Whilst Jonelle was busy winning the 4*L at Scone Palace in Scotland Tim was travelling back and forth to Wellington. He ran his and brother Cam’s Supplejack in the 100 as his final prep for Cornbury 5 year old Champs with a 29 dressage, an educational showjumping and a lovely slow spin cross country. Garcon (Tibo) did his 3*S dressage on Friday and returned on Sunday for the jumping phases and with a 28.7 and a steady double clear has ticked all his boxes for Blenheim 4*S in mid September.
Tim then drove up to Heathrow to meet Jonelle who was supposed to land from Edinburgh around 9.30 but the flight was delayed and delayed and she eventually got to the hotel after midnight….they then had to leave at 5am for 7.30 dressage tests at Wellington!
Hot hot hot at the event today with temps around 29 degrees and brown burnt grass in the truck park. It must have been a challenge for Wellington but they did their utmost best with the ground and most riders ran their horses conservatively which is not unusual with Autumn three days looming anyway.
Tim and Vitali won the dressage in their OI section on a 26.6 and jumped a foot perfect showjumping round in Wellington’s impressive but tricky main arena. Tim had always planned just two phases as he is off to Burghley next week but he was happy to be able to jump him on grass again as Hartpury jumps on a surface.
Chio was on full power form and after a bright test for 33 came up to the showjumping warm up just as a parade of Shetland ponies went past on their way to another arena. To say he was transfixed would be an understatement and Tim did a good job to stay on board when the next crew came past complete with fancy dress and more little ponies. Once into the arena Chio decided that the big crowds that attend the show and swarm around the edges of the arena coupled with the bright hospitality and trade tents were terrifying and Tim did a great job in getting him to the fences. He had to resort to some “Toddy” flapping elbows at one point but it was a good experience for Chio who clearly has absorbed the Dorset vibe and is out of the habit of busy spaces!
Milo is more frightened of other horses than crowds and he looked a little more grown up than Chio in the jumping but he does have the advantage of having jumped in Aachen’s main arena under his belt. He did a nice test for 30, also left all the poles up and both he and Chio jumped a good steady clears cross country.
Jonelle had I Like It de Rohan (Kiki) and Faerie Usain (Maude) in the intermediate and old hands Senor Crocodillo (Diego) and Hiarado (Jools) in the OI. Maude thought it a little warm to be doing circles and did a slightly antsy 36 whilst Kiki thinks intermediate is a bit hard for a 33. Diego was obliging for a 29.6 and Jools pipped him for a 29.3 and then all four moved up to the showjumping.
BE’s policy this year of ensuring everyone ran to their exact times backfired at Wellington as the collecting ring was pretty empty in the morning as riders waited for their times in the truck park! Maude jumped a good clear round and Kiki dealt with the busy arena in a very grown up way. She’s not so spooky at the actual fences and is a very careful jumper but she is super aware of all the elements around the arena and spooks at that instead. Jonelle was happy to swap onto her more experienced pair who both jumped immaculate rounds with consummate ease as you would expect.
Kiki ran first cross country and slightly paid the price for it when Jonelle said she had misjudged the distance to the fence out of the last combination at the second water and realising that there was one less stride than she had guessed at she took Kiki’s attention away from the fence and Kiki bypassed it. Not wanting to make it an issue Jonelle popped the black flag option and came home happy with the way that Kiki had dealt with the ditches and drops into water in a really grown up way. Maude was bit casual through the coffin and slightly clattered her way through but appreciated the space to utilise her big galloping stride everywhere else for a lovely clear.
Jools had a nice easy run for 13 time and Jonelle ran Diego a bit quicker for 2 time and ended up in 2nd place which was a nice way to finish her day.
Tim had Global Quest (George) in the advanced and he was right up there with a 32 dressage and just rolled a pole in the arena. There was plenty to do on the advanced cross country and Tim hacked George around who found it all very easy for some 20 time and a happy Tim. That left them in second spot which was also a surprise and set Tim up nicely for his last ride of the day.
Helping out a mate meant jumping Blackthorn Cruise (Van) around the ON for fellow Kiwi Dan Jocelyn. Dan and Van parted company back at Farley Hall in June and with a fractured neck vertebrae leaving Dan in a brace for weeks Van hadn’t had a start since. It couldn’t have gone better…they won the dressage and then the class and Dan gave Tim the prize money as Tim refused to take any payment for the ride. Now that’s proper Kiwi bro’s!
Tim sits tight as Chio is transfixed by Shetlands in fancy dress passing by.
