Aldon CCI* with Hartpury Take It 2 The Top

Thanks to Aldon for an outstanding event

TROT UP
Our Thursday trot up vet inspection began with panic, there had been an accident on the motorway at 6am, we met the queue at 2pm, some people had been stationary for many hours. We tried to find a detour but all minor roads were blocked solid with traffic, so we turned back to the motorway. We were not held for too long luckily and arrived with 20 mins to spare.
DRESSAGE
I thought Monty's dressage felt like a disaster, he spooked badly at the flowers in both his counter canters, so to me they felt dreadful. Then in the halt to rein back he transfixed his gaze on a piece of farm machinery in a distant hedge, I asked him to rein back using my seat, but he had turned into a giraffe statue with his ears high up, level with my top hat, I could feel his heart pounding with fear, I resorted to a tug on the rein, he responded with a moonwalking backwards shuffle. We finished with a good halt and I left the arena feeling gloomy, but when I foundAnthony afterwards he was thrilled, he said the test was stunning. As usual Ant was right and Monty went into 13th place on a 47! Wooohooo! Suddenly I liked dressage a teeny bit more.
XC
The course was superb and extremely technical, we had to jump directly into both waters, no option, the first was a hanging log, a big ask for a 6 year old I thought. The 2nd water began with some upright white rails one stride and a brush drop into the water, 3 strides to a skinny in the water and then (gulp) a decent corner on a tight turn on the way out.
An early problem fence was an abc. A and C were both upright skinnies on steep downward slopes with B a big step down, this caused several riders to fault. Monty just steamed through it, my biggest problem was anchoring him on the very steep hillside down to it. My idea of a suitable pace was not his and he clearly disagreed with me, pulling my arm muscles so hard they felt like jelly and it was only fence 7!
He felt foot perfect all the way round, clear inside the time, Bill Levett said he is a machine XC and now I know what he means. He was hardly blowing afterwards. We were in 8th place overnight and it was a fab feeling knowing I have a horse so good in 2 phases.
SHOW JUMPING
Surprisingly I had almost no nerves for this phase at all. All I hoped for was a qualifying result for CCI 2* so that's no more than 4 down, oh and I couldn't fall off or forget the course. Monty jumped fab, just 2 rails fell and we finished in 12th, he won 2 BE points and an FEI point and yey we got our qualifying place too.

A fab end to the season and what a super horse he looks like being for the future.
Pictures are Monty dressage, jumping and my dog Sweep modelling some of the fences, skinny is missing from the water as it was removed for the Intermediate and fence 7 abc is pictured from the landing looking back up the hill.