Annabel Carthy - Great NEW blog - great to hear how our sponsors are getting on

Posted by Claire Stanley on

                                                                                                     

Hi again! A lot has happened since I last wrote a blog, so this may be a long one! I am really enjoying being part of team Bespoke and Personal, and absolutely love the coasters I was sent. The detail and quality are amazing. I recommend them to anyone, they would make fantastic Christmas gifts, or even just a little something for yourself!

On the last weekend in September (which seems like a lifetime ago now!), I went to Osberton International Horse Trials to compete in the CCI*. It was my first time at Osberton, and as soon as I arrived I could really sense the occasion and couldn’t wait to get started!

First up was the trot up. Hiho Silver had offered a prize to the ‘best dressed’ rider, so lots of people had put on their glad rags to trot up their horses in. Naughty boy Henry thought it was all a little over exciting and reared up on the end of the rein and got free! He then decided it would be hilarious to cause absolute carnage in the collecting ring, prancing around squealing to all his new friends! We managed to catch him pretty quickly and take him straight to the trot up. He was so excited he had grown to about 18hh and ponced down the track like a dressage horse. I was very relieved when I heard ‘Diamond R – accepted’, and didn’t have to run alongside him again!

I was 127th in my section, so had until Friday afternoon to spend time hacking round the enormous estate and walking the cross country. Henry really enjoyed his hacking and was very relaxed and settled by the time it came to his test. He warmed up really well and went in to the main arena feeling as good as he’s ever felt. As soon as he stepped onto the centre line I knew he was going to do a good test. He was straight, forwards and light in my hand. He did a stunning test, with just a small slip in the medium canter when it started chucking it down with rain! He came out with a score of 41.6, which is just over 72% with FEI marking. This put him in 17th out of 137 going into the cross country the next day.

The cross country course was amazing, I loved how the ground had been used, the variation in combinations and the length! It was 2 minutes longer than most of the events I had done this season, so it was such a thrill to be out there for that bit longer! Henry flew around, comfortably inside the time, and climbed into 13th place before the showjumping. He was so bold round a tricky and technical track, and I could feel him growing in confidence as we got closer to the end. To watch my cross country, please visit the following link – https://www.an-eventful-life.com.au/ride/annabel-carthy-diamond-r-osberton-international-be-young-horse-championships-2016

The next morning, Henry passed the trot up (which was much less eventful this time, thank goodness!). Then it was the agonising wait as the showjumping was in reverse order. I went to watch some of the early rounds before I started warming up, and the course was causing a lot of trouble! I decided it was probably best if I distracted myself elsewhere. Eventually it was time for me to get on and start jumping. As this was Henry’s first 3 day event, I had no idea what he was going to jump like the day after a 7 minute cross country course! Luckily for me, he came out jumping like a stag! He went in the ring and jumped the round of his life, despite a heart stopping moment when I made a mistake at fence 6 and the pole rattled. Phew…it stayed up! He finished the course with nothing to add to his dressage score, and climbed into 9th place! Being part of the mounted prize giving was really amazing, especially to be lined up alongside some of the greats in our sport. William Fox Pitt, Laura Collett, Caroline Powell, to name a few! I had an amazing week, and it was the perfect end to a great season.