Wellington International
2 nd
Advanced
01. Gemma Stevens
on05. Flash Cooley (Casper)
SIRE
DAM
SIRE OF DAM
2 nd
Advanced
01. Gemma Stevens
on05. Flash Cooley (Casper)
2 nd
Senior Foxhunter
01. Gemma Stevens
on05. Flash Cooley (Casper)
2 nd
The Ashby Underwriting Eventers Challenge
01. Gemma Stevens
on05. Flash Cooley (Casper)
CCIO4*
24 th / Team Bronze
SAP Nations Cup
01. Gemma Stevens
on05. Flash Cooley (Casper)
The Brendon Stud boys were pretty awesome this weekend! Thank god because Eventing this year seems pretty tricky! 🌧️🌧️
We started the weekend on plan, jumping (and coming 2nd) in the 1.40M Handicap at Pyecombe on the Brendon Stud's lovely stallion Pandito Van't Merelsnest Z (Wifi)
We then set sail to Gatcombe on Saturday morning with Flash Cooley, Chilli King and Ophelie Van Prinseveld for the OI.
We enjoyed our rainy drive down the M4 for 3.5 hours to find out the rain had taken it's toll on the ground and the class had been abandoned.
So sorry to all organisers and everyone involved, it’s so much hard work and also Gatcombe is one of the absolute BEST events. Such a shame. Yet again another event cancelled due to weather!
We then managed to turn around in the gateway and cause utter carnage because I was absolutely not going to get stuck!!
I’m going jumping!
So, off to Pyecombe we go to jump the 5 Bar Challenge with the Brendon Stud's other lovely stallion, Envoy van't Merelsnest Z (Dime Bar) He was a super star and won the class!
Then yesterday Klent Spot On (Kung Foo) was 3rd on the boss's orders in the Foxhunter and Wifi and Dime jumped unreal in the summer GP for 1st and 2nd. Such good boys.
Firstly, what a week for British Showjumping!
It was genuinely unbelievable to watch the boys win the Nations Cup and that second round of John Whitaker’s was something else! Complete and utter brilliance 🤩
Then for Rob to win the King George on the lovely 10yo Vermento was so cool too - we have a yearling colt by him out of MGH Candy Girl!! Eeeekkkkk!! 🫢
I was incredibly lucky to be asked to ride for the BRENDON STUD.
First up was Pandito Merelsnest Z, (WiFi) a REALLY lovely 8yo stallion. We competed in the International 1* 8yo classes and I have only been riding him a week! We had some brilliant rounds and qualified for the final with some very big jumps. We had one green rail in a double but we were all so thrilled with how he went. What a future he has. Love him ❤️
Our lovely Dime Bar was 2nd in a 1.35m and then had a go at the Queen Elizabeth Cup! What an absolute honour to compete in such a historic class.
Unfortunately he was a bit tense and worried and so had some mistakes at the beginning of the round but that’s horses for you and especially such a sensitive boy - we both learnt a lot!
7yo stallion Klent Spot On was 2nd and qualified for the newcomers final at the September show, AND 4yo stallion - Gins Bud (yes I rode a 4yo) did some lovely educational, no pressure rounds getting him ready for Bolesworth young horse show!
A super busy week, but our brilliant teams from home and from Brendon Stud made it happen!! What a lucky girl I am! ☺️
We had a very busy week but totally loved every second of it.
We had some fab results with our own team, with Cinsey Blue PS qualifying for the B and C final in the main ring, just having one green rail in the final.
She was also the best 7yo in a very decent 6/7yo class to qualify for the final at the September show.
Our young event horses, Cooley Couture, Cooley Park Muse and Chilli King put in some super rounds too!
I did one of my all time favourite classes - the Eventers GP with Santiago Bay and Flash Cooley this year🏇🏿💨
As always it was a brilliant and very exciting class!!
Santiago Bay put in a brilliant and very fast round unfortunately adding 2 rails near the end and Flash Cooley, as defending champion, was last to go and flashed his way around until his stupid jockey asked him for a long one at the last. He wasn’t so keen so we rather went through it as a complete (rude word) up!!! We finished 2nd and 3rd which was a great result but I was very cross with myself!
What a week at CHIO Aachen! It felt so good to be back competing on a GB team after a few years of re-building my string!
I was back in the position of path finder this week, which isn’t my favourite place to be but I’m always happy to do it for the team 🇬🇧
Pru Dawes’ GORGEOUS Flash Cooley performed a brilliant test trying his absolute best, he’s not a super flashy, tall, beautiful mover but he’s an out and out trier and he never lets me down. He scored a very respectable 31 in top class company to sit just inside the top 15 and to help the team sit in the lead going into the jumping that evening.
We were super super unlucky to have one tiny touch which was a great shame as he jumped the most amazingly polished round, but the team were still in the lead overnight!
I went out on the xc like a demon on a mission and our little man answered every question with so much guts and trust.
I am unbelievably proud of him and how far he has come, crossing the line just 4 seconds over the time which was joint fastest time of the day!
Sadly we were deemed to have missed a flag, I genuinely didn’t think we had….. he absolutely 100% jumped the fence and tried so hard to stay the right side, but that’s the sport and it was their final decision.
Without the flag we would have been 6th in a world-class competitive field and whatever the result I am so proud of this little horse and super excited for what’s to come with him.
What a day of emotions with the team! Yasmin Ingham was simply unbelievable all week and her and beautiful Banzai fully deserved the individual win!
The team finished 3rd even with a few mistakes, so we know with those ironed out we absolutely would have come out on top.
Huge huge well done to all of my teammates, I know we all learnt so much about our wonderful horses on this trip.
We finished off our Aachen week last night with a crazy trip around the jump and drive!
Soooooooo much fun!
Caroline Telsch’s Santiago Bay LOVED galloping around that main arena jumping jumps and I hung on the back of a 4 horse carriage at speed! Loved it and we finished 3rd!
Quite simply THE best show in the world - until next time Aachen!
But now it’s time for some 💤💤💤💤
📸 John Stroud, Peter Nixon and British Equestrian