London 2012

I feel so lucky that I had the chance to witness firsthand the success of our amazing dressage team in the London 2012 Olympics. Thanks to Lindsey's prompt action we were very fortunate to get tickets for 3 of the 4 days on the first ballot, then due to one of my clients being unwell we were also able to see day 2 of the Grand Prix.
The atmosphere and venue at Greenwich couldn't have been better, it was a nerve wracking time watching the GB tests but after such a fantastic build up to the Olympics I felt quite confident they could do it. It was a proud moment to see our riders producing such brilliant tests and being given their well earned gold medals.
The Kur was another amazing day, I thought Laura so deserved a medal on Alf, her music was lovely and he looked like he had his power back. It was such a shame for Carl to miss out in the individual medals, he rode so brilliantly and got the most he could from a tired Uti. I didn't doubt for a moment that Charlotte and Valegro could win the gold having seen their Kur at Hartpury when they had the whole audience in tears! It was such perfect 'London 2012' music, the way of going was beautiful and the harmony incredible . I think we've seen some of the best dressage for a while and I wouldn't have missed it for the world.

I also spent a day at the athletics in the fantastic Olympic stadium. It was a great chance to see the Olympic park and soak up the incredible atmosphere there. The stadium actually seemed smaller than on the TV but still very impressive and the roar of the crowd when Mo Farah ran past us was awesome! We also saw pole vaulting, hammer throwing and decathlon. So many people were there to support Team GB, I think we can be really proud of this Olympics, its been an unforgettable few weeks and I'm glad to say I was there!

Going for Grand Prix!

We are hoping that Walkman (Bugsy) will get to do his first Grand Prix next month. Having failed to get to two competitions lets hope its third time lucky! First of all we were balloted (of sorts!) out of the Addington High Proflie show, then the next one was cancelled due to the snow which proved fortunate as I was laid up in bed with flu!

So next on the calender is Myerscough Premier League in Preston, Lancs on 10-11th March. Bugsy has had a good winter training and now feels ready to take the step up to Grand Prix. It's still early days but the qualifying is difficult this year so we need to get started to gain mileage and experience.

He finished last season with very nearly a great test in the Inter II at the Nationals, up until the canter work even Carl our trainer who was the eventual winner thought we could be in the lead. Unfortunately after missing one of the two tempis right at the start of the diagonal he lost his confidence and his legs went everywhere, then all in a pickle the one tempis didn't happen so that was that. Not disappointed we came home really pleased, he had shown great talent in the piaffe / passage and given me feeling of a really good future Grand Prix horse .

Photo by Equine Life Photography