Oli Lawrence on fancy dress trot ups, graveyard hacking and polystyrene cross country jumps

Well it’s just as well I like a busy life. The build up to Glanusk was seriously packed not just with the usual preparations for going away but with coursework deadlines at school and an end of term concert as well as various interviews so it was a major relief to finally be on our way on wednesday.

Thankfully Wales failed to live up to it's wet reputation and we were met with glorious sunshine. Plus, my navigation skills were faultless (a first) although the welsh road signs were slightly confusing – especially when the English half of the sign has fallen off! That said we rolled into Glanusk with plenty of time having negotiated various windy roads – I felt very sorry for some of the larger lorries!

Before being allowed into the stabling all the horses are inspected by the FEI vet which includes having their passports checked – given that vets and doctors handwriting are rather similar (illegible) he must have been a little peed off after checking the 100th passport... Next stop was the trot up (with a fancy dress theme for juniors) so as an australian bush man we trotted up and in true Dell style we passed - a little exuberantly....

In theory the next day was free but within seconds was filled with course walks and test practise for the next day. So with minute markers sorted (like mini time keeping markers to help you keep on time) things were looking up for the XC with just a few decisions to make about various routes. Thankfully the XC was on the strong side as our dressage on day 1 wasn’t fabulous. The atmosphere somewhat went to Dell’s head and there were a few too many mistakes. I also thought it would be a good plan to take Dell out for a hack so with great confidence set of having looked at the map which I was sooo sure I could follow.... First surprise was going over the very large ornate stone bridge straight out of the middle ages. The only things missing were knights and charging horses to take us back a few centuries (Dell don’t get any ideas!). Around the next turn there were also small gravestones – “don’t step on them”...clip, clip, clop - as Dell stands on the edges.. Although, nobody struck me down with lightening and other godly punishments stayed put so I figure I’m alright. Plus, I was actually following the right route which is more than I can say for some of my driving excursions having just passed my test.....

XC day thankfully dawned cooler than the first day and a lot of work by the organisers meant the ground was very good given the dessert conditions – Wales has never had so much sun! The course itself was beautifully built although the builders did have a great fondness for ditches! – “So how’s your’s with ditches?”, “Ermm... he’s alright but when he’s finished this he’ll be a prodigy...” Polystyrene logs were also being trialled at the second water on the course – polystyrene logs!!??! No, nobodies gone mad. They genuinely were made of the same polystyrene like you get toy tractors packaged in. That said, you couldn’t really tell the difference once you were on a horse! Before you ask, yes they did have plenty of spares! There was also a double of corners right in the middle of the main arena. It rode very well but was quite a contrast to the open space of the course before. I’m also told that you had to push your way to the front of a crowd of spectators at the water – I didn’t notice. Funnily enough when we dropped into the water everyone kind of mixed into one sunburnt streak... All went well though and we finished well inside the time, which pulled us up the leader board considerably.

The cooling facilities at the end of the track worked fabulously and there were several vets on hand who were checking horse’s temperatures - Dell wasn’t massively happy about that – I’ll let you figure out why! On an event sponsorship front one of the sponsors “Water Boy”, who build portable water sprays, had them in use at the finish. They definitely had the right idea as lots of people were impressed with them. Dell certainly liked the idea of having 2 personal assistants to cool him off at the finish!

Our showjumping wasn’t so hot but we finished up 27th which wasn’t so bad given that it was a first 3 day for both of us in a very competitive field. I was really proud of the 4 points Dell had gained this year but then I quickly realised that we’re actually a little bit low on that front as a fair few of the other horses were breaking well over the 60 point marker.

So now we definitely know the standard, seeing it’s a little bit like colliding with a large blunt instrument but sometimes jumping in at the deep end is the only way forward. Next stop Great Witchingham.