Fair to say that Burgham hadn’t been plain sailing so far for Jonelle but she was hopeful that todays jumping phases would bring better fortune and woke up to find that at least the BBQ was still in place and had not been stolen overnight.
Faerie Usain (Maude) was first up to showjump and go cross country and whilst she has not always found the coloured poles the easiest phase she has made big strides recently with a run of clear rounds. So when she picked up 8 jumping and some time Jonelle was more than a little disappointed before it transpired that the mare had tied up, which is the equine equivalent of cramp. It was frustrating not to be able to utilise the inviting cross country for some good mileage but did go along way to explain why she had jumped so badly. Jonelle chalked up a second withdrawal from her string of three and sent a message to say “Golly to the rescue?”
We agreed that Golly, who thinks she is Superwoman reincarnated, would most likely save the day. And, although the score board doesnt reflect it, she did in her own inimitable way. She jumped a super clear round in the arena which elevated her up into the top 12 and set out cross country like the little demon she is. You would never know she is barely 15.3 watching her go airborne over the fences today with her look of utter concentration. They came down to the final water which was a a narrow brush in with a left handed 5 strides out over a brush corner which had barely caused a problem all day looking amazing. Golly jumped in beautifully …..and Jonelle inexplicably dropped her left rein. Golly was still focused on looking for the out but with absolutely no suggestion from Jonelle it was to the left they ended up with 20 penalties before swinging round again and popping it with ease.
Jonelle was furious with herself for not getting the rein back quicker but over the moon with how well Golly had gone. Top 12 faded into 66th and it was a rueful Jonelle who helped the girls pack up the truck for the long hike home. She’s in good company though….Scott Brash dropped his rein on a turn to a huge treble at the European showjumping championships in Spain last week but Hello Folie dug him out of the hole. Give Golly a couple more years and she could be the eventing equivalent as she was so damn cool today!