Tim headed out to Holland at the start of the week for Boekelo which is always a favourite destination. It has a unique vibe and an ‘end of term’ sort of atmosphere and if it doesn’t rain it’s really fun!
Not allot of sunshine forecast but at this stage no rain so a definite bonus. No event has mud quite like Boekelo in the wet although it never dampens the atmosphere. Two up and coming horses for Tim this week, Garcon (Tibo) and Brookfield Future News (Matthew). Both quite different characters as well with Tibo a classic arrogant French bred who definitely thinks he is a cut above and Matthew being a more down to earth Irishman with a great work ethic.
Roșie Thomas and Bridget Garlick are the work team this week so Tim is well supported and he also has the luxury of not being in the Nations Cup team for the first time in a long time. No number 4 pressure for Tim this week and he can make his cross country choices as he sees fit for his horses without having to consider the team result. Jesse Campbell, James Avery, Sam Lissington and Dan Jocelyn make up the NZ team for the week.
Matthew went in the second dressage session today and the only real mistake he made was when he got in a muddle in the second trot half pass and cantered. The tension in the trot work (which Matthew was clearly trying to suppress!) showed in the fact the trot was more up and down than flowing forward. He did relax in the walk though and overall it was a really good effort for a combination that has only been competing for a few months together. 34.2 was a fair mark and it’s easy to see that the 70%+ score will be there for next year with a bit more polish and time together.
Tibo has an early start tomorrow with his test at 9.21 CET. All live scoring on https://www.rechenstelle.de/en/agenda/2025/boekelo-enschede/
Live streaming on ClipMyHorse TV.
