The aim of the year was to complete his 2* and he did that, in a big way! After his super successful 1* in June I was really confident that he could do the distance because he felt so good at the end of the 80km. BUT a 120km is really so different to an 80km and of course he did 2x 80km before whereas this was his first attempt at going over the 80km mark…. Safe to say, as the date got nearer I did start to get more nervous. Chip gave me no cause for concern but I am a worrier by nature. It’s been two years since I trained a horse for a 120km or completed one myself and a horse’s first 120km is a big deal – that extra 40km shouldn’t be underestimated! But I made a plan and I stuck to it, com
Hanslope was a bit of a ‘box ticking’ exercise for Nahdia. To help sell Nahdia we have been trying her out on the longer distances with a view to upgrading her to Advance and qualifying her for FEI classes. Due to the FEI qualification rule of needing a minimum of 12 months after the first 40km this means Nahdia cannot participate in her first CEI1* until the end of April 2019. As such, it gives us quite a lot of scope and time to complete the necessary 2x 80km that are required to be eligible for FEI. Having completed her first 80km at Thoresby at the beginning of July it means there is only one left to do. Looking at the ride calendar I saw that Boyton Hall was offering a 80km CER TYRO whi
