BOEKELO...

I firstly have to say a HUGE Thankyou to Karen Bartlett and Maggie Sargent for sending me to Dubai for a week whilst I was having to sit around with my foot up.... this really was the perfect way to ensure I wasn't going to get on and start riding before I was meant to!!!!!

Whilst I was off games with my foot, Holly Woodhead and Chris King very kindly kept the horses in work for me, Holly even had dressage lessons with Yogi to ensure the boys were on top form!

When I went to see the foot specialist before I was allowed to ride again, he told me that I couldn't damage it any more by riding and that I just had to cope with the pain!!!

I only had 3 days of riding before we went to Boekelo so it was a jam packed few days!!! I had dressage lessons, a jump and then went for a xc school to check I could do it! My foot had been strapped up brilliantly by the team at Oaksey House.. riding was bareable but walking was still agony!

We headed to Boekelo with GRAND MANOEUVRE... He was a star in his test and lay in equal 2nd place with a score of 39.8... Team GB was leading the Nations Cup competition after the dressage which was fantastic!
I was the last member of the team so had a long wait on the Saturday, the course was causing a lot of problems and the time was proving ridiculously tight! I set out and GRAND MANOEUVRE was very very keen! He jumped an awesome clear but unfortunately the twisty track didn't suit him and he was fighting rather alot so I wasted alot of time setting him up for the fences... We added 18 time pens which dropped us out of contention. I was thrilled with how honest he was and am very excited about the future when we get to know each other a bit more!!

Here is his xc round ... http://youtu.be/50f6parZIcU

I couldn't have been happier with how he showjumped, the course was big and time was very tight! He jumped fantastically but annoyingly just got a bit free down the last line and had the final fence down! He jumped beautifully and felt so fresh! We ended up 17th and Team GB were a very close 2nd behind Team NZ, only 1.2pens which made having that last fence down even more annoying!!!

Here is his SJ round.... http://youtu.be/b0tk6RMQefQ

Boekelo is by far the best event.... They put on such a good show and make the week thoroughly enjoyable for riders, owners, grooms and everyone else! I couldn't walk the course because of my foot, so they very kindly got me a buggy to take me round the course and had it at the end of xc to take me back to the stables! THANKYOU Boekelo :)