I’m always happy to see Sharon White, and today was no exception when I bumped into her at the end of the cross country, and she very kindly invited me over to see Reggie aka Rafferty’s Rules. Sharon has been drawn first to go on both her training horse, and in the CIC 3* tomorrow, but as she’s leading the dressage on Ravenna she’s decided to regard it as a good omen. We had an interesting chat about her plans for Burghley; she told me she hardly dares admit it, as she as well as anyone knows the ups and downs that are standard with horses, but she’s feeling confident and excited about going, it’s now just a case of working out the logistics. For instance, how long before Burghley to go over to England? Last year for Blenheim she went over 3 weeks ahead of time, ran at Hartpury the weekend after arriving and said Reggie felt tired there, but at Blenheim he actually felt great, the fall was all her fault ( her words, not mine!), however, obviously the longer she’s over there, the more money it costs.
Being completely ignorant about team/state colours I asked Sharon if perhaps that’s where the orange came from, and she replied no, it’s just her “happy colour”, and how can you not smile when you see all that orange?! Speaking of which, her student Charlotte Collier, who’ll be riding Merloch in the Jr/Yr Open Prelim Section has promised, and now it’s published, to wear the famous orange bodysuit when Sharon and Reggie go cross country on saturday, I’ll keep you posted on all things orange – Go Eventing!
