - San Francisco CA

Just hours before I was due to depart for good old Blighty, my trip to Silicon Valley got extended by 12 days,  which I have to be honest I half expected, but I was beginning to feel stranded and in danger of seeing no horses for a fortnight, until I realised Woodside Horse Park was just a few miles away and was running an event this weekend.

This is California, albeit northern CA, so not exactly the lush green galloping lanes of Bramham Horse Trials I remember seeing pictures of earlier today in their build up to the most anticipated event of the UK calendar, since the demised of Badminton & Chatsworth, but it was a welcome site nevertheless after the concrete jungle that is Silicon Valley.

Woodside is a compact site, very similar to Tweseldown in the UK, with several 'all weather' tracks twisting and turning across each other, and two small water complexes, plus a variety of drops, steps, and deceptive undulations.