Aldon Horse Trials 17th December 2015

Well, this is our final event of the season.  Its been a great year and we were hoping for a super show to finish it off.

Aldon is a fairly local event for us, and it’s brilliant for cross country viewing with a bulk of the course being set in a bowl shaped field.  We were well supported, with all of our owners out in force to enjoy this lovely event and to celebrate our successful season.

Our striking grey, Bloomfield Tiger Two was on fire this Autumn.  He again produced a fantastic dressage test, posting another sub 30 score.

I think he knew it was his last show and he was clearly enjoying the show jumping and expressed himself with a few playful bucks throughout.  This did cause him to have one fence down, but it was lovely to have him still so enthusiastic at this stage of the season.

He stormed around the cross country, and gave me a great ride.  He flew through the water jumps, and received huge applause from the ever supportive ‘Ladies Club’.  His strength and stamina has improved and it felt as if he could have gone round again.  A great first season for this 5yr old!  We finished in 3rd.

Storm Blue got a bit spooked in his 1* dressage test, and this created a bit of tension throughout.  This spoiled what could have been a nice test and left us a bit off the pace after this phase.

On the flip side, The Night Traveller was as composed as ever.  He remained very attentive and produced an accurate, faultless test positioning us well inside the top 10.

Both of the horses jumped super clear show jumping rounds, which were very few and far between.  This moved them up the leader board going into the cross country.

Blue jumped a very electric, and flamboyant round.  He gave everything 6 inches, and you couldn’t take your eyes off of him.

The Night Traveller just oozed confidence in the ring.  He jumped a very professional round for a classy clear.

I started the cross country lying in second place on The Night Traveller.  I was a bit concerned that at the end of the course there was a very steep hill, and I set off with this in mind, and I wanted to keep a bit of petrol in the tank.

He jumped like a pro, and took the course in his stride.  He galloped through the finish well but gained a few time penalties.  Maybe I was a bit too conservative at the beginning of the course and I couldn’t quite make up the time at the end.  Although this dropped us down a couple of places, we were really pleased with 4th in his first 1*.

Storm Blue enjoyed the cross country.  He jumped superbly all the way around, and was well up on the clock.  You can’t beat a full thorough bred for an exhilarating cross country round!  He was unfortunate, when he jumped a little exuberantly off the step combination, and as I tried to anchor him in the rein he mis-read my instruction and turned to the side of the fence.  I could have kicked myself, as I feel I could have avoided these 20 penalties.  Other than that he was awesome, and I was very pleased with his efforts.  He showed me so much potential and I’m very excited about stepping him up to Intermediate next season.

My final ride was Spypark Ferro XS who was competing in the 6yr old section of the 1*.  He performed a pleasing dressage test, and although he showed a few moments of greenness, he produced a mistake free test.

The atmosphere around the show jump ring seemed to rattle Spypark Ferro, and he was a little distracted while jumping.  This resulted in us having two poles down.  Although this was a bit disappointing, we must remember he is very inexperienced and this is all part of his education.  I’m sure he will learn from this and next season he’ll be more prepared for the bigger events.

I felt the cross country was a decent ask for the young horses.  We felt it was best to let him dictate the pace and not to push him too hard.  He set off very enthusiastically, and was jumping fantastically.  He felt as if he was growing in confidence throughout, and by the second  half of the course we were in full gallop.  I was so pleased and very impressed with his performance.  We had a fab clear, with only 6 time penalties, and this rewarded us with a top ten place.

This had been just the experience we wanted for him, and we are looking forward to next season.

I’d like to thank all of my team, our owners and sponsors that have supported me this season.   It’s had its ups and downs and has produced many great memories.  I have had a very enjoyable year, and I look forward to a brief break before we get ready to start again!

See you all in 2016!!