A busy month with trips to Frickley, Burgham, Aston le Walls, Somerford and Shelford Manor.

I am currently in the middle of a very busy part of my season, with quite a few events interspersed with various camps and other coaching commitments. At the end of July I had a particularly busy weekend with both Kate Lyon’s Harry Robinson and The Jules Syndicate’s Miss Brodie competing at Burgham International on the Saturday and Abbie Boden’s  Zafira at Frickley Park on the Sunday. 

Burgham did not quite go to plan in the SJ with either of my rides, Harry struggled with the ground and Jules was far too excited to be allowed out again after her post Bramham break so both horses had a few more fences down than I would have liked. We decided to save Harry’s Intermediate run for another day and Jules put in her usual XC performance to manage 9^th in the OI. Zafira then managed to turn my weekend around on the Sunday at Frickley by posting a best dressage mark for her and a double clear to finish 3^rd in the 90 Open.

Next stop was Aston le Walls where Harry had another Novice run and he took 10^th place in a very competitive section – his 5^th top ten finish in 6 Novice runs this year! LRD Electric’s Bella Cruise then contested her first unaffiliated event a couple of days later at Aston finishing just out of the prizes in 11^th. She will be doing her first BE competition by the end of this month at Keysoe.

Last week I had a busy few days with Zafira at Shelford Manor and Harry and Jules at Somerford Park the following day. Zafira again jumped a double clear on a good test score but was unfortunately competing HC. Harry then finally broke his bad luck at Intermediate level, producing a relaxed test, just one down SJ and a confident clear XC around Somerford’s up to height track. Jules had her final run pre Blenheim and apart from deciding that walking in her dressage test was far too boring she felt great with just a fence in the SJ and a mega clear XC.

Keysoe this weekend saw Bella get her BE career underway with a confident clear in the BE90 and Harry jumped another solid clear at Intermediate.

Fulmart's first competition winner came to the yard for her lesson competition prize recently.  Pippa and her horse Mouse did some flatwork and jumping in preparation for a working hunter competition the following weekend and, having seen Pippa since, Im delighted to report that she was placed. Fulmart will be offering more lesson competition prizes through Facebook so do keep a look out on their page.

Competition winners Pippa and Mouse

I’m heading to Burghley to spectate this weekend and then it is full steam ahead to Blenheim with Jules next week!!

Until next time.

Phil

Another successful month for Sam Jimmison and a HOYS ticket is in the bag.

Things here have been seriously manic -  you know your busy when everyday starts at 5am and finishes at 10pm.

After the high of winning at Bramham, winning the regional on Carlensky and qualifying Ebolensky for the masters I didn't  think this year could get any better but with lots of work and a touch of luck my form continued...

We had a few training shows to re group and bring out some new faces, these all went to plan and with a few wins and placings I felt ready for my next qualifier which was the BYEH 4y/o with new ride Joanne Pullan's Coon Freddie.  In fairness the plan at Richmond was to introduce Freddie to the class format and find what needed more work before our final qualifier at Ryedale later in the month but he was such a star that he qualified after finishing in 3rd place.  Admittedly I felt like there were lots of improvements needed but at least our ticket was secure! 

Back then to showjumping and off to South View for another newcomers regional.  There were hundreds of entries and the course was rather poor so with lots through to the last round it was a super fast class and even from the last draw we didn't stand a chance.  I felt a little disappointed after this, I really didnt think qualifying was going to be possible.  Although we had another two chances, I thought that the rest of the qualifiers would be like this and Ebolensky is so scopey, we have always taken the very best care to produce her property so she doesn't know how to blast round, but I figured all I could do was give it our best shot.

The following day saw the pink cross country colours getting their first real outing at Buckminster and marking the start of my eventing campaign for 2016. The day wasn't enjoyable, it rained so heavy from start to finish that we considered withdrawing, we managed a good dressage and considering the conditions Dayton didn't do badly just to have a couple down. After much thought we did cross country and as always Dayton skipped round and I felt the experience will benefit him in the future, he eventually finished 9th so I really couldn't complain as many were unlucky either not to complete or even get started. 

Addington Manor for another newcomers regional was our next destination but I have to admit to not feeling confident about our chances; the class was huge again with over 100 entries and all I could envisage was the race the last one turned into.  I could not have been more wrong, the course was super and very tricky which suited me and Ebolensky perfectly, with only a dozen in the last round and a good draw I started to feel excited, when the first third of the jump off hadn't managed a clear round things started to get tense.  A couple of rides before me a competitor finally went clear but I was confident his time was beatable but when the competitor immediately before me went round like a rocket, I decided to try and not catch the speed demon but to try and beat the slower round.  With two tickets on offer 2nd was all I needed and, Ebolensky was unreal.  We had a tense moment at the second to last when we ran a bit deep but she got her wings out and flew down to the last and our time was good enough.  Watching the last couple or riders was nerve wracking but when I knew I had qualified I couldn't stop smiling.  As always, this is the most prestigious final I will ever have competed in.  To ride at HOYS is any riders dream and I've been lucky enough to do it in a smaller amateur class in the past with Tomara but to be going back in a professional class is just a fabulous feeling.

Celebrations had to go on hold as the following day was the Somerford dressage regionals with Dayton and Billionaire Z. Dayton was first up and admittedly I felt a little handicapped by our gold league status.  Although we are established now at this level to ride against some of the country's top professionals is always tough.  We finished in the top third of the class in 7th place, and as always he was a superstar but the competition was tough so I felt our result was very creditable.  Billionaires class was also a tough one with lots of entries and as I trotted into the ring Barry showed he was all man by growing a full hand in excitement at the electric atmosphere, 'oh my god' is all I could think he is always so grounded and rideable that I've never felt the hot headed side of him but credit to him when the bell rang he put his game face on and danced round the arena to gain a great plus 70% score and lead for almost the whole class.  After 6 hours of nail biting waiting we were just pipped into second place but that was good enough for our national qualification, when I first sat on this gorgeous boy my aim was to get him to nationals and to tick that box is seriously awesome.

A slightly quite week for some more re grouping followed and as we had picked up our tickets to most of the championships we had entered we decided to withdraw from a few shows and give the horses to chill time. Ryedale started our next busy week, a catch ride for the day Alison Brown's Penny Farthing gave me a lovely ride to finish 5th.  Considering I only sat on him once before the show his performance was lovely and a real credit to how brilliant his owner has produced him from being a foal. We decided that the experience of the show would do Coon Freddie good and another time in the ring under the class format would help us in his Burghley preparation.  He finished 3rd again but his performance was much stronger and I feel with a few more tweaks we are almost ready for the final.

Frickley BE was next, after a disappointing dressage which is uncharacteristic for D, which I put down to his lack of warm up, he went on to jump his best ever, so we decided we needed to have a play with a new braking system and it worked,  we did a lovely double clear.  It was upsetting that we weren't up to scratch in the dressage but also thrilling to do our first double clear at BE100 level and we felt well set up for our first Badminton qualifier the following week. I also ran two young horses at Frickley for their first events; Overwater Emi was a good girl, she was very shell shocked in the showjumping and the torrential downpour didn't help us much but a super cross country clear meant she finished just outside the top 10.  With a few bits to work on before our next run I feel she is quite an exciting young prospect. Susannah Franks exceptionally talented pony Charlie stormed round to finish 10th, he is such a cool dude and he is a very serious future prospect. A quick change around at home and we headed up to Burgham with Ebolensky; she was great.  On the first day she was 3rd in what ended up a tough 130 class and on the second day she won the foxhunter.  Her next stop now is the national championships.  It was also successful for the horses left at home, one of the horses I had had in for training went to the event at Frickley and put up its personal best performance with leading scores, so it was a good job done for me and smiles all round. 

After all the craziness I decided a day off was in order so Neil and Charlie and I headed off to the Yorkshire Wildlife Park, I can highly recommend it.  We had a great time and then on to Frankie and Benny's for tea to finish the day. 

This weekend was an easy one with only having Dayton at Skipton for the Badminton qualifier.  Luckily he didn't let me down but I almost let him down when I made an error in my test.  Luckily the rest of the work was so good we still finished third so next year we are going to Badminton in the 100 final.  A blow out on the lorry on the way home didn't spoil our celebrations although we were all exhausted by the time we got home after our 4am start.

This month is not quite as busy but very important with all the horses getting ready for their national championships.  I'm hoping  that Coon Freddie will pick up his ticket to the Osberton Young Event horse championships but we will have to see how we go, it's still early days for us and he's still very young, I'm sure I will have plenty to tell you next month, here's to hoping it's all good news!!

Sam x

Miss Brodie prepares for Blenheim and Phil has his first BE80 coaching session at Breckenborough

July has been a relatively quiet month for me on the eventing front with only Kate Lyon’s Harry Robinson going out to competitions. He started the month at Aske Hall with an attempt at his first Intermediate but after picking up 20 penalties across country I decided to pull him up and save him for another day. He has since consolidated his Novice form with two good runs at Buckminster and Little Downham Horse Trials, gaining 5^th and 6^th place respectively. He now heads to Burgham International this weekend to contest another Intermediate. Alongside him Miss Brodie is making her return to competition in the Open Intermediate following her post Bramham holiday. She feels good and is ready to get going with the aim of the CCI3* at Blenheim in September. I will be rounding of a busy weekend of competition at Frickley Park with Abbie Boden’s Zafira in the BE90 open.

My five year old Bella Cruise, owned by LRD Electric has been busy putting in the hours SJ and XC schooling at various venues as well as competing at some dressage and jumping shows in readiness for her first event at Aston le Walls in a few weeks, hopefully followed by her first BE competition before the end of the month.

I have had my first experience as a BE80 coach this month at Breckenborough. As always Helen and Tom Bell put on a great event and the course was a perfect introduction for those getting into affiliated eventing. The concept of having the coaches on hand to help competitors and pass on advice is a great idea and one which those competing at the level should really take up.

I am now entering a very busy period of the year for me, teaching at several PC camps. This is something I enjoy, as it is where I started off with a non-horsey background and I love to inspire the kids to take their passion for riding as far as they can.

This month I will also be running a 2 day eventing camp at Killerby Hall Equestrian, details of which can be found on my Facebook page and website. I will also be competing at Aston le Walls, Shelford Manor, Somerford Park and Keysoe.

Until next month,

Phil

A dream comes true for Sam Jimmison as she wins the 5/yo class at Bramham Interntational Horse Trials

Well what a whirlwind June has been!!

So much has happened I'm not really sure where to start.

The month started with a rather soggy first BYEH class of the year at the Yorkshire sport horse show with Gott You J.  Ghost is super inexperienced and it was a pretty tough class with a lot of experienced combinations, so I was just happy that he was a good boy and put on a good show. When we were called back into to the top 10 and ended up finishing 5th - I was over the moon.  With Bramham now only a week away I did start to wonder if could I push his training a little more in preparation for his big day and his biggest ever test?

Our next stop was Messingham Show, one of my absolute favourites. It's one of those shows that is a fabulous experience for any horse and the atmosphere is always happy and best of all the sun always shines! It was a brilliant day, Carlensky jumped her last double clears for the 2017 regionals and Gott You J had an educational round in preparation for the following weeks big one.  It was a great experience for him jumping in the big grass arena with bright fences and a buzzing crowd. Ebolensky made her first serious competition a good one by finishing 2nd in the Foxhunter. It was then onto Arena uk for three days to potentially get my Foxhunter double clears with her for the 2017 regionals.  Never in a million years did we think that we could get them all in less than a week but she rose to the challenge, true to her determined nature, she is just fab!!

Now to focus on Bramham, after sitting down and analysing the videos we worked a plan out to push Ghost a little more in the run up to the show.  Our aim was for him to do his best and for me to keep him focused so he could put on his best performance. His training went perfect all week and I was feeling confident that he was as ready as he could be.  The field at this show is always the biggest of all and never in a million years did I think he was ready to even win a prize.  He just hadn't had the experience that the rest had; the rest of the field had already had a full season doing the job.  Ghosts's size, 17hh, meant we didn't even ride him as a 4y/o because he was like a foal on stilts!  As I bathed and plaited him in the morning we had the conversation that I would be seriously satisfied if he just did a respectable dressage and jumped a good round.

The whole show was really relaxed for me with only having him there, so before I tacked up I managed a spot of shopping and socialising. Once I was on I got focused on the job, he warmed up great and felt amazing but when he went in the ring he found another gear! I always knew it was in there but at previous shows he had gone into his shell,  but what a day to realise that you are gorgeous and show it off! I'm sure he reached 18hh as we did our dressage, I was so proud of him as he put all our training into every stride, then he jumped the round of his life, I was thrilled!! For me he had done exactly what we brought him to do and most importantly he had a smile on his face.  He enjoyed it and had taken the huge atmosphere in his stride. When the scores came out I was ecstatic to be in with a shout at the top 10.  We had already achieved what I wanted so to be in with a chance of a prize was a bonus. In the top 10 he knew it was important and he strutted his stuff like a pro to be pulled in second.  As I sat there I kind of knew we were on a good enough score for a Burghley ticket but when they announced I was the winner it was one of my proudest moments. The ringside went wild with applause, it's so special when there are so many friends and well wishers genuinely willing you to do well and that they are so happy with you when you do them proud. If there was one of the BYEH classes I could have wanted to win it would have been the 5y/o at Bramham and to be able to say I have done it is just unreal.  Even now thinking about it puts the biggest smile on my face and what makes it that touch more special is that it was so unexpected we went thinking it was just going to be a great day out!

The success made Ghost quite a celebrity and this win triggered lots of interest from some pretty big names and although I'm sad to say that he has now been sold I'm pleased to say he has gone to a professional that will give him every chance to become the star he looks every inch set to be.  I am very honoured to have started this horse on his road to big things and he has been one of the easiest, most pleasurable personalities along our road together.

A quick snap back to reality and off to Willow Banks the following weekend.  Ebolensky stepped up a class in style winning the 130 open a great warm up for her newcomers regional. Carlensky was the superstar this weekend though winning the British novice regional at her first attempt and she won it by 4 seconds.  When I planned my jump off route my aim was to get a good forward rhythm and not take a check, that's exactly what I did and Carlensky was great - she is obviously quite a speed machine as this was her first real go against the clock. I'm just hoping we can do the same in the Discovery regionals. From willow banks we made the long journey with Ebolensky to Keysoe.  I have to admit to thinking it was a long way to go with one horse for one class that was going to be our biggest ever test! Leni didn't let me down, she was outstanding!! We finished 5th and gained our masters ticket round what was the biggest track we have seen together, it was a huge confidence boost and now I'm really focused on working hard towards a HOYS ticket with her.

I now have a quiet few days to relax and then start putting plans into motion for the next set of big busy shows. I have just acquired some lovely new young horses for an exciting new owner so with a couple of new faces over the stable doors I'm sure I'm going to be plenty busy.

I've also just stepped into the unknown world of being an owner, it's not something I have ever considered but with a super talented and rather large 4y/o who proved himself a bit feisty for me, I'm pleased to say I have handed the reins to Noah Brook for the foreseeable future.  This horse is a very exciting prospect and I'm excited to be competing but from a very different viewpoint.

With July full of Dressage and jumping regionals I'm hoping everything continues to work to plan so that I have plenty of positives to tell you about next time.

Sam x

Phil and Miss Brodie head to Bramham International Horse Trials

What a month it has been since I last wrote, we have had further success at Belsay and I have now competed at my first Bramham International Horse Trials!

Harry Robinson was running in the NRF at Belsay and he narrowly missed out on Gatcombe qualification taking 5^th place with a great double clear.

My next event was Bramham International with Miss Brodie. It feels like this has been a long time coming and it has been a lifelong goal of mine to compete there. We were doing our first CCI3* and the whole experience didn’t disappoint. Jules was on great form from start to finish. She held it together in the dressage, to produce a good test for where her training is at this level and the amount of atmosphere. Our XC round on the Saturday is something I will never forget; she made the huge course feel easy and stormed round. The cheering and clapping from the Yorkshire crowd every time we successfully negotiated a fence was surreal and really spurred us on. On the Sunday she came out to jump fantastically for an unlucky four faults. We ended the competition in the top half gaining 25 points which means Jules is now graded Advanced and we have another qualifying result taking us one step closer to my new aim of competing at 4*.

 

A huge thank you to Fulmart Feeds for providing Jules with her Equilage and Chillout Maintain cubes, both of which I am sure aided her in being so full of running even at the end of the course and being able to come out on Sunday and feel great in the showjumping.

I must also thank my family, the team, owners, trainers etc, all of whom help to make my dreams possible.

In the coming months Harry is stepping up to Intermediate and Bella will be getting some mileage under her belt whilst Jules has a slightly quieter time before building back up with the aim of Blenheim in the autumn.

I also now have space to take on more rides, so if you fancy getting involved in a syndicate, have a budding event horse or are looking for a new jockey please get in touch.

Phil

A busy weekend at Bishop Burton Horse Trials with sights set on Bramham Horse Trials.

Zafira

With the weather turning it feels like the season is finally getting started. Mrs Kate Lyon’s Harry Robinson and Tayvale Eccossaise both had a run at Richmond Horse Trials earlier this month.  This was Harry’s first event of the season and only Eccy’s second due to all the recent cancellations. Harry performed a decent test, one down SJ and a steady clear XC to get his campaign underway. Eccy jumped a great double clear in the BE100, which was to be our last run together as she has now been sold down south. I have had great fun producing her for Kate over the last year and I wish her new owner every success.

This weekend has been a very busy one at Bishop Burton Horse Trials with five rides over the two days. On Saturday I had three rides in the BE90 open taking 2^nd on Jamie Lee Gascoigne’s Georgia Rain, 7^th on Abbie Boden’s Zafira and 9^thy with Pat Hornby’s Apache Warrior. On Sunday I had Harry Robinson in the Novice, he added two spooky rails and some XC time faults to his brilliant dressage score of 28 to finish in 9^th place. Miss Brodie had her final run pre Bramham in the Intermediate and didn’t disappoint picking up 5^th place with just a rail to add to her dressage score and the fastest XC time of the day.

Harry Robinson

This weekend Harry will be having a tilt at Gatcombe qualification in the Novice Regional Final at Belsay and the following week sees us finally heading to Bramham with Miss Brodie in the CCI***.

Phil

Sam Jimmison continues to recover from injury with her sights are firmly on the season ahead.

This month has been pretty crazy, I didn't think I could get any busier but I have.

The month started with highs and lows, Badminton kicked everything off and was a fabulous experience, after the first day of dressage we were lying 3rd.  I have to admit to being disappointed with showjumping penalties but Dayton then absolutely flew the cross country which was by far the biggest question either of us have ever faced.  I forgave him a little as it was a great learning curve for both of us and we know now the bits that are needing work and we will be working hard in the hope we are lucky enough to qualify again in the future.

A bit of a change in scenery followed the next day; my surgery - it was so lucky that the dates fitted perfectly around all of our important fixtures. Needless to say I was a little nervous, although my foot was giving me lots of issues and pain I had kind of learnt to live with it and deal with it so the thought of the unknown unnerved me slightly. It was definitely wasted worry, the operation was quick and I was back in the saddle just over 24hrs later.  It's amazing the difference having the screw removed has made and I now feel like I'm firing on all cylinders again, at last!

The rest of this month has been focused on keeping everyone consistent ahead of their respective qualifying classes, Ebolensky made her competition comeback a seriously awesome experience! She has done two shows and jumped two double clears and won a prize at both - it's so good to be back out on her. My gorgeous young horse Henley made his competition debut at Port Royal for unaffiliated.  He showed enough to excite me and won a couple of rosettes so I'm going to focus on his training while the older horses are busy in competition and bring him out in registered competition later in the season. Dressage diva Billionaire Z gained his last few points at novice level so we have decided to give him a mini break ahead of the regionals, with two classes we need him feeling fresh! Gott You J and Fleur T also collected their last prelim points so roll on regionals now.

This next month sees my favourite part of the year really get into motion.  Some of the bigger shows that I really enjoy are getting very close and by the end of June my eventing season will be in full swing.  It's such a relief to be back feeling fit and well and ready to hopefully win lots of prizes!!

Look forwards to updating you on my progress next month.

Sam x