Cheffing!

Let’s go back to January when Sarah Light, the England team physio, nudged me to apply for the position of Chef d’Equipe of the England squad. It was a Sunday evening and I’d just got back from 5hr canter training with two horses + 5hrs drive time. I was working away on the Monday and the applications closed on Tuesday at midday. I had a very short window to actually apply.

I decided to let it be one of those fate decisions and if I’m honest, didn’t go full-scale-Bella on the application process so I was quite surprised/pleased/honoured to have been invited to interview. By that time, I’d upped the anti a LOT and I gave it my all in that interview. It was intense, and one of those encounters when you really have no idea how it had gone. It was either good and I’d be appointed or it was drastically bad…

Naturally you’ve worked out I got the role and it wasn’t long before I was thinking of all the ways I could give the England squad an amazing time. But not only the riders on the day but how I could make the England squad aspirational, how I could attract some of our best riders and horses, gain sponsors & press coverage. Essentially what could I do to improve on my own team experiences in years gone by.

Over the months I managed to secure no less than thirteen sponsors, generating a cash value of £1,750 as well as product value of just over £4k. And whilst this sounds impressive, the cash value still wasn’t enough to be able to provide for the riders in the way I wanted to so I also organised a webinar series and also a calendar competition. The webinar series went down really well but the calendar competition has yet to take off. I enlisted the help of experienced endurance photographers to help me judge the final 12 and I’m hoping once we have the finished product that more sales will be generated. The minimum order quantity is 100 units and as such we only have pre-orders for 24. Hint hint you can pre-order your calendar here.

All the build up paid off with the largest application pool EVER by a big margin – in fact 37.5% more applications than ever before. As this was my first year I was grateful to have a selection committee (appointed by EGB’s International Committee (IC)) to support me as there really were a vast number of horses and riders to get through. However, this process itself was a big learning experience for me as it wasn’t until much later that I came to understand how the Home International point system works. I was also surprised to learn once I arrived at Red Dragon that England is in fact the only nation having to report into the IC and I honestly don’t know whether that is a good thing or a bad thing.

Once our team of 12 + 2 travelling reserves had been selected I was armed with the comms and I think it’s possible some of the riders were overwhelmed by the amount of information I had to share with them and how much I needed back in return to get kit sent out and press releases written. We also had commitments to our sponsors in terms of social media, website, press releases and email marketing so in all there was quite a lot to get done.

However, I was more than recompensed when we got press coverage in The Lincolnshire World, Oxford Mail, Cornish & Devon Post, Bridport News, Cornish Times, Shropshire Star, Frome Nub News, Calne News & Leicester Mercury. With a combined print circulation of 35,200 + digital to account for, that’s a lot of eyeballs on endurance in the UK!

So I had achieved pretty much everything I had hoped in the build up. We were set to tackle the Dragon with a team of top performers, an experienced management team in vet Rob Jackson and physio Sarah and I had my best friend Shez there to support me too.

A minor situation arose just two weeks pre-champs as I managed to get concussed and then break my wrist (yes this was two separate incidents four days apart). This meant that I would be somewhat handicapped at the event but quite significantly wouldn’t be able to drive!

Luckily my stoic and long-suffering grandparents (who really we can blame for everything as they got me into horses in the first place ahah) were able to drive me and also became fundamentals to our success over the weekend supporting with static crews and general errand running!

RD is a bit of a trek for us (for lots of us I suppose) particularly with the bad road networks in Wales so my grandparents and I made the decision to travel West on the Wednesday meaning we could have a leisurely drive over there and a relaxed Thursday morning before it all kicked off.

Our team started arriving from Thursday lunchtime and we had horse assessments scheduled in throughout the afternoon. One of my own bug bares from team experiences is so much waiting around, I wanted there to be a schedule so everyone knew where they needed to be and at what times so they could most effectively manage their time.

Apart from a couple of riders getting stuck in traffic meaning we’d needed to move their assessments to Friday morning, everything else went to schedule and the horses were arriving in good form with riders in good spirits too.

The afternoon went so much to schedule that the management team had time to go and find our accommodation in the day light and get checked in. Good job too as we discovered a) it was further away than we thought and quite distinctly on the side of a mountain and b) there was absolutely no wifi or signal at all! We were completely cut off. Now I know a lot of people might think how lovely, but it is far from ideal to have your entire management team uncontactable once off site!

It was however lovely to sit down for half an hour with a cup of tea and gather out thoughts. Back to the venue for the first on site team meeting and meal which Shez and Rob cooked for us. It was really nice to get together with most of the team and get some initial ideas circulated.

Friday was the first day of action and we had a jam-packed agenda. The first on-site chef meeting for myself, Shez to lead out a crew route reccy and Rob and Sarah to assess more horses. We were also called up first for vetting as we went in alphabetical order so 1pm was our time. We were being judged for presentation and turnout at the vetting too so the pressure was on but I am so incredibly proud of how well my team were presented. Every horse was in a matching bridle and rug, plaited impeccably, riders were in matching riding leggings, uniforms and gloves and we all just looked totally professional. An absolute highlight of the weekend for me.

After vetting more splitting off to set up the on-course vet gate and then reunited again for the parade at 4pm. Once again England didn’t let me down and I had asked crews to get involved too. We were certainly impressive and sung loud and clear for the national anthem.

Once the parade was done it was the ride briefing followed by our own team meeting, dinner at the residential centre and back to the accommodation for bed. Tiredness was setting in and we hadn’t even had a rider out on course yet.

Saturday morning saw us back at the venue before light to see the 2x 80km CERs off first, followed by the 2xn160kms, the 120km, the 2x 2-day 78kms and the 66km rider. We saw everyone start before travelling the 25mins to the on-course VG where once again there was no signal!

Thankfully the on-course VG went to plan and all England riders were through effortlessly. Back to the venue just in time to see the 2-day 78kms trotting up (gutted to have not been back fast enough to crew them at the finish) and we had our first casualty of the event. The 80km race riders were due imminently so we made our way down to the finish to see a thrilling racing finish but sadly we lost yet another rider at the final vetting. In recompense, we did secure an individual victory in Saffron. We also managed to secure a win in the 66km with Jess.

The 160kms were in next and through vetting with ease and so it was just our 120km rider to wait for. Guttingly it was a slip too many and despite lots of work from Sarah we couldn’t quite eek our way through the vetting.

We were three horses down on day one and whilst I was reassured ‘it’s not over until the fat lady sings’ I knew that our chance of a team victory was now somewhat slimmer.

On Saturday evening we really banged on about ride strategy and avoiding risk so that we could try to secure a 100% completion rate on Sunday. The management team made it home to the land of no connection late and we were honestly all quite knackered.

Sunday morning was yet another early start but unfortunately I woke up in a significant amount of pain. My entire left arm was throbbing and I had a solid 8/10 headache. A good descriptor of my situation would be - rough. I was quickly drugged up and sugary caffeine was thrown down my neck but the combination was not the one, and I was soon feeling sick as well as having shooting pains down my arm and in my head.

I was actually reduced to tears which is saying a lot for me. I didn’t even cry when my calf muscle got detached! Sat outside the vetting barn, borrowing Sarah’s cap to shield my face, and trying my dammed best not to throw up was a real low point. Thankfully all our riders passed their trot ups to start day 2 but we lost one of our 160kms as despite passing the vetting she just wasn’t 100%, certainly not with 80km of tough welsh hills ahead of her.

Back to the on-course vet gate with my head out the window still trying to not be sick I did have to take a quiet moment in the car. I also had to admit defeat and put my arm back into the sling – the sling which I had been avoiding all weekend. Sarah also tapped up my shoulder as this was burning and Maggie gave me some anti sickness bands.

Thankfully by the time we’d got all horse’s through the VG again I was starting to feel better. Shez and I left in time to meet the GER finishers back at base whilst Sarah and Rob stayed to help our remaining 160km rider through VG2 and the compulsory re-exam.

The GER finishers came thick and fast, almost as thick and fast as the rain drops! We were drenched. First in was our 40km Jnr who despite having a PB HR at the end trotted up lame ☹. Next in was our 2-day 78km who rode across the line telling me that she didn’t think her horse was sound. We vetted immediately but sadly another fail. Our 55km under 25 and 44km Nov arrived within minutes of each other so Shez and I had to split up to manage these two. We made the decision that we wouldn’t waste any time and get into vetting ASAP.

Our 55km under 25 rider Katie rode Colin to perfection to win her class! We also managed to get through with our 44km Nov so yes – we managed two more passes for the team.

Next in was our 55km senior but we were struggling with the HR due to too much excitability. We waited as long as we could put pulsed out ☹

It was just Linda, our 160km rider, to come in and really the pressure was on. We needed a 5th completion for the team to secure third place. (not that we said this to Linda!)

We rallied the troops to ensure that the entire England squad was at the finish to cheer Linda & Ditto across the line and it genuinely brought a tear to my eye to see the pair canter over the line with the England flag in hand.

All hands on deck to cool this chunk of a horse and into vetting to not only win the class but also be awarded with Best Condition! It was such a deserved result for Linda who rode so carefully and considerately over the two days. Absolutely inspirational for all of us.

We had very little time between seeing Linda through vetting and then the prize giving which I had to go and ratify the results for my team. I wasn’t really sure what my role was for the prize giving having not done this before and we were seemingly expected to make a chef’s speech as well. I kept mine short and sweet and got through it haha

As always with these prize givings they are never that quick and one bit of feedback from my team was that it certainly wasn’t as organised as in previous years. We are going to have a chef debrief meeting next week so I’m going to make some suggestions for next year.

Of all the results, I was most gutted to have not won the teams Best Turned Out award. We had really gone to town and then we heard that a points system had been devised (which none of us knew anything about). On the points system we had come second. I have since followed up on this to understand how the points were awarded as it didn’t feel fair to have moving goal posts. Again, this will be something I think we should agree as a standard format for future years as we certainly didn’t have a points system in Scotland last year, when I was a competitor myself.

Anyway, we finished a respectable third place but I am so hungry for the win that I am already planning the trip to Ireland in 2024. Rob, Sarah, Shez and myself have had conversations at length on what we can do differently going forward. I have yet more fundraising ideas and more that I want to achieve in terms of publicity for our sport. Lots to do!

But on that note – who would like to join us in Ireland next year? I’m gathering some initial names just so that we get an idea of interest and also to share information as we go. It’s going to be an expensive year but I am going to do my level best to heavily subsidise the travel there through fundraising and sponsorship efforts. Add your name to the list here!