Cool and breezy for cross country day which was perfect for the horses, not least as Bicton’s rolling terrain makes the endurance test that much harder. Both the three long and the two long had an uphill finish which is quite tough on the genuine youngsters in the 2 long but no one goes to Bicton with any doubt that it will be an easy test.
Tim and Garcon (Tibo) headed out around halfway through the 3L and Tibo was thrilled to be back out again. His last run was at Kelsall Hill in mid April as his planned run at Aston le Walls last week was scuppered by a friends set of back hooves. Tibo saw no reason whatsoever why he shouldn’t sail down the hills at full gallop and it took some expertise from Tim to get him back from ‘yee ha’ to a sensible pace for a coffin. He leapt into the water with such vigour he would not have seen the corner on the way out if Tim hadn’t done some hasty pace reorganisation but he is nothing if not genuine and absolutely loved his run. They added 6.8 time to sit inside the top 20 at the end of the class and one very happy Tibo.
Jonelle and Faerie Usain (Maude) were first out around 2.30 in the afternoon for the 2L and Maude showed how green she is as she was pretty cold out of the start box! By fence one she was on board and she does love some space to utilise her big stride. She took everything on board and ate up the track looking like pure class for the future. Maude may look nothing like her mother but she sure has her engine and Classic Moet would have been proud of the way she bounded up the steep hill to the last. A clear under time was a great way to start the afternoon and they moved up into the top 25.
Around an hour later I like it de Rohan (Kiki) headed out of the start box for her first ever three day run and it is fair to say Kiki took to it like a duck to water. She loved galloping around a track that was strung, didn’t mind the people like a true Princess and ticked every box along the way. Like Maude she took every direct route and didn’t miss a beat and she also galloped home with plenty in the tank.
Most of the 2L horses made the time look pretty easy which is how it should be at this level and Kiki sits in 12th going into tomorrows showjumping. There was a great shot on ClipMyHorse of Tim on his bike with both Otis and Abel on board as they cycled back from watching Jonelle go cross country, unsurprisingly a feat that Tim pulled off with aplomb but not so easy to do on rough ground outside the string!
