From Michael:
I need to start with an apology to Eventing Nation for being incredibly slack in updates the last two days. Despite only having one horse to ride and plenty of time between rides, I have managed to fill my days with all things but updates!
So far so good for Hanni and me. I was very pleased with her dressage test and although she carried the lead into the cross country, I felt like she could have had a bit better score. Having said that, I gave away some marks in my halt rein back and I lost fluidity in my first change although it was clean. So, in the end I know I could have done better, but overall a good start.
The course was quite big and I knew it would be a test of boldness and fitness. With the strange lead up for Hanni, I went a bit conservatively the first couple of minutes. At minute three I was about 20 seconds down, and I basically stayed there the rest of the course. In hindsight I could have probably saved ten to fifteen seconds, but again I couldn’t be happier with the result and the effort that Hanni put in.
I hope that I can give her a good ride today, and that we can finish strong. She is such a resilient mare and I feel really lucky to get to ride her. Special thanks to Nathalie again for this opportunity:)
Enough about me…
The three star has been an interesting competition. Despite the small numbers the field was fairly strong. No matter the numbers in the end a three star is about competing with the course as much as the other competitors. On this front, Ian Stark gave us a true test. Quite a few jumps wouldn’t have been out of place at Kentucky, and I think anyone who finished clear felt they had achieved a serious result.
Good luck to everyone today in show jumping, and win, lose, or draw I’m sure we will remember this Galway with fondness.
