Lying under my lorry at Blindley Heath looking at the snapped exhaust pipe I did wonder whether it was a good idea to keep going all the way to Chard, but although the journey was rather noisy on the uphill bits, there are plenty of downhill bits on the A303 and we actually had a pretty good trip. April had gone ahead in the car so the stables were all set up when we arrived which was fabulous. All three horses went very well when I rode them, surprisingly Heidi was the most excited to be out and about, and we managed to sort ourselves out for an early night.

Unfortunately the hook-up power went off somewhere in the middle of an absolutely freezing night and stayed off until tea-time on Friday. It was easy to see whose lorries didn’t have generators, as the occupants looked pretty grey and cold all day on Friday. Luckily it all stayed on for the rest of the show.

Askeaton was first to jump on Friday in the 2* 1.30. She was very fresh and bucked most of the way to the second fence, resulting in turning a circle, but actually she jumped brilliantly and never looked like knocking a fence. Khalissy then jumped a clear round in the six year olds, settling more quickly than usual, so I was very pleased with her. Heidi jumped a great round in the 1* Gold Tour, 1.25, which was a fairly strong 1.25, but lovely and easy for Heidi. The competition was incredibly fast, so I didn’t want to hot her up for the rest of the show and settled for a good clear round.

Friday was a four faulty sort of day. Khalissy started the day in the six year olds which seemed to have gone up a lot for the second day. She jumped a really good round, just having one pole towards the end, but once again she settled quickly and worked hard so I was pleased with her. Askeaton then jumped in the CSI2* 1.35, which was definitely a step up for us and she jumped brilliantly. I was a little bit less than brilliant a couple of times and she forgave me, just having four faults at a vertical when I rather let her run down the hill. Last up was Heidi in the 1.25 CSI1* Accumulator. Normally I wouldn’t jump a young horse in an accumulator, but the forecast for Monday was very bad and so it was an opportunity to get her jumped and not stay late on Monday. The joker was a good 1.40 and so I was thrilled with Heidi only just brushing it off behind. She was incredibly brave and didn’t even look at such an enormous fence.

I then slipped off to see my lovely godmother, Lavinia Grant Ives who, to my amazement lived two miles down the same lane as the show.

Friday started with Khalissy jumping a lovely double clear to finish just out of the money in the six year olds, I was really pleased with how she jumped all show, and how she finished up.

I then had very mixed progress with Askeaton in the CSI2* 1.30 final, she was a little bit naughty to the second fence so that I had to turn a circle, and then I tried to jump the final double as if it was the last fence at Cheltenham which made it impossible for her to jump out. But actually everywhere else it was a good round, I don’t know how she gets to be so wild on the third day. It was a good reminder to me that I need to work her a bit harder, both at home and at a show. Watch out Askeaton - a bit more drilling is coming your way!

Heidi then finished the day with a lovely clear round in the CSI1* Gold Tour for a low placing. She really was fabulous all show. The 1.25’s in the Gold Tour were strong enough and she was jumping well within herself all the time. The competition was strong in her class, and mostly she was competing against much older horses who are much more able to go flat out.

I had a lovely evening with my great friend Sarah Jane Tillard, and then April and I got up early on Monday for the journey home. We were back soon after 12.00 and the horses spent the afternoon in the field which was absolutely lovely for them. It proved to be a good decision to get the horses jumped in three days, as all the classes after the 2* Grand Prix and the Young Horse Classes were cancelled due to the weather.

Lovely Claudia Savage came and helped me pick up Emma and her foal (Alchornes New Venture aka Colin) from Bea Fuller’s on Tuesday morning. It is so lovely having them home, and watching him is a very enjoyable way to pass the time.

Congratulations to Jane Gregory and her team at Chard for putting on a great show at very short notice. We need more shows like this in the UK: all the courses were great and appropriate for the level they were aimed at; the surfaces were good; the stewarding from Peter Hurley, Kevin Preston and the rest of the team was excellent, and really well organised; we all had plenty of room and time to get worked in. The kindness and friendliness of the organising team was exceptional, right down to getting someone to see if my exhaust could be cobbled together on site, and the food was absolutely delicious. The weather could have been kinder, but I really hope this show can stay in the calendar and look forward to being back next Spring.

CSI2* Chard