Burnham Market

Our first overnight stay of the year was for a trip up to Burnham Market in Norfolk. First Impression and Pusiden were once again running in the Intermediate whilst Gloris Flight remained in the Novice. We spent the night in a very beautiful yard with the biggest stables I have ever seen and we almost decided to remain permanently! Especially when we saw the weather next morning. Thus far this season we have been very lucky with the weather but this was a timely reminder that it is still only April. Conditions were not conducive to encouraging my boys to do calm dressage and both Bruce and Squid gave rather less than their best efforts for a mark of 33.4 and 38.2 respectively. We fared slightly better in the showjumping, Squid jumped a super clear whilst Bruce added 4 faults to his tally. Both boys gave me the most fantastic feeling on the xc phase, for the first time at this level Bruce felt confident and bold whilst Squid skipped around in his usual style. Unfortunately both boys picked up 20 penalties for a glance of at the influential corner complex at fence 14, but on this occasion it was totally down to rider error. In trying to create more room and take a slightly longer line I actually gave them both less time to see the 2^nd element, hindsight is a wonderful thing but what I should have done was take a straighter line and trust that they were both grown up enough to answer the question.

Flight’s dressage was good but less than his best effort with a mark of 31, however it was his unusual two fences down in the showjumping which today proved most costly. His xc however was super, really rideable and becoming much more able to  have a shot at getting the time without letting it all go to his head and getting carried away with himself.