The Social Experiment - It's For Charity

San Francisco | An Eventing Wasteland This Weekend

If you're foolish enough to be following me on twitter (and pay any attention to my tweets), then you'll know I'm currently out in San Francisco on a business trip, which sadly means I'm missing Aldon Horse Trials back home in the UK. I had planned to visit for the first time as it usually plays host to a number of Badminton hopefuls. It also seems there is little happening eventing wise out here in California this coming weekend, other than an event south of LA at 3 Day Ranch, which unfortunately would mean as much time travelling as I would spend getting back to the east coast.

So whilst I plan my weekend and decide between assisting with some foaling down, a ride on along the Pacific here in northern CA, doing something completely non horsey like visit Lake Tahoe, Chicago for St. Patricks Day, or go in search of the giant sequoia (Sequoiadendron giganteum), I've come up with a master plan (and social experiment) to vicariously enjoy eventing this weekend!

Tweseldown And That Pink Life Jacket

Lucinda Fredericks Completes The Cross Country With An Inflated Life Jacket

Are there any eventers left in New Zealand at the moment? Tweseldown hosts one of the season openers for the Open Intermediate class giving Badminton bound horses a pipe opener, and the Kiwis were out in force today. It felt like a third of the field in the 3 OI classes were ridden by New Zealanders, and everytime I looked round there was William Fox-Pitt on course - I recon he accounted for another third of the field!

Andrew Nicholson | One of Several Kiwis Competing

Seriously though, today's OI sections were littered with contenders for Badminton & this year's London Olympics, with a good mix of riders who have little to prove, those bringing horses back from injury, and those challenging for their first slot on a senior team, not to mention those looking to run at Badminton irrespective of the Greenwich gig, with riders from Australia, New Zealand, Germany, and the UK.

The kiwis seemed to be out to win, or at least put their horses' fitness to the test. Andrew Nicholson rarely canters round the cross country and today was no exception giving each of his rides a good run that gave him a first and second in one of the IO classes, followed closely by Mark Todd on NZB Campino, one of the best horses he currently has.

Start Your Engines & Get Your Games Face On!

Inonothing's First XC Outing Since WEG2010

It's time to paint your face different colours, scream loudly, and get ready for the London 2012 Olympic Games. The hype is building, the press is buzzing, and everyone's out cross country schooling - the most exciting eventing season of recent times has begun! Eventing news and comment has started to wind up again over the last few weeks. It's like everybody has just come back from holiday with renewed vigor, and with less than 2 weeks to the start of the new season proper who can blame them? I've spent the last few months beavering away on the day job, both here and in the US, trying hard to dodge the cold snaps either side of the pond, and failing mostly. I'm pleased to say I'm in the final sprint to the finish of a career defining project, but have managed to grab the occasional day to ride myself.

Whilst I happily potter round the school at home on the great white charger, the rest of the eventing world is hard at it. The Americans are out competing in the sunshine state joined by a few foreigners seeking Olympic qualification, and the UK circuit has gone into overdrive and is out cross country schooling or galloping. Visit any of the main schooling grounds and you'll probably bump into half a dozen professionals either schooling their own during the week or running clinics for the amateur riders at the weekends. I was lucky enough to spot the first cross country outing for Badminton 2010 winner, Inonothing, since his injury at the Kentucky WEG, and it was great to see the horse happy and relaxed going through some simple exercises over fixed fences with Paul Tapner. (follow their progress on the Badminton website)

A Peek Round The Corner To 2012

My Daughter & I Playing Peek-A-Boo With Our Cameras

The holidays are coming to an end, and that means everyone's thoughts turn to New Year's resolutions, turning over a new leaf, or the excitements for the year ahead. For the first time that I can remember I don't really have a new resolution I feel a burning need to fullfil, but having just had the most wonderful holiday with my children in the relative peace and tranquillity of the Welsh valleys, enjoying the simple pleasures of family life, I probably will seek to simplify my personal life next year, if only because my professional life has been so hectic this year, and that looks set to continue throughout most of 2012.

2011 was a cracking year for me eventing wise (sadly only as a spectator). Despite some logistical hiccups I managed to get to most of the big events that I intended to in the UK plus a few abroad, and even managed to snap some golden moments for my sporting year book. 2012 brings probably the most exciting Olympics, for this sport, there has been since the games were last held in London back in 1948. It was, after all, those games that gave rise to Badminton Horse Trials, the foundation of our sport, and Great Britain is widely acknowledged as having the best eventing circuit in the world, so with the eventing elite on our doorstep what better place to enjoy Olympic Eventing!