James Alliston drove three horses — Parker, Jumbo’s Jake and Tivoli — all the way across the country to compete at Rolex this year and completed on two of them. In this month’s blog, James recaps his trip to Rolex and his future plans for these horses. And it’s exciting to think we might be seeing Mojo, James’ young Advanced mount, in Kentucky next year! Visit www.JamesAllistonEventing.com to learn more about his new business. Take it away, James!
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James Alliston and Jumbo's Jake at Rolex. Photo by Jenni Autry.
From James:
I’m home safe and sound and back in the regular work routine. Rolex has come and gone, and I’m already thinking of next year. I find a big change in my reflection from last year, since I was able to make it past fence two this time around. All three of my horses were fantastic on cross country and — especially since I came into this show somewhat humbled by last year’s rounds — I could not be more thrilled with each horse’s performance. All three are phenomenal horses, and I feel privileged to ride each one.
Of course, I was disappointed that my third mount, Tivoli, didn’t make it through the final horse inspection on Sunday morning. He proved himself immensely on Saturday, as he is quite green to this level still, and he gave me an amazing feel around such a big course. While his future is still being decided, he has been a fantastic horse for me. While Tivoli was not able to complete, my two other boys finished well.
James Alliston and Parker at Rolex. Photo by Jenni Autry.
Parker and I redeemed ourselves with a great sigh of relief after landing on the other side of the evocative fence two still upright! My haunting of fence two aside, Parker was his usual self out there and galloped around the course as if it was his home turf. Parker was my first horse I bought in America, and while the first day of competition may not be his favorite, he has proved himself to be a great jumper at the top level of the sport, and I look forward to many more rounds on him.
Jumbo’s Jake brought a huge smile to my face when we made it across the finish. We had a few hiccups over last year’s season, but after a fantastic finish at Galway Downs CCI*** in the fall, I knew we should give Rolex one more try. He’s only a little horse but has been my most consistent partner in my career, and I knew with his heart and maybe the help of a few encouraging kicks out there, we could have a good clean four-star round.
James Alliston and Tivoli at Rolex. Photo by Samantha Clark.
My last entry included some of the young horses coming up in my program, and now that Rolex is finished and my wonderful boys are another year older, I’m even more determined to keep my focus on the future. I’m hoping my young Advanced horse, Mojo, will be there next year, but that all depends on our year this year, as I want to make sure he has a positive first year at Advanced before we move up at all.
My trip would not have been possible without the huge support and help I had from my friends and family. I am so lucky to have such a great group of people supporting me. All of the fundraising and help I was given this year really was the centerpiece to having a successful trip, and I am very thankful for that.
