Exciting news

I had some amazing news today Karen Bartlett, owner of Longbarn Maisie, has bought a half share in my exciting 5yo Controe. I know we will have so much fun together - a big thank you to Karen for her support Laura

Busy week

Well where do I start this week? As you will know by now Saumur did not have the best ending for Henry and I - he was going really well on the xc until fence 25 when we had a stop – it was so frustrating but I tried to put it behind me and approached again – sadly we had a fall and were eliminated – we are both fine and will live to fight another day but our Olympic hopes are over and plan Z is now in operation Thank you to those who were kind enough to send messages, texts, tweets etc over the weekend – I am sorry I won’t get to reply to them all but they meant a lot I was thrilled with Allora though – a silly mistake xc did not mar her fantastic performance and I believe she is a proper horse in the making We had a frantic trip back home as I was heading to Tweseldown on Monday – we travelled in convey with Team Todd and got home – at 730 – Felicity was a star and had all the horses ready to go with the tack all outside - so a record turnaround of 30 minutes and we were on the road to Tweseldown – thanks must go to the team there for arranging my times as best they could – even though at one point I was still doing dressage on one horse just 15 minutes before my dressage on Steve was due to start! Noble Bestman restored the humour by winning the OI and the novice horses finishing 2nd (Obos Cooley) 3rd (Longbarn Maisie) and 6th (Brookfield Cult King) – got home fairly late that night and was pretty tired! The weekend saw us head to Ponitspool – Maisie was again and star and jumped a double clear and finished 7th – I did not run the rest xc – the ground was firming up every minute and as they are only young there will be plenty more chances ahead This week I am heading to Ireland horse hunting and will stop of at Tatts to see how everyone is getting on Until next time Laura

Saumur - Friday

Henry did a great test today and we lead the CCI*** section! Whoop whoop Henry was warming up really amazing – until a tractor distracted him – but he did regroup to do a great test – the French judge did not like him marking him down which is sad The course has been beefed up – it is very twisty and has four water complexes; two right at the end of the course – the second last water is one of the hardest questions especially if the horses are a bit tired by then. There are plenty of opportunities to have a run out so we will need to be on our game the whole way round - the early corner fence invites you to have a run out. The xc time is 9.14 and will be hard to get. The going is very sandy and is a bit a deep in places. It has been very sunny and we hear it is due to rain pn Saturday Allora goes at 1115 and Henry at 1552 (French time) Click here for all the info All is well at home which is great – thanks to the team at home who are keeping the whole operation going Laura

Eventer looking for action!

Well for some entertainment on Friday we set off show jumping to Weston Lawns – a great day with 12 rounds jumped and only 2 poles rolled all day Saturday was a busy at the yard - we went xc schooling with Brookfield Cult King, Longbarn Maisie, Nankin and Allora I jumped Fernhill Cristal for the first time in over a year today and he was very pleased to be in action – click here for his session! Steve and Henry then headed to Seven Barrows for a gallop We head off to Saumur next week with Henry and Allora Click here for all the up-to-date info Laura

Gutted!

Well the last 10 days or so have been a nightmare for all involved in world of eventing. We had huge disappointment with the cancellation of Badminton - the park was underwater leaving the organisers with no choice but to abandon and the difficult logistics for the event mean there is no chance of rescheduling. From a personal point of view I had 2 horses fit and ready to run in the form of their lives so the disappointment was huge – particularly for Henry who was hoping a brilliant performance would secure us a place for London Frantic calls followed and we rerouted Henry to Chatsworth and Steve to Tatts Sadly the rain has continued to fall and we heard this morning that Chatsworth has also been cancelled I am not too sure of the plan now for Henry but will let you know when I do We continue to get ready for Saumur next week – I hear it is dry there Work at home continues with lessons, schooling and galloping – feels a bit flat with no parties to go to Laura