Jerry Joseph

And the sun was shining again in Boekelo by the time the showjumping started with both Jarillo (Milo) and Senor Crocodillo (Diego) floating through the jog. Clever Louis had a thorough check over and some medication last night to make sure he was comfortable and he pulled out well this morning too.

Very few clears in time in the early jumpers this morning with the tight time pushing riders into having rails. Jonelle and Diego were pure class for a rare clear in time and whilst they finished in the mid fifties it was still a climb of some 8 spots. Diego has really earnt his spot in Jonelle’s A team this weekend and he is definitely earmarked for future stardom.

Tim and Milo have a big reputation in the showjumping but it’s still always an ask and especially at Milo’s first 4L. They simply owned it today with a sensational clear in time and moved from 10th to 7th and an amazing debut at their first 4L. What a team… what an incredible performance they have pulled off at Blenheim and Boekelo and now Milo heads out to the paddock and the most deserved holiday with his mates Diego and Louis…they will have a few stories to tell about 2023.

And a shout out to Cosby Green who went so well with Jos Ufo des Quidam (Ufo) to finish best of the USA contingent in 25th. Trailing the likes of Phillip Dutton and Ryan Woods in your wake is some way to debut in Europe!

The team finished 5/12th with James Avery pulling just a single rail with Dallas 13 for a great debut at 4 star for their pairing. It was a young team that shows so much promise for the future.

And so the team head home for a week of regrouping with the Pau horses with just Oasby left on the one day calendar and then its all systems go for the last 5 star of the year and high hopes for the 4 horses headed down to the South of France.

A superb interview with long term Head Honcho Kerryn Edmans in NZ digital equestrian magazine Show Circuit. Well worth a read with some insights into Kez’s journey with Team Price and her love for the horses shines through all the way!

Show Circuit Magazine Interview with Kerryn

Just two for Jonelle today and a late start for Tim with Dromgurrihy Gold ( Dara) so he did some jobs at home before driving up for his afternoon dressage. As he arrived ((admittedly a little later than planned due to unforeseen traffic on the M5, I mean who knew it would be busy on the last Friday of summer in the UK?) Kiera had Dara literally waiting at the steps for him to hop on and Dara’s warm up was a brisk 10 minute trot up to the dressage through the Deer Park.

Jonelle meanwhile was heading out to cross country having left home at, for Dorset, a leisurely 7.30 am with Senor Crocodillo ( Diego) running HC in an Intermediate section ( the only way we could fit 7 advanced horses into 2 days!) and Full Monty de Lacense in a true intermediate. FM did a nice test for a 28.9, Diego a tad better for a 27.1. We headed down to the showjumping hoping for a quick turnaround but it was a day for sticking to the running order so FM had a few warm ups before he finally secured a slot in the ring and they had changed the track from yesterday which was a bit of a surprise. Still three jumps at the bottom of the slope before running up to the old main arena but they had sanded the track at the bottom to lessen the effect of the rocks and changed the top track a fair bit. FM jumped a super round but just tipped the last which Jonelle blamed herself for and then Diego jumped an even better round for a solid safe clear.

Good going out on the cross country saw FM pick up just 3.2 time whilst Diego, Blenheim bound, was anchored for an 8.8. FM looks truly magnificent and it’s a shame he has missed so much this year but as we all know, it will elongate his eventual career. He looks mazing, is calm and assured again and will be the total package to crack on in 2024.

Diego looks like he has matured into a partnership with Jonelle and today he show jumped in a snaffle and was so cool. They look at one now and it may have taken nearly a year to cement but those foundations will go a long way.

Meanwhile Tim the dressage diva banged out a 25.7 on Dara despite his unusual warm up ( to be fair it was 32 degrees and Dara only has a limited battery life after plus 28) so he returned to the truck quite triumphant. The somewhat unusual showjumping layout was not ever really going to feed into Dara’s mindset and although, all ways, he tried his hardest, his giraffe legs just got in a muddle at two of the fences for 8 faults. Plus it was hot and he’s a redhead so he was doubly hot! He was a star cross country though around a tough track with plenty to do for a solid clear and 15 time.

So that is actually the last of the ‘three-day-massive-one-days’ for the 2023 season. The few that are left are pretty much one truck only days ( or 2 at the most) and the 5 year olds just have one left before they hit the fields of holiday. The autumn three day season is bang around the corner with Blenheim, Lignieres, Boekelo, Fairhill and Pau on the cards and allot of fun still to come.

If this really was the last week of summer then despite two months of rain its been a cracker. Lets hope Blenheim is bathed in sunshine as well.

18.7. That’s all I really need to say! As owner (with son Alex) Joe Giannamore said, “That’s history in the making we have just watched” as Tim smashed the records at Burghley for a stunner of a test that never looked in doubt from his first entry (which garnered a 10 from one judge) and as near perfection as you could possibly hope for.

The old adage, bad dress rehearsal great performance was true though, as Jonelle pointed out that the warm up had gone everything but to plan! Jonelle was in charge as ‘person at A’ and Vitali swapped behind in the extended, got his tongue over the bit, resented a heap of people putting the bit back in the right place and generally behaved like the true diva he is. Once he entered the arena though he looked at ‘his’ fans (Vitali is the type of horse that would most certainly assume they were his and not in the least bit Tim’s) and decided a little bit of sparkle was all he needed to be the hero of the day and he jammed his ears into a “beam me up Scotty” position and off he went.

Literally like he was on railway tracks. He allowed Tim to ride him, to help him maintain the rhythm and balance but the extensions were pure show off Vitali with never a hint of a break or a mistake. Flawless changes, perfect halts, super soft lateral work….they nailed it!

The crowd went wild when Tim came out and the funny quirky horse that Vitali is, loved it. If they had done that at the jog he probably would have fled back to the stables….or maybe it’s because all the stands are not filled at the jog!

It was a sunny warm afternoon, Vitali gleamed, Kerryn was so proud and the whole Kiwi crew watching were blown away. Records being smashed are just the ticket and to be nearly 6 marks clear of Ollie Townend and his two lovely grey horses is quite the achievement.

I think it’s actually a new 5 star record…I’m pretty sure Bettina Hoy and the wonderful Woodsides Asby scored a 19. something back at the Worlds in Jerez in 1994 but am happy to be proved wrong.

And as Tim went to the Press conference Jonelle was riding sidesaddle in the main arena as a ‘pupil’ of Katie Jerram-Hunnable. I’m sure nothing made her miss Classic Moet (Molly) more!