Sharon White and Rafferty’s Rules have developed quite a fan club here at Eventing Nation. Samantha wrote a lovely piece about Sharon and her stay in Wellington, FL– including the famous Boston Creme video. And then Dr. Adrienne Classen was kind enough to share Rolex with us from the owner’s perspective, and let us all into the life of Reggie’s world. It’s a wonderful story and a great partnership between Sharon, Reggie, and their team, and we are happy to follow along. Many thanks to Sharon for writing, and thank you for reading.
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Sharon and Rafferty's Rules at Rebecca Farm, photo courtesy of Kerrits
From Sharon:
The opportunities I’ve had this year due to receiving the Rebecca Broussard International Developing Rider Grant have been incredible, and they continue now that Rafferty’s Rules and I are based at Rodney Powell’s and Alex Franklin’s Manor Farm in England, getting ready to tackle the challenge of Burghley. And oh to be in England right now with the London Olympics in full swing! It is beyond inspiring, and since team GB just won two team gold medals and a silver in the Equestrian sports, it certainly is the place to be to learn something about horses, riding, and horsemanship.
“The Becky Grant,” run by the USEA endowment trust, is designed to be a springboard for the development of the sport in our country, to give someone exposure and access to the best in the world, to see what it takes to become the best of the best, and to be able to bring this knowledge home. I started this year able to spend a fair amount of time in Wellington, Florida working with the best in the dressage and show jumping, and competing against the best at WEF. And now to be in England is just incredible.
View of Manor Farm
Reg is amazingly happy… he likes anything that revolves completely around him, and he knows this is all about him. He’s settled in beautifully- as any horse would- as Rodney and Alex run a fabulous yard, where the horses are happy, the staff is happy, and the attention to detail extraordinary. And unfortunately for Rodney he recently had to have knee surgery, but fortunately for me as this means he has more time to help! And the chances of having someone as good as Rodney with time, well l’d say timing is everything. He sussed Reg out fairly quickly, and the help is just fantastic.
Reg at Rodney's
One of my biggest concerns is Reg’s fitness, as he was not fit enough at Rolex. I leaned a tremendous amount from that experience, and I hope I never have to repeat it. My heart wouldn’t hold up I think! I was fortunate enough at home to train on the O’Connors gallop, which I must give a shout out to them and Ms Mars- thank you!! That is an amazing gallop, and prepared Reg for the incredible gallops over here. With the cool weather, perfect ground, and spectacular country, I feel like I couldn’t be in a better spot.
View from the gallops in England
We head to Hartpury for our pre-Burghley run this week; I’m looking forward to seeing what shape we’re in, as this will be Reg’s first advanced run since Rolex. Fingers crossed for all the Americans there!
