We left for Brand Hall at 4.30 am this morning, arriving at Brand Hall in Shropshire at 7 am. I competed 2 horses and had a reasonable day, nice weather lovely event.
At 3 pm I was just packing everything away when I twice thought I heard a meow, was it the door squeaking? But it sounded just like a tiny quiet meow. I looked under the lorry as that seemed to be where it was coming from. There clinging frozen with fear to a ledge on the lorry chassis was Hawthorn my 10 month old cat. He must have clung there all the way up the M5 and then the M6 and then along all the bumpy windy country roads to the event, too scared to move!
We are home now and he is very happy and purring lots!
The XC at Brand Hall was fairly twisty, I found the time hard to get. The toughest fences were around the water, 6 fences within about 100 yards - a double of angled fences, an imposing box skinny into the water a square Intermediate size boat up a slope on 5 curving strides out of the water, then an angled hedge followed by a humungous Trakener with a drop and huge ditch with a landing on a narrow track in woodland. Later on there was the skinniest corner I have ever seen, plenty of run outs here. Icon went double clear, 32 dressage, and was very straight throughout the XC although he lost his footing a few times despite 2 enormous studs in each shoe.
Hartpury Take It 2 The Top was not himself at all, I couldn't get a tune out of him for the dressage 33, and show jumping he was all over the place, after one down and a few steering problems I retired him. I can't decide if he was playing me up or was truly sore so I have booked him in for a back and teeth check up.
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